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Blizzard Entertainment revealed the Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred expansion at The Game Awards 2025, and it's set to bring about some massive fundamental changes to the action-RPG. For starters, the studio is calling this the "culmination" of the Age of Hatred saga which kicked off in 2023 – spanning Diablo 4 and 2024's Vessel of Hatred expansion.
Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred drives toward a final stand against Mephisto, whose influence has spread even more widely across Sanctuary following the events of Vessel of Hatred. This means that you'll be heading to a long-anticipated region – Skovos, the ancestral birthplace of the first civilization and the former home of Lilith and Inarius. Skovos brings sinister cultists, oceanic horrors, and lingering shadows of Hell to Sanctuary, which is music to my ears.
As is news that Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred will introduce two new classes. First up is the Paladin, making its long-awaited return after 25 years – and it sounds like a real blend of Diablo 2 nostalgia (yes, Holy damage returns), mixed with elements from Diablo 3's Crusader class and of course plenty of new elements too. The second class remains a mystery, with Blizzard only offering up the following tease: "A second, yet-unrevealed class looms on the dark horizon—its power undeniable, its arrival poised to reshape the battlefield when Lord of Hatred launches in April."
That isn't all though, with Blizzard clearly keen to give Diablo 4 a sizeable refresh. Here's some of the other elements incoming for the Lord of Hatred expansion:
- A comprehensive refresh of skills and itemization
- Reworked skill trees with expanded level caps and new class-specific variants for all eight classes
- A new loot filter to help you target key gear more efficiently
- Enhanced crafting systems designed to heighten experimentation
- The Horadric Cube returns from Diablo 2, allowing you to combine specific items transmutation for more powerful alternatives
- A new talisman to unlock more powerful set-bonuses and expand late-game customization
And last but not least, there's also overhauled endgame which unlocks after the Lord of Hatred campaign, designed to be more rewarding and moreish than anything you've seen in Diablo 4 so far. War Plans will let you craft you own endgame progression path with key modifiers for more valuable loot, as well as the "ultimate test": The Echoing Hatred, a relentless gauntlet of enemy hordes.
I'm pretty sure Blizzard also teased the introduction of fishing… because it wouldn't be a trip to the Twin Seas, to the idyllic Skovos Isles, without the ability to fish in putrid waters. I expect that to be my new obsession once Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred lands on April 28, 2026.
