With Lord of Hatred, the team at Blizzard is completing the arc they began when Diablo 4 launched nearly three years ago. After spending hundreds of hours with Diablo 4 after my initial review, and really enjoying Vessel of Hatred, I was very excited at prospect of seeing the story come to its full conclusion.
Spoilers for Diablo 4 and Vessel of Hatred follow. However, I will avoid spoilers for Lord of Hatred. Additionally, I separate out Lord of Hatred content from the core game updates below.
Back to the Beginning
Now, hot on the heels of Mephisto (in the form of Akarat), we head to the new region of Skovos, known as the birthplace of humanity. Skovos is another expansive addition to the game world of Diablo 4. As an island to the west, it features a mix of scenery, including sun-laden beaches, volcanic mountain peaks, and the major city of Temis. And, similar to the other regions, there are secrets to discover, statues to unlock, three new strongholds, and a total of fifty new side missions.
Exploring Skovos is a delight as the artists at Blizzard continue to flex their muscles with beautiful environmental details everywhere you look. Given it being the birthplace of humanity and having such a heavy bearing on the lore of Diablo and Sanctuary, it was important that visiting these areas felt meaningful. And through call outs during the story, to visualization, and the accompanying soundtrack, Blizzard has done a fantastic job in that regard.
Almost immediately, Lord of Hatred’s score will ring in your head. From the opening theme on, there are superb tracks throughout, and in one particularly striking moment for me during the campaign, I was teleported back to Tristram in 1996. After speaking with PR, the music composition team confirmed that in specific areas relating to the story, they paid homage to some of the original Diablo‘s tracks, such as the town of Tristram in the original Diablo. Superb.
The city of Temis, acting as your main base in Skovos, is a fantastic hub, and it’s designed in a way that makes loot and character management quick and easy, which is appreciated. With even more activities now available to the player as part of Lord of Hatred and overarching update, it’s more important than ever to provide players with a way to complete their task management efficiently. Temis does just that. Additionally, the three new strongholds added via Skovos are each interesting in their own way, with unique mechanics that stand out when compared to other, more basic activities in the region.
However, while Skovos, itself, is beautifully rendered and adds to the overall environmental diversity of Diablo 4, I wish the team was more creative with new enemy designs. Similar to my complaints with Vessel of Hatred, you continue to face familiar demons we’ve seen since launch, and there are far too many nondescript enemies that merely look like blobs of water or furry beasts. I understand most of your standard enemies are just fodder to obliterate, but more unique enemy mechanics and challenges would have been welcome.
Evil Primed
The strongest aspect of Lord of Hatred is the conclusion it offers to the journey we began with the game’s initial launch. Blizzard hasn’t been shy about Mephisto being the core threat to be faced, and the expansion brings that reality front and center with no ambiguity.
Traveling throughout Skovos, you are presented with some of the best moments in all of Diablo 4. Throughout the 12-15 hour campaign, I was frequently impressed with the presentation, with some specific moments framed so superbly, it once again reminded me that when Blizzard hits, they hit. At times there is simply nobody better at delivering cinematic excellence in gaming.
A few of the key battles during Lord of Hatred are especially noteworthy, with Mephisto’s confrontation being one of the most impressive in any of the Diablo games. Without spoiling, there is also another key battle that is truly impressive visually. Sadly, the same can’t be said for many of the “minor” boss battles which suffer from the same “generic monster” problem as the standard enemies. That said, it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the campaign.
While Vessel of Hatred felt like a second act that strung players along at times, the focus during Lord of Hatred is far more clear. It made me feel much more connected to the world, and given Skovos being the birthplace of humanity, there are amazing lore implications throughout which pleased me as a long-time fan of the series. From the soundtrack paying homage to classic Diablo tunes, references to classic characters, visiting locations only spoken about previously, and more, Lord of Hatred is clearly aimed at those who have loved Diablo for many years.
The Demons Work for Me Now
After completing the campaign, Lord of Hatred introduces a few new additions alongside updates Blizzard is making to the core game. Some of these are noteworthy and will certainly change the way players craft their builds and interact with end-game activities. Beginning solely with the paid expansion, two new classes have been added to the game in the Paladin and Warlock. The Paladin has been available for a few months now alongside pre-orders of Lord of Hatred, while the Warlock will unlock at launch.
Given the Warlock being the “brand new” class releasing alongside the expansion, I built a Warlock, started fresh at level 1, and took it all the way to the (new) level cap of 70 (and into the Paragon levels). As an excellent overall addition to the range of available classes in Diablo 4, the Warlock has a range of unique skills, from spawning demons, melting everything with hellfire, or doing what I did, going deep into the Abyss.
While coinciding with the skill trees overhaul as part of the core game updates (which I will touch on at the end of the review), I found the Warlock amazing for crowd control and AOE attacks. Hexing large groups of enemies, chaining them together, and then devouring them with greater demons never got old. Just like the other classes, at level 15 you are given a new mission to unlock class-specific abilities. In this case, Souls Shards, which align with four different demons and, thus, four different playstyles and various build varieties. Continuing down the Shadowform and Abyss route, I had the greater demon Laalish by my side at all times like an obedient attack monster always ready to strike. It’s amazing.
As always, the latest expansion also adds new end-game activities and loot alongside changes to existing systems. First up is the talisman, a new drop and build item that accepts charms loaded with additional affixes for your build. While the affixes will be familiar, as it’s a stand-alone item from your weaponry and armor, it adds an additional layer of build-crafting that is very welcome. And perhaps most importantly, it reintroduces set items to Diablo. Charms can be found in all rarities, including uniques, but can also drop in set form with truly build-changing power. As always, it’s difficult to gauge the long-term effects of this addition during a short review period. But I certainly enjoyed toying around with it, and it undoubtedly adds another layer to build optimization.
But. in terms of loot-changing power, the addition of the Horadric Cube is likely the largest yet to the game. It offers a staggering range of options to gamble on the modification of your items. From adding entirely new affixes, evolving commons into uniques (yes, you read that right), merging duplicate items to form brand-new ones, and more, the options are vast. Using the Cube requires a range of consumables that are new drops found in end-game activities. Thus, it simultaneously expands both the loot hunt and build-crafting possibilities. Blizzard is touting it as the “cornerstone to end-game building,” and, even in my short time with Lord of Hatred, I certainly see that being the case.
Of course, acquiring items is the name of the game, and Blizzard has shaken up some end-game activities as well. Most notable is the new War Plans table. After completing the campaign’s epilogue, War Plans opens to players in town and joins together end-game activities that culminate in unique rewards. Not only does it make it easier to engage with the variety of end-game activities, but it also gives you targets and rewards for doing so. I really like this addition as with all of the disparate activities that have been added over time, it could often be a chore to bounce around the map and prioritize your time. War Plans streamlines this, making it faster to accomplish tasks and providing additional rewards while doing so. Wins all around!
Echoing Hatred, meanwhile, represents a brand-new end-game activity, and it is one that will be rare for players to engage with for the fact that it requires a very rare item, named Trace of Echoes (which, again, will only drop after completing the campaign and epilogue). Should you acquire a Trace of Echoes, you can enter the Echoing Hatred which, for lack of a better description, is essentially Diablo 4 horde mode. Regardless of what difficulty you currently have your world tier set to, the challenge will begin on Normal while waves of enemies are thrown at you. The waves are endless, and the difficulty ramps up in real-time. So not only are more and more enemies dispatched to end your run, but the difficulty escalates all the way up to the (new) Torment 12.
For our review, we were provided Trace of Echoes to play with the mode, and I think it’s one of the best additions to the game. Not only is it chaotic and intense, but it truly challenges you in both survivability and damage output. And, from what I saw in the mid-Torment levels, the rewards are very lucrative as well, with multiple ancestral uniques being dropped after my runs. However, it feels like a mistake to artificially lock this mode behind a rare consumable drop. I hope Blizzard rethinks this approach in the future or simply provides more opportunities to acquire Trace of Echoes.
Alright, I’ve delayed enough. Now to talk about the largest addition yet: fishing.
Why is fishing being added to Diablo? I have no idea, but here we are. And hey, what’s wrong with having another small activity to engage with in this crazy, demon-filled world? Fishing is incredibly simple, but with a variety of fish to catch across Sanctuary, of varying rarities, it’s still a fun distraction here and there.
All told, Lord of Hatred is exactly what I wanted out of the next chapter of Diablo 4. It tells a compelling story with memorable moments and key characters while also being more engaging than Vessel of Hatred. Furthermore, while some of the fifty side quests are small stories or side beats, there are some truly expansive ones as well, with a few continuing after events in the main campaign that I found especially entertaining.
The addition of two new classes, both of which are excellent in their own right, gives players more ways than ever to tackle the horrors of Sanctuary. And, personally, the return of the proper sword-n-board playstyle with the Paladin is a delight. Combined with new areas to explore, loot to grind, and a continual refinement of the end-game for long-term players, Lord of Hatred is superb. In hindsight, it makes me think I was maybe too kind on Vessel of Hatred after experiencing what’s been delivered here.
Regardless, Blizzard continues to refine and deliver with Diablo 4. Nearly three years after its initial release, it feels like it’s finding that footing that seemingly all Diablo games find post-launch. With a massive game world filled with activities, a variety of end-game events, and deeper build crafting, Diablo 4 is the best it’s ever been.
Thank you to Blizzard and our PR partners for providing review access to Lord of Hatred. You can find Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here.
Change is Eternal
As mentioned earlier, while the Lord of Hatred expansion introduces many new elements, Blizzard is also introducing additional changes to the core of Diablo 4 that will launch on the same day. The update includes significant changes to the skill trees, an increased level cap, additional difficulty tiers, and long-requested features.
Perhaps the most notable changes are to the skill trees of each class alongside the new level cap of 70. With the goal of providing more build variety and experimentation for players, Blizzard is adding new variants for the skills alongside new paths of progression. Moving some of the key aspects for class builds to the skill tree rather than forcing optimization mainly through loot is the goal. As always, seeing how this plays out long term during a short review window is impossible. But, from what I experienced with Warlock and dabbled with for the Druid and Paladin, I’ve liked what I’ve seen.
With extra skill points and a higher base cap on skills, you’re able to specialize more, should you choose. For my Warlock, for example, I honed in on four key skills but built them to be extremely powerful, which I enjoyed immensely. Regardless of your approach, there are certainly more options and flexibility in how you do it. And, no matter the class you play or how long you’ve played Diablo 4, you’re going to want to spend some time acclimating to the new tree.
With new loot and build variety comes new ways to play, as well. While the beginning difficulties remain largely unchanged, there are now twelve tiers of Torment. Experimenting through the end-game activities was a lot more intuitive with this new setup primarily because it gives the player more flexibility. After three years it’s funny that we’ve returned closely to the late game structure from Diablo 3. But it’s successful because it allows you enough variation to adjust how you spend your time. Do you want to move a little more slowly but hope for better loot? Or do you want to clear as fast as possible and go for volume over flat percentage? Giving players that choice, while also providing more room for experimentation, is excellent, and I’m glad they went this route.
Finally, there are some great quality-of-life features being added as well. Blizzard has added a loot filter for those who want to focus on specific items alongside an overlay map (finally!), which makes it a lot easier to travel quickly while tracking your specific location.
Blizzard continues to do a remarkable job with Diablo 4. While some individual seasons may hit or miss more than others, the overall arc of improvement here is impressive. It’s currently the best it’s ever been, and I’m excited to see its continued evolution.
