Diablo 4 Season 1 — otherwise known as Season of the Malignant — will bring a whole new threat to Sanctuary, Blizzard announced today. The season will begin in a couple of weeks’ time and will also add a new quest line, power, boss battle, and gear. Season of the Malignant will begin at 10 a.m. PT on July 20.
Diablo 4 Season 1 adds a new form of corruption
Malignant Monsters will be introduced in Diablo 4 Season of the Malignant, which are caused by a new form of Lilith’s corruption. These creatures have lost their minds and kill at random. Through the new quest line, players will team up with a former priest of the Cathedral of Light called Cormond to stop the Malignant from spreading any further.
Slaying partially corrupted enemies will reap Malignant Hearts that can be captured during a ritual with the Cage of Binding — a new item. These can be placed into special sockets on jewelry instead of a normal gem. The new season will introduce 32 Malignant Hearts in four different categories, each with their own unique bonuses.
As well as the new quest line, there will be the new Malignant Tunnels dungeons and a new boss battle in the form of Varshan the Consumed. New gear will be introduced to the in-game shop.
There’s also the Season Journey, which is broken into chapters. Each has quests for players to complete and earn rewards like new Legendary Aspects, a Mastery Title, and a Scroll of Amnesia, which provides a free Skill Tree and Paragon Board reset.
Another battle pass is going to be part of the season, too, and will offer free and premium tracks with plenty of rewards down each path. The free track will include 27 tiers with rewards like Smoldering Ashes, armor transmogs, and titles. Meanwhile, the premium track will offer 90 tiers of rewards, with additional rewards like the Coldiron Armor Set, Warded Mustang Mount, Coldiron Barding Mount Armor, more armor transmogs, weapon skins, and emotes.
