Season 7 of Diablo III will begin on August 5, 2016. I’ve played in every Season so far, and am looking forward to the start of a brand new one. In general, I make a last minute decision about what class to play, jump in, and see what happens.
For Season 7, I’m going to do something different and actually make a plan about what I would like to accomplish. What would happen if I went in with specific goals in mind? My decision making process might be helpful to those of you who can’t decide what you want to do in Season 7.
Hardcore or Softcore?
Back in Season 1, I decided to start with a softcore character. Since then, I’ve been alternating between hardcore and softcore every season. Odd numbered seasons – softcore. Even numbered seasons – hardcore.
I like to switch off because it keeps things interesting for me. There are advantages to both. Softcore characters die, but can be revived. The advantage is that you can take a lot of crazy risks, push through as fast and hard as you can, and pick up where you left off if your character gets killed.
Hardcore characters live only one life. If they die – they are gone forever and you have to start all over again. This requires players to make calculated decisions regarding risk. It can be an adrenaline rush when your character gets into a tricky situation. Some feel the things a player accomplishes with a hardcore character are more meaningful than those done on a softcore character because of the increased risk involved.
If I continue the pattern, it means that I will make a softcore character in Season 7. I’ve decided that softcore is the best choice for me for Season 7 because:
* I had two hardcore Witch Doctors die in Season 6, and I don’t want to waste time starting over multiple times in Season 7.
* Season 7 will take place during what I call “Ragweed Season” where I live. Last year, I suffered through an extremely bad ragweed allergy season and was on a ton of medication. I’ve learned that I’m comfortable playing softcore characters while on allergy drugs, but tend to hesitate to play hardcore ones.
Season Rebirth
Season Rebirth was added to Diablo III in Season 5. It lets you take any non-Seasonal character you have and instantly transform them into a Seasonal character. The gear and items on your non-seasonal character end up in your in-game mail (and you can retrieve it after the Season ends).
One of the things I like to do in any video game I play is try everything I can (at least once). So, I’m going to use the Season Rebirth feature in Season 7. I feel like I’ve been neglecting the characters I created before Seasons were added to the game. Dropping one of them into a brand new Season gives me the chance to play that character again. I’ve never used Season Rebirth before, so I’m going to have to learn how to do it.
There have been 6 Seasons in Diablo III, and I’ve played a different class in each one. Season Rebirth is a good way to avoid running out of character slots.
Which Class?
I spent all of Season 6 playing Witch Doctors, so I’m going to pick a different class for Season 7.
One way to figure out what class to play is to take a look at the sets that are being offered via Haedrig’s Gift. Is there a set you don’t have yet? Play that class and get it. This time around, I don’t have any of the sets being offered, so this didn’t help me narrow down which class to play.
So, I decided to read the descriptions of each set in the hopes that one of them would sound like more fun than the rest. After careful consideration, I’ve decided that the Unhallowed Essence set would be really fun to try. This means I will be playing a Demon Hunter in Season 7.
The very first character I rolled, on the night Diablo III was released, was a Demon Hunter. I’m looking forward to playing her again in Season 7.
My Plan for Season 7
Now that I have figured out that I will be playing a softcore Demon Hunter, I can go ahead and make a plan for Season 7. Here is a list of goals I hope to accomplish:
* Complete Chapters I – IV of the Season Journey as quickly as possible. I have a tendency to move slowly through them. This results in having little time to try and complete the stuff that unlocks after Chapter IV.
* In past Seasons, I managed to get some of the objectives for Slayer done. In Season 7, I’d like to complete Slayer.
* Ideally, I want to complete Conquerer (which I believe gives a player additional stash space). This might be too high a goal for me to reach. I’m motivated to try for it anyway because I’m a digital hoarder and my softcore stash is full. I need more stash space!
* I want to master a set Dungeon instead of just squeaking by and completing it with the bare minimum of requirements.
* I’m going to try and complete as many of the Season Achievements as possible. I tend to ignore them and settle for whichever ones I randomly happen to complete. This time, I want to put effort into those Achievements.