Inside MLB The Show's Diamond Dynasty Multiplayer Program

MLB The Show fans who have followed all the updates to the minute on Diamond Dynasty have known since March 4's Fielding Feedback reveal that multiplayer progression has been consolidated into one program across Ranked, Battle Royale and Events, but the details were scarce until Wednesday afternoon's Feature Premiere.

The change represents a huge shift in how players who brave the high stakes of a Battle Royale entry or the potentially mercilessly sweaty Ranked and Event modes are rewarded for their time. Previously, rewards for each were siloed in programs specific to each respective mode. Those days are no more.

Here is everything you need to know about what awards will be available, how to progress through the new Multiplayer Program and what can be done with the cards you earn.

RANKED CHANGES

The World Series grind is no longer a trek to a 900 rating. The rating threshold for World Series was decreased by 100 (to 800), a move the developers said was motivated by wanting to make World Series rewards slightly more attainable. The World Series reward for the first ranked season is a choice pack containing an 88 Mickey Mantle and an 88 Steve Carlton (a new legend).

That does not mean there are no exclusive rewards for the best of the best, though. For players who advance past 1000 rating to the G.O.A.T. level, a unique "1000" rating icon and a choice pack will be awarded. The choice pack will feature two non-sellable versions of the World Series rewards with golden card art and "1000 rating" logos on them. These cards have the same attributes as the standard World Series rewards, making the differences purely aesthetic.

The gameplay difficulty for World Series (800-899) will be on Hall of Fame, Legend (900-999) will be on Legend and G.O.A.T and above (1000+) will be on the new G.O.A.T. difficulty.

BATTLE ROYALE

With the help of community legend CBrev, now a member of SDS' live content team, the flawless rewards for the first Battle Royale were also introduced. A 10-0 streak will reward players with a choice pack featuring 87 Lance Berkman (a new legend), as well as 87 Rich "Goose" Gossage.

The entry rewards for two wins (75-79 silver), five wins (80-84 gold), eight wins (85-86 diamond) and 10 wins (87+ diamond) also return.

EVENTS

The first event will be live for players as soon as they log into the game and will end on March 21 at 11 a.m. Pacific. The rules include a limit of players from the teams competing in the Cactus League Spring Training (ATH, AZ, CHC, CWS, CIN, CLE, COL, KC, LAD, LAA, MIL, SD, SEA, SF and TEX) as well as players from any team in the Pipeline, Spring Breakout and Jolt Series'.

The inclusion of three card series off jump in the first event is a promising sign for content available at launch. The first event will be three-inning games on All-Star difficulty, with free entries as always. Win streak rewards for individual entries also return, with the first event awarding a 65-74 bronze card for a two-win entry, a 75-79 silver for five wins, an 80-84 gold for eight wins and an 85-87 diamond for 10 wins.

With the birth of the Multiplayer Program, Events-exclusive rewards have been eliminated. This makes Events a more "casual" head-to-head mode and should provide players with a more fun, low-stakes, three-inning experience. Removing Events-specific rewards also allows SDS to be more flexible and creative with lineup restrictions.

THE MULTIPLAYER PROGRAM

Historically, ne of the tedious parts of accessing every card released in the game was having to grind out wins or statistics in each of the Ranked, Events and Battle Royale programs. This is no longer the case in MLB The Show 25, as there is one Multiplayer Program with missions spanning all three modes.

While there are three introductory missions of getting a hit in each mode to introduce the concept, players can stick to the multiplayer format they feel most comfortable in to complete the rest of the missions and advance the program. Like the ranked program in MLB The Show 24, missions are dropping in waves. The last game featured a second wave, but this game will also feature a third wave.

The first wave will be available on launch, while the latter two will be released March 25 and April 1. Players will have roughly a month to complete the first Multiplayer Program.

There were two new Legend player rewards revealed in the first 45 points of the Multiplayer Program, starting with 85 Mark Davis at 10 points. At 45 points, players will earn 87 Terry Pendleton. There were two additional mystery player items shown later in the program, and they will be revealed as the second and third mission drops occur. All four player rewards are sellable for those that wish to avoid multiplayer entirely.

The developers stressed that the overall rewards in the new consolidated Multiplayer Program will still reward as much, if not more, total stubs, packs and XP as the three independent programs have in the past. Future Multiplayer Programs will also contain Rewind Packs with previous Ranked and Battle Royale rewards, providing a path for those unable to reach the upper tiers of success in those modes.

Missions for the first drop in the initial Multiplayer Program included basic stats missions like home runs, extra-base hits, runs, strikeouts, hits and PXP with Davis. Multiplayer Program rewards will be attainable through the Weekend Classic at the conclusion of each season of Ranked.

DIAMOND QUEST DEBUTS

While brief glimpses were shown in past streams of other maps and rewards for the new offline mode Diamond Quest, the developers went into greater depth on the rewards for the two non-tutorial maps available at launch.

The second map will award 85 Pipeline Series Matt Shaw and 85 Pipeline Series Chase Burns as the rare rewards. The epic rewards include 87 Pipeline Series Noah Schultz and 87 Pipeline Series Travis Bazzana.

The third map awards Ballin' is a Habit packs as the rare rewards, while the epic rewards are 87 Topps Now Garrett Crochet and 87 Breakout Bryson Stott.