Diablo IV‘s campaign promise Dozens of hours of hard-hitting chill time across multiple character classes, but the action-RPG marauder’s real longevity will be based on its seasonal content updates. Blizzard has revealed a bit more about how these will work in a new blog postand the whole post-launch experience sounds a lot like one of the few live service gaming success stories: destiny 2.
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Years ago, Bungie’s loot shooter transitioned from semi-annual DLC add-ons quarterly seasons that expand the sci-fi story, introduce new gear, and add more challenges. Diablo IVThe post-campaign endgame will appear to be quite similar, with four updates per year, each bringing new rewards, different themes, and smaller stories set in the dark fantasy world of Sanctuary.
There will be battle passes, cosmetic shops, and even seasonal challenges to complete to speed up progress. At the core of this rut will be what Blizzard calls the “Season Journey,” a gothic-looking testimony where you track your progress.
It will consist of chapters with goal lists. For completing each chapter, you’ll receive seasonal rewards such as crafting materials, Legendary Aspects to enhance the Codex of Might, a post-game skill tree, and Favor, a special type of XP that boosts the seasonal Battle Pass.
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Speaking of Battle Passes, there will be three. A regular game is free and comes with 27 rewards spread over 100 levels. The Premium Battle Pass costs $10 and offers a new reward for each level. Finally, a third Battle Pass, the Accelerated Battle Pass, costs $25 and allows you to skip the first 20 levels instead of completing them. You’ll also get a special Maker’s Wings emote.
But wait, there’s more! To quickly dive into the specifics of Battle Passes, some rank-up rewards contain cosmetic items, while others offer a resource called Smoldering Ashes. These can be used to purchase various Seasonal Boons, which can be used to earn additional XP, Gold, or Obols (which are used to purchase loot from the Odds Merchant vendor). If you’re a normal person this all probably sounds a bit over the top, but if you’re a sick person who wants to get the hell out of it Diablo IV By the time your body turns to dust, you’re probably going to say, “Yes, ha ha ha, yes!”
As is Diablo IVdoes the microtransaction shop work?
Blizzard’s latest development blog post also sheds some more light on the microtransaction shop. While the Battle Pass rank-up perks include some cosmetic items, others are cosmetic store-exclusive and cost real money. However, the studio emphasizes that nothing of gameplay value is sold there. It’s all just for player expression. Diablo IV also features a cross-purchase feature linked to your Battle.net account, so any premium currency or funds you spend on one platform is carried over to the other.
Like the betas we’ve played so farit’s all very familiar to anyone who has played it destiny 2 in the last few years. Franchise General Manager Rod Fergusson and Assistant Game Director Joseph Piepiora said Paul Tassi of Forbes in an interview that these seasonal updates will happen alongside paid expansions, although it’s not clear if these will be annual or less frequent.
“It’s not like I can say, ‘Hey, we stole this feature,’ but I think [Destiny 2] is a great inspiration to watch,” said Fergusson. “They were successful. They have something like a Season of Defiance that has a theme and sort of narrative framework and provides context for new mechanics… So that’s the idea that Joe is really focusing on: what’s the seasonal theme and how does that all reinforce it? “
Diablo IVThe first season of will not be released until “mid to late July”, but the game itself will be released on June 6th Early access from June 1st for those who purchase the Deluxe or Ultimate editions. However, if you want to start free play sooner, there’s a final beta going live over the weekend of May 12th. Sure, this is the same weekend as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but you can multitask, right? Can not you?
