It appears that Diablo 4 will follow the same seasonal model as its predecessor, and players will have plenty of content to engage with.
Associate game director Joe Piepiora disclosed in an interview the expected duration for completing each season's battle pass for Diablo 4.
He mentioned that currently, completing the entirety of the battle pass in Diablo 4, including the season journey and other content in the game, would require about 80 hours of time investment.
He added that leveling a character up to level 100 might take a little longer than that, depending on how the player approaches the game. His remarks were in response to a question about the expected time needed to finish a season's battle pass in Diablo 4.
According to an interview, more details were disclosed about how the battle pass system will operate in Diablo 4. Each new season will start with a fresh seasonal character beginning at level 1.
Completing season-specific objectives will progress the character along the battle pass and help advance the player to level 100 and get more rewards and Diablo 4 Gold.
As with many games featuring live-service elements, the battle pass in Diablo 4 will include a free track accessible to all players, as well as a premium paid track featuring cosmetic rewards.
Joe Piepiora commented that players who don't wish to participate in the seasonal endgame content can skip it entirely and return when a new story update is released without fear of falling behind.
Related: Best And Worst Things About Diablo 2, Diablo 3 & Diablo 4
The associate game director stressed that Diablo 4's design is not intended to compel players into indefinite play, clarifying that it is primarily an action RPG rather than an MMO.
Instead, the game prioritizes its action gameplay and mechanics over ongoing playtime.
Welcome Back to Hell
During Diablo 4 Open Beta, players were given a preview of the game's live-service elements, which demonstrated Blizzard continued focus on the seasonal model that was successful in Diablo 3.
Blizzard's plans for Diablo 4 include implementing cosmetic-only microtransactions, improving the clan system, refreshing the meta more frequently, making quality-of-life improvements, and introducing new features and questlines with each season.
Players' View
In 2023, the expectation that $60 would purchase a complete game experience is no longer reasonable, as monetization is now a fundamental part of the industry.
This is in line with increases in pricing across various consumer goods, including groceries and movie tickets. Such changes reflect the current state of the industry.
Although I personally don't see much value in the battle pass for Diablo 4 since it mainly offers cosmetic items that don't impact the gameplay, I do appreciate the opportunity for continued funding and new content development that it provides.
I have chosen not to participate in the battle pass myself, but I don't mind benefiting from the choices of others who do. It's ultimately up to each player to decide whether the battle pass is worth it for them.
Some people feel that developers manipulate in-game aesthetics to incentivize players to purchase paid cosmetic items.
While some may view the battle pass as optional, others argue that developers intentionally make in-game items unimpressive in comparison to paid options. Many players care about collecting impressive and unique cosmetic items for their characters.
