Diablo 4 gets a massive, game-altering patch ahead of its first season

While some gamers still haven’t completed Diablo 4’s campaign, others have already reached the maximum level and have been longing for the first season of Blizzard’s epic action RPG for weeks. The time is almost here and we have answers to your most important questions.

When does Diablo 4 season one start and how long does a season actually last?

The first season of Diablo 4 will start on July 20, though an exact time is not yet known. According to the developers, a season should last around 12 weeks, with the first season ending on October 4. In Diablo 3, a season usually lasted 18 to 20 weeks. So unless Blizzard builds in significantly longer breaks between seasons, they will change much more frequently in Diablo 4.

Further reading: Diablo 4 interview: The inspirations that fueled Blizzard’s epic action RPG

What’s new in season 1?

The first season brings a whole range of new content to Diablo 4:

• New quest line
• Over 30 new traits
• New boss fight
• Six new unique items
• Seven new aspects
• Seasonal Journey: Staggered challenges with rewards

The first season also sees the launch of the controversial Battlepass, which can be used to unlock additional cosmetic content over the course of the season after a one-off purchase.

But even apart from that, there will be a lot changes in Sanctuary. Depravity is rampant and that’s why Blizzard calls this the “Season of the Malignant”. During the first season, elite enemies can appear as “malignant” variants and drop malignant hearts. These can then be socketed into items like gems. Similar to the aspects of legendary items, socketed hearts add new properties to your player, with over 30 coming with the update. Boss hearts can be farmed through special dungeons and cannot be removed from items, only replaced with another heart.

When is the patch coming and is there a preload?

In preparation for the first season, Blizzard will be performing extended maintenance on the servers and then releasing the patch. The maintenance will take place over three hours on July 18, with the exact time depending on your location. After the work has been completed, you can download the patch and start playing immediately. Even though the season does not officially begin until July 20, you’ll be able to access some of the new content once you’ve installed the patch. You probably won’t be able to create a seasonal character until the official start of the season, however.

How big is the patch and are there any changes to game balancing?

Although there is no official information so far, we assume that the season patch will be several gigabytes in size. It seems obvious given the abundant new content as well as the many bug fixes and changes that come along with the patch — you can read the full, ginormous patch notes here. No build is safe!