Summary
Diablo 4’s Season of Blood is right around the corner, and Blizzard has shared what players can expect from Season 2 during a recent livestream event. After a disappointing inaugural season,Diablo 4is in dire need of a stellar Season 2 to recapture an audience that has become burned out on the game’s subpar endgame content. Luckily, the Season of Blood looks to rectify the mistakes of the Season of the Malignant and seems to be addressing most of the major complaints players had about Season 1’s content and gameplay issues.
Although the decision to include a live-service content model forDiablo 4was somewhat controversial when it was first announced, Blizzard assured fans thatDiablo 4would receive quarterly seasonal contentin addition to major annual content expansions like those ofDestiny 2. However, the Season of the Malignant set a bad precedent for this content model offering little to entice players to suffer the newly increased grind of the endgame. Things are looking up for the game as it appears Blizzard has listened to player feedback and incorporated many requested features into Season 2.
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Every Confirmed Feature for Diablo 4 Season 2
New Season of Blood Content
One of the major complaints aboutDiablo 4’s Season of the Malignantwas the lack of meaningful endgame content that the season added. Rather than extending the game’s life by adding more exciting reasons to playDiablo 4, Blizzard instead made it more difficult to reach max level by increasing enemy difficulty and decreasing XP gain, as well as limiting the amount of loot that could be obtained from events like Helltides. While there was a seasonal quest line players could follow, and a seasonal Malignant Heart mechanic for players to experiment with, this content wasn’t enough to keep players invested for very long.
TheSeason of Bloodlooks to address some of these problems by loading the season up with more interesting content for players to experience. In addition to a new vampire-hunting quest line, players will also have the ability to obtain Vampiric Powers of their own using Potent Blood which can then be activated using Pact Armor. The addition of these mechanics adds a new twist to character building, allowing players to design their builds around the various Vampiric Powers regardless of their class.
Players can earn Pact Armor and Potent Blood from Blood Seekers during the new Blood Harvest event during the Season of Blood. These events seem to function similarly to Helltides, but Blood Seekers can also be found in other new World and Dungeon Events. For endgame players looking to challenge their skills and test their build, the Season of Blood is also adding fivenew bosses toDiablo 4, including Grigoire, The Galvanic Saint, Echo of Varshan, The Beast in the Ice, Dark Master, and Echo of Duriel.
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Diablo 4 Season 2 Gameplay Improvements
While new content forDiablo 4is exciting on its own, even better are the gameplay improvements coming in the Season of Blood. There are several quality-of-life additions to makeDiablo 4a little less tedious such as an improved inventory system where Gems don’t take up slots, rewards earned fromDiablo 4’s Renown systemon any character carrying over to all characters, and improved mount navigation. Nightmare Sigils have also been changed to require dungeon completion to acquire rather than dropping from a boss and will now teleport the player directly to their associated dungeon, meaning players will have an easier time gaining the Nightmare Sigils necessary for endgame farming.
By far the biggest gameplay improvement coming in theSeason of Blood is the increase in XPearned, which Blizzard claims will allow players to reach level 100 40% faster. A major complaint about the Season of the Malignant was the reduction in XP that could be earned, requiring players to grind Nightmare Dungeons for long periods of time in order to reach max level. This change toDiablo 4’s XP system should make the game less tedious for players on higher World Tiers and result in an overall more fun experience for those looking to optimize their builds.
Another big change coming for endgame players is the accessibility ofDiablo 4’s coveted uber uniques, considered to be the rarest items in the game. Blizzard is giving players a more consistent way to farm for these items via the new uber Duriel boss who represents the toughest of all the new endgame bosses being added and finally gives the Lesser Evil Duriel his due. While these items will still be very rare, players looking to obtain uber uniques now have a better sense of how to best farm for them in the upcoming season.
More Seasonal Cosmetic Items
As expected fromDiablo 4’s live-service model, the Season of Blood will feature newSeason Journey and Battle Pass rewardsfor players who participate in Season 2. The Season Journey will reward players for participating in seasonal Missions and give a variety of rewards including three Scrolls of Amnesia used to reset Skill Trees and Paragon Boards, and the Battle Pass will offer a series of Awoken Marrow cosmetic items for players who purchase the Premium upgrade. Additionally, Tejal’s Shop will feature new cosmetics as well, such as the Hell’s Champion Prestige Barbarian Equipment set for players willing to spend some real-world money on cosmetics.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The Season of Blood starts on October 17.
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