Diablo 4 has finally revealed its first season and what new content players can expect to see with it at its developer update showcase today. Diablo 4 season 1 is The Season of the Malignant, and it sees Activision Blizzard bring an even darker twist to the RPG game‘s Sanctuary than before, with the addition of new enemy types, powers, and more. We also now have a concrete release date for Diablo 4‘s first season, and it turns out we won’t have to wait much longer to face off against the game’s newest threats.
The first and most important change brought by the Season of the Malignant is its new enemy type. Elite enemies can now spawn as malignant, meaning that they will be a more powerful version of their usual selves. Upon killing one of these malignant enemies, they will drop Malignant Hearts which you can pick up. These Malignant Hearts can then be interacted with by use of the Cage of Binding to initiate another fight with a more difficult version of the dead enemy. Once you beat this harder version, you can obtain a Caged Heart.
Caged Hearts can be used as gems inserted into sockets of gear so as to create new powers. There are 32 of these malignant powers in total coming with the first season, and you will need to match specific heart types to colored sockets in your jewelry to be able to use them. The developers specified that you can take part in new events to farm for specific Malignant Hearts if you need a particular power. Each of the 32 new powers has been said to allow for “kind of stupid, new broken builds that are hopefully balanced” as devs referred to them as “extremely powerful.”
Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant is releasing on Thursday, July 20, which means you only have a couple of weeks left to prepare for Sanctuary’s new malignant enemies and their accompanying content. It’s important to note that you will only have access to the battle pass and seasonal journey once you have beaten the campaign and created a new character. The Season of the Malignant is also bringing in new bosses, legendary items, unique items, and more to Diablo 4 when it arrives later this month.
Be sure to check out our guides on some of the strongest Diablo 4 builds to help get your character ready for the new season. You can also browse through our full look at the Diablo 4 endgame and what it has to offer right now.