[GameSpot] - Blizzard Details What's Next For Diablo Immortal, But Makes No Mention Of Controversial Microtransactions

[343iBot]

The first major content update for Diablo Immortal is right around the corner, bringing with it a new battle pass, Helliquary raid boss, and the game's first limited-time event.

Blizzard has detailed what's next for mobile-first, free-to-play ARPG in a new blog post that, in addition to outlining some of the new content coming to Diablo Immortal in the near future as part of season two, attempts to address player concerns over in-game bugs and bot accounts. It does not, however, announce any changes in regards to the game's controversial microtransactions, which has been the primary topic surrounding the game since its early June launch.

Diablo Immortal season two will kick off July 7 at 3 a.m. server time. That's when the game's season two battle pass will go live, which introduces new cosmetics and also includes various crafting materials players may find useful. There is a free battle pass reward track, as well as a paid "Empowered" reward track that can be further upgraded with the purchase of a "Collector's Empowered battle pass." A new raid boss, Vitaath the Shivering Death, will also be available, though the high combat rating requirement for the boss means many players will likely be unable to challenge her anytime soon.

Season two will also see the launch of Diablo Immortal's first limited-time event--the Hungering Moon. From July 15-18, players will be able to earn a new item called Moonslivers which can be exchanged for Blessings. After acquiring seven Blessings, players can trade them in for random rewards. The season two update also brings balance changes to the Wizard and Monk and addresses various bugs. In regards to the game's bot problem, Blizzard is encouraging players to use in-game reporting tools to flag potential bot accounts.

Blizzard teases there will be at least one more major update coming later in July. That update will add additional content as well as the previously announced Class Change feature, which will allow players to essentially convert their current character into another class without having to start over from scratch.

Despite Blizzard's blog post offering the first real news in regards to Diablo Immortal's post-launch plans, it makes no mention of having heard player feedback in regards to Diablo Immortal's heavily criticized microtransactions and pay-to-win mechanics, which have upset many in the Diablo community. Anger over how the game is monetized has resulted in the PC version of Diablo Immortal earning the unfortunate distinction of having the lowest user rating score on Metacritic of all time. In GameSpot's Diablo Immortal review, we said the game is a "surprisingly premium-feeling adventure, even if its endgame starts to depend on microtransactions too heavily."

In the wake of the pay-to-win conversation surrounding Diablo Immortal, Blizzard has clarified that while Diablo IV will have an in-game shop that will sell cosmetics, players will not be able to become more powerful by spending real money.

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