Diablo 4: Things to do before playing Season 3

❘ Updated: 2024-01-22T14:00:00

Blizzard Entertainment

Diablo 4 Season 3 is upon us, so here’s what you need to do before jumping into this grimdark adventure with a new character.

While some players will want to jump into Season 3 of Diablo 4 when it arrives, straight away, others may wish to lay some groundwork to make their next playthrough go as smoothly as possible. While you will need to start a new character in Diablo 4 Season 3, you’ll still be able to feel the benefit of having certain actions completed when you begin the game again. For example, things you unlocked by playing through the story and during Seasons 1 and 2 will help you in Season 3, even though you’ll be starting a new character.

Below, we’ll provide a checklist of things to do before starting Season 3 of Diablo 4, and why each is important. Remember, the below list is completely optional, so don’t beat yourself up if you miss a few things. If you’re just beginning your Diablo 4 journey, you should start Season 3 straight away, however, if you’re already halfway through the game in Season 2 or with a none seasonal character, our advice is to keep going and start Season 3 once you’ve beaten the story – that way you won’t need to do it twice (as you can skip the campaign once you’ve beaten it once).

Also, be aware that Season 3 isn’t a story expansion or DLC, it’s just another fun way to play the game with some unique quests and mechanics. So, here’s what we recommend you do before jumping into Diablo 4 Season 3.

Choose a character class
Complete the campaign
Know how to get a mount
Find all the Altars of Lilith
Unlock the whole map & Renown
Know your Legendary Aspects

Diablo 4 Season 3 could bring a whole new flavor to the game.

Choose a character class

This seems obvious, but it’s important. Do you want to play the game with the same class you used in earlier playthroughs? If so, be aware that when Season 3 ends, this character will revert to a normal non-seasonal character – like your others, so may feel like a duplicate. Therefore, it may be worth choosing a new character class for Season 3 and seeing what they have to offer.

If you want to try a new build of an existing class, you can always just respec them instead. We’d advise using Diablo 4’s seasons as an opportunity to try a new class each time, as taking advantage of every season’s rewards and gimmicks will help keep play fresh and varied. Also, always remember that you can skip the campaign in seasonal content and jump right into the endgame – provided you’ve completed Diablo 4’s story at least once, either in seasonal play or non-seasonal play.

Don’t forget, we have a range of top-tier builds you can choose from for the best results using any character class, be it in leveling, endgame, or even PvP.

Complete the campaign

While you’ll be given the option to play through the story again in Season 3, if you want to jump right into the new content then you’ll be better off skipping it a second time around. Of course, you’ll still need to build your character up from scratch, but the seasonal content will allow you to progress pretty quickly, especially if you take advantage of World Tier increases and the Seasonal Journey steps.

So, if you’ve already played the campaign, feel free to skip it. Completing the campaign before starting Season 3 of Diablo 4 ensures you can have this skip option unlocked. While some players will want to replay the campaign during Season 3 to see how it compares, it’s nice to have the skip option if you need it. Also, don’t forget, that the campaign of Diablo 4 is epic and arguably the best part of Diablo 4.

Presumably, you’ll also want to have the story completed and have seen the ending before Season 3 begins. Remember, if you choose to play through the campaign again in Season 3, you can still skip it at any time should you change your mind.

We’d advise finishing the story before playing Season 3.

Know how to get a mount

A horse will make your life easier in Season 3 of Diablo 4, allowing you to traverse the map quickly. To get one you’ll either need to work through the campaign until that mission unlocks or simply skip it to find that you’ll now have a horse from the start.

This is a great way to hit the ground running in Season 3. Of course, though, you’ll need to have completed the campaign once first – as this is where your character is given their first horse.

Find all the Altars of Lilith

The good news is your seasonal characters in Diablo 4 will feel the benefit of your previous or, non-seasonal characters unlocking every Altar of Lilith.

After locating all 160 statues, each of your characters gets the following stats by default:

68 Strength
68 Intelligence
68 Willpower
68 Dexterity
100 Murmuring Obols capacity
4 Paragon Points

If you’ve unlocked all Altars of Lilith, then every new character you start (and all your previous ones) will have these boosted stats at the start! This will save time in building up your character every time and allow you to jump right into Diablo 4’s seasonal content and start hacking away!

Of course, it takes a while to hunt down and activate every Altar of Lilith, but you’ll only need to do it once, as the rewards from these apply to all your characters. You’ll notice a significant power boost in all your characters once the Altars of Lilith are unlocked.

We look forward to experiencing Season 3’s changes to gameplay.

Unlock the whole map & Renown

It pays to have explored the whole map before jumping into Season 3 of Diablo 4. This is because you’ll only need to do it once, as all characters after this, including seasonal characters, will start the game with the whole map already unlocked. However, if this is your first playthrough, don’t worry about that, just enjoy the game. Do remember though, the more you travel around the map and unlock areas, the more Renown you’ll get.

Should you unlock the map with one character and start another in Season 3, you’ll need to unlock certain waypoints again but most will be ready once you activate one. Some will once again be locked behind Strongholds, which reset with every character.

While this will make life much easier, the main benefit is all the Renown you receive from exploring the whole map will also carry over, giving you a nice boost at the start of each new game.

In fact, should you skip the campaign, find all Altars of Lilith, and unlock the whole map, you’ll begin Season 3 with a total of 3135 Renown right from the start. This includes 10 level-up points at the start and all the extra stats from the Altars, giving your new characters the best possible start.

Know your Legendary Aspects

Any Legendary Aspects you unlocked in your pre-Season 3 playthroughs won’t carry over. The game will encourage you to locate them and complete the various dungeons and bosses again.

Therefore, to ensure that you can head straight to the best locations when you start Season 3 to unlock the Aspects you need, note down the dungeons and Aspects that are most useful to your build.

If you’ve unlocked the whole map, you’ll be able to see where they are from the start, but it pays to know which ones to prioritize. Doing so will make life easier in the long run.

Check out some of the other Diablo 4 guides we’ve put together for you: