The date and details for Season One of Diablo IV have been announced, and it brings a lot of new and interesting content to the game. Starting on July 20th, 2023, at 10:00 am PST, Diablo IV’s Season One will begin. Just like in past Diablo games and other ARPGs, the player base always shows up in force for a new season because it is where the competition to level up the fastest as well as push the hardest content begins. There are no doubts that millions of players across the world will be giving Season One of Diablo IV a try, and here’s why it is looking promising.
New Content
Season One of Diablo IV is called the Season of the Malignant. The story goes that although Lilith has been defeated, she has unleashed an eviler form of monsters onto Sanctuary, Malignant Monsters. These new monsters are stronger, more ferocious, and have the power to infect other monsters with malignance. Players must work with Cormond, a former priest of the Cathedral of Light, to defeat these malignant monsters and collect their hearts to be able to harness the malignant power for themselves. This work with Cormond is a new story questline that all players must do to progress further into the season.
However, these new tasks do not come without reward. There is a total of 32 Malignant Hearts that can be collected, and each heart has a unique aspect attached to it that can be imbued into the jewelry of the seasonal characters, giving them powerful bonuses. These unique aspects are completely new to Diablo IV and will be completely different aspects that can be found on Legendary and Unique gear that can be found in the game already. They also do not replace aspects of the jewelry they are imbued into but instead, act as an alternative to Gems that can be placed in the jewelry. The best way to find these Malignant Hearts is to do the new dungeon, Malignant Tunnels, and defeat the new boss, Varshan the Consumed; this new dungeon is infinitely replayed so players can get the exact Malignant Heart they want in a reasonable amount of time.
Seasonal Objectives
All players must create a completely new character to participate in the season, and this provides players with the opportunity to try new classes or builds. To enhance this experience, all players are also given a set of objectives that the grand season exclusive reward for completing. Upon completing one set of objectives, a new set of objectives is unlocked that is more difficult to complete but also more rewarding. For Season One of Diablo IV, there will be a total of eight sets of objectives, which will include things like defeating world bosses, dungeons, and more.
The Battle Pass
Just like most games nowadays, there is also a battle pass included in each season of Diablo IV. It has 90 total “tiers,” each of which unlocks new rewards like cosmetic items or provides a boost to experience, gold, and more for seasonal characters. Out of the 90 total tiers of the battle pass, 27 are free – meaning everyone can earn the reward from them, and 63 are premiums – meaning players must pay real money for access to them. Players that purchased Deluxe or Ultimate versions of Diablo IV (USD $90 and $100, respectively) can unlock this Season One battle pass without paying more money. Here the Diablo IV Developers comment on it for Deluxe and Ultimate version purchasers: “If you purchased the digital Deluxe or Ultimate Edition of Diablo IV and want to redeem your Battle Pass for this Season, navigate to the Seasons section of the Shop and select the option to activate your Battle Pass,” (Source).
There will also be periodic patches within season one that will fix bugs and balance classes, just like there have been for the first month and a half of the Diablo IV release. Outside of the things mentioned above, most of the other content within the Diablo IV season will stay the same as it has been since its release.
