Diablo 4’s seasons have already been a bit of a rollercoaster, with various ups and downs – and we’re only on Season 2. Here’s what Diablo 4 needs to do to stay relevant and keep players interested.
Even after Diablo 3‘s vibrant art style and much lighter tone was derided by fans of the original two games, the Lord of Terror’s third assault on the world of Sanctuary ended up being a great success. With Diablo 3 now in its 29th and final season, Diablo 4 has big shoes to fill, but it’s already clear that the D3 approach to seasons isn’t going to work this time.
Those who played Diablo 3, even on and off, for the duration of the 28 seasons that came before Diablo 4, had their gripes, but, generally speaking, fans understood what to expect. Seasons were not expansions or DLC. They were simply an opportunity to start a new character and play through the game again, albeit with some fun seasonal gimmicks that altered gameplay in some small way or offered new rewards to unlock.
Blizzard tried this same approach in Season 1 of Diablo 4 and all Hell broke loose – and not in a fun way.
Diablo 4’s seasonal woes
The issue is that players expect more from seasonal content in 2023. Live service games have evolved since 2012 and Blizzard was dreaming if it thought the rules Diablo 3 played by were enough to sustain a more modern game. Two important things must be realized: Content is king, and player investment needs to be rewarded – not taken for granted.
While Diablo 4 launched to positive reviews (just read ours), it lost much of that goodwill when Season 1 rolled around several weeks later. Old school veterans of the series, like this modest scribe, couldn’t quite understand what all the fuss was about. “This is how Diablo has always done seasons, what did you expect?” we said, but we soon answered our own question.
Granted, there was a portion of the community who were new to Diablo and didn’t understand the tried and tested approach to seasonal content. Some players even confused seasons with expansions, thinking they were one and the same, so were horrified when they learned you needed to start a new character to take part in Season 1 – not realizing that this has always been the case. ‘But you’ll still be able to use all your characters when the actual expansion drops,’ Blizzard said, which was little comfort.
Starting again, and again
This fan reaction is understandable. Some of us even had it back when Diablo 3 first revealed we’d need to start again to play seasons. Imagine spending many hours of your life creating a character, crafting the perfect build, unlocking all that renown, and clearing the map of side quests, only to start again.
Lilith is defeated and you look forward to the next challenge for your mighty, battle-hardened warrior. The game has ended on a cliffhanger so you naturally wait for the next chapter, only for Blizzard to tell you you’ll need to do it all again if you want to play Season 1.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow, and many Diablo players have been taking the pill for so long we had forgotten about its bitterness. We just got used to it. It sparks thoughts like, “How much free time does Blizzard think I have?” or “Why would I want to play the same content over and over again just to experience a mildly different way of playing it each time?” Even the “just start a new character class or try a new build” argument isn’t going to cut it for everyone, and even if it does for a while, this won’t last forever.
To be fair to Blizzard, as of Season 2, they have allowed players to skip the campaign (provided you’ve completed it once) as well as keep the renown they’ve unlocked. This way, players won’t need to engage in the same mundane tasks, again and again, every time a new season rolls around. Players can now, for the most part, jump straight into the seasonal fun, although this doesn’t solve the issue fully.
Season of Blood
Season 2 is already a vast improvement over Season 1, mainly thanks to the new Vampire Powers and accompanying questline that finally adds some tangible new content to Diablo 4. Yet, it would have been nice to have played this vampire questline with our pre-Season 1 Necromancer. Or the powerful Druid we created during Season 1 but are now unable to port over to Season 2, locking them out of the new vampire story content.
While we’ve had fun with our Sorcerer in Season 2, we’re not going to have time to play the vampire questline with every character class. And in truth, we already have our preferred Necromancer and Druid characters. We don’t want to make new ones. We also have no desire to keep replaying the Seasonal Journey just to get to that content.
It’s a worry that all this fun vampire content will turn to dust when Season 2 ends, and as a new dawn brings a third season and a fresh set of gimmicks and quests. Surely there’s a way that Blizzard can reward our investment of time, and dare we say, show a little more respect to it?
Also, in Season 3, if the game adds new story content, are we really going to have to sit through the Season Journey again just to get to it? With blocks of busywork breaking up the chapter? It’s already getting old. Let’s be honest, many of the tasks will be the same ones we did in Season 1 and 2.
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Could we not find a solution to this issue that encourages players to engage with seasons but doesn’t penalize them for not playing when Blizzard tells us to? And more importantly, a way to add new content to the game every couple of months that doesn’t force players to start a new character every time, or at least free us from the shackles of the Seasonal Journey – unless we want to engage with it to unlock the rewards, etc.
Blizzard’s rationale for making us start a new character for every season is sound, and we wouldn’t suggest they abandon it. It is the best way to put everyone on an even keel, and it can indeed be fun to have a solid reason to try a new character or build. Let’s also not take away from the Seasonal Journey being a great way to reach level 50.
Rewarding player investment
However, when it comes to tangible content such as new questlines, enemies, followers, and anything that furthers or enriches the story and setting of Diablo 4, this content should be made available to all characters, not just the seasonal ones. This way, characters we’ve built in earlier seasons, or non-seasonal characters we’ve spent many hours playing as can still partake in some vampire slaying action, or anything else Blizzard has in the pipeline.
When it comes to the Battle Pass, seasonal rewards, and gameplay modifiers, this can remain exclusive to those who start a seasonal character, that’s completely fair. This way, there continues to be a reason to engage in a new season, especially for those who are already planning on starting a new character with a class they’ve not tried yet.
But as Blizzard tries to make seasons more appealing to newer players by adding fresh side stories and quests, if they truly want to tempt players back into the world of Diablo 4 again and again, and reward player investment, this content should be available to all.
We’re aware that it won’t be until Diablo 4’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred that anything truly meaningful happens in the game’s story. But a quest to go kill some troublesome bloodsuckers, and whatever comes in Season 3 and beyond, is an ideal way to keep players busy until Mephisto gets to make his grand comeback.
If need be, make this content available after a season has ended, simply making it part of the overall game. That way, Blizzard can keep its method of motivating people to take part in seasonal content, but can will also please players who don’t want to start a new character and just want to enjoy new quests with an existing character. This is a fair compromise that should, at least in theory, please everyone.
At the very least, have an option to release the new story quests from the Seasonal Journey. Even if we start a new character each season, not every player has the time and inclination to grind until level 50 every time. Some of simply want to play some new quests, enjoy the evolving world, go away, and come back next Season for the next adventure.
Blizzard forcing us to engage in more of the same endgame content we’ve already been playing just feels like a desperate attempt to keep us playing and hold our attention, and let us tell you, it risks having the opposite effect.
A model that works
Looking at the steadily recovering Diablo Immortal, that game takes a similar approach to our above proposal. Content is added to keep players invested and nobody is forced to start again to enjoy it. Players are motivated to start a new character simply for the joy of doing so, but if we want to explore new content with our original and most powerful character/class/build, then we can.
While Diablo Immortal got off to a shaky start due to its microtransaction nightmare (and deserved every bit of its criticism), it has since found its own niche and in some respects, is showing Diablo 4 how a live service game should be operated. It’s also okay to charge for content – if it’s worthwhile.
It’s positive that Blizzard is learning from mistakes and doing what it can to ensure that Diablo 4 is as fun as it can be. However, their solution to fix lackluster seasons, i.e., ensuring there’s fresh content in them to tempt players back, may actually cause more frustration than it alleviates. Players want fresh content, yes, but we also want all the hours we pour into games to be respected, not cast aside just because there’s a new Battle Pass to buy and new cosmetics to unlock.
Check out some of the other Diablo 4 content we’ve put together for you:
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