Blizzard just finished a livestream where they talked about a bunch of the new content and gameplay features coming to Diablo 4 Season 1. The first season is called Season of the Malignant and it kicks off on July 20, 2023.
The new seasonal content will include a new questline that features new enemies, new powers, the first ever Season Journey, new legendary items, new boss battle, new unique items, and its first Battle Pass. Season of the Malignant takes place following the events of the main campaign. Players will meet up with a new NPC in the area of Cormand, a former priest from the Cathedral of Light that is trying to stop the spread of the Malignant.
Malignant Monsters is the "dangerous new threat" facing Sanctuary. Blizzard notes that any elite monster will be able to spawn as a Malignant, which will give it extra powers and abilities. Players can defeat these Malignant Monsters by drawing out its corruption and trapping their Malignant hearts. These hearts can then be inserted into rings and amulets.
Blizzard says that to help you defeat these Malignant Monsters, players will get access to new, "stupidly powerful" builds. The power of these builds is increased thanks to the new Malignant powers.
Players looking to partake in this first season will start fresh characters at level 1. You will have needed to complete the main campaign before some of the new features will be made available. The Season Journey is played out across seven chapters. Each chapter will include multiple objectives that can be completed for various rewards. One of those rewards is Favor, which is used to unlock rewards in the Battle Pass. There is both a free track and a premium track to the Battle Pass, with the paid route including exclusive cosmetics.
Ahead of the July 20th kickoff for the first season, Blizzard will drop a new patch on July 18th. This title update includes new items and other balance changes and applies to all of Diablo 4, not just the seasonal content.
This first season is just the start of Blizzard's planned post-release content support for Diablo 4. The team plans to support the game for several years, including at least two expansions, several seasons, and multiple updates.
