After 2024\u2019s Vessel of Hatred expansion left me dangling off a narrative cliff like a hapless Sanctuary peasant, Lord of Hatred had quite a lot riding on its ability to deliver on that momentum and give me a reason to become hopelessly lost in its loot-filled grind once again. The good news is that it\u2019s done exactly that thanks to a tight, satisfying campaign, two new classes that I\u2019ve already spent dozens of hours experimenting with and min-maxing builds for, and an endgame that\u2019s so loaded with things to do that I occasionally forgot some of the systems even existed. If you\u2019ve been waiting for a reason to dive back into Diablo 4\u2019s particular brand of misery, Lord of Hatred has plenty of compelling reasons to do so.<\/p>\n
As a proper end to the demonic battle that\u2019s been building since 2023, Lord of Hatred\u2019s cutscenes are unsurprisingly jaw dropping, but it\u2019s the writing and pacing of this short and sweet 8ish hour campaign that stands as some of Blizzard\u2019s best work yet. It had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end with all sorts of twists, turns, and tragedies, references to deep Diablo lore, and motivations for even its most irredeemable characters that had me debating demon philosophy with my friends in party chat as we smashed our way through gobs of imps. Sure, the campaign is only a tiny part of the inevitable hundreds of hours that will be spent mindlessly exploding loot goblins into sparkly treasures, but part of the reason I\u2019m so attached to this depressing and violent world is precisely because of the mysteries, drama, and unforgettable characters that occupy it. Lord of Hatred takes full advantage of all of those things, making it easily one of my favorite Diablo campaigns to date.<\/p>\n That campaign primarily takes place in Sanctuary\u2019s latest locale, Skovos, a mediterranean-style island that plays an especially interesting role in Diablo\u2019s lore as the birthplace of humanity. This new region has many of the things we\u2019ve come to expect from the series, like an incredibly alarming human-to-horrifying-monster ratio and destroyed places that are covered in disgusting fleshy blisters (and whatever the heck a \u201ccorpse clot\u201d is). But plenty of things here are a breath of fresh air, too \u2013 namely, beautiful and not-yet-destroyed areas that reflect the fact that this ancient place has been spared the worst of the horrors the mainland has faced all these years. The region has also got lots of diversity to it, from Lovecraftian-coded foggy shorelines to volcanic hellscapes, each adding new reasons to keep on trekking around in search of loot. Skovos isn\u2019t nearly as densely filled with new dungeons, but the stuff that is there, especially the new Strongholds to conquer, are all well worth doing.<\/p>\n Aside from the finale to the story and some new places to explore, Lord of Hatred also introduces two very cool character classes to shake things up. The returning Paladin is about what you\u2019d expect if you journeyed across Sanctuary as one in Diablo 2, with loads of protection abilities and ridiculously powerful build options like the aura build my co-op mate designed so he could just walk around destroying everything in his path without even having to lift a finger. The Warlock, on the other hand, is completely new to the series (not counting Diablo 2 having recently retroactively added it in for the 30th anniversary, of course), which has you claiming Hell\u2019s power as your own in a wide variety of diverse builds. That ranges from the Necromancer-like Legion options that are all about summoning demons to do your fighting for you, to the Vanguard build that turns you into a demon yourself, for those who prefer a more personal touch to their wanton destruction. The Paladin is pure nostalgic comfort food that I\u2019m glad to have added to the roster, but I prefer the new hotness of the Warlock, especially just how diverse you can get with it by going down each of the four disciplines or by mixing and matching them together to create something unexpected. <\/p>\n What\u2019s even bigger than these two new skill trees, though, is that the six already available have been completely reworked. The changes are mostly centered around the fact that, instead of having a bunch of highly attractive passive perks that did simple yet incredibly efficient things like increasing the damage you deal or the attacks you can withstand, they\u2019re now built around making more meaningful choices. For example, in the Warlock tree you can pick between making your defensive wall of demons encircle your enemy, trapping them within, or breaking apart into a pack of vicious sluggers after a period. As the Sorceress, you can now decide to take your fire hydro snakes and turn them into ice snakes instead if that elemental effect is more your speed, or if it works better with whatever mad scientist build you\u2019re concocting. <\/p>\n These changes are really awesome, as they push you away from picking the boring, passive upgrades and instead help your character feel much more unique, even when playing alongside those using your same character class. Still, there\u2019s also plenty of fat to cut, like how skills now allow you to sink up to 15 points into them versus the previous five. After you\u2019ve picked your base skills and modified them to your liking, the rest of the leveling experience is pretty much just deciding which ones to focus your points into, recreating a lot of the same uninteresting decisions we were making with the previous trees. I still like the changes they\u2019ve made here, especially the added freedom to augment how these powers work in more meaningful ways, but I do wish they\u2019d have gone a bit further in that direction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nDiablo 4 Lord of Hatred and Paladin Class Screenshots<\/h3>\n