Card-collecting game modes have a bad reputation amongst many sports gamers, and rightfully so. Many of these modes have been turned into little more than glorified slot machines and ways to extract excess revenue from consumers. However, one of these modes is often looked at as an exception to this rule, MLB The Show’s Diamond Dynasty. Yes, whenever the discussion of how Ultimate Team modes have ruined sports games comes up, there will always be one or two people chime in saying “Well, except for Diamond Dynasty.”
I first hopped into Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show 21, and have been hooked ever since. So, if you are curious about what sets Diamond Dynasty apart from other modes and want to give it a try, this is the place for you. In this article, we will go over the basics of how Diamond Dynasty works, and how you can get started working towards fielding your dream baseball team.
Squad Management
When you first enter Diamond Dynasty, you will see four tabs: Home, Play, Collect, and Shop. Under the Home tab, you will see the Manage Squad option. This is where you will choose which cards are in your active lineup. At the top of your screen, you can create up to four lineups, called squads. There are options to generate your best Seasonal squad, best overall squad, as well as rename and delete your squads.
Your squad is made up of the nine batters in your lineup (including DH), four bench batters, five starting pitchers, and eight relief pitchers. Each card for a player will have primary and secondary positions listed. When you select a position in the field, you will see the cards with that primary position. You can use the bumpers on your controllers to also view players who have that secondary position, as well as those who don’t have that position listed.
If you choose to play a player at a secondary position, you will experience slight penalties for arm accuracy, fielding, and reaction. If you play a player out of position, you will experience significant penalties for these attributes.
From the position player view, you can navigate to the right to edit your batting order. Navigating all the way to the left will show you the Captain menu. Captains are cards that will give players on your squad boosts if you meet certain criteria.
At the end of the day, how you set up your squad and manage your lineup is up to you. You know how you like to play, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Set your lineup accordingly, and never be afraid to experiment with new cards and new strategies.
Programs
Seasonal XP Reward Program
In MLB The Show 24 Diamond Dynasty, there are two types of programs: the Seasonal XP Reward Program and Other Programs. Let’s start with the Seasonal XP Reward Program. This is the seasonal Battle Pass for the mode, only you don’t have to pay for it. As you play MLB The Show 24 you will earn XP. This is true for any mode in the game, not just modes within Diamond Dynasty. As you reach certain XP thresholds, you’ll earn the corresponding rewards.
Rewards in the Seasonal XP Reward Program can include things like Stubs, jerseys, equipment, bat skins, profile icons, packs, and cards. The biggest rewards within these programs though are the bosses. Seasonal XP Reward Programs typically include a set of high-tier and low-tier bosses. These bosses usually come in choice packs, meaning you get to choose which one you get each time you open the pack.
The low-tier bosses for the Season 1 XP Reward Program are the Captain Choice Packs. There are two Hitter Captains and two Pitcher Captains packs in this season’s program. You will be able to pick from one of the 30 hitting and pitching captains. That means you will be able to get four captains for free just by completing the Season 1 XP Reward Program.
The high-tier bosses are among the highest-rated cards in the mode. They are very powerful cards that will become the key piece of your lineup. In the Season 1 XP Reward Program, there are three bosses, each a 99 OVR. You will be able to earn all three of these cards just by completing the program. However, it will take a while. You will need to earn 1,000,000 XP to get the first of these bosses. Still, you can’t turn down three free 99 OVR cards.
However, the good thing about the Seasonal XP Reward Path is that you cannot buy your way to the best rewards. Everyone has to earn their way to the bosses. There is no shortcut or pay-to-win here.
The Other Programs are similar to the Seasonal XP Reward Path in the types of rewards they offer. However, Other Programs typically have a theme to them. The rewards in the program will be centered around this theme. This theme could be a card series, an event going on in MLB, or just something the developers think will be fun.
Other Programs
The main difference between Other Programs and the Seasonal XP Reward Program is how you earn the rewards. Instead of XP, Other Programs give you points for completing objectives and requirements. As you earn more points, you will unlock more of the rewards. While each program is unique and has different objectives, usually they will have some combination of the following: Moments, Conquest, Showdown, Missions, and Exchanges. Moments, Conquest, and Showdown are single-player game modes that I’ll discuss more in detail in a later guide. For now, let’s talk about Missions and Exchanges.
Missions
Missions come in many varieties, but in essence, you get points for completing a goal. They either want you to earn so much PXP or reach a statistical milestone with a particular card, series of cards, players from a certain team, etc. Missions are part of the program you can do passively. So while you are playing Conquest or online modes to progress the programs, keep an eye on what missions you need to complete. Make sure that your lineup has at least some of the cards you need to be earning progress towards these goals. That way, you can progress the missions while also working towards completing other objectives for the program
Exchanges
Exchanges are exactly what they sound like. You exchange cards in your inventory for program points. Each card in Diamond Dynasty is assigned an exchange value based on its overall rating. You will need to reach value thresholds to earn the points. The higher the threshold, the more points you will earn. However, exchanging a card removes it from your inventory permanently. You will have to decide if losing that card and losing out on the stubs you could have made from selling that card is worth it.
Collections
Outside of programs, the best place to earn new cards is collections. Collections give you rewards for collecting certain amounts of card types. There can be several types of collections, but some are consistent from year to year.
The biggest and most commonly sought-after collection is the Live Series collection. This collection is for collecting all of the Live Series cards in the game. As you complete each team you will earn a reward. However, once you complete the American League, National League, and MLB, you will earn some of the best rewards in the game.
Play Ball
Now that we have gone over the basics, you are ready to hop in and start grinding. Before you do, remember one thing. Diamond Dynasty is about having fun and playing the game your way. If you want to hop into online modes against other players, be my guest. If you want to just play against the CPU on Rookie difficulty at Polo Grounds, knock yourself out. This is a video game; it is meant to be fun. So have all the fun you can while you build the squad of your dreams.