Choosing Your Realm in Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant
When starting Season 1 of Diablo 4, players may be concerned about losing their progress. Since participating in the new season requires creating a new character, players will have to leave behind their previous characters. In the pre-season period, creating a new character was a breeze, with only cosmetic choices to make. However, with Season 1, players must decide between playing in the Eternal Realm or the Seasonal Realm.
Seasonal Realm Characters
The Seasonal Realm in Diablo 4 offers everything players could want, including the open world, the campaign, and limited-time seasonal content. Creating characters in this realm is the only way to experience the latest content and participate in Season 1. The Seasonal characters are also used to level up the Battle Pass, known as Season’s Journey. The Eternal Realm and Seasonal Realm share the same balance changes, loot pool, standard dungeons, and maps.
Eternal Realm Characters
Eternal Realm characters in Diablo 4 are permanent and unaffected by the seasons. These characters skip the seasonal process and exist solely in the Eternal Realm. Returning to the Eternal Realm is always possible to continue playing with these characters. However, the Eternal Realm will no longer receive additional content apart from a few items.
Which Realm Should You Choose?
Blizzard recommends selecting the Seasonal Realm, and I agree, even for new players. There are valid reasons why Blizzard encourages players to choose this realm. Additionally, new players won’t encounter new content until they complete the campaign, allowing for an authentic vanilla experience before diving into the deeper mechanics of Diablo 4. Furthermore, most players will gravitate towards the Seasonal Realm, increasing the likelihood of finding friends or party members. The Seasonal Realm also offers exclusive content and is balanced around seasonal powers.
Is There A Point to Choosing the Eternal Realm?
There is little reason to choose the Eternal Realm initially, considering that players in the Seasonal Realm can only interact with characters in the same realm. However, if you wish to join friends who are using Eternal Realm characters for dungeons, then creating an Eternal character may be worthwhile. Additionally, if you have made significant progress in the campaign with an Eternal Realm character, it may be advantageous to finish the story before starting a Seasonal character.
What Carries Over Between the Two Realms?
In response to community feedback, Blizzard decided to allow some progress to carry over from the Eternal Realm to the Seasonal Realm in Season of the Malignant. Here are the things that carry over:
- Campaign Progress – If you have completed the campaign and defeated Lilith, you can skip the main story in future seasons.
- Map Progress – Discoveries and activated Waypoints from previous runs will still be visible on the map when creating characters in either realm.
- Renown Progress – Renown progress, including experience points, skill points, and unlocked potion flasks, carries over to new characters.
- Horse/Mount – Once you unlock a mount with one character, it becomes available for all characters, including Seasonal ones.
Transmogs – Cosmetics obtained from equipment will be shared between characters within the same account, allowing unlocked transmogs to be used by new characters.