Diablo 4 just recently gave players a closer look at what the Battle Pass would look like in the highly-anticipated action RPG. By comparing and contrasting the free and premium versions of the Battle Pass, Diablo 4 players now have a pretty good scope of the differences to be found in the optional rewards system.
Last year, Diablo 4 confirmed plans for a Battle Pass in its newest mainline game in the dark ARPG franchise. Though it promised Diablo 4 would not have any pay-to-win elements attached to microtransactions, many players had misgivings about the Battle Pass–especially in light of the controversies surrounding Diablo Immortal.
However, it seems Diablo 4 has kept its promise in making the Premium Battle Pass purely cosmetic. Of the 90 tiers in the Battle Pass, 27 of them are unlocked for free by all players. Some of these tiers include free cosmetics, but others give players Smoldering Ash–a special currency used to unlock in-game boosts called Season Blessings. This is the only player power on the Battle Pass, and it is given freely to everyone just for playing Diablo 4. Once the first season of Diablo 4 begins in mid-to-late July, players can earn progress on the Battle Pass by earning Favor through the Season Journey, and simply for leveling up and playing the game.
The other 63 tiers on the Battle Pass are purely cosmetic. Each Diablo 4 Premium Battle Pass will include two full sets of cosmetic armor for every class–each piece of which can be mixed and matched with other transmogs–as well as special mounts and mount barding. Additionally, players will earn premium currency to buy more cosmetics from the cash shop. The Premium Battle Pass for Diablo 4 will cost $10.
Players can also buy an Accelerated Battle Pass for $25. Doing so will immediately unlock 20 free tier skips on the Diablo 4 Battle Pass, plus an additional special cosmetic. Notably, the tier skips will not give quicker access to the Smoldering Ash from the free Battle Pass–these character upgrades are level-locked, so no one will be able to spend money to unlock them faster.
The Diablo 4 Battle Pass seems to be quite fair. Blizzard met its promises of ensuring the Battle Pass was not pay-to-win, all while adding optional cosmetics for players interested in acquiring what Diablo 4 called “specific class and character fantasies” offered in microtransactions. Even so, with hundreds of cosmetic options in Diablo 4’s transmog system, players should have no problems making an appearance that fits their character perfectly with or without the cosmetics from the Premium Battle Pass.
Diablo 4 will be available June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
