Everything you need to know about Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant

During their Developer Update Livestream, Blizzard revealed the commencement of Season 1, titled “Season of the Malignant,” for Diablo 4.

This season introduces the “Malignant” mechanic, which has the ability to transform any Elite into a “Malignant” variant. These Malignant Elites drop Malignant Hearts, which can be inserted into equipment to unleash potent effects.

Diablo IV Season 1

You can collect a total of 32 special powers called “Malignan”. As you progress further in the later stages of Diablo 4, the effects of these powers will become even stronger. To counter the relentless hostility of Malignant Monsters, you must turn their own Hearts against them. By defeating Partly Corrupted enemies, a specific type of Malignant Monster, you can obtain Malignant Hearts as drops. To capture these hearts, you need to perform a ritual using the Cage of Binding, an item obtained during the Season’s Questline. However, be aware that Partly Corrupted enemies are tough opponents and won’t be easily defeated. Attempting to capture the heart will cause the Partly Corrupted enemy to transform into a Fully Corrupted enemy. If you manage to defeat these decayed amalgamations, they will drop a version of the Malignant Heart, which can be placed into special Infested sockets in your Jewelry instead of a Normal Gem.

By successfully finishing chapters of the Season Journey, you can unlock various rewards. These rewards include new Legendary aspects, a Mastery Title, and a Scroll of Amnesia, which grants you a Skill Tree and Paragon Board reset without any cost. Additionally, as you progress through the Season Journey, you’ll also earn favor towards the Battle Pass, allowing you to unlock additional benefits.

Additionally, by obtaining a premium battle pass, you have the opportunity to progress through 90 tiers and unlock exclusive rewards such as Awoken Armor Sets, Mounts & Mount Armor, Platinum, and numerous other enticing items.

There are three categories of Battle Pass: Free, Premium, and Accelerated Battle Pass.

Free Battle Pass*
Premium Battle Pass
Accelerated Battle Pass
FREE BATTLE PASS*
*LICENSE TO COPY OF DIABLO IV REQUIRED.
PREMIUM BATTLE PASS
ACCELERATED BATTLE PASS
BEST VALUE

 

20 Smoldering Ashes

27 Tiers on the Free Track (including Smoldering Ashes, armor transmogs, titles and more)

63 Tiers on the Premium Track (including armor transmogs, weapon skins, emotes and more)

Coldiron Armor Set for each class (Base + Awoken versions)

Warded Mustang Mount (Base + Awoken versions)

Coldiron Barding Mount Armor (Base + Awoken versions)

20 Tier Skips

“On the Warpath” Emote

Seasonal Characters

To participate in Seasons, you need to create a new character in the Seasonal Realm. You don’t have to purchase a Battle Pass or any additional content to play in the Seasonal content. However, you must have completed the campaign on either the Eternal or Seasonal Realm with at least one character. Once you have finished the Campaign, any Seasonal character will have the following advantages:

– The option to skip the Campaign.
– Immediate access to your Mount.
– All previously discovered Altars of Lilith unlocked, along with the corresponding Renown.
– All previously explored areas of the map revealed, along with the corresponding Renown.

At the end of the Season, the character you created and its progress will be transferred to the Eternal Realm. All the items you collected, including those in your Seasonal stash, will be transferred as well. You can continue to play with this character in Sanctuary whenever you want, but certain Season-specific features like Malignant Hearts will no longer be accessible.