The news is more and more active for Diablo 4, and for the first time since its announcement, the development team is more than a month ahead of its quarterly blog. It must be said that the subject covered is much easier to approach than builds and equipment, since it affects the entire online part of the game, and if Blizzard keeps its promises, there is indeed nothing to hide, and they have everything to gain by showing it clearly.
Seasons system
Let’s start by recalling that Diablo 4 will be a game playable exclusively online, with an internet connection. And that the game is paying, like a conventional title, with a single purchase. In many ways, it’s similar to Diablo 3, and it goes much further in the multiplayer aspect. He will also resume his system of seasons, almost identically:
- There will be 4 seasons of 3 months per year, each with its own theme. This will include special rules, unique quests and story, and special challenges.
- A development team will be dedicated to the seasons, as well as the addition of important new content, such as legendaries, sets, class balances, Paragon tables, etc. It is expected that the seasons will be much richer than on Diablo 3.
- To participate in the season, it is mandatory to create a new character, which will therefore start at level 1 and which will not have any advantages or bonuses conferred by your other characters. Real money won’t help either. The principle is to encourage players to start at the same point, and to compete (or cooperate). It is not penalizing to have missed the previous seasons. At the end of the season, your seasonal characters join your normal characters in the “Eternal Realm” mode where you can continue to develop them if you wish.
- Regular events will also take place during the season, such as a weekend drowner attack.
- Each season has a list of objectives, called the Journey, which allows you to follow your progress and unlock great rewards. The final stage involves defeating an overpowered boss.
- Each season will be accompanied by a Season Pass divided into two sections. A free section that contains various power bonuses and varied, like experience, and a premium section, which only includes cosmetic items and premium currency. It is possible to pay to speed up the unlocking of the battle pass, but only on cosmetic elements.
Online Store
- The developers insist that Diablo 4’s in-game store will be cosmetic only. It will bring no power gain and no benefit.
- The unlocked costumes are unlocked for all characters of the same class, for thematic reasons. Cosmetic pieces are for split by slot, allowing multiple cosmetic sets to be mixed and matched if you feel like it.
- These costumes are purchased with the premium currency, Palladium, which is obtained with real money, or through the premium section of the battle pass.
- Some cosmetics obtained through Seasons, however, have a general theme, applicable to all classes.
- Blizzard promises that tons of super high-quality Legendary cosmetics can be obtained through normal play, completing challenges, and the like. There is no need to pay to have a nice skin.
- It is possible to preview cosmetic items on your character before purchase.
Finally, the development team also announces that they will be polling the community to decide what they will work on next.
All of this is indeed very reassuring, and one can only hope that the development team will be able to preserve this approach to monetization and content during the years following the launch.