Season 3 in Diablo III is coming to an end in just a few weeks. Players always get at least a little warning before a Season ends, and this time is no different. Nevalistis posted a blog in the Diablo III section of Battle.net yesterday that states Season 3 will end on August 23, 2015.
I’m not quite done with Season 3 yet. At the same time, it feels like this Season has gone on long enough and is at a good place for it to end. There’s still some things I’m working on.
When Season 1 ended, I was ready for it. The first Season was the longest one so far. I was playing a soft core Barbarian named Gurr and I had one main goal: to reach Level 70 and unlock the transmog for two armor pieces. By the time the Season was close to ending, I had burned through all the Seasonal Achievements that I was interested in and started completing some Career Achievements (like Pink’d and Just Blue Myself).
In Season 2, I was playing a hard core Demon Hunter named Dusk. My main goal was, of course, not to die. Ideally, I wanted to get him to Level 70 so I could unlock the transmog for two more armor pieces (that matched the transmogs that were unlocked in Season 1). Season 2 didn’t last as long as Season 1 did. By the end, I was ready. I’d hit Level 70, unlocked the transmogs, managed to get some Paragon points, and hadn’t died.
In Season 3, I am playing a soft core Crusader named McGlynn (after the woman who was the female Crusader’s voice actress). The Achievements for Season 3 were very different from the ones in the first two Seasons. Suddenly, the focus was on Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts. The Monster Slaying Achievements I had fun with the first two Seasons were gone. There were no Achievements for finishing things in Story Mode.
This was a surprise, and a bit of a disappointment. I decided to look upon this change as a challenge. Part of what I wanted to do while playing Seasons was to use it as an excuse to do things differently. I intentionally picked a new class each Season. I pushed myself to finish Seasonal Achievements that didn’t match the Career ones. I made an effort to get into games with other players (mostly in Season 2).
For Season 3, I decided to focus on Rifts. I’d dabbled in them in Season 1, but never gave them much attention. I set myself what I thought were some reasonable goals to hit in Season 3. I wanted to get my Crusader to Level 70, to unlock the last transmog pieces that went with the “set”. I wanted to earn 100 Seasonal Achievement points so I could unlock the banner. I also wanted to earn 400 Seasonal Achievement points so I could unlock the special portrait thing.
Now that Season 3 is coming to an end, I realize that I’m not done yet. I’ve hit Level 70. It wasn’t difficult for me to earn 100 Seasonal Achievement points and unlock the banner. But, I’m struggling to earn 400 Seasonal Achievement points. I’ve got 310 and haven’t managed to earn any more.
Right now, my Crusader can do Torment III. She takes some hits, but not enough to kill her off. I did a “corpse run” through a Nephalem Rift in Torment IV, and Torment V, just to earn the Achievements for finishing a Nephalem Rift at those difficulties. I’m not able to do Torment VI at all.
I’ve beaten the bosses for the Achievements that go all the way up to Torment V, but cannot get my Crusader through the section you have to go through before you can fight Malthael. My Crusader gets squished almost right away.
I feel as though I definitely put effort into Rifts this Season. The highest I can complete is Tier 14, but I can’t beat the Rift Boss before the timer ends. There’s an Achievement for hitting Tier 15 and I can’t get there. It might have something to do with my gear, since I’m using a hodgepodge of set pieces right now. Or, maybe I need to have more Paragon points in order to make Torment IV and beyond more …. possible. I’m not sure.
What I am certain of is that my time is running out. So, I’ll be spending the last few weeks of Season 3 giving it my best shot to somehow come up with 90 more Seasonal Achievement Points. I’m not done with Season 3 yet.