After 2024’s Vessel of Hatred expansion left me dangling off a narrative cliff like a hapless Sanctuary peasant, I needed a reason to return to the grind. In this Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred Review, I can confirm that the expansion delivers exactly what was promised. It provides a tight, satisfying campaign and an endgame so loaded with content that I occasionally forgot some systems even existed.

A Narrative Triumph in the Shadows

As a proper end to the demonic battle building since 20lar, the cutscenes in Lord of Hatred are jaw-dropping. The writing and pacing of this short, roughly 8-hour campaign stand as some of Blizzard’s best work yet. It kept me on the edge of my seat with twists, turns, and deep Diablo lore.

The story even had me debating demon philosophy with friends in party chat while smashing through imps. While the campaign is only a small part of the hundreds of hours spent exploding loot goblins, the mysteries and unforgettable characters make it one of my favorite campaigns to date.

Exploring Skovos: The Birthplace of Humanity

The journey primarily takes place in Skovos, a Mediterranean-style island that plays a vital role in lore as the birthplace of humanity. This new region offers a much-needed breath of fresh air, featuring beautiful, untouched areas alongside classic horrific elements like "corpse clots."

The region is incredibly diverse, offering various environments to explore:

  • Lovecraftian-coded foggy shorelines.
  • Volcanic hellscapes.
  • New Strongholds worth conquering for loot.

While Skovos isn't as densely packed with new dungeons, the content present is well worth the trek.

New Classes and Skill Tree Overhauls in this Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred Review

The expansion introduces two excellent character classes to shake up the meta. The returning Paladin offers nostalgic comfort food with powerful protection and aura builds. Conversely, the brand-new Warlock allows you to claim Hell’s power through diverse disciplines:

  • Legion: A Necromancer-style approach focused on summoning demons.
  • Vanguard: A high-intensity build that transforms you into a demon.

Beyond new classes, the six existing skill trees have been completely reworked. Instead of simple passive perks that merely increase damage, players must now make meaningful tactical choices. For example, a Sorceress can now decide to turn fire hydro snakes into ice snakes to better suit a specific build.

These changes push players away from boring upgrades and toward creating truly unique character identities.

What we said about Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred

"Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is an awesome expansion that adds an excellent new area to explore, a gloriously modular character class that I can’t stop playing, an impressive debut raid activity, and lots more. But while just about everything it adds is awesome, it definitely doesn’t do enough where the somewhat flaccid campaign and story is concerned, and numerous bugs can occasionally drag it down. Thankfully, the changes to the meta, a greatly improved progression system, the resurrection of rune words, and NPC companions are all major wins for Diablo 4, even when it seems we’ll be waiting a bit to see where this interlude expansion leads." — Travis Northup, October 4, 2024

Score: 8