The grind is real (Picture: Blizzard)
Diablo 4 players are furious at Blizzard for forcing them to create new characters each season in order to have access to the battle pass.
While an exact start date for Diablo 4 season 1 is yet to be announced, Blizzard has confirmed its anticipated arrival in late July, alongside the game’s first battle pass.
During a recent developer update livestream, more details were unveiled about what Season 1 will offer, though one thing stood out – seasons in Diablo 4 will follow the pattern set by its predecessor.
This means that players will need to create new characters at the beginning of each season to make progress in the battle pass, with the news angering Diablo 4 veterans and newcomers alike.
Following the livestream, Diablo boss Rod Fergusson took to Twitter to further elaborate on how seasonal updates will function in Diablo 4.
He confirmed that players would have to start fresh with a new seasonal character to access the battle pass, seasonal questlines, and other mechanics.
The replies to Fergusson’s tweet make it abundantly clear that many Diablo players are far from pleased with this information.
A new Diablo 4 player, who recently became a dad, vented his frustration about not having enough time to level up his character before season 1 kicks off.
In response to the tweet, Fergusson offered words of encouragement, urging the player to continue playing. He explained that the new season mechanics and features come into play after completing the campaign.
Another player argued that this approach would not be well-received by the majority of players and went as far as suggesting that many fans would completely abandon the game.
There is no way this is going to fly with most of the player base. Hope you’ve got a Plan B for when MAUs drop 90%.
— Mike (@miketheitguy) June 20, 2023
Another Diablo 4 newbie straight-up declared that they’re not down to grind that hard, especially when they have to start from scratch for season 1.
Screengrab of a player’s tweet (Picture: Twitter)
A ‘casual player’ also made it clear that they would cease playing once the season kicks off, expressing their unwillingness to go through the process of levelling up a character from the same class all over again.
As a casual player, id probably just stop playing once the seasons start. No way I’m going to re level another similar class character. Perhaps another class…
— Techyo (@t3chy0) June 22, 2023
However, veteran fans chimed in, pointing out that this is the norm for most action role-players, including Diablo 3 – implying that Diablo 4 players shouldn’t be too shocked by it.
These replies confuse me. Is this everyone’s first time playing any Diablo game or ARPG?
— Charlie Keane ð³ï¸âð (@xAjido) June 20, 2023
Another player echoed the same sentiment and went as far as expressing their eagerness to dive into the seasonal content, despite juggling a full-time job and fatherhood.
Confused.. is all here new to diablo? I’m eager to run the seasonal! Working full time, got a 7 month old son, and a dog. Soo not much time, but I will still enjoy it, will just take a bit more time. That’s all. Everyone is so stressful these days to complete a game.
— MrZparta (@Lukas61807618) June 21, 2023
The most common response to this argument is that it’s about time for a shake-up, especially considering the significant increase of players following the launch of Diablo 4.
Whether or not Blizzard will yield to the demands for change is unknown, but it’s most likely that season 1 will go forward as intended.
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Diablo 4 players are furious at Blizzard for forcing them to create new characters each season in order to have access to the battle pass.