San Diego Studio recently laid out its plans for Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show 24, and community members slammed the decision to bring back sets and seasons after a controversial first year in place.
MLB The Show 23 drastically changed how Diamond Dynasty works. Previously, the mode used a power-creep system, slowly drip-feeding higher overall players until finally releasing the best cards at the end of a game’s life cycle. But with sets and seasons, the game introduced 99 overall cards on day one, making it possible for players to immediately build their dream teams.
On paper, the concept should have evened the playing field and put everyone on equal footing, but community members disagreed and complained when they saw sets and seasons are back in MLB The Show 24.
Seasons and sets return to MLB The Show 24
In MLB The Show 23, seasons ran from around six to eight weeks, and players could only build squads made up of specific set items within that time frame. For example, any card released during season one belonged to set one, and starting in season three, players could no longer use set one items. Some cards were designated as part of a “core set,” though, and could be used throughout the entire year, while players had one Wild Card slot to add one player from any set to their squad.
Community members raised concerns about the system as it forced players to spend a few weeks working toward valuable cards just to have them taken away later. San Diego Studio listened to the feedback and made a few significant changes.
In MLB The Show 24, there are set to be fewer high-tier 99 OVRs at the start of each season, free weekly packs throughout the year, four Wild Card slots instead of one, more ways to earn and sell high-tier cards, more frequent content drops, and seasons are now 12 weeks long. San Diego Studio emphasized bringing back a form of power creep but isolated within each season.
“Seasons will typically run 12 weeks, approximately 3 months. At launch, anticipate some of the highest rated Season 1 cards to start at 91 OVR, with new content drops gradually pushing the bar higher over each contained season until we reach those coveted 99s,” the devs said.
Despite the attempt to address concerns, some players still aren’t satisfied as they wanted sets and seasons removed completely instead.
“You say you listen to the community yet you keep in seasons and sets, which is the exact opposite of what most of the community wants,” a frustrated fan said.
The player base still has a hard time getting around MLB The Show 24 restricting which players you use after working so hard to earn them. “Gatekeeping cards after you grind or buy them is nasty,” a second community member added.
On the other hand, some skeptics are more willing to give the updated system a chance before jumping to any conclusions. “A lot of these changes are actually kind of nice. We’ll see how the execution is done,” MLB The Show streamer Aero Uprising said.
Having the ability to use four Wild Card slots instead of one and longer seasons should go a long way in addressing the primary complaints, but we won’t know for sure until MLB The Show 24 officially launches in March.
