Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred – expected release, new class and everything we know
The first main expansion for Diablo 4 has been announced by Activision Blizzard, with early details giving us a general idea of what to expect when it arrives.
It’s been a long time coming, but Diablo 4 developer Activision Blizzard has offered up the first details regarding the game’s first full expansion. It’s officially called Vessel of Hatred and, similar to Diablo 3’s Reaper of Souls expansion before it, will be much wider in scope compared to the seasonal updates we’ve seen come to Diablo 4 so far such as Season of the Malignant and the current Season of Blood.
Details about Vessel of Hatred are still relatively scarce, but thanks to the opening ceremony at this year’s BlizzCon 2023 event, and a CGI reveal trailer, we have an extremely good idea about when and what the first Diablo 4 expansion will offer. If you’re wondering about all the important details, here’s everything we know so far including the release date, select story details, setting and the new class incoming.
Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred – expected release
While Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred doesn’t yet have an official release date, the accompanying CGI trailer for the expansion’s announcement (at the 0:42 mark) confirmed it will be arriving sometime in “late 2024”. This means players should expect the expansion to launch at the tail-end of next year, around the same time that Diablo 4’s sixth season gets underway. Activision Blizzard will almost certainly announce the official Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred expansion release date well before then, though, so it’ll be worth keeping ears on the ground.
Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred – story
Just like the Diablo 4 data miners who recently scraped a technical alpha build uncovered, it was indeed confirmed that the Vessel of Hatred expansion will primarily focus on Mephisto, the lord of hatred and father of the base game’s villain, Lilith. Described in Activision Blizzard’s blog post as a “continuation of the campaign’s story”, it will seemingly pick up immediately after the events of the original Diablo 4 campaign as players “learn the fate” of Mephisto and his designs for Sanctuary. More details on the story are expected to come next summer.
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Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred – setting
The last time Mephisto played a major figure in a Diablo game was during the events of Diablo 2. That’s why it’s no coincidence to learn that Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred will take players back to a familiar location as part of the expansion in the form of Nahantu. This is a fan-favourite location from Diablo 2, and is primarily made up of a large jungle. This type of terrain is something players new to Diablo 4 are yet to experience, shaking up the scenery compared to the snowy mountains of Fractured Peaks or the drizzly rain seen in Scosglen.
Obviously, with the advancements in tech, we’d expect Kurast and the surrounding Torajan jungles that make up the region of Nahantu to look very different compared to the last time we saw them. The CGI trailer for Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred teases dense forests and foliage before the camera rises to reveal pyramid-like structures that almost certainly will act as an important location; possibly for a boss battle or two.
Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred – new class
Though not especially shocking considering how Activision Blizzard has handled previous expansions for its prior Diablo games, it was also announced that Diablo 4 Vessel of Blood will see the introduction of a new class. And when it says new, it means it, because as per its blog post with the expansion “comes new ways to play, new evils to vanquish, and a brand-new class never before seen in the Diablo universe”.
The first DLC character class for Diablo 4 being something never seen before means players seeking the return of a classic class like the Demon Hunter, Monk or Crusader shouldn’t hold their breath. Some theories had hoped that the Blood Knight from the mobile game Diablo Immortal might be the first additional class to make its way to Diablo 4. Alas, it seems like Activision Blizzard has something very different cooking up to join the five existing character classes. No details as to how it will play were given.
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