Diablo 4 season 2’s biggest draw is its quality-of-life updates

polygon.com:

Diablo 4’s Season of Blood brings some cool new vampire powers into the fold, but the real star of the action game’s second season is its sweeping quality-of-life changes. Players will now have an easier time leveling up, gaining quality loot, and just navigating the open world of Sanctuary.

Game director Joe Shely and associate game director Joe Piepiora sat down to do a roundtable interview with Polygon and other outlets ahead of Blizzard’s Oct. 4th livestream, and gave additional context to Nightmare Dungeon changes, Renown, and more.

One of the most notable changes for players in Diablo 4’s second season update will be an increase in experience gains. Blizzard claims players will be able to reach the level cap of 100 about 40% faster than in Season of the Malignant — which already increased experience gains compared to Diablo 4’s launch. This process should be much smoother for players as well, as monsters will now match their levels between 55 and 75.

Shely told the panel that last season, players set a goal for themselves: Get to level 100. However, many players found that they were never able to hit that milestone because XP gains were so slow. This change should allow more players to reach the level cap each season, allowing them to play with a truly maxed-out build.

As for how players will spend their time at max level and where they’ll be able to earn some of the game’s most powerful items, enter the five new endgame bosses: Grigoire The Galvanic Saint, the Echo of Varshan, The Beast in the Ice, the Dark Master, and the Echo of Duriel. Each boss has its own laundry list of busy work for players to complete in order to unlock their encounter — such as completing Nightmare Dungeons above level 30 or completing