It’s pretty easy to figure out what to do while Diablo III has a Season going on. You either choose to roll a Seasonal character and play the Season…. or you choose to opt-out and continue with whatever it was you were doing in Diablo III. It’s the in between time that can seem a little confusing, especially for people who are brand new to Diablo III.
What can you do while you are waiting for the next Season to begin? There are plenty of options.
I’m going to keep this advice kind of general so that it will be useful for the gap between the end of any season and the start of the next one. I’m trying to avoid getting super specific so I don’t have to update this blog as time goes on.
Retrieve Your Items from the Mail
Did you play a Seasonal character in the Season that just ended? Make sure you check your in-game mail. All of the items that were in your Seasonal character’s stash, and bag, will now be in the mailbox. You have only 30 days (from the day the Season ends) to get that stuff out of the mailbox. Wait too long, and it is going to disappear.
Level Up a Non-Seasonal Character
The gap between Seasons is a good time to return to your neglected non-seasonal character. Where did you leave him/her? If you haven’t got that character to Level 70 yet – now is a good time to work on that. There are Achievements for getting a certain number of characters to Level 60, and for getting a certain number of characters to Level 70.
Take a Break
Many people, myself included, like to get into a new Season as soon as possible and hit the ground running. During Season 1, I played so many hours of Diablo III on my Seasonal character that I started to burn out on the game entirely. If you pushed a lot of hours, and a lot of grinding, into the very last moments of the Season that just ended, it may be time for a break. Step away from Sanctuary for a few days, or a week, or for however long the break between Seasons happens to be. You will return to the game with a fresher outlook.
Test Out a New Class
You’ve decided to try out a class that is brand new to you in the upcoming Season. Great! Use the time between Seasons to get a feel for how that class works. Roll a non-seasonal character of that class and try things out. This gives you the opportunity to start the new Season with the knowledge of exactly how “squishy” a character of that class will start out as. You will already know how some of the skills work and which ones you happen to prefer. That could mean the difference between success and failure in the new Season (especially for hardcore Seasonal characters).
Organize a Game Night
Use the gap between Seasons as a time to get together with three other friends in Diablo III. You can keep things simple and do nothing more than pick a time for everyone to show up. Or, you can get creative. Try to see how far your group can get with a “speed run” through an Act (or through all of Story Mode). Have everyone dye their armor pink and go after all the bosses for the “Pink’d” Achievement. (Or, have everyone dye their armor blue and kill the bosses for the “I Just Blue Myself” Achievement).
If you want to get really complex, you could set up some sort of tournament. Organize a series of brawls. Winners go on to brawl against other winners. Someone should probably be keeping a spreadsheet of who fights with whom. Have everyone roll hardcore characters and do a “last man standing” type of game. Make it more difficult by refusing to allow anyone to equip armor.
Try Out Stuff That Changed With the New Patch
It seems to me that Blizzard is intending on releasing new patches in between one Season and the next. It appears to be less than ideal to make those kind of changes while a Season is going on. Take the time in the gap between Seasons to seek out the new stuff that the current patch brought to the game. Try out the class you intend to play in the upcoming Season, and see what the changes in the patch did to that class. Did it improve that class, or nerf it? The answer to that question could change your strategy for the upcoming Season.
Go Through Story Mode
When was the last time you played in Story Mode? The break between one Season and the next can give you the opportunity to try it again. There’s a lot of lore to be found in Story Mode if you pay attention while you play. Look for the journals that drop and listen to them being read to you. Play through the Followers quests in Act V, and the quest line with Shen. You might learn something about a specific character, or Sanctuary in general, that changes your former perspective.