Summary
It’s no secret thatDiablo 4’s Season 1 has been fairly controversial; many players are unhappy with the seasonal update as well as some of the game’s live-service elements. TheDiabloseries is no stranger to the seasonal content model, which makes the approachDiablo 4takes to the practice all the more surprising. Given the numerous complaints many players have with the Season of the Malignant’s shortcomings, Blizzard should take this opportunity to consider player feedback when designing futureDiablo 4seasons and improve on how it delivers players the seasonal experience.
Despite the controversy surrounding this season, Blizzard has taken steps to address player concerns, walking back certain gameplay changes and promising further updates to undo many of the unpopular changes made in the initial Season 1 update. WhileBlizzard’s mission statement forDiablo 4moving forward is a good sign for future season, the developers will still need to be critical of what went wrong with this season in order to improve upon future ones. As a live-service game that lives or dies by its consistent content updates,Diablo 4will need to take the lessons of this season very seriously if the game is going to have the staying power it promised prior to release.
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How Blizzard Can Avoid the Pitfalls of Season 1 in Diablo 4’s Season 2
Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignantwas off to a rocky start before it even officially began. The seasonal update that released a couple of days prior to the season going live was the source of a lot of this season’s controversy because it nerfed allDiablo 4classes and buffed enemies, making the game feel like more of a grind to play. If it was Blizzard’s intent to create more balance between build types, this update missed the mark. Future seasonal updates should focus on buffing builds for weaker classes like the Sorcerer rather than bringing all builds down to their level.
Another major point of controversy fromDiablo 4’s first season is the implementation of its Battle Pass, an already divisive topic within the gaming community. WhileDiablo 4’s Battle Pass only features cosmetic items, the Battle Pass itself is slow to progress through and surprisingly doesn’t even feature enough ofDiablo 4’s Platinum premium currencyto purchase the cheapest items in the game’s shop. The seasonal Battle Pass won’t make or break the enjoyment for mostDiablo 4players, but for those who purchase it, Blizzard should be offering better rewards in a more timely fashion.
Issues with gameplay updates andDiablo 4’s Battle Pass aside, one of the biggest lessons Blizzard should learn from this first season is to be more transparent with players about what to expect from changes made to the game. Hidden within the game’s controversial update were changes not stated inDiablo 4’s patch notes, such as the change of the “Predator” title to “Enemy,” or the change in visibility to the Necromancer’s Corpse Explosion skill. Regardless of if the changes are positive or not, a lack of complete transparency about what is being pushed in an update is not a good precedent to set.
The good news is the developers seem to be more forthcoming with update details moving forward with oneDiablo 4Campfire Chatalready occurring and another confirmed to be on the way. WithDiablo 4’s live-service model taking a different form compared to past entries, it’s understandable that there would be some hiccups early in the game’s life. However, it is now up to Blizzard to learn from the mistakes of this season and work to correct course forDiablo 4’s Season 2 if it wishes to keep the game alive for years to come.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
