When does Season 1 of Diablo 4 begin? The (re)introduction of seasons in Diablo 4 brings back a beloved feature from Diablo 3. Seasons will launch everything from new questlines to gear, gaming systems, and more beginning with Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant. Whether you’re a new player just starting out in Sanctuary or a seasoned veteran of the Burning Hells, Blizzard will make sure players have plenty to sink their teeth into in order to expand on the deep, dark, gothic world of Sanctuary.
Now that the Diablo 4 release date is finally here, and the Diablo 4 reviews are in, it’s time to look ahead yet again in Diablo 4 to the first season. We’ve viewed every developer livestream and absorbed all of the information out there about the season roadmap. The seasonal model will be available to all of the Diablo 4 classes, but just how does that look currently?
When is the Diablo 4 Season 1 start date?
Blizzard has confirmed that Diablo 4 Season 1, known as Season of the Malignant, launches July 20 on PC, PlayStation 5 and 4, Xbox Series X and S, and Xbox One.
Each season will last three months, with four seasons a year. During its last developer livestream, Blizzard confirmed that these seasons would, in fact, not continue the storyline from the main campaign, which it plans to continue via DLC. Instead, seasons will be separate, self-contained stories that further delve into the tale of Sanctuary. Having said that, you must complete the campaign before you can take advantage of the new seasonal storylines.
If you want to take advantage of all the fun the seasons bring, you’ll need seasonal characters; each one is a fresh start from level one, which gets you to level up, experience the seasonal content, and get great loot. Once the season ends, you won’t lose your character, as every seasonal character is transferred to the Eternal Realm to allow players to keep slaying and looting to their heart’s content. That means each time a new season rolls around, you’ll be able to start from scratch, but as confirmed on the recent livestream, if you’ve already completed the campaign once, you can skip it and dive straight into the new season’s gameplay.
What are Diablo 4 seasons?
The first thing to know about seasons in Diablo 4 is that they’re designed for you to have time to complete the main campaign first. How long it takes to beat Diablo 4 depends on your experience, but it’s currently estimated at around 35 hours for the main story, giving you plenty of time to demolish hordes of demons first, whether by tooth, claw, spell, or just good old fashioned fury while you loot your way through the world.
What content will Diablo 4 seasons contain?
Every new season will bring fresh changes to the game; Blizzard is keen to keep you at your demon-slaying best with new items, paragon boards, characters, gameplay mechanics, class balance changes, and more, so Diablo 4 feels fresh every time you log in. That also includes a brand-new world event that crops up in each season, which might be the warning of a weekend-long invasion of the Drowned or perhaps an unknown merchant peddling wares amidst crags of the Dry Steppes.
Something else Blizzard pointed out during its livestream is that if a particular gameplay mechanic is beloved, it’s happy to consider retaining it, or perhaps tweaking it to have it better suit the core gameplay loop.
Everything you do in the season is part of the season journey; a map along the way to greater and greater rewards. Players will be set objectives to complete, such as a dungeon (with them also refreshing each season), collecting items, or completing a particular event or challenge. All of these will feed into the season journey, with players earning renown that they can use for unique cosmetic rewards, including ones introduced with each new season, as well as granting progress on Diablo 4’s battle pass system.
All in all, there’s a lot to be excited about for Diablo 4, not just for the huge, sprawling campaign up front, but the ongoing seasonal story that’ll see us delving deeper into the cast of characters and the dark, bloodstained mythos of Sanctuary than ever before. Check out our in-depth Diablo 4 review for a full rundown.