Getting started
Live work orderInstall and start the seasonal characterBattle.net sign-in, always-online, then a Season of Hell's Legacy character.Work order
Install Diablo IV on a supported store, sign in with Battle.net, keep an internet connection, and create a seasonal character for Season of Hell's Legacy. Steam is offering the base game free until September 21, 2026 at 10 a.m. PT, with all classes and leveling to 30. Cross-play and cross-progression work on the live stores. This page is the install order for this week, not a campaign walkthrough. Windows is the Steam OS. Battle.net is the account. Seasonal is the character flag. Miss any of those three and the anniversary systems will not show up the way this week's notes describe them.
Install this week
On PC, install from Steam app 2344520 or the Battle.net launcher. Steam is Windows-only on the store payload. After Steam finishes, the client still asks for Battle.net. On Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch 2, use that store's Diablo IV product — Switch 2 is the Age of Hatred Collection with both expansions. Cross-play is on by default in the live copy; leave it on if you group across stores.
A Steam library row that says installed is not the same as a Battle.net session. Launch the client and complete that sign-in before you create a character. Xbox Wire lists Xbox One and Xbox Series for the live copy. PlayStation uses the same Battle.net account. Nintendo Switch 2 sells the Age of Hatred Collection: base game plus Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred, not a Steam app id. If you already own Standard on PC, skip the collection unless you want the Switch 2 stack. Cross-progression follows the Battle.net account, not the store receipt.
First seasonal character
Create a seasonal character, not an Eternal one, if you want Season of Hell's Legacy systems. Waking Nightmares, Soul Splinters, and the season rank track are seasonal. Pick a class you actually own: the launch five on the base game, Spiritborn with Vessel of Hatred, Paladin or Warlock with Lord of Hatred. Amazon is not in this client.
Socket one Prime Evil splinter once the season questline hands it over. Terror for Helltide and Infernal Hordes, Destruction for the Undercity and Lair Bosses, Hatred for The Pit and Nightmare Dungeons. Jewelry takes up to three duplicitous gems. Open Soul Splinters after you finish the install checklist. Eternal characters do not receive Waking Nightmares or the season rank track. Seasonal characters do. Cross-play can stay on. Expansion classes still need their SKU even during the free window if you want to keep them after level 30. Keep the Prime Evil socket and jewelry gems on that seasonal character; Eternal does not inherit those season sockets.
Steam achievements
Steam Community lists 45 achievements for app 2344520. Each row is a name plus a one-line unlock on the community stats page, not a system with its own wiki URL. Use the Steam overlay or that community list if you are collecting them. They are not a substitute for the seasonal rank track, and this nav has no achievements link because those 45 rows stay overlay entries.
Most of the 45 unlock while you run campaign, Helltides, or The Pit, so you do not need a separate achievement route. Highlighted icons on the community page are the same roster, not a shorter official subset. If a friend asks where the achievement wiki pages are, point them at Steam Community stats for 2344520. Season of Hell's Legacy still tracks rank, Soul Splinters, and Waking Nightmares on the seasonal character, independent of whether an overlay toast popped. Count 45 is the live community total for this app id.
After you are in Sanctuary
Run the campaign if this is your first character, then move to The Pit, Helltides, and War Plans. If you already finished the campaign on Eternal, skip straight to the seasonal quest and Waking Nightmares. About 15 percent of the season rank, including Rank VIII, wants Lord of Hatred. You can still play the rest of the season on the base game.
Keep Battle.net signed in. A dropped internet connection drops you from every mode. For store and SKU questions, use platforms and editions. For class choice, use Diablo IV classes. For the live season calendar, use Season of Hell's Legacy. Waking Nightmares, Soul Splinters, and the season rank live on the seasonal character. The Pit, Helltides, and World Bosses live on the endgame board. Lord of Hatred is optional unless Rank VIII is the goal. Open Soul Splinters after the seasonal quest, then the endgame table for the loop those gems modify. Use those three ledgers in that order once the work order is ticked.
Bench notes
The work-order ticks stay in this browser, so you can reload mid-install without losing progress. That memory is local to this machine; a second device starts unchecked. Steam's store payload marks macOS and Linux as unavailable, so a Mac purchase path is not on app 2344520. Consoles follow Xbox Wire and the Nintendo eShop collection instead of that Windows client.
After the work order, the framed trailer on this page is the motion brief for Season of Hell's Legacy, not a second install step. Watch it if you want to see Waking Nightmares and Soul Splinters before you enter the seasonal quest. If a title-screen bounce happens after a Steam install, the usual cause is a missing Battle.net sign-in, not a failed download. If anniversary systems are missing, the usual cause is an Eternal character instead of a seasonal one. Untick nothing that you already finished; the boxes only record this browser.
Using the Steam free window without confusion
The Steam free window covers the base game, all classes, and leveling to 30 until September 21, 2026 at 10 a.m. PT. Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred are not free DLC during that window. After the timestamp the store SKU is paid again; this is a timed promotion, not a permanent free-to-play relaunch. Seasonal characters created in the window keep seasonal rules if you later buy a SKU.
Level 30 is the cap named in the Steam announcement. It is enough to sample a class fantasy and the always-online login, not enough to finish a full season rank. Rank VIII still wants Lord of Hatred and a character past that cap. If you only want to confirm Battle.net login on this machine, the window is enough. Cross-play is already in the live copy; turn it on if you group with console friends. Keep the internet connection up while you play. The season guide is the systems sequence after this install order.
