Originally posted November 13, 2023
It’s been four years since the last in-person Blizzcon, and the event made its return this year with tons of new announcements and mic drops for all of the studio’s franchises. Blizzard shared some well-received news about Diablo IV that echoes many player requests since the game launched earlier this year.
Let’s catch you up on the major highlights!
VESSEL OF HATRED
Blizzard officially announced Diablo IV’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, coming late 2024! The expansion will introduce a never-before-seen class to the roster and the campaign will focus on the fate of the Prime Evil Mephisto and his newest vessel, Neyrelle.
Check out the expansion’s announcement trailer here!
We will follow Neyrelle to Torajan, a vast jungle region in southern Sanctuary known to the locals as Nahantu. This is the home of Kurast, a beloved location from Diablo II and the seat of Mephisto’s power during that game’s story.
Notably it is also closely tied to the Paladin and Crusader classes from Diablo II and III, an archetype many fans have wanted to see return to Diablo IV. However, with the expansion’s new class being something never seen before in the IP, we won’t be getting our holy warriors back any time soon! Many fans are speculating on what this new class could be, but Blizzard is keeping their lips tightly sealed.
This also excludes the return of the Witch Doctor, Blood Knight, and Monk and all other previous classes either fit into one of Diablo IV’s new playable options or are already present.
What do you think the new class will be? Let us know below!
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
Tons of quality of life and convenience changes have been made in Season 2 or are upcoming in Season 3 including:
- gems no longer take up inventory space
- enchanting preview windows at the Occultist to see what affixes are possible
- and more planned for the future, including saving and switching builds and item load-outs!
MALIGNANT RINGS
A few unique powers from Season of the Malignant have returned in the form of 5 class specific rings. These are available in-game already in both Seasonal and Eternal realms.
MIDWINTER BLIGHT HOLIDAY EVENT
The developers were excited to share the upcoming holiday event, Midwinter Blight, starting on December 12th until December 21st. This will take place exclusively in the snowiest zone, Fractured Peaks where we will fight Savage Blightfiends who are attempting to disrupt any cheer the denizens of Sanctuary have managed to scrounge up for themselves.
We may also see something called the “Red Cloaked Horror”... Santa, is that you?!
ABATTOIR OF ZIR
In response to some complaints about Diablo IV’s endgame, Blizzard is introducing the Abattoir of Zir, a new endgame activity where players will have ten minutes to kill as many enemies as they can, spawning a challenging boss. They must defeat all the enemies within the time limit to complete the challenge.
In order to participate in the Abattoir of Zir, players must first complete their seasonal journey. Once eligible, they can find the entrance to the Abattoir in Ked Bardu. Similar to Nightmare Sigils, characters will craft Bloodforged Sigils to progress through each of the 25 increasingly difficult tiers of the activity.
After their first successful run players will receive a unique paragon glyph called Tears of Blood which can be levelled all the way up to level 210, providing new ways to build your Diablo IV characters.
LEADERBOARDS
Finally one of the most requested Diablo features will make its return to Diablo IV: leaderboards! Players will be able to compete in a weekly challenge against their friends, clanmates or global players to secure their best possible rank in each season.
What do you think of this news? Are you excited for the unknown new class and the first expansion, Vessel of Hatred or the new events and quality of life changes? Let us know what you think below!
