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Diablo 4 Season 1, called Season of the Malignant, is one of the most anticipated updates in the game this month. The new seasonal content will introduce a new Battle Pass, better rewards, bonuses, and new enemy types revolving around the “Malignance” theme. Each season will have its own theme, and with the latest one, much of the core narrative will revolve around a new corruption called “Malignance.”
Cormond, who is the newest character in the game, knows how to stop it from spreading, and it will be quite interesting to see how the story actually plays out after officially goes live. Below is everything you need to know about Diablo 4’s Season 1, Season of the Malignant.
Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant) release date and time
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Season of the Malignant is set to release on July 20, 2023, at 10 am PT/ 1 pm ET for all regions and all the platforms that the game is available on, including PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant) preload time
You can preload the Season of the Malignant expansion content on July 18. This will be two days before the new season goes live; however, you will not be able to try out the new content before Blizzard makes them live on the 20th.
Fortunately, you can get your hands on Season of the Malignant's new Legendary Aspects and Uniques during this time.
How to play Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant)? Player requirements explored
As the Season of the Malignant’s narrative takes place after the main Diablo 4 campaign is completed, you will not be able to try out the new seasonal content before completing it. Hence, those who haven't been able to beat Lilith so far have a few days remaining in their hands to be able to beat the story if they are looking to try out the seasonal content on day one.
If you have bought the base game you will be eligible to try out the new season for free, and need not purchase the Battle Pass to play the content.
Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant) end date
As each season of the title is expected to last quarterly, Season 1 is expected to end sometime in October. However, a lot of it will depend on Blizzard, and as they are yet to provide an official end date, it’s hard to ascertain if the season will extend beyond October.
What are Malignant mobs in Diablo 4 Season 1?
As mentioned, the Season of the Malignant will revolve around the “Malignance” corruption which will spread all across the sanctuary. This means that Elite mobs in the new season content will have their own Malignant versions and boast new buffs and attacks, making them significantly more powerful.
Upon defeating the mobs, you can get your hands on Malignant Hearts as a drop, and they will act as the season’s unique items allowing you to exploit the new Cage of Binding feature.
This will let you spawn a stronger variant of the enemy, and this time they will arrive with a more powerful mob. If you defeat them, you will get the Caged Heart, which you can slot into Armor and Weapons to get new Malignant Power bonuses in Diablo 4.
This system is much like the base game's Legendary Aspects and Unique Effects mechanic.
How do Malignant Power bonuses work in Diablo 4 Season 1?
Malignant Powers work a lot like Aspect and Unique effects in the game, and you will be able to make them significantly stronger as you make your way through the new seasonal content. Their powers are at their peak in World Tier 4, especially when you get your hands on the rarest ones in the higher-tier Nightmare Dungeons.
With the right bonuses, you can completely overhaul your build as you progress in the levels.
You can get your hands on 32 Malignant Powers, divided into four categories. By breaking down Caged Hearts, you will receive resources to craft Invokers.
Invokers are the items you can take to Malignant Tunnels, which are the new corrupted dungeons in season one. By using these Invokers, you can target farm the Malignant Power bonuses you are going for with your build by spawning bosses that drop them.
Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant) Season Journey and free rewards
Apart from the Battle Pass, you will also get a good deal of free rewards in the game once the new season drops. You will be able to complete various gameplay objectives, and upon doing so, you will get your hands on the Mastery title as well as the Scroll of Amnesia, XP for the Battle Pass tiers, and Legendary Aspects.
The Scroll will let you instantly reset all your skills and the Paragon Board for free, letting you respec your build as many times as you want during the season.
How many Legendary Aspects are there in Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant)
Season of the Malignant will drop with seven new Legendary Aspects and six new Unique Items. They will all be available in the Eternal Realm; hence, the grind for getting all of them is significantly less daunting.
Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant) Battle Pass price and tiers
The Season of the Malignant Battle Pass comes in three distinct tiers, each providing you access to various rewards. However, you will have to invest a fair bit of real-life money to get them.
Here is how much each Battle Pass tier costs in Diablo 4 Season 1:
Free Tier:
- The Basic Battle Pass tier is the free one and will allow players to get their hands on the rewards from the Free Track
Premium Tier:
- Price: 1,000 Platinum (£8.39 / $9.88)
- Will give access to every reward in the Battle Pass.
Accelerated Tier
- Costs: 2,800 Platinum (£20.99 / $24.99)
- Gives access to all Premium rewards, allows 20 tier skips, and provides one exclusive cosmetic.
The Free tier will be the best for those who are just looking to play the game and get stronger instead of investing too much time on Diablo 4 cosmetics.
Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant) Battle Pass rewards
The Battle Pass for Season of the Malignant will have 90 tiers, each with a good deal of rewards. As you progress through the tiers, you will need to obtain Favox XP by completing various seasonal challenges.
While a complete list of Battle pass rewards has not been revealed yet, here are some of the Free Tier rewards that Blizzard has confirmed:
- Season Boosts
- Smoldering Ashes
- Cosmetics
- Emotes
- Emblems
- Gold
- Titles
Here are some of the rewards that are confirmed for the Premium Battle Pass
- Awoken Warded Mustang Mount
- Awoken Coldiron Barding
- Awoken Coldiron Armor Set (All Classes)
- Weapon Transmogs (Class Specific)
- Emotes
- Headstones
- 666 Platinum
What are Smouldering Ashes in Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant)?
Smoldering Ashes are the primary rewards you will get when completing the Battle Pass tiers for free or the premium content. This is the Seasonal currency for Season of the Malignant, and you will be able to use it to fill Urns and exchange them for incredibly powerful items and upgrades that help you progress faster through the new content
Here is a list of the Urns and the powers they provide:
The Urn of Aggression
- Boosts experience earned from Monster kills
The Urn of Bargaining
- Increases Gold earned from sales at vendors
The Urn of Reclamation
- Increases amount of crafting materials gained from salvaged gear
The Urn of Prolonging
- Boosts duration of all Elixers
The Urn of Malignance
- Boosts the rate of Malignant Heart drops
It’s important to note that these Urn buffs are restricted to the season and will reset once the Season of the Malignant ends.
How to unlock Battle Pass tiers faster in Diablo 4 Season 1 (Season of the Malignant)
To unlock the Battle Pass tiers faster in the new season, you must earn Fabots. You can do this by completing the Campaign and Side Quests while at the same time killing as many monsters as possible.
The fastest way will be to complete the seasonal challenges called Season Journey, which will arrive with the new update.
You will also be able to skip the first 20 tiers of the pass by purchasing the Accelerated version for 200 Platinum coins.
