What’s included with the Diablo 4 battle pass? A Diablo 4 battle pass is coming with the game’s launch in just a few weeks, giving people many reasons to play this awesome-looking, long-awaited sequel. On a recent livestream, a team of developers shared what players could expect when the battle pass comes to the game after its launch. Fans of the series have been deeply curious about developer Blizzard Entertainment’s plans for monetisation.
Here’s everything we learned about the forthcoming Diablo 4 battle pass, including its various tiers, costs, cosmetics info, opportunities for paid progression, and more in Blizzard’s action RPG.
Diablo 4 battle pass overview
First and foremost, Diablo 4’s development team wants you to know, “You can’t pay for power in Diablo 4.” The developers reiterated this several times during the livestream, while extrapolating on the mechanic that will prevent people from being able to pay to tier up their characters throughout the game. Players can expect about 80 hours of gameplay required to completely level up the battle pass.
The team then explained that there will be two battle pass tiers: a free one, which consists of 27 tiers, and a premium battle pass, which consists of 63 tiers. This amounts to 90 tiers, and players will have about three months to fully complete battle pass progression. The progression system is visualized at the bottom of the image below.
The free tier is open to all players who own the game, and they can earn rewards after reaching certain levels. The paid tier contains only cosmetics, which include two full armor sets, a seasonal mount, and mount armor. If you play the game and choose to purchase the battle pass later in the season, your progress toward the paid battle pass tier is retroactive, meaning you can gain all rewards you would have previously earned.
Players will still have the option to purchase battle pass tiers as part of an accelerated option. They will generally progress the battle pass by creating Favor, which they’ll get by performing activities throughout the game world as part of the Season Journey. Tied to the game’s seasonal content, the Season Journey is designed specifically to help players level up their battle passes, regardless of whether they’re on the free or paid battle pass track.
Does the Diablo 4 battle pass include tier skips?
To prevent players from paying for power, the team announced it will implement a currency called Smoldering Ash. Smoldering Ash is a type of currency used to purchase Season Blessings, which will accelerate seasonal progress. Smoldering Ash is not transferrable between seasons, meaning players will not be able to hoard their Smoldering Ash to gain a boost for the following season.
Smoldering Ash will only be granted through actual progression in the game and is tied to leveling. This means that even if you pay for battle pass rewards up through a certain tier, your power level won’t automatically increase because you haven’t earned the Smoldering Ash required to allow you to properly level. This also means you do not need to have the seasonal battle pass to earn Blessings, as you only earn Smoldering Ash with the free tier. Instead, you need to earn the Favor to get to those free tiers, ultimately reinforcing the notion that you cannot pay for power.
Season Blessings that you can purchase with Smoldering Ash include things such as XP boosts that make levelling multiple characters faster, Gold, or Obols, and it’s up to them how they choose to spend their Smouldering Ash. Players will be able to have more than one Blessing active at a time and will also be able to upgrade the Season Blessings they chose. However, any bonuses gained from Season Blessings will only last until the Season ends, indicating the battle pass cycle will also begin again each season.
“Since Season Blessings affect gameplay, you must meet certain Character Level requirements to claim the Smoldering Ashes needed to apply Blessings,” a blog post following the dev stream reiterates. “This ensures they are earned by achieving gameplay requirements and there is no advantage gained from purchasing Tier Skips.”
Players who want to purchase the battle pass can expect it to run about $10 (just under £8) but can pay for an accelerated pass that grants 20 free battle pass levels for around $25 (a little under £20), though notably does not grant any Smoldering Ash as this currency is tied to the free track. The accelerated pass will also include a “Wings of the Creator” emote.
Diablo 4 battle pass seasons
Diablo 4 is going to continue the series’ seasonal format, which is ongoing in Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 as well. However, the developers have been very clear that the seasonal content will explore and open new storylines and quests that deviate from the main campaign content. Players should think of the seasonal content as separate experiences from the campaign. The team also shared during the livestream that players could expect the season to begin “mid-to-late July.” Each season will be based on a theme, and seasonal content will be account-bound, meaning you can apply it to future characters. Players can expect four seasons per year.
Presumably, this also means that the first battle pass won’t be available until the launch of the seasonal content, given that its content appears to be tied to seasonal progression. However, players who play the game on launch will be able to play through the campaign and will also have access to purchasable cosmetics in the game’s shop. Those who have completed the campaign with one character can also choose to skip it on any additional characters.
That’s everything we know about the Diablo 4 battle pass, coming to the game on the heels of the hotly-anticipated game’s launch in June. In the meantime, you may want to check out our guide to Diablo 4 beta release dates as there’s one coming up just around the corner, which is completely free to anyone interested in playing the game. And, if you want more info on the game itself, keep an eye on our Diablo 4 release date and all the info on the forthcoming game.
