Summary
Blizzard Entertainment is bringing in a wealth of changes for the second season ofDiablo 4, Season of Blood.Diablo 4brought changes to the established ARPG franchise including a pivot to a live service model akin toDestiny 2.
The changes brought into the Season of the Malignant did not connect well with fans. This led toBlizzard hosting an emergency Campfire Chat forDiablo 4where developers could address player concerns. With Season 2 set to release shortly, Blizzard has hosted a livestream to detail the large number of improvements gamers can expect on October 17.
Diablo 4’s 1.2.0 update patch will bring a host of changes and improvements surrounding Mounts and Nightmare Dungeons. The Nightmare Dungeons have been adjusted so that gamers can earn Nightmare Sigils on completion of the map, rather than having to defeat a boss. Previously players were unable to gain Sigils if there was no big bad waiting for them at the end. As well as this change, all objectives will now feature on the critical dungeon path, which Blizzard hopes will streamline each dungeon and reduce the amount of backtracking.
Owing to player feedback,the mounts inDiablo 4have already seen numerous changesbut the developers felt more work was needed. In the next update, all mounts will see a 15% increase in their base movement speed and gamers will see improved combat when mounted as all ability cooldowns will be reduced by 50%.
Players will no doubt be happy to see the changes being introduced along with the Season of Blood. It is worth noting that Blizzard is also rolling back on some of the changes introduced during the Season of the Malignant. Thelimited inventory space seen inDiablo 4’s Season 1was one of the more controversial changes to the game when Blizzard launched the live service aspect of the RPG. Now stashes will be made available in all small towns with waypoints and players will have the option to search and filter their bounty for better organization.
With Season 1 getting a mixed reception from fans, both the 1.2.0 update and the launch of Season of Blood come at a critical time for theDiablo 4team. The success of Season 2 will not only rely on the above updates but a captivating campaign. That said, Blizzard will be hosting asecondDiablo 4livestreamon October 10 to further entice players back to Lillth’s world.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
