Diablo Immortal’s new Tempest class sets a refreshing new tone

Far to the north, beyond Ivgorod, you’ll find the Cold Isles, a land assaulted by neverending storms that send waves crashing into the shores and rain pouring from the skies. Its lands have slowly been torn away by the constant deluge, drowning cities until only the island capital remained. This used to be the home of the great Pelghain empire, ruled by two sisters, Mehrwen and Ksathra, who could command the sea and the wind, until their rule collapsed in… Well, honestly, a family feud for the ages. The land fell into complete and utter chaos and the world around it went with it. Yet, from that chaos the Tempest class was born, warrior-priests who harness the power of the wind and sea to help protect what’s left of their home.

However, “Uncontrolled power is the doom of the soul; power gripped tight the doom of the world.” With this mantra in mind, some of the Tempests left their home to journey to the mainland, lending their power and their blades in the fight to protect the people of Sanctuary.

I was recently invited by Blizzard Entertainment to go hands-on with the Tempest class, and I even got to sit down with John Yoo, Lead Systems Designer, and Emil Salim, Lead Game Producer, to talk a little bit about how the Tempest was brought to life. Here are some quick facts to get us started on talking about the class:

• Battlemage class, using dual blades and elemental powers
• 2086 unique voice lines recorded
• 60 class-specific gears
• 16 new skills
• Zephyrs (we’ll get there)

The Tempest is a completely new class, being introduced exclusively in Diablo Immortal. This class is unlike any other in the Diablo universe on many levels, from the ways this class can be played all the way down to the color palette. When you think of Diablo, you think of dark and gritty, tales of righteousness defeating demons, but the Tempest fits none of the models previously used. The Tempests aren’t governed by some higher, holy power, nor are they consumed by the lust for blood.

When asked what inspired the Tempest class, I was told that a big part of the conversation was they wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before in the Diablo games, they wanted to “break the mold.” Obviously, they could have just brought in a class from other Diablo games, but after the release of the Blood Knight, they wanted to experiment more and decided on making a new class instead. They laid out all of the classes from across multiple games, seeing where they all fit on the spectrum, going from very light to very dark, and tried to find where there might be a gap to fill. Once they had that figured out, they started looking at the ideation, developing the backstory of this class of “heroes” who are also exiles.

Back on the Cold Isles, the Tempests go through this sort of training process called the “Unmooring process” where they are basically stripped of their humanity and dedicate their lives to defending their border city. They head to the Spirals and take in the swirling mists from the storms, which gives them a unique power and strength, but some Tempests choose not to do this and instead leave the Cold Isles to put their talents to use elsewhere in the world, though still for good.

With this narrative, the design and systems teams then went to work on creating the character. Of course, this went through many iterations before landing on what we see now — we almost had a mythical sea creature/person. What they’ve landed on very nearly screams TEMPEST at you; everything from how the character moves, the skills, and the aesthetic all embody where the Tempests come from.

On the systems side, the idea of a battlemage quickly came to mind. It’s a class that’s versatile, good for some mid-range melee attacks and defensive magic, moving quickly and fluidly. The skills put these traits on full display, with quick dashes, blade dances, and wave crashes that have you zipping around the battlefield, quickly dispatching foes. They’re also named accordingly, with some examples being Cascade, Piercing Gale, and a handy movement skill called Rolling Surf, where you literally ride a wave to move around faster.

For the design, the character as well as their attacks and movements also had to reflect the Tempest’s agility while keeping the flow. After all, this is a class that can harness the power of wind and water. Instead of the reds, blacks, and shimmering golds seen on many of the other Diablo classes, the Tempest’s armor is primarily teal with some silver, and the attacks have fluid water and wind animations, like sending waves crashing down on enemies, a quick cross-wind sweep, and, of course, riding a literal wave. Also, since there’s no spiritual, demonic, or holy influence, no such iconography exists. Instead, the Tempest has an almost Mongol/ninja look, with sleek armor that still offers decent protection.

While the Tempest may feel like any other fast-moving action class, like the Rogue, there is a lot that sets it apart. I’ve already talked about the aesthetic of the class, from the design of the combat to the color palette, as well as the background and ideation, but the other piece to that puzzle is the passive ability where these phantoms called Zephyrs appear and fight alongside you. They aren’t summoned, so to speak, nor are they like a Necromancer raising the dead. The Zephyrs simply appear when skills are activated and help attack enemies. They can even replicate Tempest skills to increase the effective range. After the threat has been dispatched, they simply fade away. You start off with just two Zephyrs available, but more can be unlocked later as you level up the class.

Creating a new class from scratch was one of the most exhilarating and also challenging processes, according to Yoo and Salim. Salim in particular said this was the dream for him as he was able to really flex his creative muscles when coming up with the design of the Tempest. When asked what sort of surprises came up in development, particularly with the seemingly conflicting aspects of the class, Yoo commented that “The biggest surprise is how well it came together.” He talked about the dynamics of the class, how you could create combos not only from your abilities, but also from the Zephyrs, which is something I took notice of in my hands-on time before speaking with the developers. The Zephyrs are very different from how companions or familiars act; they don’t follow the player from encounter to encounter, and their ability to mimic Tempest skills makes for a very unique combat experience.

There are so many ways to play this class, and even at lower levels, you can tell they are very powerful, maybe even a little too powerful. The class went through multiple iterations and even had to be dialed down a bit because in earlier playtests the class was a lot stronger than intended. However, they were able to maintain that power while also bringing more balance, all the while making sure to preserve what made the Tempest the Tempest. During development, they could already tell the class would be a ton of fun to play. A combination of the speed and fluidity, the Zephyrs, and the skills made for an intriguing and fun experience even during internal playtests. It’s certainly been my favorite class to play from the roster of classes across the Diablo universe.

The Tempest is a very inviting class to newcomers and veterans alike, however the team also created special Trials and an introductory quest for players to use to learn about the class and to test out some of the skills. The introductory quest is a short 10-15 minute story that tells a little more about how the Tempests come to Sanctuary. I have mixed feelings about whether or not it really accomplishes its mission, but it does work as one of the ways to get introduced to how the Tempest works. I feel like you’re better off, however, heading to the Deluged Plane (the Fractured Plane for Tempests) or the specially curated Trial Dungeon that lets you test out three pre-configurations in an abbreviated version of Mad King’s Breach. But even if you decide to forego all of that, you’ll easily make your way through the ranks when you create your new Tempest character. There’s nothing that can stop the Tempest from rising through the storm.

See below for our list of partners and affiliates: