Taking down hordes of demons sounds awesome, right? But doing it just 20 minutes after creating your character in a loot-based action RPG feels a little over-the-top. The thrill lies in sensing every step as you grow stronger—without that, the allure of chasing new loot kind of fades away. For a lot of Diablo 4 fans, this ease in the latest season is the crux of the problem.
The folks over at Blizzard have heard the feedback loud and clear. They’re revamping the upcoming season—season 8—to ramp up the difficulty while keeping that all-important sense of fun and progression intact. During a stream today, the developers shared their plans: they want the journey from level 1 to 60 to be a slower, more fulfilling ride, and they’re turning up the heat on the endgame progression.
The game’s first big expansion, Vessel of Hatred, arrived with sweeping changes to progression, but according to design director Colin Finer, “a lot of that kind of went out the window with players blazing through the content.” In this latest season, getting to the max level was taking players just a fraction of the time compared to before. To preserve the essence of the early stages, Blizzard is stretching out the time it takes to conquer the first 25 levels.
Moreover, Legendary items—the crème de la crème of loot—won’t be dropping as frequently on your climb to level 60. Instead, those lower-tier items that often get overlooked are getting a boost in power to bridge the gap. Finer expressed hopes that this adjustment will make the level progression feel “more rewarding and satisfying.”
Turning our attention to the endgame now—the segment of Diablo 4 where you fine-tune your character and crank up the Torment difficulty levels for juicier rewards—that’s set to become more challenging as well. Blizzard notes that 50% of players in the current season reached the highest Torment level in half the usual time. “From a design standpoint, we really envision the hardest Torment tier—right now, Torment 4—to be an aspirational goal, aiming for only about 10% of players to achieve it,” Finer pointed out. So, expect a steep hike in difficulty between Torment levels coming soon.
Season 8 will also revamp the endgame bosses; no more treating them as mere loot dispensers. They’re being redesigned to give players, who’ve finely tuned their builds, a real challenge. Plus, three brand-new bosses are joining the fray, and your stash won’t be overwhelmed by summoning items either. Each of these titans can be tackled without any cost, and upon defeating them, you’ll find a chest that needs a special key to open. Keep an eye out for the new powerhouse boss, Belial, who might just crash your fight unexpectedly.
Players on Battle.net will get the chance to test-drive these changes next week when season 8 hits the PTR, running from March 11 to March 18. The full rollout for season 8 is set for April 29. Enjoy the ride, and good luck with the demon-slaying!
