Blizzard is currently testing Season 4 on the PTR of Diablo 4. The nearly unanimous opinion in the community is: Everything is better now, Diablo 4 is fun again. However, many are simply waiting for the release and leaving the game for now.
What makes Season 4 better:
- One of the biggest criticisms of Diablo 4 since its release has been the endgame and loot. Blizzard is addressing this now: The loot system will be completely overhauled and new and improved endgame activities will be added.
- The trading system will be significantly expanded; starting with Season 4, you can trade almost all items with other players. However, Uber Uniques will still be bound to you. Materials for summoning Uber bosses will likely become significantly more important.
- Additionally, there will be numerous balance changes to the classes and new items that strengthen previously useless builds. You can find the complete patch notes of the PTR here, along with an overview of the most important information about Season 4:
What players are saying: Since April 2, the PTR of Diablo 4 has been open, and everyone can test the new features of Season 4 on PC. After just the first day, almost all experts were absolutely thrilled.
Just before the end of the testing phase, players are sharing their experiences with the PTR. On Reddit, for example, it says: “I’ve never had so much fun in Diablo 4.” The game is going in the right direction; Blizzard has finally understood what Diablo 4 should be.
The Diablo streamer and critic DarthMicrotransaction (short: DM) goes into more detail in his summary of the new features of Season 4 (via YouTube). He believes that Diablo 4 is now “effectively out of beta.” The points he considers most important are:
- Builds like Summoner Necromancers are finally strong, which has been lacking.
- The new Hellflames are more dangerous, but also significantly more populated. This is how the feature should have been from the start. Farming XP and loot is now ideal here.
- The trading will be reignited as strong items for crafting and bossing as well as crafting materials become more important and tradable.
With Season 4, Diablo 4 now has a strong core to build upon. DM summarizes his impression as follows:
All in all, I have a very positive view of what I have seen on the PTR. […] This should have been the launch of the game; now they are coming back from a deficit and building on it. We still need to see how the mechanics of Season 4 interact, whether there is more planned or if the PTR already represents the entire Season 4. […] The foundation of the game is now significantly more solid.
DarthMicrotransaction
Blizzard has not yet shown the theme of Season 4 on the PTR because the fundamental changes are supposed to be in focus. According to data miners, the Iron Wolves from Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 are set to play a role (via wowhead).
Season 4 is so good that the current Season 3 is losing its appeal for many:
“People are completely quitting Diablo 4 until Season 4 comes”
On Reddit, players share that they have regained their enthusiasm for the game due to Season 4 – which poses a problem. Because in the current Season 3, Diablo 4 simply isn’t that good yet.
Many are therefore simply planning to quit entirely and wait until the new season starts: “I considered returning to Season 3 until Season 4 starts […] but the current version performs horribly.”
Some say they specifically did not play the PTR for this reason. They don’t want to spoil the fun of Season 3 and discovering Season 4 at launch will be much more exciting.
The launch of Season 4 has been postponed by a month due to the PTR and the planned testing of the new features. It will now be released on May 14 instead of the originally planned April. For new players, however, this is an advantage, especially for those who just started with the Game Pass. Here are some tips: Anyone starting Diablo 4 now with the Game Pass should definitely do a few things before Season 4 starts
