Unveiling Diablo 4's Epic Battle Pass: Redefining Launch Criticisms
Diablo 4's Season of the Malignant Battle Pass disappoints with its emphasis on tier skips, undermining the immersive gameplay experience Players feel pushed towards making additional purchases instead of enjoying the organic progression
Highlights
Players of Diablo 4 are left disappointed by the slow and burdensome progression of the game's first season battle pass, which focuses on cosmetic rewards. To advance through the battle pass, players must engage in various activities and collect Favor, a specific in-game currency. However, the process of accumulating Favor proves to be time-consuming and monotonous.Blizzard appears to have crafted the battle pass in a way that caters primarily to hardcore players or those inclined to make purchases for tier skips. This approach may inadvertently isolate casual fans due to its heavy reliance on microtransactions.
The inaugural season of Diablo 4 has finally arrived, unveiling a rather lackluster battle pass. Despite the intriguing new Malignant feature, the supplementary cosmetics and progression system leave something to be desired. Much to the disappointment of many players, the entire season revolves around laborious grinding in pursuit of Diablo 4's inaugural battle pass, falling short of their initial expectations.
How Diablo 4's Battle Pass Pushes Players Toward Tier Skips
Diablo 4's battle pass operates similarly to other battle passes in the gaming industry. However, it feels significantly slower compared to its counterparts. Unlocking the next tier can be a time-consuming process, particularly due to the elongated seasonal journey objectives. The entire system exhibits a sluggish pace, which is unfortunate but possibly intentional. Unfortunately, this may result in criticisms akin to those faced by Diablo 4 upon its initial release, as the first battle pass includes a limited amount of earnable Silver that incentivizes players to spend more money. Additionally, the substantial playtime requirement may pressure players into purchasing tier skips.
The Season of the Malignant battle pass in Diablo 4 offers players a whopping 90 tiers of cosmetic rewards to acquire. These enticing items encompass a variety of goodies, from simple emotes and weapon skins to multiple complete armor sets. With an abundance of content up for grabs, players can expect to invest months of gameplay in their pursuit to unlock everything. For interested participants, there is an option to claim 27 tiers for free, but for those looking to dive into the entire offering, a $10 investment will commence their journey.
The battle pass in Diablo 4 follows a similar structure to previous battle passes. However, the progression can be quite tedious. Players can only unlock new tiers by collecting a currency called Favor. The most straightforward way to earn Favor is by killing monsters and completing quests on seasonal characters. However, this method can feel slow as these activities do not yield a lot of Favor. Instead, players may prefer to focus on the new Season Journey feature to make progress in their battle pass.
In Diablo 4, the Season Journey serves as the main hub for battle pass objectives. It is divided into seven chapters, each containing multiple challenges. These challenges offer a small amount of Favor but may take some time to complete. Once players have completed the majority of challenges within a chapter, they will receive a significant amount of Favor, resources, titles, and Legendary Aspects.
Blizzard has not made earning Favor feel fast, despite its seemingly easy acquisition. The Season Journey challenges often involve extensive travel throughout Sanctuary, requiring players to reach specific levels, complete multiple dungeons, conquer difficult content, and even participate in PvP. These tasks take considerable time to complete, and the amount of Favor required for the next tier is not readily apparent.
The Diablo 4 battle pass seems to be designed primarily for hardcore players or those willing to spend money on tier skips. Players have the option to purchase an accelerated battle pass, which includes 20 tier skips for $25, or they can purchase individual tier skips for 200 Platinum as they progress through the pass. While players who can dedicate around 80 hours to Diablo 4 may be able to progress without spending any money, others may feel compelled to purchase some tier skips in order to keep up.
Diablo 4's Season of the Malignant has been a turbulent journey thus far, and the inclusion of this battle pass is not improving the experience. Furthermore, players have noticed that the pass fails to provide enough Platinum to purchase even the most inexpensive cosmetics from the store. It gives the impression that the sole purpose of the pass is to entice players into spending additional money on microtransactions, potentially encouraging them to purchase a small silver pack just to acquire enough currency for a store item. Instead of captivating gamers, this battle pass design runs the risk of alienating fans on a large scale.
Diablo 4 can be played on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
