Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Newcomers might not know that fresh characters are required for each Diablo 4 season.
In case you didn’t know, you’ll need to create a new character to level up each of Diablo 4’s seasonal battle passes. Newcomers to the franchise might not know that existing characters can’t progress through new seasons in this game, but Blizzard’s general manager Rod Fergusson took to Twitter to clear things up.
In a reply to Forbes journalist Paul Tassi, Fergusson confirmed that all players will have to create a new character to level up Diablo 4’s Season 1 battle pass, which launches in July. The new season comes with an all-new story questline, game mechanics and a ‘season journey’ on top of the battle pass, all of which require a new character to experience. Players can also go back and play the main campaign with a new character to progress through the battle pass.
Anyone who’s played through Diablo 3’s seasons will be familiar with this system, but new players might be surprised that they can’t just carry over an existing character to Season 1. An action-RPG like Diablo calls for a different live-service structure than Blizzard’s other games like Overwatch 2, and this way players can explore different characters and playstyles while engaging with the bits of new content doled out over upcoming seasons.
The replies under Fergusson’s tweet suggest that a number of Diablo 4 players have been blindsided by this news however, with one user saying, “Gotta be honest - as a new player, I don’t see myself grinding like this again. If I have to start from scratch for S1 I’m likely done maining Diablo.” Another user tweeted, "I'll be honest. Since I paid for the 1st season I'll make a new character but after that I'm done. Re-leveling off the same content with some new and small twists isn't my idea of fun to rinse and repeat."
While it’s too early to criticise Diablo 4’s seasonal structure, it sounds like Blizzard needs to do a better job of communicating to players that Season 1 isn't something they can jump into with existing characters. The publisher has delved into the Season 1 battle pass and seasonal journey with a single blog post, but it’s easy for newcomers to miss more important details like these.
Diablo 4 seasons will be supported by season journeys, which are essentially lists of objectives players need to tick off to level their battle pass. Completing all the objectives in a single chapter of the season journey will give players seasonal rewards ranging from crafting materials to legendary aspects. The objectives also give players battle pass XP, which is what they’ll really be after most of the time.
The game’s battle pass is split into a free tier and a paid-for premium tier, with the latter giving players access to premium currency for the shop and seasonal cosmetics. Season 1 is planned to start in mid-to-late July. If you're attached to your current character(s), don't worry - they'll be moved over to the 'Eternal Realm' once Season 1 drops, while new characters will start in a separate version of Sanctuary with fresh seasonal content. Once Season 1 ends, seasonal characters will be moved to the Eternal Realm and the process will begin anew.