Diablo 4’s journey continues with its first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, offering players a new narrative adventure, a new zone to conquer, a new class to play, and countless updates to existing content. Here is a breakdown of all the exciting content you can expect in this expansion.
Release Date and Versions
Vessel of Hatred will release on October 8th, 2024. You can pre-purchase the expansion in three different editions:
- Standard Edition – $39.99/€39.99 – includes the Alkor, the Snow Leopard Pet for Diablo IV, and the Mother’s Lament Legendary Gem in Diablo Immortal.
- Deluxe Edition – $59.99/€59.99 – includes an additional Pet: Hratli, the Canine Pet, as well as the Nahantu War-Cat Mount and Armor Bundle, and a Premium Battle Pass Token.
- Ultimate Edition – $89.99/€89.99 – includes all Deluxe Edition rewards and an additional pet, Natalya the Tiger Pet, along with 5 Class Armor Sets, 3000 Platinum, a Premium Battle Pass Token, Wings of the Faith cosmetic armor, and more.
New Region of Nahantu
Known to the locals as Nahantu and to outsiders as the Torajan Jungles, this region includes some deep-seated lore.
Fans of Diablo 2 may recall exploring this zone, and visiting landmarks like the City of Kurast and the Travincal Temple. These iconic locations, central to the “Nahantu” of Diablo 2, will most likely make a comeback in “Vessel of Hatred”.
Kurast was featured in Act III of Diablo 2. It is a port city that became a sanctuary for its people following the Children of Zakarum’s evil takeover. During our journey through D2, we had to navigate this jungle filled with monsters and demons to fight the schemes of the three Prime Evils. Eventually, this pursuit led to the Durance of Hate, where a showdown with Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, awaited.
Although the previews mostly showcase lush jungle landscapes, the Nahantu region also includes the vast desert of Teganze. Therefore, we can anticipate that there will be plenty of expansive desert terrain alongside the verdant jungles.
In this new region, you will have access to a new main city, dungeons, strongholds, as well as altars of Lilith and waypoints to collect. Additionally, it is also home to the new class of Diablo 4, the Spiritborn.
New Class: Spiritborn
Spiritborn are jungle fighters who are bolstered by Spirit Guardians. They are a Dexterity-focused class that has experience in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, as well as a strong connection to spirits. This is one of the fastest and most aggressive classes due to their many movement speed abilities.
Using their Ultimate talents, you will be able to summon their attuned Spirit Guardians, allowing you to choose from various types of builds based on your preferred playstyle. Here is a short introduction to all 4 Guardians:
- Rezoka, the Jaguar, is the symbol of a hunter, with an aggressive playstyle that is built around ramping mechanics, with a particular focus on Attack Speed and the new status effect Ferocity. The Jaguar gameplay features a highly sought-after mobility talent (Rushing Claws) and a powerful AoE damage Ultimate.
- Kwalti, the Eagle, represents precision, accuracy, and finesse. With the Eagle on your side, you will have an easier time creating builds that feature a heavy movement-based playstyle and precision damage. Additionally, many Eagle skills offer ranged-type gameplay.
- Wumba, the Gorilla, represents protection and defense. This guardian provides a very active defensive playstyle with the fundamental mechanic being damage reduction and blocking via the new status effect Resolve. The playstyle is more reminiscent of a tank build focused on dealing and taking damage.
- Balazan, the Centipede, represents the cycle of life and death. Selecting the Centipede as your Spirit Guardian allows you to play a crowd control and damage over time (DoT) playstyle with some very powerful AoE abilities.
All 4 Guardians have unique powers and characteristics, allowing you to mix and match to your taste and create new, exciting builds.
Story and Campaign
The plot begins directly following the events of Diablo 4’s main campaign, with a focus on Neyrelle’s unresolved fate. Neyrelle’s whereabouts and intentions remain unknown after she took the Soulstone containing the Prime Evil, Mephisto. The hero (us), together with Lorath, is forced to discover Neyrelle’s fate while unraveling Mephisto’s dark plot as new foes approach, seeking to destroy them.
The main campaign will revolve around the quest to save Neyrelle’s soul and keep Mephisto from spreading disaster on Sanctuary. The story explores the impact of isolation, how solitude can shape a character, and the extent to which people will go to safeguard what they value.
As you pursue Neyrelle, you will encounter dark powers trying to use her as a Vessel of Hatred, endangering not only her soul but also Sanctuary’s fate. The story challenges you to examine how isolation influences Neyrelle’s decisions and whether she can withstand Mephisto’s influence – or if she will give in to it, endangering all of Sanctuary.
To skip the story in future seasons, you must complete the Vessel of Hatred campaign at least once. Additionally, new players will not be required to play Diablo 4’s original campaign in order to experience this storyline. A brief summary will be given prior to the beginning of the expansion.
New Gameplay Features
Mercenaries
Vessel of Hatred announces the return of companions like in Diablo 2. Mercenaries can join you on your mission to fight alongside you in Nahantu’s deep forest and beyond. These powerful new friends gain power as they develop, and each is equipped with unique strengths to help you in combat.
You can recruit four different Mercenaries:
- Raheir, the Shieldbearer
- Varyana, the Berserker Crone
- Aldkin, the Cursed Child
- Subo, the Drunken Archer
Each one has a personal questline and abilities to complement your playstyle, whether it’s Raheir’s defensive shield, Varyana’s brutal attacks, Aldkin’s demonic transformations, or Subo’s ranged support.
These Mercenaries can be hired to join your party or selected as Reinforcements during battles. Building trust, known as Rapport, with your Mercenaries, lets you earn skill points and unlocks new abilities. As you improve this bond, you earn Pale Marks, a currency used for purchasing rare items in the Mercenary Den.
Co-op Dungeon – The Dark Citadel
This dungeon, the first of its sort in Diablo, will require players to group together and face a variety of challenges. It is an endgame activity resembling a raid, with punishing mechanics to push your characters to the next level.
The Dark Citadel is divided into three distinct wings, each filled with complex challenges and dangerous bosses. You must work together with other players to progress in these wings, solving puzzles and battling enemies before confronting the final boss.
Successful players can earn Weekly Rewards caches with exclusive items, as well as Citadel Coins to unlock unique cosmetics.
More information about this game mode will be published soon.
Runewords
Runewords offer a powerful new way to customize your character’s abilities in Sanctuary. They are created by pairing two types of Runes: Ritual and Invocation. Runes of Ritual define actions you must do to generate a resource called Offering, while Runes of Invocation consume this Offering to trigger a powerful effect.
For example, Bac (Rune of Ritual) generates an Offering every time your character moves 5 meters. This Offering can then activate Jah (Rune of Invocation), which replaces your next Evade with the Sorcerer’s Teleport. Yes, this means that any class can effectively use the Sorcerers 
Teleport skill.
To create a Runeword, you need to socket both a Rune of Ritual and a Rune of Invocation into an item with two Sockets (Helm, Chest, Pants, or Two-Handed Weapon). The effect of the Runeword depends on the specific Runes you use and their rarity – ranging from Magic to Legendary.
Runewords can unlock unique abilities, even those from other classes, and offer increased movement speed or boost certain skills. With 17 Runes of Ritual and 28 Runes of Invocation, the combinations are nearly endless, allowing you to explore various customization possibilities and strategic gameplay.
Learn more in our dedicated guide:
Kurast Undercity
Kurast Undercity is a new challenging multistage, time-attack dungeon where players can control the difficulty and rewards. Set in the depths of Kurast, where a growing plague threatens Nahantu, you must search for a cure or plunder the Undercity’s hidden treasures.
In this dungeon, time is important as you battle against demonic hordes. Slaying monsters and completing events earns you Attunement, which boosts the quality of the reward. By defeating enemies, you can extend your time to reach the final boss.
Keys found throughout Sanctuary and the Undercity, called Tributes, will allow you to augment your runs, increasing the challenge and potential rewards.
Other Updates
The expansion will also introduce multiple new or updated features, such as:
- Leveling adjustments: Players will receive 10 more skill points, with the new maximum character level capping at 60, and up to 300 paragon points which will now be realm-wide, and not bound to just one character.
- Stats squish: Health, Armor, and Core Stats have been adjusted to more moderate levels.
- New Difficulties System: There are now 4 standard difficulties until you reach Level 60: Normal, Hard, Expert, and Penitent. At Level 60, you will unlock Torment difficulties as well as The Pit.
- Paragon Updates: Glyphs will be upgraded in The Pit with a system of “attempts”, similar to the Gem system in Diablo 3. Each class will receive one additional Paragon board, but only 5 Paragon boards can be equipped per character.
- Item Quality Change: Sacred items do not exist anymore; however, Ancestral items will start dropping in Torment 1. Every Ancestral item will contain at least 1 Greater Affix!
- One new Skill and 5 new Passives per Class.
- New Legendary Glyphs, Mythic, Uniques, and Legendary Items.
- Party Finder: This new system is introduced to help you look for allies for multiple endgame activities like Nightmare Dungeons, the Dark Citadel, Endgame Bosses, etc.
We will keep updating this page with new information released by Blizzard as soon as it becomes available. So keep an eye on it for the latest updates on Vessel of Hatred.
Changelog
- September 2, 2024: Overview updated with Gamescom and Campfire Chat information.
- August 16, 2024: Vessel of Hatred overview created.
