Diablo 4’s upcoming Season 11 is bringing one of the biggest progression changes. Blizzard is removing both the Renown and Season Journey systems and replacing them with something new! You will now have access to Season Ranks, a more challenging, dungeon-focused way to earn your seasonal rewards.
Season Rank Explained
Season Rank is a new, more layered progression system that acts as a mix of the old Renown and Season Journey.
Each Rank comes with its own challenges, and to move to the next one, you will usually need to clear a Capstone Dungeon, and those are much like the ones that previously unlocked higher World Tiers.
The main thing that changes is that you can take on these Capstone challenges early if you are confident enough. Beating them below the recommended level is possible, but just more risky.
Completing Ranks will grant you various rewards, including the old Skill Points and Paragon Points you were previously getting through your completed Renown. You can also get exclusive cosmetics. This means you will no longer start at level 1 with a set of skill points coming from the Renown. You now need to gain those again each season through the Seasonal Rank.
Clearing an entire Rank also unlocks additional Capstone bonuses, offering a more meaningful reason to push further every season.
Renown Is Gone From the Seasonal Realm
Renown is not completely gone, but it is being removed from the Seasonal Realm entirely. Your Renown progress will now only persist in the Eternal Realm, so you will keep all that completion there, but not when starting a new season.
All those progression bonuses are now tied to Season Rank instead. That means you will still earn things like Skill Points and Paragon Points through the new Rank tiers, but no direct unlock at the start of each season.
It is currently unknown if the Renown progress such as Map Fog, Waypoints, or previously discovered Altars and Tenets are now reset with each new Season Rank, or if we keep all this. Players are already worried they will have to go over all of it each season again.
What Is Confirmed So Far
Here is what Blizzard confirmed for the time being. We will most likely discover more about this system during the PTR:
- Skill Points → Earned from Season Ranks 1-3
- Paragon Points → Earned from Season Ranks 3-6
- Extra Potion Capacity → Removed from the Renown track, replaced with a new bonus
- Altars of Lilith & Tenets of Akarat → Still grant XP and small rewards, but no longer give permanent stat boosts
This means that some map activities still have a purpose now, but they are no longer mandatory for your character power, such as the Altars. Instead, the power bonuses are obtained through the Season Ranks you gain.
Why It Is a Big Deal
For many players, the Renown was one of Diablo 4’s weakest content. It was something you had to do once at least, in order to get the bonus Skill and Paragon points, and after that, you basically forgot about it.
By replacing Renown and the Season Journey with Season Ranks, it basically gives you a new way to level up, and a good reason to do the various content.
It is a move that could make seasonal progress more rewarding and less grindy, if it lands well. For now, players remain cautious, as it is unknown what exactly you will have to grind through each season. If the map and waypoints do not stay unlocked, it might make a lot of people angry.
If it feels better than the old Renown and Journey setup or not is a mystery for now. It will depend on how balanced and rewarding those Capstone challenges turn out to be, and how much old Renown content we have to grind through again each season. However, it is definitely a step toward a new seasonal experience.