The Diablo 4 Season 12 PTR is currently live, and early impressions are not that great. A lot of players are questioning the actual goal of this season. Right now, it does not really feel like it brings enough to justify a full seasonal reset, especially with the Lord of Hatred expansion launching not long after.
Most people expected Season 12 to be shorter, but after testing the PTR, many feel it might not be worth jumping into at all. There is not much that feels new, and some players argue they would rather keep playing Season 11 a bit longer. A few even suggested combining ideas from Seasons 10 and 11 instead of starting over again.
A Small Seasonal Theme
Season 12 introduces killstreak bonuses, Bloodied items, and a new Butcher that can show up pretty much anywhere, at any time. Even if the systems technically work, they have not really impressed players so far.
The Butcher is fun the first few times, but it quickly turns into a constant “Fresh Meat” situation where your main feeling is just to run away and move on. As for Bloodied items, they do not offer much incentive to chase or build around, especially when compared to recent systems like Sanctification or Chaos Armor.
For many, the PTR ends up feeling like running the same old content again, just with extra modifiers on top, so not exactly the kind of change people were hoping for.
Coming Off One of Diablo 4’s Best Runs
The timing also does not help. Seasons 10 and 11 are considered some of Diablo 4’s best seasons. Because of that, some players are wondering why Blizzard did not simply extend Season 11 instead of rolling out a short season with features that still feel half-baked.
To be fair, not everyone hates the idea. Some players are fine with a quieter season before the expansion, and it is also worth remembering that Season 11 faced similar criticism during its PTR phase before turning out much better at launch. Blizzard has also confirmed that not everything planned for Season 12 is currently available on the PTR.
A Placeholder Before Lord of Hatred
With the expansion right around the corner, Season 12 may be intentionally restrained. It can act as a reset, a testing ground for mechanics like killstreaks, and a way to avoid burning players out before Lord of Hatred arrives.
For now, Season 12 does not feel strictly necessary, but it might end up being “good enough.” A lot will depend on what Blizzard adds or changes before the season actually goes live.
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