Diablo 4 needs to stop ignoring its Eternal Realm

Diablo 4’s Eternal Realm is much more than a place to store your old seasonal characters, and it’s time Blizzard acknowledged this and rewarded those who use it.

Blizzard was upfront and honest about its intentions for Diablo 4 when it said the game was “not supposed to be played forever”. What they meant was that once players are done with a character and have reached level 100, they should really consider retiring that character and starting another when a new season comes around. 

After all, at this stage of the game players are only really able to re-roll and respec their character rather than continue to level them. Power has a ceiling in Diablo 4, and once you reach it, the idea is that you bask in your achievement and then do it all over again with a different class or build. 

That’s exactly what I’ve done for four seasons now, and I plan to do it again in Season 5 with the final base game class I’m yet to run. Then, I’ll likely play through Season 6 as the brand-new Spiritborn class. However, once I’ve used every class for a season and reached the endgame with all six of them, I’m done with Diablo 4 – at least until there’s another class to try or story content to enjoy. 

Getting bored of Helltides

You see, I’m getting a bit bored of Diablo 4’s seasonal content. Don’t get me wrong, Season 4 deserves all of its flowers; I’m just a bit sick of Helltides now. And the more of Diablo 4’s seasons I play, the more I come to realize that I’m just doing the same thing over and over again and I’m losing my motivation to keep doing it. I also feel like I’m being dictated to and forced to play in a way that doesn’t suit me.

To be honest, the only thing that keeps me coming back to Diablo 4 is the cool new themes and side stories each season has provided; I care little about everything else. I loved the vampire menace and the ability to fight alongside the Seneschal Companion. I even enjoyed hanging out with the Iron Wolves in Season 4 – even though those missions were padded out by Helltides. This was something that gave them the illusion of being more than a mere backdrop for the seasonal theme. 

My priorities are shifting when it comes to Diablo 4, and I now find myself more excited by the prospect of new story content and quests than I am by Blizzard’s ability to finely tune the seasonal experience and rewards. Loot is indeed Reborn, but I care way more about what Mephisto is doing to Neyrelle and the new quests that’ll lead to.

I skipped the campaign in Seasons 2, 3, and 4 but originally played it through with my Season 1 Necromancer, who I’m now keen to return to and play the DLC with. Basically, I want to do what I did in Diablo 2 and 3 and continue the adventure, not repeatedly start again. When it comes to my old characters in the Eternal Realm, there are still side missions I need to complete, parts of Sanctuary I still want to explore, and hapless NPCs I still need to speak to. 

I get that the rewards are better during seasonal play, but I’m now at the point where I’m only playing that content for the unique story quests that are added each season, such as the vampire incursion or the horrors that escaped from Zoltun Kulle’s vaults. Soon, even that won’t be enough to motivate me to start a new character. My FOMO will eventually turn into resentment, and that could drive me away from Diablo 4 forever. 

Bring seasonal stories to the Eternal Realm

However, I believe there is a simple solution. Why can’t Diablo 4 be more like other live-service games like Destiny in that when story content is added, it builds on what came before rather than being exclusive to that season and then disappearing forever? Even Diablo Immortal does this. I understand that these stories only serve as a side-order to the seasonal theme, and are mostly designed to encourage us to return that season, but this won’t counter player fatigue forever.

Now, I’m not proposing Blizzard change the way they do Diablo 4’s seasons. They’re not broken, so they are in no need of fixing. But if Blizzard wants to retain players like me, they should really consider adding the new story content to the Eternal Realm, even if it’s several months after that season ends. The same goes for gimmicks like the construct companion; they could just make it a pet or let us keep a nerfed version as a reward for completing that questline in the Eternal Realm.

This way, players can return to Diablo 4 at their own convenience and enjoy the new quests while giving the world more consistency and a sense of overarching narrative. Should Blizzard decide to return to the seasonal stories in future updates, this will make more sense as every player will have had the chance to experience it with any character. I mean, we know the vampires as still around.

Of course, those who participate in seasonal play should be the only ones earning the seasonal rewards. But in my own case, I have no interest in these rewards or spending time grinding for the best loot. If my characters are disposable, then so is any loot they hold.

I also don’t want to slog through hours of Helltide events just to play the next chapter in the story – but I’m down to kill some vampires or pal around with a little robot spider when I get around to it. What I want to do is to periodically return to Diablo 4, enjoy the new content, and then be on my merry way. I want to soak up every bit of Sanctuary and play Diablo 4 when and how I want.

Blizzard should start catering for those who enjoy the Eternal Realm and make more of an effort to utilize it. If they want players like me to return to Diablo 4 by the time Season 7 rolls around, then this is how they’ll tempt us back, and keep us coming back. If not, you may see me for the next DLC, if I’ve not moved on fully by then.