In its recent livestream, Diablo 4’s development team discussed Seasons, the Battle Pass and much more. It revealed that Season 1 would launch in mid to end of July and feature more gameplay features, new questlines (with some new and familiar faces), quality of life improvements etc.
As noted in the recent blog post, Seasons will “introduce fresh concepts and ideas into the world of Sanctuary” but also be “celebratory moments; something to look forward to and enjoy with your friends and other members of the Diablo community.” Since this is the next chapter, players must finish the campaign to jump in.
Every Season, players must complete Objectives for each Chapter, with Crafting Materials, Favor and Legendary Aspects awarded. Favor levels up the Battle Pass and can also be earned from quests, events and killing enemies.
The Battle Pass in each Season contains 90 Tiers of rewards – 27 are free and include some cosmetics and Smoldering Ashes for spending on Season Blessings. These provide bonuses to Gold, Obols, and XP earned, and you can have more than one Blessing active.
However, they’re only available throughout the Season, and you must meet specific level requirements to claim the Smoldering Ashes. So don’t count on gaining a gameplay advantage by purchasing Tier Skips. There are 63 Premium Tiers, and you must purchase the Premium Battle Pass to access them.
The Premium Battle Pass costs 1,000 Platinum or $9.99, while the Accelerated Battle Pass includes the same but with 20 Tier Skips and the Wings of the Creator Emote for 2,800 Platinum or $24.99. Platinum currency is in some Premium Tiers, but you can also purchase it with real money. Cosmetics in the Shop cost Platinum.
All the cosmetics in the Shop are purely aesthetic and don’t provide any power advantage. The base game also has “hundreds of transmogs, weapons, and pieces of armor, including dozens of armor sets, all available to players at launch.” While some cosmetics are unique to classes, you can find cosmetics in the Battle Pass, which apply to all.
Shop cosmetics rotate regularly, and there’s a cross-purchase feature with Platinum and items carrying over between platforms. You can preview items in the Shop, and it will also recommend some cosmetics based on your “play style and aesthetic preferences.”
Diablo 4 is out on June 6th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Early access starts on June 2nd, but a Server Slam is scheduled for May 12th to 14th.