Over five months have passed since the initial release of MLB The Show 25. While not everyone who owns it has fully experienced all the changes in all modes, you should at least be able to appreciate whether the more prominent updates are meaningful.
Take Diamond Dynasty, for example. As one of the most popular modes in MLB The Show series, it already offers a rich gameplay experience, so it likely received the most changes in MLB 25.
Aside from the numerous new additions, one particularly notable change in Diamond Dynasty is the removal of Sets & Seasons. This feature was introduced in MLB 23 but had always received mediocre reviews from players.
The development team could have chosen to upgrade this feature, but ultimately opted to remove it, avoiding the possibility that you continuing to invest stubs in meaningless MLB 25 players.
Based on actual gameplay experience over the past few months, has this decision been effective? We will provide you with relevant analysis.
What Does Sets & Seasons Do?
Initially, in MLB 23, you could earn Diamond Dynasty card sets through your hard work. However, each set was only valid for one in-game season, which typically lasted six to eight weeks. This meant that every month, a part of your hard-earned cards would immediately become obsolete!
Although MLB The Show 24 extended the length of seasons after its release, this was merely a temporary fix and didn't fundamentally address the flaws of Sets & Seasons.
This rigid timeliness inevitably forced you to constantly update your player cards, resulting you to consume more stubs or play longer to earn new sets, and ultimately, you grew tired of it.
MLB 25 After This Feature Was Removed
Based on this, MLB The Show 25 didn't extend the seasons or otherwise modify them. Instead, it simply removed Sets & Seasons. More importantly, the development team didn't leave this "slot" vacant, instead introducing Yearlong Progression as a replacement.
This mechanic ensures that players acquired in Diamond Dynasty remain permanently available, regardless of season. This allows you to build a team based on your existing cards and personal preferences at any time, and continuously upgrade your players throughout the year.
This not only completely solves the problem of Sets & Seasons, which required constant updates to your roster and game strategy as the seasons changed, but also provides a more consistent experience in building your Diamond Dynasty team and a genuine sense of accomplishment as your players progress.
Different Perspectives
While Yearlong Progression replaces Sets & Seasons with benefits overall, some players believe it may lead to excessive power inflation in the later stages of the game.
Based on current performance trends, this speculation is certainly plausible. But honestly, compared to the issues with Sets & Seasons, this power inflation doesn't appear to have a significant negative impact and, in fact, reinforces the value of playing Diamond Dynasty.
Furthermore, while MLB Legends in previous games didn't rotate, MLB 25 changes this mechanic. You'll even have the opportunity to acquire baseball stars from different eras and use them to build your own dream team in Diamond Dynasty.
This also means that in addition to building your team, MLB 25 provides a virtual platform for you to initiate or witness many star-studded matchups that wouldn't be possible in the real world, given the significant age gaps between some of these players.
How Are The Other Diamond Dynasty Gameplays Performing?
Besides replacing Sets & Seasons with Yearlong Progression, Diamond Dynasty has received a number of new gameplay features in MLB 25, most of which have been well-received.
Diamond Quest
This is a truly new gameplay feature, requiring you to complete specific tasks to earn currency that can be redeemed for additional rewards. It's a bit like an upgraded and improved version of the previous Conquest mode, with a slight roguelike twist.
In Diamond Quest, the higher the difficulty of the mission you choose, the better the cards and other rewards you might receive.
Diamond Quest has received excellent reviews so far, but you might find it a bit difficult and complex. After all, the rewards at a lower difficulty level aren't worth the time investment.
Weekend Classic
This mode takes place at the end of each season, allowing you to directly compete against players of similar skill, with rewards awarded based on your account level. To progress continuously, you'll need to maintain a winning streak.
This mode is great for MLB The Show 25 players who enjoy authentic competition and challenging themselves, and they might even wish it were held more frequently! However, if you prefer more relax gameplay, it might not be for you.
Team Affinity
Team Affinity, a long-standing core component of Diamond Dynasty mode, has been further refined in MLB The Show 25. Not only can you unlock more rewards for each team, but you can also build your own team based on your favorite team or captain.
The advantage of this feature is that if you're a fan of a particular team, completing Team Affinity objectives allows you to interact more frequently with your favorite team members in-game, while also earning cards and MLB 25 Stubs.
Overall, most of Diamond Dynasty's feature changes have performed well, and the success of Yearlong Progression justifies canceling Sets & Seasons - with better new mechanics, canceling the old feature might be a better outcome than changing it.
