Diablo 4will begin its first post-launch season soon, called the Season of the Malignant, where players will be able to continue the game’s story after beating the main campaign. While players will have to create a new character to experience what the season has to offer, there will new powers that can significantly alter builds to be much more powerful. This guide will showDiablo 4players when Season 1 will begin and what will be coming with it.
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When Does Diablo 4 Season 1 Start?
Diablo 4Season 1:Season of the Malignantwill be live for servers in all regions onThursday, July 20. Blizzard did not announce an exact time when the season will go live, but did provide a countdown timer on thegame’s offcial website. According to the timer, the season will begin at10:00 AM PST/1:00 PM EST for North Americaor6:00 PM BST for those in the UK.
While the season does not officially start until the 20th, the game will receive an update on July 18 that adds basic gameplay changes to the Eternal Realm, such as quality of life improvements and additional Legendary and Unique gear. Blizzard is actually encouraging players to log in during the two-day period to make sureall current progress is transferred over successfullybefore players can create their seasonal characters on July 20.
Blizzard revealed that the first season will last around three months, while all seasons will have a minimum of 12 weeks. This places the start of the second season at some time in October 2023.
What Is Being Added in Diablo 4 Season 1?
The main feature for the Season of the Malignant in Diablo 4 is the newMalignant Heartmechanic. These items are gems that can be slotted in any of the three jewelry slots of a character but provide bonuses that are comparable to Legendary-type gear. There will be over 30 Malignant Hearts that can be earned by defeating certain Elite enemies.
The feature will be tied to a new quest line for the season where players team up with former Cathedral of Light priest Cormond to discover the source of the Malignant threat before it spreads throughout Sanctuary. TheSeason of the Malignantwill also add a new boss fight, six Unique items, seven Legendary aspects, and cosmetic rewards that can be earned from the free and paid tiers of the Battle Pass.
Diablo 4is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
