Diablo 4's Season of the Malignant brings new quests and mechanics, but there are things that players should do first for a more enjoyable experience. See what you should do first in Season 1 such as logging in old characters first to carry over data, how to level up your character and Battle Pass quickly, as well as how to finish the Season Journey.

What to Do First in Season 1

Things to Do First in Season 1
Log In Old Characters Finish the Seasonal Questline Level Up Characters Fast Gain Favor for Battle Pass Rewards Complete Season Journey Chapters Farm Malignant Hearts

Log In Old Characters to Transfer Renown and Map Progression

The first and most important step before starting your seasonal journey is to log in your old characters, preferably those with the most Renown and map progression.

Doing this step will transfer your Renown and map progression to all characters including new seasonal characters. This will help you cruise through the early game with the extra Skill Points from Renown, as well as navigate the map easily to do your quests.

What Carries Over to Seasons?

Finish the Seasonal Questline

Finish the Seasonal Questline as quickly as you can to get Wrathful Hearts from the new boss Varshan the Consumed. You can then use the power spike to power level and get to endgame content sooner to obtain Sacred and Ancestral Items.

All Malignant Hearts and How to Use

Level Up Characters Fast

Look to quickly level up your characters quickly by finishing all the Strongholds. Farming high mob density Dungeons is also a viable option, while doing World Events in between.

Season 1 Leveling Guide

Gain Favor for Battle Pass Rewards

The Season 1 Battle Pass is leveled up by gaining Favor, which you can quickly get from clearing objectives in the Season Journey.

Aside from cosmetic rewards, the Battle Pass rewards players with Smoldering Ashes which are used for getting various buffs from Season Blessings.

How to Complete the Battle Pass Fast

Complete Season Journey Chapters

Focus on knocking out objectives in the Season Journey to get the new Aspects, reward caches, and Favor for the Battle Pass. Each chapter has a minimum amount of objectives to complete, so you do not need to finish all of them.

How to Complete Season 1 Journey and Rewards

Farm Malignant Hearts

The new seasonal mechanic revolves around Malignant Hearts, which are socketed into equipment to gain new and powerful abilities. These are obtained by defeating Malignant Enemies all over Sanctuary.

How to Farm Malignant Hearts

What to Expect in Season 1 Endgame

Stronger Character Builds

Players can make their builds stronger in the endgame with caged hearts and new legendary aspects introduced. These new additions can change the current meta for the eternal realm and may establish a new meta in the seasonal realm.

Best Builds Tier List

New Bosses and Harder Dungeons

After the Seasonal Questline, you can get an Invoker of Varshan which is used to fight the Echo of Varshan, an even tougher boss encounter. You can fight the Echo of Varshan multiple times with increasing difficulty for more challenge and rewards.

List of All Bosses

Diablo 4 Related Guides

List of Seasons: How Do Seasons Work?

Season 6 Guides

Season Guides