One of the most enticing features of Diablo 4 heading into Season 8 was the changes teased for its Battle Pass. Diablo 4's Battle Pass had been due for a rework for some time, as the premium offering had faced controversy since the game's release, largely due to the mixed quality of content offered through the paid path. However, while Season 8's introduction of the Reliquary system as a replacement for the traditional Battle Pass helps ease some of these issues, it introduces its own set of complications that take some of the wind out of this overhaul's sails.
Diablo 4 Season 8 was already in the tough position of facing competition from Path of Exile 2 and Last Epoch, both of which had just received major content updates. With the game's second expansion being pushed to 2026, the 2025 roadmap for Diablo 4 had been looking a bit sparse outside of intriguing new IP collabs, like Season 8's Berserk crossover. The Reliquary system could have been a major win for Diablo 4 in the court of public opinion, but ultimately feels like a half measure.
Diablo 4 is Leaving The Ball in Path of Exile 2's Court
With the roadmap for Diablo 4 looking somewhat limited, Path of Exile 2 has the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the ARPG audience this year.
Diablo 4's Battle Pass Overhaul is a Mixed Bag
Reliquaries Offering More Player Choice is a Step in the Right Direction
The major change that Diablo 4's Reliquary system gets right is the way it provides options for players to choose which premium cosmetics they want to earn. Rather than having one Battle Pass with options for free and paid cosmetics, the new Reliquary system breaks things down further to offer players the choice between a free path and three optional paid paths. Players who want to pay Diablo 4's in-game Platinum currency for one or more of the three Reliquaries can choose between three types of cosmetics:
- Belial's Return - Free
- Weapons - 200 Platinum
- Beasts - 500 Platinum
- Armor - 800 Platinum
Previously, all of these types of cosmetics were combined into one Premium Battle Pass for Diablo 4, costing a total of 1,000 Platinum, which players can still spend to unlock all three reliquaries. However, for players who find one set of cosmetics of a given season lacking compared to the other offerings, they can choose to skip one Reliquary and only pay for the cosmetics they want. The main downside to this approach is that once players purchase one Reliquary, they are locked out of purchasing the standard Battle Pass containing all Reliquaries for the 1,000 Platinum price tag.
Purchasing all three Reliquaries separately costs a total of 1,500 Platinum, making the traditional Battle Pass option the much better deal at only 1,000 Platinum.
Diablo 4's Reliquary Complicates the Seasonal Favor System
For as nice as the player choice the Reliquary system provides, these changes have also complicated Diablo 4's general seasonal flow by reworking how items within the Reliquaries are unlocked. Previously, players would progress the standard Battle Pass by earning XP just from playing the game during a given season. With the rework of the Battle Pass to include Reliquaries, players now have to purchase items within a given Reliquary using Favor Tokens earned from undertaking seasonal quests.
Alongside Battle Pass progression, Diablo 4's past seasons offered players the chance to undertake seasonal quests to earn reputation with that season's faction by obtaining Favor. This system has now been rolled into the Reliquary system, where undertaking similar quests in past seasons now rewards players with Favor Tokens to spend in their purchased Reliquaries. These changes seem to only add to the confusion by introducing another in-game currency that needs to be spent to unlock cosmetics that were previously obtained simply by playing a season naturally and progressing the Battle Pass' XP bar.
Another unfortunate casualty of Diablo 4's Battle Pass changes seems to be the Seasonal Blessing that grants bonus XP, which has been removed for Season 8.
Diablo 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
