The first season for Diablo IV is coming soon, July 20th 2023 to be exact. The Season of the Malignant for Diablo IV marks Blizzard’s first attempt at seasonal content and many people are questioning whether it is good enough? With the developer live stream completed and 90 minutes of new information shared (minus 15 minutes for Diablo Immortal, but don’t get me started on that), is it enough? We are getting a battle pass, new seasonal mechanics, new Legendary Aspects, Quality of life changes (small ones), possible Ladders and maybe even some surprises for launch. I do a quick breakdown of the developer livestream in a video here if you missed it. So, let’s talk about it.
Let’s start off by tackling the new seasonal mechanic – the malignant heart. The idea behind this new content is a brand new form of elite, a substantially stronger version with the potential for a shiny new drop. A gem-like heart with a new legendary aspect, these hearts can be socketed into jewelry under a specific colored ring and add 1 of 32 new effects to your character. You can also find stronger and stronger versions of them as you push the endgame or jump into a grotesque tunnel of some kind and hunt these new elites down for even more chances at heart drops. Wow. That sounds like a whole bunch of customization and new builds just waiting to be discovered. Given we haven’t seen the list of new effects, but if they are slightly build-defining or offer a competitive variation to the popular class builds. Well, the meta just got shook and that always makes me happy. So what else does this new season bring us?
A battle pass! (I know, no need to say it.)
All the new shinnies, everything you get by tapping your credit card on Blizzard’s checkout. Let’s be honest, I don’t think any player is happy about having more and more monetization dumped into our AAA games, especially with the price tag Blizzard put out on this title, but boy is Blizzard good at making armor sets look great. Even the in game transmogs are top notch – which is why I would never feel the need to purchases any cosmetics from the shop as you can create a very cool with what’s for free. With that being said, the transmog fashion types will be happy.
Even the horse armor is fantastic looking and these are still shots – you don’t get to see all the great effects that come with them.
While these cosmetics look pretty, they require you to purchase the premium battle pass. Now, the argument could be made that this drives the further development of Diablo IV and if we want to see content additions to the game through seasonal updates. Perhaps we just need to accept the lesser evil of a premium battle pass. There’s really not much to say on this, Blizzard has made the decision on this model and it seems final.
So Let’s Talk About it: Is This Enough For Players?
On an initial impression, without being able to play and see the actual depth to the new systems – I would give it a pass. A decent B+. I think Blizzard is listening, I think they are trying to get the game to a place where the overall player base is happy with the basic gameplay loop. As for the seasonal mechanic – I can see the potential in it. Maybe it will blow my mind when I finally get to dig in and make new builds, maybe it won’t. There is potential this seasonal mechanic is shallow and doesn’t offer enough to bring any new variation into the game. However, I have high hopes for the new system.
As for some of the other components that might be included in the Season of the Malignant, I don’t think any of them are particularly exciting. Ladders could be fun, but will be dominated by the 12- 16 hour a day players and I expect will only be talked about for the first couple of weeks in a season, similarly to Diablo III. As for the quality of life elements, Blizzard has a long way to go still. There was barely any talk about stashes outside of agreeing it’s a problem. The renown system is the same – with some accomplishments being carried over from launch, but acknowledged nothing will be changed. Also, changes are coming to how we can respect without clicking everything single node on your paragon tree. Again, a good example of listening but they are still ‘working’ on it.
What Happened To A New World Tier?
One of the biggest items left out of the livestream was any mention of a new world tier. The Diablo community has been buzzing with the possibility of new world tiers or an increase in world difficulty, especially from the more advanced player base getting bored in the endgame. Does this mean it’s out? Or saved until an expansion? I certainly hope not. If there is no world tier increase, or any kind of a new difficulty function (Uber bosses, higher nightmare tiers, etc.) I have to give them an F on this front. If the new seasonal mechanic brings a huge increase in player power, but we have nothing new to fight. Blizzard has now created a big problem.
The lack of any concrete announcements about new challenges players get to face, given we do have a new boss with the Tunnel of malignant or whatever warning about our colon health Rod gave us. I think we are looking more of the same for this season: helltides, nightmare dungeons, Aspect dungeons, Legions and this new ‘cellar style’ of event for the season. There’s really nothing new to do. We are still on the treadmill of the Arpg, chasing gear and mass-murdering enemies. I don’t think this new seasonal mechanic is going to change any of my day to day playstyle. I am still going to be do the exact same thing when I log in, and I get that’s the game but I wanted something more.
That’s My Opinion. So, How Do We Fix This?
Blizzard needed to put a new set of obstacles up for players to test themselves against. Maybe its these new malignant super elites, but I doubt it and no one could really tell from watching a level 20 character fight it. The trick with an Arpg is to always have something to push, a carrot to chase if you will. I fully understand the glorious feeling of reaching the pinnacle of a game and destroying content with your perfected build, but that’s only fun for so long. My greatest concern is that boredom is going to creep in slowly and the seasonal mechanics might not be enough to keep everyone playing.
Overall, this first season feels like another game launch but without the excitement for something new. I was hoping for so much more to be announced: Runewords, World tiers, new invasions on the world map, towns getting destroyed and needing to be saved. Something fun and cool. Instead, we have a small item that might, and I do mean MIGHT, break up the build meta. The new Uniques and Aspects might be great to discover, maybe there is some excitement to be had there but they didn’t show us anything. Perhaps developers are trying to a couple of surprises for launch. I hope they are because while all these small features welcomed, I just don’t feel its beefy enough to be called seasonal content. Let’s hope the Season of the Malignant for Diablo IV still has some mysteries to reveal.
So we talked about it and that’s where I stand.
