Vessel of Hatred is set to be Diablo 4’s first major expansion, bringing players back to the jungles of Nahantu from Diablo 2. Not only will this expansion come with a new zone but also an entirely new class that has already been subject to plenty of speculation.
Diablo 4 saw the return of the fan-favorite Druid class, similarly present in Diablo 2 but absent from the third installment. Other classes saw slight changes in name but mostly kept a similar class fantasy and arsenal of abilities. Whereas there was the Wizard and Demon Hunter in Diablo 3, these two classes evolved into the Sorcerer and Rogue in Diablo 4.
Though Diablo 4 Production Director Tiffany Wat described Diablo 4 as “A love letter to the community” which revisits nostalgic areas and classes from previous games, Wat promised media in an interview at BlizzCon that the upcoming class for Vessel of Hatred will be “a class that nobody’s seen before.”
Associate Game Director Joe Piepiora stated that the Diablo 4 development team looked for playstyles and class fantasies that weren’t already present in the game whenever creating this new class. Though it will certainly garner plenty of focus and attention, Piepiora made it clear that “adding a new class doesn’t mean we stop supporting previous classes.”
Blizzard promised future expansions and new classes for Diablo 4 well before BlizzCon 2023, giving the community plenty of time to speculate on what an additional class could be. Though the consensus previously leaned toward classes from previous games, such as the Crusader, Witch Doctor, or Monk, Wat and Piepiora’s statement might have just shot these hopes down.
The promise of an entirely new class that Diablo players have not seen before may lend further credence to leaks made in late Oct. 2023. In this leak, dataminers supposedly unveiled the new class coming in Vessel of Hatred, dubbed the Spiritborn. Despite the leak, little is known about this class other than it possibly has a nature-magic focus and can craft corrupted Runestones.
Given that we are still far out from the release of Vessel of Hatred, there is still much we have to learn about this upcoming class.
