Diablo 4 has now been out for a little while, and we’re about to get our first drop of new content aside from the campaign that it launched with - Season of the Malignant.This is the first of many post-launch seasons that the game will get, each bringing new missions and gear to discover and unlock, and we’ve got all the key details you need to know right here.
When is Diablo 4 season 1?
Season of the Malignant, or Season 1, launches on20 July 2023, as confirmed by Blizzard in early July. Its launch times in different regions are below.
What’s new in Diablo 4’s season 1?
Season of the Malignant promises quite a slew of new content forDiablo 4, including an all-new set of story missions to complete. Players will meet a former priest called Cormand, who recruits them to look into new Malignant Monsters roaming the land in fury.
Stopping the spread of Malignancy will involve harvesting the creatures' hearts, offering new powers and builds to experiment with using the Cage of Binding, a new quest item. These Malignant Hearts effectively offer alternative options to gems, socketable in your gear.
You can find out more about this and everything else to do with Season of the Malignant in theofficial Blizzard blog post on the topic, right here, for some more granular detail and explanations.
New dungeons
The new Diablo 4 season bring with it new dungeons - Malignant Tunnels, which will be randomised and highly-replayable, according to Blizzard, and offer the chance to harvest plenty of Malignant Hearts.
There’s a new major boss to be encountered as part of Season of the Malignant, too - Varshan the Consumed, a lich-looking baddie who’s riddled with tentacles and will pose a serious threat, especially on more late-game World Tendencies.
New battle pass
The first battle pass for Diablo 4 will launch alongside the Season of the Malignant, with 90 tiers to work through including 27 free tiers to be earned without buying anything.
How do you play seasonal content in Diablo 4?
Seasonal content might be new to you, but even if you’ve kept up with new releases of content in the likes ofWarzone, for example, it works a little differently in Diablo 4.
To access seasonal content in Diablo 4, you’ll have to create a new character on what’s called a Seasonal Realm. to do this, you have to have already completed the campaign at least once with any character.
You’ll then play the new seasonal content with this new character (after being able to skip the campaign first), finding new loot and creating your build. Then, when the season ends, the character will shift from seasonal to eternal and be part of your roster for good.
