The Diablo 4 battle pass is hellish in the worst way
It’s been a rough awakening for Diablo 4 after a triumphant start and much commercial success: Fans have been unhappy with pretty much everything Blizzard has done with the game since release – balance patches just keep missing the mark and now the battle pass is generating uproar. Blizzard opted to implement this monetization mechanic despite Diablo 4 being a fully priced title, promising it would only contain cosmetic rewards.
That being the case, players still expected some good value for their purchase, such as enough premium currency to potentially buy the next edition of the battle pass or at least some items in the game’s store. Blizzard, however, seems to have a different idea about what constitutes the appropriate value contained in a battle pass, conflicting with players’ views on this topic.
See, the battle pass for Diablo 4’s first season pays out 666 Platinum. Aside from the fact that this very funny and original joke is indeed something you could employ to torture damned souls in hell, it’s quite literally a joke amount: You can’t even purchase the cheapest cosmetic item in Diablo 4’s in-game store with this sum, as this’ll cost you 800 Platinum.
Naturally, you also will not be able to afford next season’s battle pass with this meager booty. This is what games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and even Activision’s Call of Duty Warzone do, essentially making the battle pass a one-time purchase for active players that squeeze out all of the available currency from it – and these are free-to-play games, mind you.
While it’s completely optional to purchase this battle pass, it should still contain enough value to justify its existence – and with how Diablo 4’s version of the mechanic is set up, this is hardly the case here.
There have also been some issues with the placement of the button to activate the premium battle pass, which made it incredibly easy for people to accidentally purchase the full version. Blizzard has already rolled out a fix for this, but this still seems like a big oversight and didn’t exactly do much to endear people towards the battle pass.
