Season 9 of Diablo 4 is still on the starting blocks, but the community already has a lot to complain about. Especially the new Battle Pass is being criticized, as well as seasonal features.
When does Season 9 start? On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, Season 9 of Diablo 4 will start and bring new content to the ARPG. This includes:
- You will receive Horadric Spells through a seasonal quest line, which will strengthen your builds. There will also be Horadric Gems that you can socket into your gear.
- There are permanent changes to the Nightmare Dungeons. You will find, among other things, Horadric Treasure Chambers (“Strongrooms”) that appear in the dungeons. And in the “Escalating Nightmare Dungeons” you will go through a chain of three connected dungeons where the affixes stack.
- Additionally, new Uniques are coming to the game – one per class. You can find the complete list of the new unique items here.
Of course, there will also be a fresh season journey and a new Battle Pass – and it is precisely this that is currently under heavy criticism. Since Blizzard released an overview graphic for Season 9, almost everything in the community revolves around the controversial Reliquary system.
Old Battle Pass was “a good conclusion for the seasons”
This is what the community says about the new content: Since Season 8, the Diablo 4 community has criticized the new Reliquary system that replaced the old Battle Pass, since many suspected a hidden price increase behind the new Battle Pass.
Even under a Reddit post, the mood is rather tense. User Soulvaki puts it succinctly: Less Platinum upon completion, plus Token grind to unlock items – and when you want to pick something up, a window pops up: “Do you want to spend Platinum [or Token]?” This is simply “extremely unfriendly to players.”
Others miss the old system. Momo616 writes: “Completing the Battle Pass was actually always a good conclusion for the seasons. It always felt like you got something in terms of gameplay for your money.”
In another Reddit post, user Pretty_Opinionated criticizes the Reliquary. For him, it takes away the incentive to return to Diablo 4 at all. He says: The old Battle Pass kept players “engaged.” FrigidNinja78 adds disappointedly: “So they didn’t change the season pass. No emotes, no portals – I bet those are now in the shop.”
“Again boring powers and seasonal gems”
Another point of criticism from the community on Reddit concerns the Horadric Powers that you can earn in Season 9. Many see it simply as a recycling of old content. In Season 7 there were Witch Powers, in Season 8 the Boss Powers, and now there are Horadric Spells.
If you take a look at the roadmap for 2025, you can see that Season 10 will continue with a new power mechanic. Already during the announcement in April 2025, disappointment was palpable: “A whole year of just seasonal powers… uff”, was the consensus.
In addition, Kind_Wheel8420 writes on Reddit: “Another season that I will skip. Again boring powers that will surely cause bugs with the builds, seasonal gems, and still only drip-feed updates for content that should have been revised long ago.” And dang3r-mou53 writes frustrated: “I still hope that the game will become more interesting, but I am slowly giving up hope.”
On Friday, June 27, 2025, there will be an official Blizzard livestream for the new season. Starting at 8 PM (CEST), you can tune in on Twitch or YouTube and get an in-depth look at the content. Whether the team will also address the criticism surrounding the Reliquary remains to be seen. You can find all important information about Season 9, the topic, and all new features in our overview: Diablo 4 Season 9: Release Date, Builds, and New Content
