By 
Diablo IV season 1, the Season of the Malignant, is almost here, bringing a wealth of new content with it! Here’s what we know about it, including its release date. It all begins on July 20, 2023.
When does Diablo IV Season 1: Season of the Malignant release?
Very soon! Season of the Malignant is set to drop on July 20, 2023. The Season 1 patch will actually release on July 18, 2023, and brings improvements, balance and rewards changes, and new Legendary and Unique items to Diablo IV. This patch is the largest patch to date.
You won’t be able to create a new seasonal character or access the Battle Pass until Season of the Malignant officially kicks off, though.
How long is Diablo IV Season of the Malignant?
Each Diablo IV season lasts 90 days, meaning it will end on or around October 18, 2023.
What is the theme of Season 1: Season of the Malignant?
Diablo IV season 1 centers around the Malignant, a corruption that swept across Sanctuary. As you move through the world, you’ll encounter Elite Malignant enemies that drop Malignant Hearts upon defeat.
These Elite Malignant foes are covered in large growths and are more challenging. If you bring a Cage of Binding, you’ll encounter an even tougher version that drops a Caged Heart once defeated. This is an incredibly rare item that slots into gear, providing powerful buffs.
There are five types of Caged Hearts, each corresponding to a colored socket on seasonal weapons and armor. If you don’t want a certain Caged Heart, you can salvage it to obtain an Invoker. Invokers are used to farm specific Caged Hearts in Malignant Tunnels.
You’ll want to farm Caged Hearts to create season-exclusive builds using Malignant Powers that you won’t be able to replicate on the Eternal Realm. There are 32 of these powers to play around with.
Is Season of the Malignant a continuation of the main campaign?
No. Season of the Malignant is a standalone, self-contained story that does not continue the events of Diablo IV‘s main campaign.
You must complete the main campaign first before you can access the Season of the Malignant content, though. This includes all six Acts and the Epilogue and Prologue.
Once you have, you can choose to skip the campaign entirely upon starting a new seasonal character if you don’t want to run through it again. Once the season ends, your seasonal character will transfer to the Eternal Realm.
Does my region progress carry over?
Yes! Your Altars of Lilith, Renown earned, and map reveal progress all carry over into your seasonal character. This means that if you have unlocked Renown rewards for a region, such as Skill Points and extra Potions, they’ll carry over from your Eternal character.
Before starting a seasonal character, make sure you load up your Eternal Realm character first, as the game needs to verify what it needs to transfer over. Once you’ve logged in, you can back out to the main menu and create a new Season 1 character.
What about the Diablo IV Battle Pass? How does that work?
The Season of the Malignant Battle Pass is separated into seven sections and levels up using Favor. As you earn Favor by completing activities across Sanctuary, you’ll be able to claim seasonal rewards such as cosmetics you can use for transmogs—and even Platinum if you pay for the Premium Battle Pass.
You can only earn Favor toward the Battle Pass on a seasonal character, but any cosmetic transmog rewards also carry over to your Eternal Realm characters.
Image via Blizzard Entertainment
Diablo IV is available now on the PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One, and the season 1 Season of the Malignant releases on July 20, 2023.
