Though the arrival of Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant was arguably overshadowed by a controversial patch, plenty of players have still delved into it and set about trying to find items that can take their characters to the next level.
The game’s recent patches, which have aimed to reinvigorate player enthusiasm for it, have endured some mixed reception, with some of their changes having gone down well and others being openly questioned. There’s also been a temporary ban on trading, in order to fix an exploit.
At last night’s Gamescom Opening Night Live, Blizzard gave players a first look at some of what it has planned for Diablo 4’s second season, which is set to drop in October, with one change planned to arrive alongside it having garnered a particularly positive reception from players.
Are you a fan of what’s been announced about Diablo 4’s Season of Blood so far?
As part of the vampire-themed season, which is set to to introduce some new powers and endgame bosses alongside a fresh questline when it arrives on 17 October, Blizzard has confirmed in a blog post that, once it’s deployed:
Paragon Points, Skill Points, Potion Charges, and Obol capacity upgrades will now carry over into a new Season once achieved with an Eternal or previous Seasonal Realm character.
In a Reddit thread that user International-One714 kicked off by calling the change “a dramatically good decision,” plenty of players have shared just how happy they are at the idea of not having to grind up Renown every time a new season drops gaping forwards.
“Honestly probably the single best change for season 2 based on what we know so far," declared user Greaterdivinity, adding: “Now the question becomes: Why on earth did they think players would want to redo this grind, Lilith statues and all, each season to begin with?”
Meanwhile, user Heatinmyharbl argued: “I truly wouldn't mind doing some of this open world stuff every season. Some of the side quest chains are surprisingly cool and well voice acted, [so] I'd like to do them again in the future. That said, requiring us to do so much [stuff] for Renown each season was just excessive.”
However, as with most of the changes to Diablo 4 thus far, the reception to this one hasn’t been unanimous. Some users in the thread suggested that getting rid of the need to engage with the in-game activities that reward Renown won’t help mitigate complaints from some players regarding a perceived lack of content to dig into during playing sessions.
Regardless of whether you believe Blizzard will ever manage to truly satisfy Diablo 4’s passionate hardcores, make sure to check out our array of guides to the Season of the Malignant’s items and quests.
It’s also worth following us, as we’ll be delivering similarly helpful coverage of the Season of Blood as soon as it arrives.