Game Pass subscribers can play Diablo 4 on the eve of its most substantial update ever starting today.
On May 14, Blizzard will release Diablo 4 season 4 and overhaul almost everything about it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get anything out of jumping into season 3 right now. The game’s campaign is worth seeing through and there are a few things you can do that will carry over into the next season.
Game Pass players will still have to make a Battle.net account and use the launcher to play the game. The installation process is a little convoluted, but it boils down to hitting install on Diablo 4 in the Windows Xbox App and connecting your Microsoft account to a Battle.net account. Once that’s done, you’ll launch the game like everyone else on PC (minus the Steam users).
That means you’ll also be able to install the season 4 PTR next week and help test all the massive changes coming to Diablo 4 in May. Blizzard will even let you boost characters up to level 100 to let you play with its two new crafting systems immediately. Progress on the PTR won’t carry over to the live game, but it will act as a nice demo for what’s to come.
Otherwise, I would take the time and play through the campaign, which follows the disastrous events of Diablo 3’s expansion Reaper of Souls. Humanity is nearly wiped out and demons are showing up again. For all of its confusing twists and turns, Diablo 4’s campaign is at the very least a great introduction to the world and how you’ll progress your character toward level 100. And you’ll be ready for Diablo 4’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, when it launches sometime later this year.
While you play, there are objectives to complete in every region to earn renown, which unlocks essential upgrades for your character like extra skill points. You should try to max out your renown before season 4 starts so it’ll be much easier to level up a new character.
Season 3 is still going and gives you a powerful little spider pet, so I’d recommend playing on the seasonal realm to start. When season 3 ends and transitions into season 4 on May 14, your characters and items will move over to the eternal realm forever.
Just don’t get too attached to a particular build because a lot is going to change in season 4. If you need a break at any point, you could always load up Control on Game Pass and blast through a non-Euclidean building filled with demons of a different sort.
