Blizzard has provided a preview of what it will offer in Diablo IV in the weeks and months to come. Not everything has been revealed, but it gives an idea of the content that will arrive leading up to the release of the game’s first expansion.
We now know the name of the very first extension of Diablo IV : The Receptacle of Hate (Vessel of Hatred). It was announced at the opening of BlizzCon on November 3, 2023. It was the main announcement for Blizzard’s hack’n’slash. It will be centered on the primordial demon Mephisto, who is precisely the lord of hatred.
Players will have to be patient, because it will not be launched before the end of 2024. It will nevertheless be rewarded by a new narrative plot, centered on a new antagonist – as we have said -, by the release of a new region to explore (the jungle will obviously be the main environment) and the arrival of a class never seen before.
Until then, Blizzard took advantage of BlizzCon to outline a general schedule which awaits its hack’n’slash. All the details of the studio’s plans for the game have not been provided, particularly for what should happen in a few months. However, the schedule presented on November 3 gives a good idea of the milestones expected in the short and medium term.
The dates until the end of January 2024 are safe and confirmed by Blizzard. Then, these are assumptions based on the pace and length of previous seasons.
The future new features of Diablo IV
From November 7, 2023
Arrival of patch 1.2.2 in Diablo IV, with the addition of five unique rings — one for each class. These rings will feature the special abilities offered in season one of the game, called Season of Mischief. This will be an opportunity for players to once again take advantage of their special powers.
This is the main element of the patch. Other improvements should be included, such as a preview window to see the effects of enchantments on statistics. Details of the patch note should be given soon by Blizzard. This is a minor patch, which will possibly also include changes to the game balance.
From December 5, 2023
Patch 1.2.3 released. This includes a new in-game activity, called Zir’s Slaughterhouse. It is aimed at characters who have reached level 100 and who are evolving at a high level. According to Blizzard, the slaughterhouse targets those who have defeated “Uber Duriel” and completed the other season two challenges (that of blood). The activity will be offered for six weeks.
Zir’s Slaughterhouse aims to respond to a request from the community for more things to do in Diablo IV. The activity will have, the studio promises, “significant replayability”, with increasing difficulty. Blizzard also assures that the difficulty level will also be very high from the start. A reward (a paragon glyph from Lord Zir) awaits the best.
From December 12, 2023
Diablo IV welcomes its first seasonal event, called Midwinter Blight. For three weeks, or for the duration of the end-of-year holidays, the Broken Peaks region – which is already a mountainous and snowy area – will be transformed. Details of the seasonal event have not yet been given by the studio.
January 23, 2024
The season of blood is coming to an end.
Towards the end of January and beginning of February 2024
The third season of Diablo IV is supposed to start. The theme remains unknown at this stage and the date remains to be confirmed. We know that the duration of a season of Diablo IV lasts three months. Between season one (completed October 9, 2023) and season two (launched October 17), there was a one-week break. If Blizzard follows this pace, Season 3 should arrive between late January and early February.
Season 3 should introduce a ranking system, based on classes. Players will be able to position themselves every week against other opponents. This ranking will be organized around a weekly challenge, called the tournament. The highest ranked characters will then be immortalized in a seasonal pantheon, each week.
After that ?
The horizon of Diablo IV for 2024 is still relatively vague at this stage, but we can expect a season 4 starting between April and May, followed by a season 5 in the summer (between the end of July and the beginning of August) then a season 6 in the fall (late October/early November), and so on. That’s if Blizzard keeps seasons three months long with a one-week break in between.
These different seasons will be deployed through content patches, which will contain their batches of seasonal events, in-game events, quests to complete and activities to complete. The details, at this stage, are unknown. There will also be inevitable fixes, depending on the studio’s additions and player feedback.
This is when Diablo IV’s first expansion should make headlines again.
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