Diablo 4 ‘Season of Blood’ is now LIVE and available on Steam, here’s everything new (Update)

Blood, hellfire and UI improvements are coming.

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What you need to know

Update (October 17, 2023):Precisely 2 hours and 10 minutes after the intended launch, Diablo 4 Season of Blood is now available to play, and Diablo IV is now officially on the Steam store to purchase (with a 25% discount no less). Due to a technical problem, crossplay is not currently available between PC and console but the team is working to resolve this.Go forth and hunt vampires!

Update (October 17, 2023):Blizzard has delayed the launch of Season of Blood by “a few hours” to remedy some “complications.” We’ll update this article with the proper start time when we get it!

We’ve encountered some complications and will be delaying Season of Blood’s start time a few hours to remedy these issues.We’ll share updates as soon as we have them. We appreciate your patience.October 17, 2023

Though Diablo 4 only launched in June, we’re already on the cusp of its second season of content.Season of Blood kicks off October 17and some are touting it as the game’s last chance to appease the fanbase. While the game enjoyed astellar launch period, andincredible base game, it’s undeniable that the introduction of seasonal content has put the brakes on Diablo 4’s trajectory within the fandom.Blizzard appears to be taking things seriously, and held the first of two livestreams earlier in October 2023 to address all the changes being introduced into the game in time for its second season launch. Changes they hope will bring back the players and satiate our loot-lusting desires. With new powers, endgame bosses, dungeon shake-ups, and the ability to farm Uber Uniques for the first time, will these changes be enough to redeem Diablo 4?

Diablo 4 Season of Blood goes live October 17, 2023 at 1PM ET, 7PM BST UK. This is also when the game goes live on Steam for the first time.

A change is gonna come

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So, what changes are coming along with Diablo 4 Season of Blood? We already had asneak previewat Gamescom but following last night’s developer livestream, we have more details. The panel, made up of Joseph Piepiora (Associate Game Director), Antonio Watson (Associate Game Designer), Joe Shely (Game Director) and Community Lead Adam Fletcher did a deep dive into all the juicy details.

A bloodthirsty new foe and story

As promised, each season brings new tidbits of lore and story to the Diablo universe, and the Season of Blood will introduce a new enemy.Before humans inhabited Sanctuary, it was populated by the firstborn children of angels and demons (you can read more about this inmy bumper lore guide). These were The Ancients. Rathma is an Ancient, the first Nephalem for those who have played the game(Diablo 4 seems hell-bent on not using this phrase.)A new character, Lord Zir is an ancient vampire. Recent events in Sanctuary have reawakened him and his blood lust. His cult of vampiric minions has been abducting innocents from all over Sanctuary to use in their dark rituals.During the progress of this new story, the player will contract a vampiric curse but not be under the control of Lord Zir, allowing them to use these powers against him and his minions. We’ll be aided by a band of vampire hunters, led by Erys who is voiced by Gemma Chan.We’ll revisit familiar places from the campaign that have been taken over by Lord Zur’s cult, and these environments will change to reflect this. In addition, we’re getting a new dungeon to look forward to in the form of Lord Zur’s lair.You’ll acquire vampiric powers by defeating Blood Seekers and minions of Lord Zir  to acquire ‘potent blood’. This in turn allows you to unlock and upgrade your vampiric powers.

Pact Armor and vampiric powers

Vampiric powers need strong armor and weapons to wield effectively, which is where Pact Armor comes in. There are three pacts: Ferocity, Divinity, and Eternity and you’ll need to match your new powers to the proper armor to unleash hell on Lord Zur’s cult following.Pacts are attached to chest armor, pants, gloves, boots, and helms. If you don’t have the right Pacts equipped on your gear, standalone Pacts and Cleansing Acids can be used to customize your armor to your requirements. These will drop as crafting items from Blood Seekers, and other seasonal events.There are 22 Vampiric Powers, ranging from Minor to Major in terms of the cost of Pacts you will need to have equipped to use them.

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Blood Harvest Seasonal Event

Behaving in a similar way to Helltides, the Blood Harvest is a Seasonal only event that will spawn in the Dry Steppes, Hawezar, and Scosglen regions of Sanctuary and reap the best rewards for players looking to upgrade their vampiric powers and hunt down Pact Armor.While their appearance may be similar to the Helltides, Blood Harvests will appear for the player from level 1 and there will always be one active on the map at any one time. Farming these areas will give you Blood Lures, Vampyric Keys and other crafting materials and currencies that will stay with you permanently and not leave your inventory at the end of the harvest. As you complete events within the Blood Harvest, you can earn Hunters Acclaim, a progress board available in town from which you can claim more rewards.

New endgame bosses and unique items

Endgame has had a bunch of new content added with the Season of Blood, and Diablo 2 fans in particular will be happy to see the return of Duriel. A new batch of Uber difficulty endgame bossess await us, along with items that drop uniquely from them on defeat. These bosses will be available on both the Seasonal Realm and the Eternal Realm from World Tier 3 and above.Not all are chance encounters, and you’ll need to meet certain requirements before facing these fearsome new foes.

Quality of Life improvements

New season excitement aside, the developers weren’t just there to talk about the Season of Blood, but they addressed a whole slew of improvements coming to the game as a direct result of community feedback since launch. Strap in…

Changes specifically to Towns and Vendors were detailed as follows:

Much needed improvements have been made to the mounts:

Nightmare dungeons and sigils are also getting an overhaul.

My personal favorite part of the update, is the changes to World Event times. Finally, as a working parent, I’ll be able to actually engage with some of these activities. Previously World Boss spawns for UK players were at ludicrous times of the day so if you have a job and/or children you rarely had a chance to participate.

Endgame activities have also received some improvements to make them more rewarding:

User Experience (UE) and User Interface (UI) changes

When Icriticised the speed in which Season 1 launched, one of my main points of contention was the UI, especially around inventory management. I wasn’t the only one grumbling about this, and Blizzard are listening, with a whole section of the developer stream dedicated to the UI/UX changes being implemented with the Season of Blood.

So what do we think?

I’m a self-confessed Diablo fanatic, but even I had toquit Season 1 of Diablo 4due to the monotony and burnout. The things I loved about the game were overshadowed by the glaring issues with the delivery ofSeason of the Malignant. However, after taking a break, I’m ready to return for Season 2. The stream last night was amazing in both detail and delivery, and I was impressed by the improvements they announced. It was clear to me that the developers have not just listened to the community, but they’ve played the game themselves to identify and fix the problems.I’m not expecting Season 2 to be flawless, but I’m confident that Diablo 4 is heading in the right direction. The developers will keep learning and improving to give us the best experience possible. After all, Diablo 2 and 3 were not perfect in their first year either, and it’s easy to forget their flaws after years of updates. Diablo 4 will get there eventually, and I’m happy to stick along for the ride.Season 2 will also bring new life to Diablo 4 with itsrelease on Steam. Expect a deeper dive into Unique item changes, resistances, and more. I’m excited to sink my teeth, into Season of Blood on October 17.

Jen is a News Writer for Windows Central, focused on all things gaming and Microsoft. Anything slaying monsters with magical weapons will get a thumbs up such as Dark Souls, Dragon Age, Diablo, and Monster Hunter. When not playing games, she’ll be watching a horror or trash reality TV show, she hasn’t decided which of those categories the Kardashians fit into. You can follow Jen on Twitter@Jenbox360for more Diablo fangirling and general moaning about British weather.