Seasonal resets have become a controversial point in the Diablo 4 community after plenty of new players learned that they would need fresh characters for Season 1. Eternal characters will always be available to play, but only the Seasonal characters will be able to participate in all the new events, which is where all the fun is.
Of course, the thought of starting all over isn’t appealing to players unfamiliar with ARPGs or Diablo in general. The fact that the Battle Pass can’t be progressed with an Eternal realm character makes it sting even worse for players who are new to the genre.
With that said, Seasonal characters and content are what makes ARPs like Diablo 4 so fun to play over time. Diablo might not be a game for you if you hate the idea of starting over, and that’s totally fine. Not every game is for every player.
You Don’t Need to Play Every Game
Without seasons, Diablo 4 already has tons of content. If you have been playing since launch, you likely already have dozens of hours invested. Anyone who buys the base game can get more than their money’s worth in content by getting a single character to level 100. And for many players, that could easily be the end of the road.
Although Diablo 4 is set to be a live service game, that doesn’t mean everyone needs to stick with the game. If you feel like grinding all over again is too much of a chore, or that finding the armor you want is too time-consuming, you may not be a fan of the genre. In that case, there are plenty of other games to try. Something like an MMO or even Destiny 2 tends to be a better use of time for permanent characters.
Related: How to Farm Unique Items in Diablo 4
These kinds of grievances toward a genre are nothing new, and even remind me of the call for difficulty settings in games like Dark Souls. Changing seasonal resets in Diablo or adding difficulty options in Dark Souls fundamentally changes many of the core values that players enjoy in these games. When they are changed, they become a different game for a different community.
Diablo 4 simply isn’t an MMO, so hoping that it becomes one will only lead to disappointment when there are tons of games that could fill that void.
Why are Seasonal Characters Integral to Diablo 4?
I have heard this sentiment repeated many times and I have to agree: Diablo is about the journey not the destination. That’s a cliche in most cases, but it couldn’t be more true for the genre. End-game content is not the goal for your character each season, and releasing content made for permanent characters wouldn’t make sense.
Each Season is all about adding new items and changing characters so that builds feel fresh, while also giving players some new ways to grind out their characters. In essence, the game in Diablo 4 is the grind. Once you reach the maximum level, that’s the end of the road for a lot of players until the next season starts.
There is a reason an influx in players happens every few months for ARPs, and it’s because a massive part of the community returns to create another fresh character for yet another Season, starting from the bottom once again. This is the same kind of reset that brings players back to extraction shooters, and it’s the same fun that always makes a fresh MMO so exciting.
I will admit, the Battle Pass should probably be available to level for any character, especially with the price point for a lot of players. However, the whole community should give Season 1 a chance, with a brand new character to grind, before getting too dead set on ARPGs needing a change.
In the meantime, everyone at Prima decided to vote on who has the best outfit in Diablo 4, so make sure to check that out as we get into Season 1.
