Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred review

Blizzard has a reputation for delivering top-tier expansion content. 2024 saw the release of Vessel of Hatred, Diablo IV's first expansion. It continued Neyrelle's story from the base game, taking us to the jungle-laden land of Nahantu and giving us the Spiritborn class. Nearly two years later, hungry Diablo fans will get the chance to resolve Vessel's cliffhanger ending as we continue our pursuit of Mephisto into Skovos, the birthplace of humanity. 

As a warning, I plan to lightly touch on the events of Vessel of Hatred, but if you haven't played it yet, skip this paragraph. Still here? Lord of Hatred picks up where Vessel ended. If you recall, in the closing scenes of Vessel, Neyrelle cuts her ties with Mephisto. In the same room, Eru takes both the soulstone and body of Akarat and vanishes through a rift, consigning the prophet's body to the Prime Evil. Fast forward to Lord of Hatred. Mephisto has moved on to the land of Skovos where he walks in disguise, currying favor and working his schemes in broad daylight. Now our hero and their compatriots will have to chase down the Prime Evil and work to save the world. 

After seeing Lord of Hatred to its conclusion, I can confidently say that the Diablo team knew what story they wanted to tell and how to tell it. Being careful to avoid spoilers, I'll just say that the 6–8 hour campaign is full of memorable moments from start to end. The characters are well-realized, and the story beats hit with a gravity befitting the situation. While there are a couple of moments that didn't feel like they bore the full weight of their intention, those are rare—Lord of Hatred has an excellent narrative that will keep you anxious to see the next beat until the credits roll. 

Sure, folks want to know if the story is worth their time, but the real reason many of us look forward to expansion content are the new playable classes. Lord of Hatred gives us two diametrically opposed heroes to play. We have the holy, in-your-face Paladin and the Warlock, who commands demonic forces and tends to be a bit squishier. 

For the uninitiated, the Paladin was first introduced to the series in 2000's Diablo 2. He was known for heavy armor, auras that buffed those around him, and his Zeal attack, which could swing multiple times in succession to take on groups of foes. Much to my nostalgic joy, Lord of Hatred does an incredible job modernizing the Paladin while keeping some of the elements that won my heart a quarter century ago. Playing to my classic sensibilities, I chose to play as a Zealot, which focuses heavily on using attacks to feed your momentum. By the late-game, I was essentially a walking chainsaw, felling fields of demons like they were saplings. If that's not quite your style, you could also take on the angelic Arbiter, holy light-powered Judicator (throwing magic hammers is cool too!), or the defensive Juggernaut. The choice is yours, and you can mix and match to create a build that best suits your style. 

For folks who prefer a bit more range to their combat (or, heck, a little darker aesthetic), the Warlock exists to conquer the forces of Hell utilizing, erm, demons. Turns out, a house divided against itself will bring evil crumbling down with a vengeance. While the Paladin has been playable for some time with the preorder of Lord of Hatred, they've kept the Warlock from us, and I see why. These denizens of darkness are a complete blast to play, and they wanted to make sure we had something beefy to chew on when the expansion was available. The Warlock can be utilized in a few different key roles. Like the Necromancer, the Warlock can summon forces to fight for him. Sure, they'll lay their lives on the line in his service, but some can do a lot more than that. Depending on your loadout, the Warlock can excel in crowd control and strategic play, too. If, like me, you prefer something with a bit more... flare... the Warlock can harness the fires of hell to essentially become raw, blazing damage incarnate. Think of a fire sorcerer with a penchant for heavy metal music. 

While both the new classes can take a little time to settle into, they're both designed with fun in mind, and I look forward to experimenting with builds as the hordes of Mephisto fall before me for months to come. 

While the new classes are a blast, what fun would it be to use them exclusively on familiar ground? Skovos gives us a whole new landmass to play with. The birthplace of humanity, this land is ruled by the Amazons. It features idyllic fields, beautiful coastlines, lush vegetation, and an ever-dangerous volcanic region, all filled to the brim with Mephisto's army. It's a nice bit of variety for the world of Sanctuary. 

With the addition of Skovos, Lord of Hatred adds several mechanics previously unseen in Diablo IV. First, players will get access to an extra customizable gear mechanic known as the Talisman. This has a core with up to 6 additional charm slots. These charms can grant general passives like bonus damage or movement and often come as part of a set. They can drop with various rarities, just like any other gear you might uncover. 

Along with the Talisman, Diablo IV is getting access to a fishing minigame. Are you tired of the dopamine rush of looting and watching hordes fall before you? Just head to a nearby stream and use the emote wheel to toss a line in. In practice, it's a really quick, shallow fishing minigame, but it rewards you with fish and the possibility of useful items too. The value of the fishing minigame has yet to really be seen, but Blizzard has hinted that some of the items could be valuable for future events. As it sits at launch, it feels like a neat distraction that isn't particularly impactful or satisfying. 

As a throwback for the old guard like myself, we'll get to see the resurgence of the Horadric Cube. This cube, once obtained, will unlock a wide range of possibilities, but right out of the gate it's easy to remember that you can merge three items of a type together to essentially get a shot at a new piece of gear. It lets you clean up your inventory while getting a fresh crack at good stat rolls. 

Finally, there's a new end-game mechanic to get excited about. War Plans will unlock after you've beaten the game, and give you the chance to continue working toward clearing out demons for sweet loot. You'll be given a path of new missions to coordinate and complete. From clearing out demons in specified areas to collecting magical MacGuffins and beyond, you'll have multiple new events to tackle. Complete your War Plan successfully, and you'll get that loot dopamine hit along with progress against further excursions against the horde. These events offer fun extra objectives to keep you slaughtering foes, and they're a relatively quick way to get that Paragon level up. I highly recommend spending time here. 

Along with the expansion's new features, Lord of Hatred takes the existing game and fiddles with a few knobs in neat ways. High-end players will appreciate the difficulty expansion up to Torment 12. The base level cap has also been bumped up from 60 to 70, so you can get more points on that core skill tree. Speaking of skill trees, every class has seen updates with additional variants, so you'll probably want to make sure your build is still what you expect. Finally, the Pit and Towers have been updated for the new release. It's also worth noting that the game's getting a customizable loot filter, so you can focus on the items you care about and leave the rest for the crows. 

Whether exploring Skovos, buildcrafting and enjoying the Paladin and Warlock, savoring an excellent narrative, or tearing through end-game events looking for upgrades, Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred feels like everything I want out of a good expansion. While it isn't perfect, it feels pretty dang close. While the core game was phenomenal, and Vessel of Hatred continued that legacy, Lord of Hatred enhances every aspect of an already-beloved game with an excellent story to boot. If you're a Diablo fan, Lord of Hatred is an absolute must-play.