Diablo 4 is gearing up for its biggest post-launch event yet: the upcoming release of the Lord of Hatred expansion. As was the case with Vessel of Hatred before it, expansion releases alter the seasonal flow in a few ways, and Blizzard has now explained how.
The game’s next season – its 13th – has been officially revealed as Season of Reckoning. The new season will kick off alongside the expansion’s release next week, and will be available to all players, just like all previous seasons.
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Although Season of Reckoning will roll out as normal, the season itself won’t be as meaty, at least when it comes to the sort of gameplay mechanics and themes players have come to expect from each new season.
You’ll still find the normal Season Rank chase, Smoldering Ashes, and various rewards at each chapter. Season Blessings will also return, but that’s about it for progression outside of the game itself. If it’s any consolation, there are more goals and objectives to tackle this season.
The even better news is that, according to Blizzard, future seasons will follow the classic format, which makes sense. The new season will come with a battle pass, of course, featuring four Reliquaries, as usual. The first Reliquary is free, while the others are paid.
Blizzard has also confirmed the the pre-load for Lord of Hatred is available now on all platforms. Even if you’re not getting the expansion, patch 3.0.0’s pre-load includes all expansion content regardless, so you may as well pre-download it to be ready for April 27/28. On launch day, you’ll also need to download a smaller patch, version 3.0.1.
In case you missed it, we published our Lord of Hatred review earlier in the week. Give it a read if you’re curious about the expansion’s impact on the narrative, and how it changes core Diablo 4 gameplay.