Today, MLB The Show 24 announced all the changes coming to Diamond Dynasty this year. While many players were displeased with last year’s execution, SDS seems to have decided to continue with the Seasons approach to the mode. This time, however, there will be some major differences.
Seasons
Seasons are back in Diamond Dynasty this year with a new approach. Cards released in a season will be exclusive to that particular season. Each season will last 12 weeks, with cards climbing in power throughout the season. Unlike last year where cards were usable for two seasons, this year cards will become unusable after only one season. That means Season 1 cards will be not usable in Season 2.
Core cards are returning this year. Core cards are cards that can be earned and used during any season throughout the year. These cards include all Live Series cards, as well as rewards from special Core Series collections.
The idea behind Seasons this year is that each season will feature its own power creep. For example, at the beginning of Season 1, the highest rated rewards will be around 91 OVR. As the season progresses, more powerful cards will be released, all the way up to 99 OVR. Once Season 2 begins, all Season 1 cards will be unusable, and the new rewards for Season 2 will start back at lower ratings.
Rewards
New rewards will be given to players at the beginning of each season to help them get a head start on building their new team. The first of these will be the Cornerstone cards. Cornerstone players are Captain cards with “special abilities” that will help you when making your lineup. Now what these “special abilities” are, we have yet to really find out. What we do know is that at the beginning of each season, players will get a free pack where they can get one of four Cornerstone players to start building their new team around.
Along with the Cornerstone pack is the new Seasonal Starter Packs. Players will get this 5-pack bundle for free at the start of each season. Finally, Head Start Rewards are returning from last year. This feature gives players extra rewards at the start of a season based on their progress in the previous season.
For existing rewards, a few changes have been made to make them easier to acquire. Ranked program rewards will now be sellable, reversing a change that was made last year. Ranked programs will also now feature an exclusive program player reward you can earn by playing Ranked Seasons. Battle Royale Flawless packs will now only require players to go 10-0 in the mode, instead of 12-0 like in previous years. Finally, Events will now be two weeks long, giving players more time to earn rewards.
In The Show Shop, there will be new weekly free packs available for players. These will feature themed packs all throughout the MLB season.
Team Affinity
Team Affinity is also getting a few changes. Now, a new Team Affinity program will drop three times each season, or about every four weeks. These programs will still contain 30 players, one from each of the 30 MLB clubs.
Since these programs will be coming out more frequently, players can expect to progress through the programs at a faster pace. There will be a good mix of online and offline goals to complete to progress through the programs. There will also be repeatable methods of progressing, as well as methods in every part of Diamond Dynasty.