Diablo 4 Season 2 Release Time: When Does the Season of Blood Update Launch?

Diablo 4‘s shaky launch wasn’t helped by the debut of the game’s flawed Season One update. If you’ve kind of forgotten about the game since then…well, you’re not alone. However, even lapsed fans have reason to be excited about the upcoming release of Diablo 4‘s second season, Season of Blood.

As with most of these modern gaming updates, there is a lot you need to know about Season of Blood if you’re even potentially interested in playing it. Of course, none of that information is going to do you much good if you don’t know when you’ll actually be able to download and access the new season in the first place.

Diablo 4: Season 2 is scheduled to be released on October 17 at 10 a.m. PDT, 12 p.m. CT, 1 p.m. ET, and 6 p.m. BST. Those are global release times, so you can simply convert those times to your local time zone in order to see when the update will be available in your region.

It’s a pretty standard release time so far as these things go, but it does come with a twist. Unlike Diablo 4‘s Season 1 update, Diablo 4 Season 2’s massive balance patch will not be released ahead of the upcoming season. It will instead be released alongside the new season at the times noted above.

Among other things, that means you will not be able to play with all of the class changes and the new builds that come with that update ahead of Season 2’s official launch. Furthermore, the decision to release those updates at the same time will likely lead to a much larger initial update file as well as more players logging on at relatively similar times in order to try absolutely everything new. As such, you may encounter longer queue times than you’ve been used to in recent weeks (though Diablo 4‘s servers have been fairly steady so far).

So why bother to play Diablo 4‘s Season 2 update in the first place? Well, the update’s biggest draw is the addition of Vampiric Powers. Similar to Season 1’s Malignant Hearts (which will not be available in Season 2 content), Vampiric Powers are powerful new enhancements that you will unlock by completing certain pieces of seasonal content. They will not only greatly enhance your overall power level and enable new build possibilities, but they feed into the new Pact Armor system (which are special pieces of gear that help unleash the full potential of your Vampire Powers. In short, Vampiric Powers, unlike Malignant Hearts, should unlock more diverse and exciting abilities rather than “set it and forget it” upgrades.

You’ll need those new powers if you’re going to defeat Season 2’s collection of powerful new enemies and world bosses. None of those bosses will likely be quite as challenging as “Uber Lilith,” but each will seemingly prove to be more of a test for your new abilities than the current collection of endgame adversaries. Each also offers a collection of cosmetics, Unique items, and other possible rewards once they’re defeated. Naturally, you’ll also be able to acquire various new cosmetic rewards and in-game enhancements through the Season 2 battle pass.

Honestly, though, Diablo 4: Season 2’s new seasonal content may be less exciting than the “balance patch” that will accompany that season’s debut. Along with the usual array of (much-needed) class buffs and nerfs, that update will introduce a variety of quality-of-life features to the game. Among those features are the ability to reach level 100 much faster, skip the campaign from the start of the game, permanently retain renown rewards, get more use of your mounts, search through your inventory stash, and more. For more information on some of the changes included in that update, please be sure to check out this extensive Diablo 4: Season 2 patch note log. For more information on the new seasonal content, be sure to check out this official developer blog.

Though not the sweeping reboot that the recent Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 update essentially was, you do get the sense that this upcoming Diablo 4 update is designed to address many of the major criticisms the game has endured since it launched. Will that be enough to lure people back into the game? Well, if you don’t get the chance to try the update yourself, we’ll be sure to let you know more about it as soon as we’re able.