Joe Piepiora, the associate game director for Diablo 4, has told NME why players will need to create another character if they want to play Season Of The Malignant’s new content.
In June, Blizzard confirmed that existing Diablo characters will be moved to the Eternal Realm when season 1 launches on July 20 — meaning only freshly-made characters will be able to access much of season 1’s new additions.
While the change has proven controversial for players who want to stick with the characters they already have, associate game director Joe Piepiora explained that the goal is to recapture the feeling of levelling a character from scratch and developing their build.
“We think that moment of elation, of a drop occurring that you’ve been hunting for, is such a huge deal,” shared Piepiora. “It’s difficult to replicate that feeling endlessly with a character.”
Additionally, Piepiora said that tying seasons to new characters made it easier for players to take breaks from Diablo and return without feeling like they have missed too much.
“We don’t want to have this feeling where you feel you need to play endlessly to stay abreast and afloat of everything that’s happening in the game,” he explained. “We don’t want you to feel like you’re being really left behind. These seasonal releases are opportunities for players to rejoin at a fresh starting point with friends, to experience new content — of going through the journey of making a new character, and trying a different playthrough.”
Piepiora added that the format allowed Blizzard to throw “new mechanics, story, characters and threats” into the mix early, and explained that season 1 will “shake up the experience” of levelling up.
Elsewhere in the interview, Piepiora and Michelle Piña, a game designer for Diablo 4′s dungeons, discussed the “self-contained story” and Malignant Tunnels arriving in season 1.