Diablo 4 finally adds a mode it should have had on day one, but all I can think about is skinny Roadhog

Diablo 4 Season 14 is upon us, and it's an important moment for Blizzard. Its Lord of Hatred expansion has largely been a triumph, rounding out the ongoing story arc and bringing a bit more needed structure to the endgame. The big question now is whether the studio can carry that momentum forward into its first big reset, keeping players coming back for more. There's certainly a lot to look forward to in the 'Season of Death Awakening,' from the finalized implementation of proper leaderboards and SSF mode to a Warlock free trial and an Overwatch collab, although that latter addition has left me rather unsettled.

At the center of the new Diablo 4 season are "Dark Rituals creating multiple Ruptures throughout Sanctuary." These Ruptures can appear anywhere, but most commonly spawn during the Helltide, and you want to keep them open for as long as possible by plowing through the creatures they spawn to maximize your rewards. If you're a Path of Exile player, this feels a lot like Breach, one of PoE's longest-running and most successful mechanics; it's certainly a format I'm eager to try Diablo's own take on.

Ruptures include a new family of monsters, the Risen. The more dangerous variants, 'Surging' and 'Colossal' Ruptures, have a chance to spawn a Realmwalker when completed (it's guaranteed for the latter). Defeat this, and you'll unlock a portal to the 'Deathtoll Chamber,' a "one-room mini-dungeon" that promises even more valuable loot. It's also the main source for Superior Lair Keys, which you'll need to open the seasonal Lair Boss hoard in Torment difficulties. The treadmill ticks ever onward.

After literally years of requests, Diablo 4 SSF mode is finally here. Solo Self-Found is a character toggle you can set when starting out. It can be used in either normal or hardcore, although must be made in the current season of the RPG. Activating this locks the character out of parties and trade, and restricts their shared stash, currency, and Paragon level to other SSF characters on the same account. There's no way to turn it off, although it will be reverted at the end of the season when they move to the Eternal realm.

As someone who already plays most of my Diablo 4 this way (and typically makes separate characters for any co-op I engage in), I'm all for this mode. It ensures every loot drop counts, because you have to rely on what you find or craft yourself. Prove you're the best, and you'll get access to SSF-exclusive Tower leaderboards, now that the feature is finally out of beta. There will also be leaderboard cosmetics and titles based on both your progression through the Tower, and your finishing rank among other players.

If you prefer to run with others, there's good news there. War Plans have been overhauled for co-op play and now offer the ability to sync up your current board with your party. To do this, you'll need to all be in Temis, and the player who selects the 'New Plan for Party' prompt will roll a fresh War Plans board, which will then be shared with all other people in the group. Blizzard notes that this sync ignores player-specific factors such as your War Plans level, Torment tier, or campaign completion.

Every unique in the game now has the ability to drop as a mythic unique, at least in name. In practice, this is basically akin to Diablo 3's 'primal legendaries.' They're a guaranteed ancestral with a complete set of maximum rolls, and their unique powers are 30% stronger. Horadric Cube crafting now gives you the ability to make your own mythic uniques, although you're only allowed to wear one crafted mythic at a time (again, this is exactly how D3's primal legendary crafting works).

If you haven't yet bought Lord of Hatred and are interested in trying out its new Warlock class, you can do so for free between Tuesday, June 30, and Tuesday, July 7. Unfortunately, it's a bit too limited for my tastes - it only goes up to level 30, meaning you can't really experience the class to its fullest. The trial is also limited to Battlenet, Xbox, and PlayStation, leaving Steam players out in the cold. If you do jump in and enjoy it, progress at least carries over, should you buy the expansion.

Okay, I've tried to put it out of my head, but I simply cannot. Let's talk about the Diablo 4 Overwatch collab. I'm doing a bit of guesswork-matching here, but I feel confident that our loadout is: Genji as the Rogue, Reaper as the Necromancer, Brigitte as the Paladin, Moira as the Warlock, Reinhardt as the Barbarian, Kiriko as the Spiritborn, Roadhog as the Druid, and Mercy as the Sorcerer.

I can put aside the fact that some of these simply don't look right due to Diablo 4's pre-defined class face shapes, and that the likes of Mercy, Brigitte, and Moira look more like cosplayers than their original inspirations. We're zoomed out pretty far, after all. But Roadhog just looks wrong. The Druid might be Diablo 4's bulkiest class, but it still pales in comparison to the Australian tank's iconic silhouette, and I simply do not like looking at it.

Personally, I might have opted for the likes of Hazard or Mauga, and let Roadhog take the place of the Butcher at random intervals - he even has the hook. Anyway, what's done is done. Other than that, I think the cosmetics team at Blizzard has done a fairly admirable job of incorporating these new Overwatch skins into Diablo 4 in a way that doesn't detract too much from its core art style. Certainly no more so than the Starcraft or World of Warcraft crossovers did, at least. Call me when we get D4 K-pop skins, or an equivalent to the new Nyan Café designs over in Overwatch land.

Diablo 4 Season 14, Season of Death Awakening, begins on Tuesday, June 30 at 10am PT / 1am ET / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST. There will be new seasonal journey rewards to earn, along with a fresh Battle Pass Reliquary. Blizzard has also announced extra Twitch Drops in the form of the 'Final Headache' two-handed mace, which can be claimed after watching two hours of eligible streams between June 30 and July 14.