BLIZZARD finally disclosed the first paid expansion to Diablo IV during the BlizzCon 2023 convention on Nov 4. This came about after the company briefly touched on it during discussions about the game’s long-term plan several months ago.
Titled Vessel of Hatred, the expansion will be launched next year, bringing players to the claustrophobic, cult-ravaged jungles of Nahantu, a region first seen in Diablo II. According to Blizzard, Vessel of Hatred will pick up where Diablo IV’s main story ended, focusing on the Prime Evil demon known as Mephisto, father of Lilith, the base game’s main villain.
The company also revealed that the expansion would introduce a new class to Diablo IV and it would be one that had never appeared in any Diablo game before. Beyond the vague announcement that was also accompanied by brief teaser footage, Blizzard did not share anything else.
However, the new information did confirm what was revealed with a recent data mine, which meant extracting data and reading raw codes. In October, players successfully data-mined a test build of Diablo IV and leaked information that now seems to line up with Blizzard’s announcement for the expansion.
The data-mined information revealed that the new class will be called “Spiritborn”, a nature-based warrior that “cleaves through enemies with a glaive”, which sounds similar to the Blood Knight, the new class that was introduced in the mobile game Diablo Immortal.
That said, these things can sometimes change through development and the class might even be scrapped entirely for something else. Vessel of Hatred is expected to launch in late 2024.