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  "description": "A heavenly addition you'll hate to put down",
  "path": "/reviews/diablo-iv-lord-of-hatred-review/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-21T16:00:43.000Z",
  "site": "https://gamingtrend.com",
  "tags": [
    "Vessel of Hatred",
    "Review Guidelines"
  ],
  "textContent": "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.\n\n**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.\n\nAfter 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.\n\nAfter a quarter century, the Paladin's back to shred all evil in their path!\n\nSure, 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.\n\nFor 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.\n\nTalisman gear gives you an additional avenue to power up your hero\n\nFor 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.\n\nWhile 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.\n\nThe forces of Hell are still quite effective at toppling their kin\n\nWhile 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.\n\nWith 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.\n\nAlong 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.\n\nFishing feels like a pretty weak distraction right now\n\nAs 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.\n\nFinally, 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.\n\nWar Plans are a fantastic endgame addition to prolong your time in Sanctuary with some new twists.\n\nAlong 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.\n\nWhether 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.\n\n\n    Review Guidelines\n  \n\n95\n\n### Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred\n\n#### Excellent\n\nFelling demonic hordes as the Paladin and Warlock is as addicting as ever. The expansion's new systems are welcome variety for an already-rich game. When you add additional post-game content and a top-tier storytelling experience, you have one of the best modern expansions available. Diablo fans deserve excellence and Blizzard has delivered.\n\n* * *\n\n##### Pros\n\n  * Beautiful new location\n  * Paladin and Warlock both offer excellent new playable classes\n  * Additional systems and end-game content\n  * Fantastic story\n\n\n\n##### Cons\n\n  * Still a few unanswered questions with the story\n  * Fishing minigame feels a bit thin and underutilized right now\n\n\n\n* * *\n\nThis review is based on an early PC copy provided by the publisher. Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred comes out on April 28, 2026.",
  "title": "Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred review",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-21T16:00:43.618Z"
}