MLB The Show 26 Diamond Dynasty Feature Premiere Breakdown

We're officially one week away from the Early Access launch of MLB The Show 26. This week's Feature Premiere was all about Diamond Dynasty. There's a ton to unpack here across many levels of the game.

MLB The Show 26 Diamond Dynasty

World Baseball Classic

• WBC branded Mini Seasons. Your DD team replaces one of the official WBC teams, and you choose which team is replaced.
• Diamond Dynasty will feature 130+ WBC player items. Two new WBC stadiums were previously announced.

Mini Seasons

• You can now play 9-inning games in Mini Seasons. You can still play shortened 3-inning games.
• You can now also choose a 7-game season or a 28-game season.
• There will be Developer Lock Mini-Seasons throughout the year, which will be rules-specific runs.

Commentary: This is huge for offline players. The true lack of incentive to play full 9-inning games offline has long been a plague in Diamond Dynasty. Now, especially with the refinements to PXP, playing full 9-inning games on Legend will be significantly more rewarding. This is often how I most enjoy the game each year, so I am absolutely thrilled.

PXP 2.0

• PXP is earned at a scaled rate, between difficulties and online or offline. The higher the game difficulty, the more PXP is earned with more PXP earned in online play as well.
• Devs stated that overall PXP earning is faster than MLB THE SHOW 25.
• New value levels result in Parallel 5 requiring 10,000 PXP. Devs again cautioned to remember that PXP is earned faster in this year's game than any other year.
• The system has been tuned to increase the speed that offensive players earn PXP, balancing the time between pitchers and hitters.

Commentary: Earning PXP faster sure sounds cool. Scaling the payout for difficulties and online/offline is also a great touch.

Mods

• PXP Mods can be added from Silver, Gold, and Diamond tiers.
• P3 unlocks Gold tier Mods. P5 unlocks Diamond.
• Complete missions to unlock mods with different attribute effects.
• Mods can be swapped between games without cost. As long as you have Mods unlocked, you can equip and unequip whenever you wish.
• Mods cannot be changed in-game.
• 57 total Mods between hitters and pitchers.
• Hitters and pitchers can only earn their respective Mods, meaning you can't equip hitting mods to pitcher cards. Two-way players can use either hitting or pitching mods, but cannot have both equipped at the same time.
• Mods are optional. The traditional +1 for all attributes at each Parallel level remains in place with or without mod usage.
• New UI for Parallels.
• You can equip or unequip Mods from any player card screen.

Commentary: Obviously a huge addition and very intriguing. This could have huge implications, or do nothing at all. We'll have to see how how the spreads look once the game is out.

Gameplay

• SDS reverted the decision to use stretch only in online gameplay. No changes will be made to this now. The option to toggle on and off will remain for offline play.
• Pitches down and away will have their PCI shrinkage REMOVED. SDS will monitor and make future updates if deemed necessary.

Commentary: It would be wonderful if we could drop the narrative that SDS doesn't listen to fans now. The community was very loud about BOTH of these points, and SDS announced the changes before the game even launches.

I have been constructively critical of SDS plenty of times, but I also love singing their praises when they constantly remind us why we love them to begin with.

The fine folks at SDS rock.

General

• 85-94 is now Diamond tier. The Red Diamond is a new rarity featuring 95-99 overall cards. This is meant to be a more clear indicator of power level between cards.
• Signature Series Albert Pujols is revealed as the first official 99 overall Red Diamond.

Commentary: So the Red Diamond is simply a new tier of card levels. With the revamped attributes and overalls, this seems like a good year to introduce a new tier. The visuals for Red Diamond are sick.

• PXP 2.0 features brand new UI for stat criteria. A much more informed and detailed screen breaks down exactly how PXP is earned. Modifiers are shown for online/offline modes and difficulties respectively.
• Mods specifically reallocate the +1 to all attributes into focused attributes. Specific attributes will be increased, for example Contact against both sides, while other attributes do not get the traditional +1 from Parallel levels.
• Mods unlock as long as you unlock the Parallel levels. You do not have to level up each Mod or tier individually.
• Users who are the first person to discover a card will have their username featured on the main screen of the PXP menu of each card.

• PXP and Mod progress is permanent, so selling and rebuying a card doesn't erase progress. Conversely, cards used in Battle Royale that you do not own also retain their PXP and Mods if you do ever acquire the card.
• Attribute ratings have been tuned. The inclusion of VS handedness ratings for pitchers.
• Your 5 most recent Parallel upgrades are displayed in the main PXP menu.
• There's a filter on the squad menu that allows you to see your next closest upgrades and their current progress.
• Each Team Affinity program at launch will feature 4 cards in each teams path.
• Each team will have Hitting and Pitching Captains available in the Jolt series at launch.
• SDS will monitor cards throughout the year and will make adjustments to Mods if needed.

New Legend - Troy Tulowitzki

Longtime community request Troy Tulowitzki has been revealed as a new legend in MLB The Show.

Everything we know about MLB The Show 26 so far here!