Diablo 4 Season 1 is finally here, titled the Season of the Malignant.

Season 1 adds new time-limited Malignant Hearts mechanic, Season Journey, Battle Pass, questline, boss, dungeons, items, Legendary Aspects, and more!

To help you on youe seasonal jounrey, we've got all of the Season 1 details below, along with the Diablo 4 Season 1 release date and time.

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Diablo 4 Season 1 details

The limited-time mechanic included in Diablo 4's Season 1, the Season of the Malignant, is Malignant Hearts, which basically act like special gems.

Here's everything new coming to Diablo Season 1:

Malignant Hearts mechanicSeason JourneyBattle PassQuestlineBossDungeonsItemsLegendary AspectsShop cosmetics

The three biggest changes are the introduction of Malignant Hearts, a Season Journey, and the first Battle Pass.

Malignant Hearts

For more details, including a list of all Malignant Hearts, check out our dedicated Diablo 4 Malignant Hearts page.

Continuing on from how seasons worked in Diablo 3, every season in Diablo 4 will include a new mechanic not available in the base game. In Diablo 4's first season, this is the Malignant Hearts mechanic, which we'll be introduced to during a new questline starring Cormond, a former priest of the Cathedral of Light.

The Season of Malignant adds 32 Malignant Hearts across four categories. You acquire Malignant Hearts from defeating Fully Corrupted enemies who appear after performing a ritual on Partly Corrupted enemies. The tougher a Malignant Creatures is to kill, the stronger their Malignant Hearts will be.

When you get them, Malignant Hearts are then placed into special Infested sockets in your Jewelry instead of Normal Gems. They work similar to Gems, but Malignant Hearts contain new, unique bonuses that can completely alter your builds.

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

To help you acquire more Malignant Hearts, Malignant Tunnels - a new type of dungeon - have been added to Season 1. These are replayable and contain some tough Malignant Creatures for you to face, including Varshan the Consumed, a new Boss.

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Season Journey and Battle Pass

For more details, check out our dedicated Season 1 Journey rewards and objectives page.

Season 1 introduces Diablo 4's very first Battle Pass and Season Journey.

Taking part in Seasons is free, and so is the basic tier of the Battle Pass, but you need to pay £8.39 / $9.88 for the premium tier of the Battle Pass. Keep in mind that the Premium battle pass doesn't contain any in-game power resources, and instead unlocks tiers containing cosmetics unique to a season or the Premium shop.

Gear up Wanderer.? Coldiron Cosmetics? Transmogs? Emotes? Headstones? MountAnd more available in the Season of the Malignant Premium Battlepass. pic.twitter.com/XVvJgx5JPK

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The Season Journey in Diablo 4 contains chapters with specific tasks to complete. As you complete these tasks and progress through the chapters of the Season Journey, you’ll earn rewards like Legendary Aspects, a Mastery Title, and a Scroll of Amnesia, which provides a free Skill Tree and Paragon Board reset.

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

While completing tasks in your Season Journey, you'll also be earning Favor, which is needed to unlock free and premium Battle Pass rewards. You can also get Favor just from killing enemies, completing quests, and by taking part in other activities.

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

If you purchased the digital Deluxe or Ultimate Edition of Diablo 4 and want to redeem your Battle Pass for this Season, navigate to the Seasons section of the Shop and select the option to activate your Battle Pass.

Diablo 4 Season 1 release time in UK, BST, CDT, EDT and PDT

Diablo 4 Season 1 will release on Thursday 20th July at 6pm (BST) / 10am (PDT).

For other time zones, the exact Diablo 4 Season 1 release time is:

West Coast US:Thursday 20th July, 10am (PDT)Central US: Thursday 20th July, 12pm (CDT)East Coast US: Thursday 20th July, 1pm (EDT)UK: Thursday 20th July, 6pm (BST)Europe: Thursday 20th July, 7pm (CEST)Japan: Friday 21st July, 2am (JST)Australia: Friday 21st July, 3am (AEST)

Keep in mind that to take part in Season 1, Season of the Malignant, you need to complete the campaign on either the Eternal or Seasonal Realm with at least one character.

You also have to create a new character to take part in a new season, but don't worry, that character will be available to play in the base game after Season 1 ends, so you're not wasting your time levelling them up.

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Hope you have fun during Diablo 4 Season 1!

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