Diablo IV's first season has arrived and with it comes the question - what in the world are seasons? In this guide we're going to go over everything you need to know about seasons in Diablo IV and how your characters will work.

The most important thing though? You will be starting from scratch, but some progress will carry over to your new characters.

What Are Diablo IV Seasons?

Seasons are quarterly resets of characters that introduce new mechanics, content, and balance to the game. Each season takes place in a "realm", with characters and stashes in other realms being unable to access seasonal content. Seasons are a way to let players regularly start from scratch, not requiring to complete the campaign again though, seeing who can build power the fastest and giving us new ways to enjoy the game.

Seasons have unique mechanics that are specific to that season. These change gameplay and will keep things feeling fresh in Sanctuary. After a season concludes, these features will be retired.

If you've played previous games in the Diablo series, Seasons in Diablo IV are much like Seasons in Diablo III, though compared to Diablo II's Ladder Resets, there is a bit more going on.

Are Diablo IV's Seasons Free?

Yes! There are no additional purchases required to take part in seasonal gameplay, however, to access seasonal content, you must finish the campaign on either a character on the Eternal Realm, or any Seasonal Realm. Once you have finished the campaign on any character, seasonal content will unlock for the current season and all future seasons.

What Happens When a Season Ends?

There are a few things you can expect to happen when a season ends:

• Your characters will be transferred to the Eternal Realm.
• All gear in your seasonal stash will transfer to the Eternal Realm.
• Seasonal-specific features will no longer be available.
• A new season will begin.

How Do Seasonal Characters Work?

At the start of a new season, everyone that wants to take part in the new realm will need to create a new character. Luckily, we aren't starting from scratch! The following is true for anyone that has completed the campaign on the Eternal Realm or a previous Seasonal Character:

• You can skip the campaign.
• Mounts will immediately be available
• Altars of Lilith are unlocked, including the Renown earned by them.
• Any area of the map you have previously discovered will be available, including the Renown earned.

That's a few of the most annoying concerns out of the way, so bring on new characters!

Do Seasons Have a Battle Pass?

Yes. The Season Journey and Battle Pass are a large part of the seasonal content.

The Battle Pass is an optional purchase, with some free tiers being available.

• There are 90 Tiers in the Battle Pass.
  • 27 can be completed for free with no additional purchase.
  • Smoldering Ashes are earned from free tiers, which can be used to buy  Season Blessings.
  • The paid pass tiers offer cosmetic rewards.
• Battle Passes do not offer bonuses to power.

Season Journeys on the other hand aren't a purchase at all buy a baseline feature of seasons. These will have you take part in various tasks around Sanctuary, such as collecting a number of a certain herb or completely a number of dungeons. Journeys are organized by chapters with each chapter providing rewards and entry into the next chapter as you complete chapter objectives. Diablo III players who took part in seasons there will feel at home.

Additionally, if you purchased the Digital Deluxe edition or the Ultimate Edition of Diablo IV, your first season battle pass can be activated for free. Just visit the Season section in the shop.

What Are Diablo IV's Seasons Blessings?

Seasons Blessings are season-long bonuses that are applied to your characters in that season. Purchased through the freely available Smoldering Ashes on the free Battle Pass, Seasons Blessings offer the following types of bonuses:

• Bonuses to experience gains.
• Extra Gold drops.
• More Murmuring Obol drops.

Blizzard's Thoughts on Diablo IV Seasons

Seasons provide us with an opportunity to introduce innovative gameplay mechanics into Sanctuary for a limited time. Because Seasons reset, we can create crazy, fun Season themes without needing to worry about balancing it with the mechanics introduced in past or future Seasons—we start from a strong Eternal Realm baseline and build on top of it.

Seasons are also a place for players to explore and tinker. We encourage you to try a new Class or different builds for a Class you’ve grown fond of—our Seasons are a chance to get creative!

Additionally, Seasons present an equal playing field. Our Seasons are designed for new characters to conquer the nightmarish challenges brought on by a Season’s theme and to progress through the Seasonal Journey together.

You're now ready to take on seasons in Diablo IV. What class are you starting with?