The End of Season 2 and the Arrival of Season 3
January 23 is shaping up to be another exciting day for Diablo 4 fans, as the current Season of Blood nears its conclusion.
Diablo 4: Lilith
Diablo 4's Season 3 will begin on January 23, according to its login screen, while Season 2, known as Season of Blood, will end on the same day. Although the approaching Diablo 4 update remains shrouded in mystery, some of its details are known.
Diablo 4's Season of Blood introduced new content such as a fresh vampire hunter questline, new endgame bosses, inventory system improvements, and more. These additions helped Diablo 4 bounce back from steadily decreasing player numbers, as the game's average Steam population increased by 27% in November. This leveled off a bit with a growth of 7% in December, but Diablo 4's development team made it clear that it has plenty more planned for the game's future.
What's in Store for Season 3
Diablo 4's Season 3 goes live on January 23, and although not much is known about what will be included in this update, there are a couple of details that have been made public. Season 3 will introduce The Gauntlet, a new endgame challenge for users to play. However, some believe that Season 3 will need to introduce some meta changes to make this new challenge worthwhile. Diablo 4's approaching update will also introduce leaderboards, a new seasonal dungeon, and changes to Helltides. In the leadup to previous Diablo 4 seasons, its development team sometimes hosted a Campfire Chat to discuss the coming content, but this time around, Blizzard has kept quiet so far. However, Diablo 4's community director recently confirmed that a Campfire Chat would be held before Season 3 is released. Fans should keep their eyes out for additional details leading up to January 23.
Season 3's theme is another still-unknown factor of the future update. Themes are often an important part of Diablo 4's seasons, so fans should expect news on this as well before Season 3 launches.
An approach that will likely be seen in Season 3 is Blizzard's new strategy of prioritizing player enjoyment over addressing immediate balancing issues. Recently, a Diablo 4 developer explained this new approach about how the company plans to balance class builds in the future. Earlier in the game's life cycle, Blizzard heavily nerfed the popular Ball Lightning Sorceress. There was a significant outcry from Diablo 4's community following these changes, which played a part in Blizzard shifting to its new philosophy.
Future Plans and Exciting Features
In addition to Season 3, there are other exciting features for Diablo 4 fans to look forward to. Blizzard plans to release regular content updates throughout 2024, including its quarterly seasonal updates. The major Vessel of Hatred expansion is planned to be released in late 2024.
