Diablo 4: Vessel of Hated aims to answer questions the campaign left to linger: "You're definitely going to learn the fate of the stone"

Nov. 12, 2023

Blizzard says that the Vessel of Hatred expansion is a chance for the action-RPG to “take another big step forward”

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Associate game director Brent Gibson says Vessel of Hatred is an opportunity to “take one big cohesive step forward.” It’ll give you the opportunity to take one of your characters from the Eternal realm into the southlands of Sanctuary, tracking Neyrelle as she pushes into the heart of the Torajan Jungle. “She’s following the footsteps of a Prophet of Light,” says production director Tiffany Wat, “looking for a way to deal with the Soulstone and the Prime Evil trapped inside.”

Ushering in the Age of Hatred

The gates separating Nahantu and Sanctuary have long been sealed. The region escaped the wrath of Lillith throughout the initial campaign, and 72 years have passed since we last ventured to some of its most infamous locations – if you’ve ever wondered how the Kurast Docks have fared since Act 3 of Diablo 2, the Vessel of Hatred will provide answers. And yet for all the nostalgia inherent to setting the expansion in such an iconic area, Gibson promises that this is very much the continuation of Diablo 4 that you’ve been waiting for. “You’re definitely going to learn the fate of the stone. We’re picking up right where we left off, continuing the story that we explored in the main campaign.”

When the ‘Age of Hatred’ descends upon Sanctuary, the mortal realm will be dealing with the pervasive power of Mephisto, and without many of its guardians for protection – Inarius is gone, the Horadrim outcast and defeated. Blizzard won’t be drawn on too many story details just yet, although Wat says we’ll witness Neyrelle “directly challenging the influence of a Prime Evil” as she heads towards the Temple City of Travincal; once the holy headquarters of the Church of Zakarum in Kurast, the site where the original ritualistic imprisonment of Mephisto was undertaken.

Gibson says that “by continuing our story, by adding the new region, a new class, and all of these new ways to play, we can really go big. We’re having a lot of fun experimenting with seasons and learning a lot by listening to our players, and we’ll be able to use all of that feedback to take another big step forward.” Because of how much the core Diablo 4 experience is changing every month – as evidenced by what we’ve seen so far through the Season of the Malignant and the Season of Blood – Blizzard says it’s difficult to tease what those ‘new ways to play’ might be right now, but I suspect that a lot of it will be driven through the sixth player-class joining the Diablo 4 roster.

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“Like Kayleigh said, they can feed off of each other,” Gibson continues, explaining that the seasonal model will continue alongside the expansionto ensure that no defenders of Sanctuary get left behind. “When we launch, we’re going to have stuff for Seasonal players, we’re going to have stuff for the Eternal players… Basically, every player type that we have, we’re going to have something there for them to play with. That’s really important to us. There’s so many playstyles out there right now, and we don’t want to alienate any of the groups along the way.”

Blizzard says that players returning to an Eternal realm character will be able to jump straight into the expansion’s storyline, while any new players joining for Vessel of Hatred will have the option of skipping the original campaign. Either way, game director Joe Shely teases that youmaywant to spend some time re-exploring Sanctuary once you open the gates to Nahantu. “There are many cases where, if you speak with characters after the events of the campaign have taken place, the interactions are actually different.”

“For example,” Shely continues, “I was just in Kyovashad doing the side quest where there’s an exorcism under the city. You know, I’ve completed that side-quest many times during development, but if you do it after defeating the campaign there’s a different interaction there – the reaction of the church to Inarius and what’s been going on. So the side-quest still plays out, but the context is different – the characters respond to that. It’s been so cool to see the level of detail that our quest designers have put into the game, and we want to do a whole lot more of that.”

Diablo 4 is in an exceptionally good place right now, and Vessel of Hatred will only build on that year one success as it lets us loose under the dense jungle canopy of Nahantu. In many ways, the expansion is a celebration of the legacy of the Diablo universe – a return of some beloved locations and characters from existing games. But really, it’s a chance for Blizzard to continue pushing the franchise forward in ways we can’t even imagine. “Diablo 4 has come so far in such a short amount of time,” says Calder, “but like we’ve always said: launch was just the beginning.”

Josh West is the Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+. He has over 15 years experience in online and print journalism, and holds a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Prior to starting his current position, Josh has served as GR+’s Features Editor and Deputy Editor of games™ magazine, and has freelanced for numerous publications including 3D Artist, Edge magazine, iCreate, Metal Hammer, Play, Retro Gamer, and SFX. Additionally, he has appeared on the BBC and ITV to provide expert comment, written for Scholastic books, edited a book for Hachette, and worked as the Assistant Producer of the Future Games Show. In his spare time, Josh likes to play bass guitar and video games. Years ago, he was in a few movies and TV shows that you’ve definitely seen but will never be able to spot him in.

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