For a world as dark and foreboding as Sanctuary, it's almost strange to see how bright the future of Diablo 4 is. Blizzard Entertainment has promised that 2024 will kick off with season three, ushering in the long-awaited introduction of leaderboards, and that it will end with Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred. The first premium expansion is coming sooner than many expected, bringing with it a whole new Diablo 4 region and a player class never before seen in the franchise.
Associate game director Brent Gibson says Vessel of Hatred is an opportunity to "take one big cohesive step forward." It'll give you the opportunity to take one of your characters from the Eternal realm into the southlands of Sanctuary, tracking Neyrelle as she pushes into the heart of the Torajan Jungle. "She's following the footsteps of a Profit of Light," says production director Tiffany Wat, "looking for a way to deal with the Soulstone and the Prime Evil trapped inside."
Ushering in the Age of Hatred
The gates separating Nahantu and Sanctuary have long been sealed. The region escaped the wrath of Lillith throughout the initial campaign, and 72 years have passed since we last ventured to some of its most infamous locations – if you've ever wondered how the Kurast Docks have fared since Act 3 of Diablo 2, the Vessel of Hatred will provide answers. And yet for all the nostalgia inherent to setting the expansion in such an iconic area, Gibson promises that this is very much the continuation of Diablo 4 that you've been waiting for. "You're definitely going to learn the fate of the stone. We're picking up right where we left off, continuing the story that we explored in the main campaign."
When the 'Age of Hatred' descends upon Sanctuary, the mortal realm will be dealing with the pervasive power of Mephisto, and without many of its guardians for protection – Inarius is gone, the Horadrim outcast and defeated. Blizzard won't be drawn on too many story details just yet, although Wat says we'll witness Neyrelle "directly challenging the influence of a Prime Evil" as she heads towards the Temple City of Travincal; once the holy headquarters of the Church of Zakarum in Kurast, the site where the original ritualistic imprisonment of Mephisto was undertaken.
Gibson says that "by continuing our story, by adding the new region, a new class, and all of these new ways to play, we can really go big. We're having a lot of fun experimenting with seasons and learning a lot by listening to our players, and we'll be able to use all of that feedback to take another big step forward." Because of how much the core Diablo 4 experience is changing every month – as evidenced by what we've seen so far through the Season of the Malignant and the Season of Blood – Blizzard says it's difficult to tease what those 'new ways to play' might be right now, but I suspect that a lot of it will be driven through the sixth player-class joining the Diablo 4 roster.
When Diablo 4 launched in June 2023, it did so with five iconic Diablo classes: Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, and Sorcerer. Gibson says the intention was to deliver "very specific power fantasies" the first time around, with particular focus paid to the interplay between the group for the purposes of nightly dungeoneering undertaken by players. If you're hoping to see the Paladin or Witch Doctor return, it's time to temper those expectations. "Honestly, we were at a crossroads. When we got to the point of talking about the expansion, we had to decide between doing another classic or doing something new. We felt like we had a responsibility to bring new ways to play to Sanctuary."
Expanding Sanctuary
Gibson says he's desperate to share more on the new class, but I get it – Blizzard needs to save some surprises for 2024. Right now, the studio would rather draw attention to the big picture, and work to assuage any fears that Vessel of Hatred may disrupt the thunderous content release cadence that Diablo 4 is currently enjoying. Kayleigh Calder tells me that they have no plans to slow things down, with the lead game producer explaining that this is "really just another opportunity to release even more content for the game." She adds: "The entire team is always talking about what will go into future seasons, what's going on with the expansion, and how these things will interconnect and support each other."
"Like Kayleigh said, they can feed off of each other," Gibson continues, explaining that the seasonal model will continue alongside the expansion to ensure that no defenders of Sanctuary get left behind. "When we launch, we're going to have stuff for Seasonal players, we're going to have stuff for the Eternal players… Basically, every player type that we have, we're going to have something there for them to play with. That's really important to us. There's so many playstyles out there right now, and we don't want to alienate any of the groups along the way."
Blizzard says that players returning to an Eternal realm character will be able to jump straight into the expansion's storyline, while any new players joining for Vessel of Hatred will have the option of skipping the original campaign. Either way, game director Joe Shely teases that you may want to spend some time re-exploring Sanctuary once you open the gates to Nahantu. "There are many cases where, if you speak with characters after the events of the campaign have taken place, the interactions are actually different."
"For example," Shely continues, "I was just in Kyovashad doing the side quest where there's an exorcism under the city. You know, I've completed that side-quest many times during development, but if you do it after defeating the campaign there's a different interaction there – the reaction of the church to Inarius and what's been going on. So the side-quest still plays out, but the context is different – the characters respond to that. It's been so cool to see the level of detail that our quest designers have put into the game, and we want to do a whole lot more of that."
There's still a lot for us to learn about Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred. It's going to be a long wait for its 'late 2024' release, but in the meantime there's plenty to keep us busy. The Midwinter Blight begins on December 12, a holiday event that will descend across Fractured Peaks. Season three is expected to launch in January, and with it comes a new weekly challenge dungeon called The Gauntlet – here, you'll be able to compete for class rankings against players across the world, with the best having their name cemented in the Seasonal Hall of the Ancients for all of time.
Diablo 4 is in an exceptionally good place right now, and Vessel of Hatred will only build on that year one success as it lets us loose under the dense jungle canopy of Nahantu. In many ways, the expansion is a celebration of the legacy of the Diablo universe – a return of some beloved locations and characters from existing games. But really, it's a chance for Blizzard to continue pushing the franchise forward in ways we can't even imagine. "Diablo 4 has come so far in such a short amount of time," says Calder, "but like we've always said: launch was just the beginning."
