Season of the Malignant Guide – Diablo 4 Season 1 Overview

Fellow adventure seekers, Season 1 of Diablo 4 is finally here! It is time to create your new seasonal character and plunge into a whole new story. In this Season of the Malignant guide, you will learn everything about newly implemented mechanics, such as Caged and Malignant Hearts. On top of that, we will talk about Malignant Monsters and a powerful boss that will be waiting for you while exploring the seasonal content.

Before we plunge into the topic, let us warn you that every season in Diablo 4 is going to last around 3 months. Those of you who have played Diablo 3 should know that a similar system was applied to late Diablo 3 seasons.

 

 

What is Season of the Malignant About?

Every season is going to bring a unique theme, as well as exclusive mechanics you need to build your playstyle around. This time, Season of the Malignant story is fairly straightforward yet exciting.

It revolves around the following:

A new dangerous problem has emerged in Lilith's wicked schemes, resulting in the creation of a menace known as Malignant Monsters. These creatures, corrupted and decaying, now roam freely in Sanctuary, attacking anyone they come across without any rationality.

To confront this mysterious affliction, brave adventurers will embark on a fresh questline, guided by Cormund, a former priest of the Cathedral of Light. Cormund will not only aid in the investigation but also teach you how to capture the Malignant Hearts that empower these dreadful beasts, transforming them into potent abilities that can alter your skills and abilities.

If you wish to skip the Season 1 campaign faster and get straight to the endgame content, we have you covered. By ordering our Season of the Malignant Campaign Boost service, you can be sure our professional players will skip the grind for you. We offer the best market price and guarantee the fastest result!

Season of the Malignant Battle Pass Overview

Just like in most modern gaming projects, the devs have decided to add the Battle Pass feature as well. Before you blow up with rage, let us warn you that the Battle Pass provides nothing but cosmetics. The only exception here is Season Blessings, which we will cover a bit later in this section of our guide.

As for the Season of the Malignant Battle Pass, it has 3 versions players can choose from:

1. Free Version – Available to everyone (only 27 tiers available);
2. Premium Version - $9.99 / €9/ £7.8 / AU$14.75 (gives access to extra 63 tier rewards);
3. Accelerated Version - $24.99 / €22.45 / £19.50 / AU$ /$36.85 (gives access to extra 63 tier rewards and the ability to skip through 20 tiers whenever you choose to do so).

To progress through the Battle Pass tiers, you can either earn Favor (the currency required to open a tier) or buy Tiers themselves. If you do not want to spend real money, you would definitely prefer to progress through the system by earning and spending Favor. BLOG20

The answer to the question of how to earn Favor is simple:

• Complete quests and instances, kill mobs;
• Participate in Seasonal Objectives.

Speaking of the Battle Pass rewards in this season, you can hope to get cosmetic armor and weapons, mounts, emotes, titles, Smoldering Ash, and other stuff.

In the list of rewards, you definitely noticed a newly-implemented currency called Smoldering Ash. The latter is used to buy so-called Season Blessings, which in turn, provide you with slight boosts in this or that sphere of the game. For instance, you can gain a bit more XP from slaying mobs if you have the Urn of Aggressions activated.

Below, you can see the complete list of all Season Blessings currently available in the game:

It is also important to mention that you DO NOT have to buy Season of the Malignant Battle Pass Premium or Accelerated version to have access to this feature. So, literally anyone can benefit from it and you do not have to invest real money into the game to be able to compete with others.

If you wish to unlock all the rewards faster, as well as gain all the Season Blessings, we have you covered. By ordering our Diablo 4 Battle Pass Leveling, you can unlock any number of tier in the shortest time possible. Our professional players will take care of the boring grind while you can keep exploring a brand-new season to the full.

Malignant Monsters Explained

Since we already touched on this topic earlier, we would like to continue our Season of the Malignant overview by adding more words concerning Malignant Monsters and the way they work in Season 1.

To begin with, Malignant Monsters can only be Elites. This means they act as powerful enemies who present danger and can easily kill you if you do not know much about their fighting mechanics.

The main feature of this monster type is that you can loot Malignant Hearts from them. The latter is used to socket into your Jewelry (i.e. Amulet and Rings) to gain unique buffs and bonuses to aid you in future battles. However, this cannot be done if you have not received the Cage of Binding yet. This tool is a must-have item to capture Malignant Monsters’ hearts and turn them into useful and powerful buffs instead.

As a rule, you can encounter Malignant Monsters anywhere in the open world. However, the majority of them will be waiting for you in Malignant Tunnels, which we will talk about later in this article.

Are you tired of the leveling grind? Wish to get to level 100 quicker? No worries! By ordering our Diablo 4 Powerleveling service, you can be sure our professional players will boost your character in a blink of an eye. We offer fair prices and guarantee the fastest result!

Caged Hearts – How to Get & Types

Continuing the topic of Malignant Hearts, let’s find out what do we call Caged Hearts. To put it simply, you transform Malignant Hearts into Caged Hearts when you used Cage of Binding, the capturing tool you obtain at the beginning of the season campaign.

Once you kill a Malignant Monster, you need to perform a ritual and transform its Malignant Heart into a Caged one. After that, the same mob will resurrect in a more powerful shape. Be prepared for a fierce fight, as this mob will also bring adds along with them.

After defeating the same Elite again, you can finally claim your well-deserved Caged Heart.

As for now, there are 32 different Caged Hearts present in the game. Unlike most items, they CANNOT be traded, meaning you will have to grind a lot to get the desired Caged Heart. Just like weapons, armor, and other gear pieces, there are Caged Hearts that can be used by any class, as well as class-specific ones.

On top of that, every Caged Heart you get can roll 1 of 4 different types:

1. Vicious belongs to the Orange Infested Socket;
2. Brutal belongs to the Blue Infested Socket;
3. Devious belongs to the Pink Infested Socket;
4. Wrathful belongs to the Black Infested Socket.

No matter what color you manage to get, you will ALWAYS have only ONE effect available on every Caged Heart. On top of that, you cannot place a Brutal Caged Heart into a Vicious socket, and so on. The only exception here is the Wrathful Heart type, as you can place it into ANY socket. At the same time, they are much more difficult to obtain and have a decreased drop chance.

Finally, you CANNOT unsocket a Caged Heart once it is placed into a Jewelry piece. Therefore, you need to think twice before upgrading a powerful gear piece in order not to regret your decision later on.

If you wish to skip the farming grind, you can always order our Diablo 4 Caged Hearts Farm service and get the required number of them in the shortest time possible. We guarantee the best market price and the fastest result!

Caged Heart List Diablo 4

As we mentioned earlier, certain Caged Hearts can be worn by any class while others are class-specific only. In this section of our guide, we are going to list all Season of the Malignant Diablo 4 Caged Hearts currently available in the game.

Before we begin, you already know what types of Caged Hearts exist in the game. At the same time, they are responsible for boosting certain character’s stats, such as:

Vicious – Orange – Offensive Power;
Brutal – Blue – Defensive Power;
Devious – Pink – Utility Power;
Wrathful – Black – Super Power.
Most of the Caged Heart types can be looted while playing on any World Tier. There are a few exceptions to that but the general rule works like that. At the same time, you MUST play on the Seasonal Realm only.

Non-Class Specific Caged Hearts

Barbarian Caged Hearts

Druid Caged Hearts

Necromancer Caged Hearts

Rogue Caged Hearts

Sorcerer Caged Hearts

How to Craft Caged Hearts

Since the entire gameplay revolves around collecting, upgrading, and inserting Caged Hearts, the devs have also added the ability to create them. The mechanics work in a straightforward way. To craft Caged Hearts, you need to take the following steps:

1. Visit Cormund at his wagon;
2. Select the unwanted Heart and salvage them;
3. Get Ichor of the corresponding color in return;
4. Choose a Heart type you want to craft and make sure you have enough materials;
5. For instance, you want to create a Vicious heart. For this you will need x35 Brutal Ichor and x35 Devious Ichor;

Keep in mind that you will get a random Heart, meaning it can be a non-class-specific or a class-specific one. On top of that, you get around x5-15 Ichor of a corresponding color for salvaging a Heart of any type. The exception here is the Wrathful type, as you will get x2-5 Ichor of all colors.

Malignant Tunnels Explained

Continuing the topic of Malignant (Caged) Hearts, it is time to talk about Malignant Tunnels and what purpose they serve in Season 1. To begin with, they are the primary source of Malignant Hearts, as you will often encounter Malignant Monsters while exploring them.

Within the expanse of Sanctuary, there lie 6 dungeons forming the Malignant Tunnel system. As you venture through these dungeons, battling hordes of Malignant Monsters, you will eventually encounter two Outgrowths. One of these Outgrowths will always be Wrathful in nature, while the other will vary depending on the specific dungeon.

To interact with the Outgrowths, players can utilize Malignant Invokers - an exclusive item crafted at Cormund's wagon. When an Outgrowth is of the same type as the Malignant Invoker used, it triggers the summoning of a Fully Corrupted enemy. Overcoming this formidable adversary will reward you with a Malignant Heart that corresponds to the type of monster defeated.

If you cannot complete a particular Malignant Tunnel or simply wish to speed up the grinding process, we have a solution for you. By ordering our Diablo 4 Malignant Tunnel Farm service, you can be sure our professional players will complete as many runs as you need. The only thing you are left to do is to enjoy the loot and keep exploring Sanctuary!

Varshan the Consumed – Season 1 Final Boss

While wandering around Malignant Tunnels, there is a chance of you encountering Varshan the Consumed. This is a new Uber Boss we are going to face off against during Season 1. Just like all other bosses, Varshan drops exclusive loot upon being defeated.

To learn more about Varshan’s mechanics, skills, and general fighting strategy, you can read our Varshand the Consumed Guide. By reading it, you will learn how to defeat this powerful creature, as well as find out what loot it can drop. If you do not wish to spend your precious time trying to slay this boss on your own, you can always rely on our Varshan the Consumed Kill Boost service.

Conclusion

To sum it up, we can say that Diablo 4 Season 1 looks quite promising and exciting. By bringing brand-new mechanics, items, and enemies, players will definitely remember it for long. Despite lasting for only 3 months, Season of the Malignant offers more than enough activities to spend dozens if not hundreds of hours in the game.

We hope you had a fun time reading this article and learned a lot of useful details from it. Stay tuned and do not forget to visit this page from time to time since we will update it if any changes occur. May luck be on your side and we will see in Sanctuary!

F.A.Q.

What is Season of the Malignant Diablo 4?

Season of the Malignant theme revolves around destroying powerful Malignant Monsters whose Hearts will serve as powerful buffs, allowing you to unlock new build’s capabilities and change your playstyle.

How do I access Season of the Malignant?

To get access to Season of the Malignant, you need to finish the main campaign first. After that, you will gain access to all Seasonal Content, such as a separate storyline, Battle Pass, and other features.

What are Malignant Hearts Diablo 4?

Malignant Hearts are dropped from Malignant Monsters, which are powerful creatures you are going to encounter while exploring Season 1 content. These Hearts serve as season-exclusive socketed items you can insert into your Jewelry pieces to gain unique buffs and bonuses.

When did Diablo 4 Season 1 start?

Diablo 4’s first season saw the world on July 20th, 2023 and received the name of Season of the Malignant.

Who is Cormund Diablo 4?

Cormund is a former priest of the Cathedral of Light who is going to accompany you throughout the entire Season 1.