Your Diablo 4 characters have just had a weight lifted off their backs. As Diablo 4 season 1 approaches, Blizzard confirms that it’s changed its plans for what it will reset between the seasons, which is great news for both seasonal and alt characters. No longer will you need to wander around Diablo 4 rediscovering every inch of Sanctuary, and you’ll even be handed a nice chunk of renown to kick off each season in the RPG game.
“I think we started off in one place and we’re ending up in another place, which is interesting,” general manager Rod Fergusson says during a campfire chat with four of the game’s lead developers. The initial plans for Diablo 4 renown and progression is that everything would completely reset for a new season, but Fergusson admits, “I think we’re starting to feel with alt character that notion of, oh the fog of war between characters doesn’t feel great, the Lilith Altars don’t necessarily feel great.”
With so many Diablo 4 classes to choose from, who could resist making more than one? Thankfully, that busywork is no more. “The amount of map that you’ve exposed going into the season in the eternal realm (where your current characters are) will be what you see in the season – so you don’t have to go and reveal the map again.” You’ll see the capital city waypoints, too, although you’ll have to revisit them to activate them.
Finding all the Diablo 4 Altars of Lilith is quite a pain too, so the good news is that you won’t have to rediscover them either – the ones you’ve found will stay marked, and you’ll keep the stat bonuses, obol capacity, and the renown claimed from finding each of them. “We’ll preload you that renown,” Fergusson explains, meaning you’ll start on your season one characters with the renown you’ve already earned from map discovery and Altars.
You will still have to clear out dungeons and strongholds, as well as doing some side quests, to max out your renown, however – so you won’t keep all of those high-end renown bonuses like bonus Diablo 4 paragon points out of the gate. However, Fergusson says the team is “continuing to re-evaluate what should and shouldn’t be reset,” so perhaps further changes will come in future seasons.
Honestly, I’m very happy with this change. I quite enjoy the fresh feeling that comes with a seasonal reset, and I’m even content to replay side quests, but I can’t deny that I wasn’t looking forward to working my way through finding all those altars again. Changing this feels like the right choice, and it’s good to see Blizzard’s responsiveness to feedback.
Elsewhere in the video, the team discusses changes to how you’ll keep gems in your Diablo 4 inventory, along with big buffs to Diablo 4 nightmare dungeons that will save you even more time in your post-story blasting. You can also expect on-ground effects to become a little more visible, and there’s a promise of a “chonky patch” in the works – we’ll of course bring you all the details on that when we get them.
In the meantime, get to work on your best Diablo 4 builds with the help of our experts (and Blizzard’s), and make sure you’re up to speed on how the Diablo 4 battle pass will work once it arrives along with the first full season.