Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred review – An expansion that breathes new life into the game

It’s safe to say that Diablo 4 has changed a lot since it released back in 2023. Back then it immensely impressed thanks to its lengthy campaign, which introduced a new cast of characters that we’d come to know and love over the dozens of hours we’d spend with them. Since then, there have been numerous seasons, each introducing new content and features, alongside meaningful updates that have made permanent changes to how the game operates, primarily when it comes to loot. And now here we are with Lord of Hatred, the game’s second expansion, which is set to totally change things again. But is it for the better?

I think so, having spent tens of hours with Lord of Hatred in the last week. But judging the end-game experience, which is so important to Diablo, under review conditions isn’t exactly ideal. What I can state, however, is that the new campaign offered by Lord of Hatred is a big upgrade on the one offered by Vessel of Hatred, which was pretty disappointing overall. And on top of that, it brings many other new features to Diablo 4 that are very much welcome. And of course, two new character classes, one of which people have already had their grubby mitts on by pre-ordering.

So, the campaign. Lord of Hatred pretty much picks up where Vessel of Hatred left off, with the Prime Evil Mephisto making his move to return to Sanctuary. It’s thanks to Neyrelle that you know where he’s going to make his move, and so after reuniting with the wonderful Lorath you’re soon boarding a ship to the island of Skovos. Needless to say, this Greek-inspired location not only offers fresh scenery, but also many new enemies to encounter, ranging from giant crabs to water elementals. And while it’s mostly a sunny and picturesque backdrop for lots of demon slaying, there are some more foreboding and atmospheric areas as well.

What’s really notable about the new campaign, which should take most players around 12 to 15 to complete, is that it very much follows the structure of the base campaign, with narration by Lorath between acts. It also has a similar, somewhat darker, tone, making Vessel of Hatred feel more like a misstep than ever. There are some serious story developments here that will have Diablo 4 fans both cheering and possibly bawling their eyes out, and the stakes genuinely feel high. What’s more, while there are plenty of enjoyable boss fights throughout, the final battle here might be the best in the game full stop.

Of course, you can enjoy the expansion with any of the original Diablo character classes if you wish, or you can go hands-on with one of the new classes: the Paladin or the Warlock. Being a returning character, the Paladin feels somewhat familiar, combining mostly melee-focused attacks with holy magic and auras. The Warlock, on the other hand, is a fresh new addition.

In contrast to the Paladin, they’re more of an anti-hero, with the majority their skills revolving around summoning demons to do their bidding. The class they’re closest to for comparison, then, is the Necromancer, but they have enough unique tricks up their sleeves to make them feel like a worthy new addition. Put it this way: I’m looking forward to starting a Warlock all over again when Lord of Hatred actually launches.

In any case, no matter which class you choose, your gameplay experience will feel very different thanks to the work Blizzard has done reworking the skill trees. Basically, you’ll find no passive abilities on the tree at all anymore. The skill tree is now literally just that: a tree full of skills, and you put the points into those you want in your palette. Thanks to the points that are freed up, you can now place 15 into the main node of any given skill, allowing for more growth. And in addition to that, you can now modify each skill in various ways.

Each skill typically has two sets of minor modifications, of which you can choose one, and one set of major modifications which, again, you can choose just one of. And eagle-eyed Diablo 4 players will soon realise that many of these modifications are essentially repurposed Aspects. The result is that you’re less likely to just focus on one skill for a build, seeking out certain items or Aspects to facilitate. With no passives to put points into, you eventually have more than enough points to fill your palette with multiple powerful skills and actually use them all.

There’s a reason for this: build diversity. A concerted effort has been made here to make more builds viable, and so, itemisation on the whole has had yet another revamp. While you’ll still find some Aspects and Uniques that improve specific skills, most of them now are designed to provide general boosts. Additionally, Runes have been looked at with some at both the top and bottom end removed, while item affixes have gone through yet more changes. A new affix now adds extra weapon damage, for example, while changes to the Overpower system mean you’ll never see a +x% Overpower Damage ever again.

To add further depth and complexity to the itemisation in Diablo 4, Lord of Hatred introduces a new Talisman system. This allows you to equip not only a Seal, which are available in the usual rarity qualities, but also up to six charms. Each one of these has the usual bonuses to offer, such as increased movement speed or additional points to specific skills or groups of skills. Set Charms are also available, however, with you receiving additional bonuses for equipping multiple charms in the same set. Some of these seemingly offer some truly powerful bonuses, so they’ll be fun to track down and experiment with.

The Horadric Cube makes a return as well, and its function here is more like it was in Diablo 2 than Diablo 3. By finding various resources, you can use the cube to add new affixes to certain items, turn common items into Uniques, and much, much more. Given the fact that you’ll find fewer legendary items and Uniques in general, the cube will come in very useful when gearing up. It even has a function that’s equivalent to Sanctifying an item, which many will no doubt appreciate (or loathe, depending on their luck).

Perhaps the last major addition here to consider is War Plans, a new feature that gives more structure to Diablo 4’s endgame activities, not only making them more rewarding, but also more accessible to newcomers. By visiting the new War Plans desk, accessible after finishing the game’s campaign, you’re able to choose a string of endgame activities. Upon the completion of these you’ll gain a cache full of rewards, in addition to whatever you’ve obtained from completing the activities themselves.

This makes War Plans already more enticing than just engaging in endgame activities in the normal way, but the fact that you can quickly move from one activity to another by bringing up the map and holding the right trigger makes it even more so. Plus, depending on the activities you choose, you might even reap more rewards. And there’s something else: every time you complete an endgame activity you’ll now earn activity experience.

Earn enough experience to level an activity up and you’ll gain a point which you can then place in that activity’s tree, allowing you to tweak it in one of numerous ways to make it more challenging or rewarding. You can make it so that the Hellwyrms that appear during a Helltide have a chance to summon Duriel’s Brood, for example, or that when fighting in the Undercity you get more time from slaying enemies when you’re close to failure. Ultimately, these modifiers will help you shape your favourite activities and keep them feeling fresh.

Factor in other additional features and content introduced via Lord of Hatred, such as fishing which is fun when you break from demon-slaying, and Echoing Hatred, a rare end-game activity which allows you to face off against hordes of enemies that grow evermore powerful until death is inevitable, and you have an expansion that truly adds to the base game. In fact, there’s almost a sense of finality to it, with it not only bringing the current story to a very fulfilling conclusion but also leaving you wondering what else could be added or changed next. If you love Diablo 4 then, consider Lord of Hatred essential.