While Diablo 4’s first season, Season of the Malignant, goes live on July 20th, players who have been dialled in since launch may be feeling the burnout. During the recent Developer Update livestream, associate game director Joe Piepiora addressed this and said it’s good to “take a break to play something else for a little while.”
“When you’ve reached all the goals and done the things you think are really important, and you want to go take a break to play something else for a little while, that’s fine. We do the same thing.” Of course, Piepiora added that seasons are a good time to return. “When a season rolls and there are new things for you to come out, that’s a great time to come back, particularly if you had a good time playing before. That’s exactly when you should come back and check out Diablo 4 fresh.”
Lead game producer Tim Ismay also added his thoughts, noting that when the next expansion for World of Warcraft releases, “There’s a non-zero chance that I’m going to be playing WoW for a while. But it’s great to know there’s a point that I can come back to Diablo 4, and everybody’s on an even footing.”
Season of the Malignant adds a new questline where players team up with Cormand to battle new Malignant Monsters. They must fight Partially Corrupt enemies and, upon slaying them, conduct a rite to cage them. This causes said monsters to become Fully Corrupt, but if you win, then a new Malignant Power is available to harness.
The season also marks the occasion when players can claim Battle Pass rewards. They’re exclusive to seasonal characters, but if you finished the campaign already, you can skip it, have a mount from the start and much more. Head here for further details.
