Blizzard has a solution. Its catch-up system allows returning players to gain Paragon levels at extraordinary speed, closing a gap that might otherwise take months to overcome.
But reaching the same level as a veteran does not necessarily mean being anywhere near as powerful.
A new Diablo Immortal catch-up XP debate is questioning whether accelerated Paragon progression helps newcomers or creates unrealistic expectations about their actual strength. In a Blizzard forum discussion that began October 31, one player suggests slowing experience gains at higher Paragon levels so characters have more time to develop their equipment.
Other players argue that this would solve the wrong problem. Blizzard has already overhauled Combat Rating progression, they point out, while the real differences between newcomers and veterans often lie in secondary attributes, Normal Gems and Resonance.
It is an interesting disagreement, because both sides want returning players to become stronger. They simply disagree about which part of the journey is broken.
Diablo Immortal Catch-Up XP Makes Paragon Levels Easier Than Ever
The discussion began when forum user Foxhounds proposed reducing or removing catch-up XP at higher Paragon levels.
According to the player, accelerated leveling allows characters to reach the requirements for difficult content before their Combat Rating has developed sufficiently. The concern is that some newcomers end up entering dungeons, raids or PvP activities with impressive levels but inadequate combat performance.
There is a certain logic to the argument. Diablo Immortal has become exceptionally generous with experience for characters far behind the server's progression.
When Blizzard introduced the Warlock in June 2026, Server Paragon jumped to 1500. Characters below Paragon 1100 received a remarkable 1,500% experience bonus, alongside three additional Paragon levels for every level earned. The bonus gradually decreased as characters approached Paragon 1500.
These were the catch-up rules announced for that June update, rather than a complete description of every subsequent adjustment. Nevertheless, they demonstrate Blizzard's determination to prevent returning players from spending months simply reaching the current game.
It makes sense. Diablo Immortal launched in 2022, and four years of additional content, difficulties and progression systems have created an intimidating distance between established accounts and newcomers.
We have previously examined how Winds of Fortune can accelerate progression for returning players, particularly when their existing experience modifiers make every completed activity more rewarding.
But experience is only one part of character development, and this is where the original criticism runs into an important complication.
Blizzard has already changed the relationship between Paragon and Combat Rating.
In May 2026, the developers removed several older progression systems, including the Ancestral Tableau and Helliquary upgrade system. Set equipment upgrades and Demonic Remains also stopped contributing Combat Rating, while Paragon levels began granting Combat Rating, Seeker Rating and primary attributes directly.
Previously, returning players faced a collection of separate upgrade systems, each demanding resources accumulated through repeated activities. Blizzard's changes were intended to reduce precisely that problem.
The result is that Paragon progression and Combat Rating are now more closely connected than the original forum complaint suggests.
Another participant, Meteorblade, argues that the automatic CR catch-up currently stops around Paragon 1500, while server levels are approaching 1700. The player proposes extending the catch-up range to Paragon 1600.
That is a community account of the current threshold and a suggested change, not a newly announced Blizzard adjustment. But it points toward a very different solution from slowing down experience.
Rather than keeping newcomers at lower levels, why not help their Combat Rating follow them further?
The Real Progression Gap May Be Normal Gems and Resonance
The strongest counterargument comes from players who believe Combat Rating is no longer the main obstacle.
Forum user tsansou argues that Blizzard's recent changes have already removed many of the old CR barriers. Equipment appropriate to a character's current Paragon level is also obtainable through ordinary activities, making it easier to reach the requirements for relevant PvE content.
The harder problem, according to the player, is everything that catch-up experience does not provide.
Secondary attributes and Resonance remain substantial long-term investments. Armor, Armor Penetration, Potency and Resistance can differ enormously between accounts, even when their owners have similar Paragon levels and Combat Rating.
Normal Gems are a particularly good example. Players have spent years collecting and upgrading them, with each higher rank demanding increasingly large quantities of resources.
Blizzard attempted to make that process more manageable in September by introducing Progressive Upgrades for Normal Gems beginning at Rank 6. Smaller improvements can now be earned before completing an entire rank, making progress more visible.
But easier progression is not the same as immediately catching up.
A returning player can gain hundreds of Paragon levels relatively quickly. Reconstructing years of accumulated gem upgrades is an entirely different undertaking.
That matters particularly in PvP, where characters with similar visible progression can perform very differently. Blizzard has already acknowledged the complexity through its Battleground matchmaking changes involving Armor and Armor Penetration, recognizing that Resonance alone does not fully describe a character's strength.
There is another important distinction raised in the discussion.
Being weaker than an exceptionally developed veteran does not necessarily mean being too weak for the content. Meteorblade describes how players meeting the Combat Rating requirement for Inferno XV Challenge Dungeons can legitimately participate, even when their teammates possess considerably higher CR.
That difference is fundamental to understanding the problem. A newcomer should not be expected to equal somebody who has played almost daily since 2022 before being allowed into ordinary group activities.
And Diablo Immortal's progression is hardly standing still. As we covered in our Challenge Rift Season 21 preview, the maximum floor rises to 950 on November 2, while additional Secondary Item Ranks introduce further goals for high-Paragon characters.
Blizzard therefore faces a familiar live-service dilemma. Veterans need new challenges and opportunities to improve their characters, while newcomers need a realistic route into the same game without spending years catching up.
Making experience slower would certainly keep returning players at lower Paragon levels for longer. Whether it would actually help them acquire Normal Gems, improve secondary attributes or compete more effectively is another question.
Other players have suggested increasing material rewards instead. That approach would address the resources newcomers need, rather than slowing their access to more recent content.
Blizzard has not announced plans to remove high-level catch-up XP. The current discussion remains a community proposal, and there is no confirmed developer response committing to either approach.
But it raises a question that becomes more important with every major update: what should catching up actually mean?
Diablo has always been about watching an ordinary adventurer become extraordinarily powerful. The pleasure comes from finding better equipment, understanding increasingly complicated systems and eventually destroying monsters that once seemed impossible.
Diablo Immortal has made the journey through Paragon levels much shorter for returning players, and that is probably necessary for a game approaching its fifth year.
The challenge is making sure the rest of the character can follow.
After all, reaching Paragon 1700 is an impressive achievement.
It becomes slightly less impressive when your opponents have spent four years upgrading everything the Paragon system doesn't measure.
Sources: Blizzard Forums – Catch-Up XP Discussion, Blizzard – Combat Rating and Progression Adjustments, and Blizzard – Warlock and Paragon Catch-Up Changes.
