Diablo IV: Season 1 announced with start date

Blizzard took its time with the presentation of the first season, but now the cat is out of the bag and you can start your first steps in Season 1 in two weeks.

There’s the thing. Diablo IV is getting its first seasonal content with Season of the Malignant and the start date for the season is July 20th. The core theme of the season is the titular threat, “The Malignant”, which is intended to appear throughout the game.

The first season will get an update on July 18th, bringing new items and some balance changes to the game. Then, on July 20th, the new content, seasonal characters, and the Battle Pass will kick off. One thing to note is that you must have completed the main campaign to participate in the seasonal activities. It also requires the creation of a new seasonal character, which will become a normal character after the season ends. A good opportunity to tackle a class that you haven’t played yet.

There’s a chance every time you fight an elite enemy that they’ll show up as a vicious version of themselves with some nasty things that give them extra powers. In addition to the random encounters, you can also farm the hearts in a targeted manner, because there will apparently be malignant tunnels in which there is the possibility of summoning different malignant. With Varshan the Consumed there is also a new boss in the game.

After his death, the opponent drops a heart, which is used for a ritual in the “Cage of Binding”. The same attracts all villains along with an even stronger version of the original opponent. As a reward there is a “Caged Heart”, a type of jewel with additional special features. Said “Caged Hearts” are available in four variants and you can use them like jewels in other items. A total of 30 new powers await you to use throughout the season, as well as six unique items and seven legendary aspects.

There is also more information about the Season 1 Battle Pass, which should be completely optional. The Battle Pass will be independent of the campaign and will offer its own self-contained quest line, which of course is about the Malignants that you fight alongside Cormond, a former priest of the Cathedral of Light. You’ll get special cosmetic items and titles that you can’t get in the regular Diablo game world. The Battle Pass also consists of seven stages, each with their own tasks that must be completed in order to progress to the next stage.

Apart from that, another patch for the game with the version number 1.0.4 will be released today, which, among other things, should give you more chances to get the ultra-rare unique items, for example in which they can also be found in the chests of the Infernal Tides. More patches will follow because, as Fergusson pointed out, while not having direct feedback on every topic, they listen carefully to players.