Everything you need to know about Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, now live!

While previous Diablo games have typically had a single expansion a year or two after the initial launch of the game, Diablo 4 promises annual expansions, the first of which is Vessel of Hatred. Considering how the main game’s story ended, it’s no surprise that in the expansion we’ll be searching for Neyrelle, which leads us to the jungles of Nahantu, which we last visited in Diablo 2.

Mephisto was once imprisoned here, under the city of Travincal, where he was guarded by the Zakarum. It didn’t go well: Mephisto corrupted the High Council of Zakarum, and even imprisoned in the soulstone, Mephisto twisted the whole of the Zakarum to his will. In the latest Diablo 4 season, you can fight the former High Council — now the Fell Council — for loot and rewards. It’s unclear why Neyrelle would seek this place out… or if Mephisto’s influence is driving her there.

As I’ve been wanting to know what happens next since the moment I first finished the original campaign, I’m looking forward to diving into the next chapter. So without further adieu, here’s what you need to know about the Vessel of Hatred expansion.

New features in Vessel of Hatred

• New class: Spiritborn. The game’s newest class is a battle-hardened mystic and, as Blizzard describes it, an apex predator of the jungle. This new melee class feels a lot like a the Diablo 3 Monk, drawing power from animal Spirit Guardians. Check out our first impressions of the Spiritborn and our guide on how to unlock its unique Spirit Guardians.
• New region: Nahantu, which will have new Dungeons, Strongholds, and the standard assortment of Sanctuary’s terrors.
• New co-op dungeon: Dark Citadel: While details remain scarce due to the brief preview time we’ve had with the expansion, we know the Dark Citadel is a unique co-op dungeon that requires more player cooperation than your standard Nightmare Dungeon. Expect to work together to solve puzzles and defeat bosses.
• New Rift-style activity: Kurast Undercity: If you’ve missed Diablo 3’s Greater Rifts, Kurast Undercity offers a very similar experience.
• New Mercenary companions to help you fight through the jungle, each with a unique personality and customizable skill tree. Mercenaries have been a feature of the game since the very first Diablo game, giving you a combat companion to back you up.
• Runewords are back. You’ll be able to unlock powerful new Runewords that give your class access to other classes’ skills, among other things.
• New Party Finder tool, a feature that’s been sorely missing from the game since launch.
• Tenants of Akarat to collect, in case you missed the fun of hunting down Lilith statues across Sanctuary.
• New class abilities. You’ll earn ten more skill points and a hundred more paragon points in the expansion, with new skills, paragon boards, and glyphs to expand your playsyle.

Changes to the base game in patch 2.0.2

New content isn’t just for the expansion: the base game is getting a lot of changes too. In fact, so many changes that it almost feels like a brand new game — a game that feels a lot more like its sibling, Diablo 3. Here are the big changes coming to Diablo 4 in patch 2.0, the Vessel of Hatred patch:

• Reduced level cap. The base game will now only have 50 levels, with an additional 10 levels in the expansion. Current level 100 characters will become level 50 characters with 200 paragon points, while level 50 characters will remain level 50.
• Redesigned Paragon system. The new system will share paragon points across your account, so all of your characters have all of your paragon points — with separate pools for your eternal and seasonal realm characters. It’s much more like how Diablo 3 handles Paragon, though the Paragon boards will remain.
• New difficulty levels. Instead of four different World Tiers, the game will have four base difficulty levels (Normal, Hard, Expert, and Penitent) an four Torment difficulty levels, which are unlocked by clearing higher levels in The Pit.

If you want all of the details, here’s a complete breakdown of everything new coming to the base game even if you didn’t buy the expansion.

Seasons and Vessel of Hatred

Season 6 launches alongside Vessel of Hatred. It’s the Season of Hatred Rising, and between the expansion and all of the changes to the base game this season, the season pretty much just follows the pattern of previous seasons. There’s a new event to do across the world, a new elixir, and a new reputation (the Zakarum Remnants) to earn rewards from.

During the season Realmwalkers — massive heralds of hell — will spawn every 15 minutes in one of the game’s original five zones, and once an hour one will spawn in Nahantu. These massive heralds of hell will lumber towards a ritual site, and you have to destroy their guardians and the hatred spires that surround them to take the creatures down. The first Realmwalker of the hour is always a Whisper, to help you rack up Whisper caches and gear.

When the Realmwalker dies, it leaves behind a portal to the Seething Realm, a dungeon that rewards Seething Opals, a new type of elixir that boosts experience gain as well as other effects. Different types of Opals can increase loot drops or reputation gain.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred really raises the bar for Diablo 4, whether you’ve bought the expansion or not. The game has seen massive changes since it originally launched a year ago, and is currently in the best state it’s ever been, adding varied end-game activities and extra difficulty levels to make it fun to play past the original campaign. The story campaign was great to begin with, and now it feels like the rest of the game has finally caught up.

I’ll see you in Sanctuary.

Originally published June 13, 2024; updated October 7, 2024.