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Diablo 4's leads know you want a sword and shield-based class, but they're really happy with the feedback to Vessel of Hatred's new Spiritborn class.
If you didn't already know, the new Diablo 4 DLC releasing later this year in October is introducing the Spiritborn, which will be the action RPG's sixth class. Since Diablo 4 launched last year, though, there have been legions of fans asking Blizzard to make a class using a sword and shield. In other words, your archetypical 'Paladin' character.
GamesRadar+ spoke to Diablo 4 game director Brent Gibson and systems designer Aislyn Hall about the fan demand for a Paladin class in the wake of the new Spiritborn class in Vessel of Hatred. "It was really important to us that, after delivering five classic classes, we continue to grow the number of classes you can see in geography, right? It's not just about rehashing old content all the time," Gibson says of the new DLC class.
Despite this, Gibson says Blizzard has heard its fans "loud and clear. But, you know, bringing something new, this was the time to do it, right? Five originals. It's like doing a sixth original. We could do that, but the team wanted the opportunity to go big," the game director continues, explaining the philosophy behind Vessel of Hatred's Spiritborn.
Gamescom 2024 attendees have had the chance to go hands-on with the Spiritborn on the show floor, and the feedback has apparently been astounding. "Honestly, every one of those folks that have gotten the hands-on, like, 'Okay, we understand now, yep, this is great. This is exactly what we're looking for.' And so, yeah, I'm glad, I'm glad we stuck to our guns on that, and I'm really happy with the outcome," Gibson adds.
For her part, systems designer Hall believes the Spiritborn was a "wonderful choice" and one that accurately reflects the jungle environments of the Vessel of Hatred expansion. "With the theme of the jungle of Nahantu, the class ties in so well to the vibe of Vessel of Hatred, and that just serves to immerse you even more in the campaign," Hall explains.
For what it's worth, Gibson points out that a class for a new expansion like Vessel of Hatred should reflect the environment it's arriving in, otherwise "it just doesn't feel right." This is why Blizzard's developers have conceptualized a big cat as a new mount in Vessel of Hatred - because it "felt really natural in the jungle," Gibson explains.
Elsewhere, Blizzard also spoke to GamesRadar+ about the "layer of additional pressure" in designing the Spiritborn. It turns out it's really hard to design a brand new Diablo 4 class when it can't be defined "by a classic tabletop RPG archetype," as Gibson put it, meaning Blizzard had to get creative for the new DLC class.
