Diablo 4: What Carries Over Between Seasons? A Comprehensive Guide
The world of Diablo 4 is constantly evolving, and with each new season comes a fresh start. However, not everything is lost when the season changes. Certain progress elements persist, granting returning players a head start. So, what exactly carries over? The key elements that transfer between seasons are map exploration progress and Altar of Lilith discoveries. This means any areas you’ve uncovered on the map and any Altars of Lilith you’ve activated in previous seasons will remain revealed and active for your new seasonal characters. This translates to immediate Renown gains, skill points, and permanent stat boosts, allowing you to jump straight into the new seasonal content.
Map Exploration & Altars of Lilith: The Cornerstones of Carryover
The decision to carry over map exploration and Altar of Lilith progress was a significant one for Blizzard. It addresses player feedback about the repetitive nature of re-exploring the same areas and re-collecting the same Altars with each new season. These are the two major items that carry over that affect character development in a great way.
Map Exploration: Unveiling Sanctuary Anew
Any areas of the map you’ve revealed during previous seasons will remain revealed for your new seasonal characters. This provides a significant advantage, as you’ll immediately have access to a wider range of dungeons, waypoints, and quest locations. More importantly, it contributes to your Renown progress in each region, unlocking valuable rewards such as skill points and potion capacity upgrades.
Altars of Lilith: Permanent Power Boosts
The Altars of Lilith scattered throughout Sanctuary offer permanent stat boosts to all your characters. Once you’ve activated an Altar, its benefits – such as increased Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, or Willpower – are applied to every character you create, including those in new seasons. These permanent stat boosts carry over, making your new seasonal characters noticeably stronger from the outset. This is a major advantage, especially in the early game.
Renown Gains from Carryover Progress
The Renown system in Diablo 4 rewards players for completing various activities in each region, such as completing quests, clearing dungeons, and discovering new areas. Discovering Altars of Lilith and revealing the map are important items for gaining Renown, which carries over to the new season. Because map exploration and Altar discoveries carry over, you’ll automatically receive the corresponding Renown points at the start of each season. This jumpstarts your Renown progress, allowing you to quickly unlock valuable rewards. In fact, the Renown gained from Altars of Lilith and map discovery alone is usually enough to reach the first two Renown tiers in each region.
Benefits of Carried-Over Progress
The carryover system provides several key benefits:
- Faster Leveling: With a head start on Renown and access to a wider map, you can level up your new seasonal characters more quickly.
- Enhanced Character Power: The permanent stat boosts from Altars of Lilith provide a noticeable advantage in combat.
- Reduced Repetition: You won’t have to re-explore the same areas or re-collect the same Altars every season, freeing you up to focus on new content.
- Jump Start: The accumulated gold, rewards and items are carried over to the new season to level up your characters.
- Immediate Access: You can use your mount immediately, and you can skip the campaign.
Diablo 4 Seasons: A Cycle of Renewal and Retention
Diablo 4’s seasonal model is designed to provide a fresh experience with each new season while also respecting the time and effort players have invested in the game. The carryover system strikes a balance between these two goals, allowing players to start each season with a sense of progress while still encouraging them to engage with the new seasonal content.
Diablo 4 Renown and the Games Learning Society
The Renown system adds a layer of progression and reward that is important to the game. Understanding this system and how it benefits you, can really increase your gaming enjoyment. Understanding game systems and mechanics is a major focus of the Games Learning Society. Visit GamesLearningSociety.org to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions about what carries over between seasons in Diablo 4:
1. Does all Renown carry over between seasons?
No, only the Renown earned from discovering Altars of Lilith and revealing the map carries over. Renown earned from completing side quests, dungeons, and strongholds is reset at the start of each season.
2. Will my character from the previous season transfer over?
Yes, after a season ends, your seasonal character will be transferred to the Eternal Realm, along with all the items in their inventory and stash. You can continue playing this character in the Eternal Realm, but they will no longer be able to participate in seasonal content.
3. Can I transfer items from the Eternal Realm to seasonal characters?
Yes, you can transfer items between the realms. This allows players to bring over Uber-Uniques to Seasonal, as well vast amounts of gold. They can not only then use those items and/or gold for themselves, but also trade it (or sell it) to other Seasonal characters.
4. Do Paragon Levels carry over between seasons?
No, Paragon Levels do not carry over. Each season, you’ll start with a fresh Paragon board, allowing for new builds and character progression.
5. What happens to my seasonal stash after the season ends?
Your seasonal stash will be transferred to the Eternal Realm along with your character.
6. Do cosmetics I earned in the previous season carry over?
Yes, any cosmetics you unlocked during the previous season will be available to your characters in both the Eternal Realm and subsequent seasons.
7. Will I have to replay the campaign every season?
You only have to complete the campaign once. If you have completed it on at least one character, you can skip the campaign in future seasons and start directly in Adventure Mode.
8. Can I use my mount immediately in a new season?
Yes, if you have unlocked a mount in a previous season, it will be available to use immediately on your new seasonal characters.
9. Does gold carry over to new seasonal characters?
No, you will not be able to transfer gold or items directly from your non-seasonal characters to your seasonal character.
10. Will I lose my progress if I don’t log in before the season ends?
It’s recommended to log in with your main character (the one with the most map and Altar progress) before the season ends to ensure your progress is properly recorded and transferred.
11. Is there a limit to how many times I can claim the Altar of Lilith bonuses?
No, the Altar of Lilith bonuses are permanent and apply to all your characters, regardless of how many seasons have passed. However, you only receive the permanent stat boosts once per Altar.
12. If I find all the Altars on one character, do I need to find them again on another character?
No, the Altars of Lilith are shared across all characters and game modes. Once you’ve activated an Altar, its benefits are applied to all your characters.
13. How does the Diablo 4 season pass work?
There are 90 tiers in Diablo 4’s Battle Pass. You will need to purchase the season’s Battle Pass to access all 90 tiers. Those without Battle Pass ownership can unlock 27 of these tiers for free. The Smoldering Ashes are tied to the free track only, so those that purchase the Battle Pass will only receive cosmetics.
14. Why didn’t all my Renown carry over to Season 1 Diablo 4?
To carry over Season Renown in Diablo 4, you must first log in with your main character on or after the July 18 update, in the Eternal Realm where you made the most progress. This will then log your overall progress on the servers, ready to be transferred when you create a seasonal character in Diablo 4.
15. Is the Rogue still the best character in Diablo 4?
The Rogue has leaped into the lead when it comes to the best Diablo 4 classes. It remains one of the top classes in Season of Blood even with the nerfs to the popular Twisting Blades builds. The Rogue class still has its high-skill floor and ceiling, however.