As the journey of 'Diablo IV' nears its three-year mark, the game has entered a period of stability, bordering on stagnation. From the intense anticipation before its launch, the harsh criticism that followed its 2023 debut, to the numerous updates and the 'Vessel of Hatred' expansion, the past three years of Diablo IV have felt less like a steady progression and more like the arduous process of renovating a mansion that was built in total disarray.
And now, at Season 12, Diablo IV has finally become a genuinely good game. Through several experiments and refinements, the endgame content has been solidified, and the internal systems have been revitalized by changes to reward structures and milestone logic. While negative sentiment from the early days of the service still lingers, it is undeniable that Diablo IV has changed significantly compared to the past.
Naturally, I approached 'Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred' (hereinafter 'Lord of Hatred') with a mix of apprehension and anticipation.
So much has changed. The narrative leading to the ending is naturally new, the endgame content has been overhauled once again, and above all, the overall direction of 'character progression'—the core of any hack and slash game—has been completely transformed. Having lived through the chaotic period of 2023, it is hard not to feel a sense of apprehension.
This review will focus on those 'changing parts.' The key updates and additions in 'Lord of Hatred' can be summarized as follows.
1. A narrative centered on Mephisto, who has taken over the shell of Akarat
2. A completely revamped skill tree and progression direction
3. Content structure and additional features
I intend to explain 'Lord of Hatred' by focusing on these three pillars.
※ In accordance with Blizzard's review guidelines, this review will not describe the detailed narrative of 'Lord of Hatred.' However, please be aware that my impressions and opinions on the story may contain indirect spoilers (though they are minor).
The Frustrating 'Vessel of Hatred' and the Satisfying 'Lord of Hatred'
When reviewing the previous expansion, 'Vessel of Hatred,' the part that left me most perplexed was the 'narrative.' One might argue that in a game with an infinite loop like Diablo, a one-time story doesn't matter much, but narrative is always crucial in any game. It is the most powerful motivator for gameplay and the root of immersion.
Ironically, 'Vessel of Hatred' only covered the 'introduction' and 'development' phases of a standard narrative arc. Chasing Neyrelle as she headed to Nahantu with the Soulstone, players tracked Mephisto and fought against corruption. In the end, Mephisto took over Akarat's shell, left a farewell message, and vanished.
In a game where the Prime Evil is the main antagonist, we spent the entire expansion playing hide-and-seek with him without actually defeating anything. Players had to vent their frustration later by beating up Belial, who was added in a seasonal update.
It is inevitable. 'Vessel of Hatred' only covers the 'introduction' and 'development' phases of the overarching story. Consequently, the narrative continues directly into the 'turn' and 'conclusion' in the main title, 'Lord of Hatred.' Structurally, the prequel 'Vessel of Hatred' and the main title 'Lord of Hatred' must be combined to form a single, complete story. In this installment, Mephisto, having taken possession of Akarat’s body, beguiles the inhabitants of the Nahantu region and the Amazons as he marches toward the world's destruction, while the player wanders in search of a way to put an end to him.
As the journey unfolds, the player's focus shifts from the grand premise of the conflict between angels and demons—Sanctuary caught between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells—to a more microscopic perspective. What did Lilith and Inarius mean to Sanctuary and the Nephalem? What does Mephisto think of Sanctuary, and why is he hostile toward Lilith? What were the ideologies and perspectives of the original Horadrim.
To put it simply, my impression of the narrative in 'Lord of Hatred' is that it is 'clean.' Through this expansion, all storylines involving Mephisto and Lilith are wrapped up very neatly. There are a few twists, some heart-wrenching moments for old fans, and occasionally some questionable segments that make you wonder, 'Is this right?', but regardless, the story reaches a definitive conclusion.
Of course, it's a stretch to call the narrative perfect; there are parts where players might feel confused or find the logic lacking if they lack background knowledge or don't fully grasp the internal psychology of each character. Nevertheless, it was a satisfying conclusion for me personally. It is frustrating that I cannot explain every detail due to the review guidelines, though.
From the perspective of 'direction,' 'Lord of Hatred' features the best 'boss fight presentation' in the series. In particular, the final battle with Mephisto goes beyond the typical boss fight pattern where the protagonist and enemy are isolated; it begins in a space filled with unsuspecting civilians, and the game unflinchingly depicts them being torn apart by Mephisto's attack patterns. Combined with the subsequent solo fight, it is arguably the most diabolical and impressive presentation in the series.
Separately, the music is absolutely killer this time. I was reminded once again that dark fantasy with a Gothic flair truly comes alive with vocal choruses.
Build difficulty is ↓ Skill utility is ↑
Looking at the 'character progression' aspect, there have been massive changes—so significant that you might wonder if they went too far. The most visible change is the 'skill tree.' As previously announced, the numerous passive nodes that existed for every class have been completely removed, and the Keystone Passives that defined the peak of a build have also been deleted. The skill tree now literally only affects the 'skills you actually use.' The multiplicative factors that existed in those countless passives have been moved to Legendary Aspects, the Paragon Board, and the newly added Runes and Amulets.
Looking at Diablo IV up to 'Vessel of Hatred,' existing skills had fairly clear performance floors and ceilings. The key was how well you could utilize Legendary Aspects and how strongly you were influenced by Keystone Passives; if these conditions were met, you could create a decent build.
Conversely, there were definitely skills that were 'unusable' depending on the seasonal update. However, there are no 'unusable' skills anymore. As long as you have the right Aspects and fill out your Paragon Board, most skills now perform at a baseline level. Of course, some skills are still less popular due to having fewer relevant Aspects or inherent convenience issues, but that is unavoidable.
Of course, there have always been brilliant builders who could find ways to utilize unpopular skills, and it is obvious that 'meta' builds will exist even after the expansion. So, what has actually changed? Simply put, the 'gap between the floor and the ceiling' has definitely narrowed.
Even after the expansion, there will naturally be top-tier builds and relatively weaker ones. However, since even skills that were previously considered 'unusable' now perform at a baseline level, the era of just following someone else's build guide is over—it's a great time to craft your own.
In fact, while conducting this review, I experimented with all sorts of builds for the Spiritborn I was leveling, and most of them performed reasonably well. I couldn't collect all the class-specific items, so there were many builds I couldn't try, but even without them, as long as I set up the Paragon Board correctly, I could keep increasing the difficulty. The fact that a build I cobbled together—not being a professional builder—actually worked is proof that the 'floor' for most builds has been raised significantly.
In this process, the skill trees for each class have also changed significantly. Basically, while focusing on the 'class fantasy' of each, they have increased the utility of each skill. For example, for the 'Druid,' there are now nodes for every skill that 'do not consume skill points.' Earth nature magic skills like Landslide or Boulder can now carry the 'Werebear' skill keyword, and Lightning Storm and Tornado can carry the 'Werewolf' keyword—without spending skill points.
Other classes have implemented this by changing the base elements themselves. Taking the Sorcerer as an example, 'Lightning Spear' is no longer strictly a Lightning skill. You can change it to 'Flame Spear' to switch it to Fire, or change 'Firewall' to a Shock skill to generate 'Crackling Energy,' or turn Chain Lightning into 'Frost Chains,' or change Incinerate into a channeled Lightning skill.
During the skill tree overhaul, 'Aspects' were also slightly reorganized. You can no longer obtain Tier 1 Aspects by clearing specific dungeons. Since some Aspects were integrated into the skill trees and disappeared, it made more sense to remove Aspect acquisition through dungeons entirely rather than leaving holes in dungeon rewards. Instead, some Aspects have been moved directly into the skill tree, allowing you to feel their power just by picking the skill.
These changes open up countless build possibilities. Whether it's a Sorcerer using Firewall instead of Ball Lightning as a filler, a Druid leading a pack of Werewolves, or a Spiritborn using Lightning Touch instead of Death Touch—even if it looks strange, it means the 'situation where you can at least try it' has been created.
In terms of items, Unique items can now be 'Tempered.' Previously, only Masterworking was possible, and since Tempering wasn't, they sometimes fell behind Legendary items in terms of the number of options; now, the utility of Unique items has been further enhanced. Furthermore, by utilizing the Horadric Cube, 'item transmutation'—similar to the 'Sanctification' of previous seasons—adds even more options. As this significantly strengthens the character's base stats, the floor for the character itself is raised regardless of the build.
The Intent of War Plans: 'Motivation'
The endgame content structure and convenience aspects are closer to improvements than changes. The existing endgame flow involves skimming through Helltides that reset every hour, and in the remaining time, running Undercity, Infernal Hordes, Bosses, Nightmare Dungeons, or the Pit as needed. You farm items and materials one by one, and once the build is set, the general flow is to either grind the Pit or move on to another character.
'Lord of Hatred' maintains the variety of this content but introduces 'War Plans,' a system that allows you to focus on what you want to play. Lore-wise, it's a war against the remnants left after defeating Mephisto + demons who have basically become residents of Sanctuary, but that's just lore; in practice, it's a system that bundles endgame content together.
From a gamer's perspective, the purpose of War Plans is 'motivation.' Previously, endgame content existed, but it was scattered, leaving you constantly wondering, 'What should I do?' While there are clear goals when you need Obducite for Masterworking or are upgrading Glyphs in the Pit, there was ambiguity when you just needed 'better gear than what I have now' because the efficiency was all similar.
However, War Plans allow players to design their own play paths by offering bonus rewards, while simultaneously allowing them to deepen their engagement with each piece of endgame content, enabling 'specialization.' A build that is effective against multiple enemies but weak against bosses can focus on Infernal Hordes and Helltides, while a build strong against bosses can focus on boss encounters and still collect the necessary materials or bonus rewards.
Therefore, I wonder if this 'endgame content' bundle should be changed. In 'Lord of Hatred,' the true endgame content is only 'Echoing Hatred' and high-tier Pit runs; the rest of the existing endgame content is now just farming content rather than endgame.
An addition as important as War Plans is the 'Horadric Cube.' Anyone who played Diablo II will recognize this system, which continued as 'Kanai's Cube' in Diablo III. This strange box functions just like before, breaking down and processing items. Unlike the existing Enchanting at the Occultist, it carries risks but changes items on a larger scale, and I suspect there are definitely hidden recipes.
Beyond this, 'Lord of Hatred' has changed in many small and sometimes large ways. From the Torment difficulty levels, which have been expanded to 12 tiers but with a refined difficulty curve to avoid just making things 'stronger,' to the translucent minimap that appears when you press M, and the unification of boss keys into 'Undercity Boss Keys' to avoid cluttered inventory—the direction has remained consistent since the early days of Diablo IV: simplify unnecessarily complex parts to reduce frustration and enhance motivation, allowing players to enjoy the game more comfortably.
Now is the Age of Hatred. What's next?
In terms of gameplay, 'Lord of Hatred' is clearly an expansion that shows very challenging changes. As mentioned, the progression structure of each class has changed so drastically that, aside from the utilization of Legendary Aspects or Unique items, almost nothing remains compatible with existing builds.
This means it could be a major revolution that breaks build stagnation if it goes well, but it could also result in the destruction of the order we've barely managed to build if it slips. Having only had about a week to look at it, I cannot be certain what the comprehensive results of these changes will be, but the overall direction of the change was clearly aimed at breaking build stagnation and ensuring every build can at least pull its own weight.
This shows the direction Blizzard is taking for Diablo IV.
All hack and slash games inevitably suffer from build stagnation. Just as there is always a 'best' among great soccer players, maximum efficiency will always exist. However, if the gap between the ceiling and the floor is not large, and if there are 'relatively' less efficient but sufficiently viable options, the concentration of builds can be reduced to a noticeable degree. At the beginning of the changes starting in late April, I don't know if this potential will be realized or if it will cause problems for other reasons, but it is certainly a good thing that Diablo IV is moving in this direction.
From a narrative perspective, a major chapter has concluded. The edition that includes the base game of Diablo IV, released alongside this expansion, is titled 'Age of Hatred.' The story of Diablo IV began with the return of Lilith, the daughter of Mephisto and the 'Daughter of Hatred,' to Sanctuary, and we sought the help of her father, Mephisto, to oppose her.
Then, the conflict with Mephisto, who revealed his true colors in the next expansion, 'Vessel of Hatred,' began, and with 'Lord of Hatred,' all stories related to Mephisto and Lilith are neatly concluded in a trilogy. The reason the edition containing the base game, 'Vessel of Hatred,' and 'Lord of Hatred' is called 'Age of Hatred' is that the narrative spanning this trilogy is literally tied to Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, and Lilith, the Daughter of Hatred.
I don't know whose age will come next. Whether it will be the 'Age of Destruction,' looking back at Baal's journey from Lut Gholein, where Tal Rasha was sealed, to Mount Arreat, or the 'Age of Terror,' leading from Tristram to Hell.
However, at this moment, I want to applaud this expansion for finishing a massive story under the single theme of 'Hatred' and for breaking through mannerism through bold challenges. I confirmed significant changes and enjoyed 'Vessel of Hatred,' but 'Lord of Hatred' is even more novel and even more satisfying.
Thinking back to 2023, the early days of Diablo IV were full of internal contradictions despite showing immense potential. If you are a gamer, you probably remember the mockery Diablo IV faced and the atmosphere where people even said, 'This isn't a game.' But as time passed, Diablo IV slowly got better and improved.
And now, three years later, with 'Lord of Hatred,' Diablo IV has definitely become a 'good game.'
- A neatly concluded narrative of Hatred
- Organized endgame content
- Build crafting that is fresh but not difficult
- So what do we do now? The same thing we always do.
Review Platform: PC (Pre-release review build)
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