One Recent Diablo IV Gold  Change Doesn't Bode Well For Season of Blood

Diablo 4 is not in a great spot ahead of its upcoming Season of Blood, as many players have left the game for greener pastures after the debacle that was Season of the Malignant, and the game doesn't make an effort to retain them with new releases. Although Diablo 4's seasonal model is pretty much identical to the usual action RPG approach of starting a character from scratch with new releases, which is something Path of Exile also does, the grind in Blizzard's most recent title can be extremely time-consuming and unrewarding. Recently, Blizzard released patch 1.1.4, which came with an experience buff that took the Urn of Aggression's 8% bonus XP to 20%, but this is a far cry from what Season of Blood needs.

One of the most lamented issues with the game is that Diablo 4's endgame is lacking in many ways, from bosses to fight to rewards to look for, especially since all the most powerful items are extremely rare. Season of Blood is adding more bosses to Diablo 4, which is a good sign, but there are more lingering problems that need to be addressed before Season 2 drops. For example, Season 1 made changes to level scaling in a way that makes seasonal content forgettable, and the 1.1.4 changes to experience are nowhere near enough for Season 2.

Diablo 4's XP Gain Changes in Patch 1.1.4 Are Not Enough For Season of Blood

Diablo 4's level scaling changes didn't do any favors to Season of the Malignant's already dwindling player numbers and popularity, as players were essentially forced to go through Nightmare Dungeons in order to level up their characters past level 75, give or take. This also meant engaging with broken loot and itemization systems that need help in order for new drops and those that players keep in their inventories to ever feel meaningful.

With patch 1.1.4, Blizzard made changes to the Urn of Aggression's experience gains, and while a 12% increase may seem meaningful enough, it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, and it doesn't really move the needle. Before the Urn of Aggression bonus, and assuming both that different sources of increased experience gains stack additively and that players are on World Tier 4 in Diablo 4, the grand total is 300% more XP. With an Elixir that's 305%, and with the newly-buffed Urn of Aggression, that number grows to 325% from 313%. The problem is that a 12% increase doesn't really solve Diablo 4's leveling issues, and Season 2 needs a lot more.

With the current Urn of Aggression buffs, players are looking at just a small increase in XP gains in any activity and at all levels, but this is all the more frustrating for those with characters level 75-80 and above. If Blizzard's promises about Diablo 4's Season 2 hold up, the game still has a chance to recover, but the developer has to be more careful with the changes it makes so that nerfs are not as severe as they were in Season 1, and buffs are more in line with the game's current state and where it needs to be.

Season of Blood has a lot riding on its shoulders, as missteps on Blizzard's side could end up pushing away more and more players, and Diablo 4 may not recover from that. As a live-service game, Diablo 4's battle pass should offer much more than what it did in Season 1, and Season of Blood's contents should align with Diablo 4 Gold  it to provide a better experience than just something akin to the Urn of Aggression. More importantly, the game desperately needs exponentially more XP gains at higher levels, rather than a measly 12% increase across the board.