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The Diablo 4 Season 2 start time is finally here, and players are excited to dive into Sanctuary once more. After the rather spotty reception to Season of the Malignant, Blizzard Entertainment is back to revitalize the game’s player base with community-requested changes.
With plenty of notable improvements, there’s a lot in store for players as the Diablo 4 Season 2 release date nears. As noted in our Diablo 4 review, it’s nailed the basics, and Season 2 intends to expand on what the base game got right. From its refined combat to leveling systems like the Diablo 4 Paragon Glyphs, it packs the timeless dungeon-crawling genre with modern sensibilities.
It’s even got them wondering if Diablo 4 Season 2 is free. You can now skip the campaign after the Prologue and dive right into the Seasonal Realm for some new treats. From a new Season Journey and a questline involving Diablo 4 Erys (voiced by Gemma Chan of Eternals fame) and unholy vampires, there’s a lot to dive into. Read on to know when the next Season and its seasonal questline starts.
Diablo 4 Season 2 start time – when does Season of Blood start?
The Diablo 4 Season 2 start time is now live after it kicked off at 12 PM PT. The ARPG’s latest update was initially supposed to begin two hours earlier, but a delay was announced through the game’s official X account, wherein the developers cited the need to address “some complications” before launch.
The previous start time of 10 AM PT had originally been confirmed in an official Blizzard blog post. Even though the release has been pushed back, this still means that players all over the world can enter at the same time. Here’s a helpful Diablo 4 Season 2 checklist to start off on the right foot. Here are the Diablo 4 Season 2 start times across all major regions.
Diablo 4 Season 2 start time US
Here are the Diablo 4 Season 2 start times in the US:
- Pacific Time Zone (PDT): 12 PM for the West Coast
- Mountain Time (MDT): 1 PM
- Central Time Zone (CDT): 2 PM
- Eastern Time Zone (EDT): 3 PM for the East Coast
Diablo 4 Season 2 start time UK
Season of Blood is scheduled to start at 8 PM BST in the UK.
Diablo 4 Season 2 start time EU
Here are the Diablo 4 Season 2 start times for the EU:
- Central European Summer Time (CEST): 9 PM
- Eastern European Summer Time (EEST): 10 PM
Diablo 4 Season 2 start time Asia
Season of Blood starts at 3 AM for the GMT +8 and 4 AM for the GMT +9 time zones in Asia.
Diablo 4 Season 2 start time Australia
Diablo 4 Season 2 starts at 5 AM AEST on October 18 in Australia. While the original launch had server issues, we expect the second Season to begin without as much of a hassle. And with a lot of meaningful additions to the demon-slaying experience, it’s no surprise that Diablo 4 players are excited.
Diablo 4 Season 2 start time countdown clock
Diablo 4 Season of Blood Trailer
Diablo 4 Season 2 community reception
After the lukewarm reception of Season of the Malignant, fans are excited about Season 2. As a vampire hunter, you get to team up with the Hunter’s Acclaim faction to earn rewards. Diablo 4 didn’t have factions like these, making players wonder how this would tie into the seasonal storyline. It also does away with mechanics like Diablo 4 Malignant Hearts, opting for new vampire powers instead. Summoning bosses like the Echo of Varshan no longer need an Invoker of Varshan either.
And while the endgame bosses sound like a chore to reach, it gives endgame players more reasons to grind it out. Speaking of grinding, Gold drop rates have been improved alongside XP scaling to make the endgame more pleasant at World Tier III and World Tier IV difficulties. Blizzard promises a 40% improvement for players past level 50.
Fight new endgame bosses and get new unique items and uber uniques from them thanks to enhanced drop rates. Blood Harvests, a new seasonal event, take place across the Dry Steppes, Hawezar, and Scosglen regions. These tasks you with bursting Blood Blisters, beating enemies for Bounties, and disrupting vampiric rituals. Just like before, using Nightmare Sigils to open Diablo 4 Nightmare Dungeons will let you earn loads of XP and gear. Diablo 4 Whispers of the Dead are also alive and well in Season 2.
Expect queue times to be better than the original launch
Don’t forget about queue times. While Day 1 of Diablo 4 had a rather lengthy queue time, expect a lower wait time when Season 2 drops.
Diablo 4 Season 2 predicted file size
While the official Blizzard patch notes don’t mention a file size, we can try to gauge this based on how big Season of the Malignant was. Diablo 4’s Season 1 update clocked in at around 9 GB. Expect Season of Blood to fall in line with that or maybe go near the 10 GB mark.
What to expect from Season of Blood
Outside of refinements, Season of Blood brings a brand-new storyline involving vampiric powers. These are gained from Diablo 4 Potent Blood in legion events. As a daywalker, you’ll be able to hone these abilities with Diablo 4 vampiric pact armor. Pacts come in three types: divinity, ferocity, and eternity. These can be removed with Cleansing Acids. You’ll then use these to take down vampire lord Zir.
Diablo 4 Season 2 improvements
Season of Blood brings plenty of improvements like the following:
- Enhanced gold drop rates and faster XP scaling after level 50. Here’s how to level up fast in Diablo 4.
- Diablo 4 gems are now a part of the stash, improving inventory management. This lets you socket items with them whenever you like.
- A search bar in your stash to find items with extra stashes in smaller towns. This makes items easier to find.
- There’s no need to farm Diablo 4 renown rewards on multiple realms. All characters now share bonus skill points, paragon points, potion charges, and obol capacity upgrades among themselves.
- Reworked damage and resistance values to provide a more enjoyable experience. This includes status effects and modifiers like vulnerable damage, critical strike, and those provided by elixirs. We’ll learn more about this once players get to try Season of Blood.
Strides have been made in other areas as well. The leveling experience and Diablo 4 Season 2 battle pass for Season Blessings and cosmetics have been reworked. Expect quality-of-life improvements like sending Diablo 4 gems to the stash. Changes to core elements like elemental resistances and status effects make this a sizable overhaul. Turning the former into a crafting material means that you won’t keep running out of inventory space. Your builds can also use new legendary aspects in addition to the existing Diablo 4 aspects.
Diablo 4 Helltide chests offer more XP and their monsters are now joined by bosses like Grigoire, the Galvanic saint. Some new bosses also need you to get items and resources from existing Diablo 4 World bosses. The new Diablo 4 Season 2 endgame bosses are the Echo of Varshan, Grigoire the Galvanic Saint, The Beast in the Ice, Lord Zir, and Duriel, King of Maggots.
That covers the Diablo 4 Season 2 start time for eager fans. Dive into Sanctuary’s new questline when the next season goes live on the PC, PlayStation 5 (PS5), and Xbox Series X|S platforms. Make sure to check out the latest Diablo 4 patch notes.
What is the theme of Diablo 4 Season 2?
Diablo 4 Season 2 is centered around vampires and their powers.
Will Diablo 4 Season 2 bring a new class?
No, Diablo 4 Season 2 only has the original five classes: Rogue, Necromancer, Druid, Sorcerer, and Barbarian.
