Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred Review – Spiritborn Shines

The Diablo series is back with its first major expansion for Diablo 4, titled “Vessel of Hatred,” marking the next chapter in Blizzard’s iconic franchise. With an aim to deliver a more frequent release schedule for expansions, the game introduces a brand-new class, Spiritborn, and pits players against an old adversary, Mephisto, one of the Prime Evils. While “Vessel of Hatred” attempts to blend new mechanics and classes with the core structure of Diablo 4, its true potential may only be fully realized after more extended gameplay. Nonetheless, let’s dive into the content at hand.

The expansion picks up with our protagonist, the Wanderer, tracking down Neyrelle through the thick jungles of Nahantu. Neyrelle, once an ally, is now under the corrupting influence of Mephisto, who, though trapped within a Soulstone, manages to manipulate her and wreak havoc across the land. The narrative follows their journey as the Wanderer faces knights who have survived Hell’s fire and hatred-infected enemies. Mephisto is a compelling antagonist, but as formidable as he is, his character lacks the haunting charisma that made Lilith, the central villain of the base game, so engaging.

While the story in “Vessel of Hatred” doesn’t quite match the emotionally driven plot of the base campaign, it does provide interesting developments. New side quests, along with enhanced Strongholds, add more depth to the world of Diablo 4, with Nahantu serving as the new battleground. This lush, expansive area offers players plenty of content to explore. It’s larger and more intricate than any individual region from the base game, but still remains a single location. While the main campaign can be completed in about 5-6 hours, there’s plenty of additional content to tackle afterward, extending the playtime significantly.

The biggest highlight of the expansion is undoubtedly the new class, Spiritborn. A rare addition from Blizzard, this shape-shifting class allows players to embody the spirits of different animals like the Jaguar, Gorilla, Eagle, and Centipede. While the class initially seems to mirror the Druid due to its animal connections, it quickly proves to be an entirely different beast. Each spirit offers unique gameplay mechanics—tanking with the Gorilla, slashing with the Jaguar, poisoning enemies as the Centipede, or calling down lightning as the Eagle.

As a Spiritborn, players can combine two animal forms for a hybrid playstyle. In my experience, I opted for the Jaguar and Gorilla combo. The Jaguar’s mobility and devastating power slashes reminded me of classic Monk builds, while the Gorilla’s tanking abilities allowed me to endure higher difficulty encounters. My playstyle evolved into a form of ultimate skill spamming, as I would leap into battle as a fiery Jaguar, unleash an area-of-effect (AOE) attack, and reduce cooldowns with each kill. While this playstyle made for thrilling combat, the depth of Spiritborn’s potential builds is evident, and there is much more to explore within this class.

Blizzard also made significant changes to the difficulty system. The removal of the World Tier system and its replacement with non-Torment and Torment difficulty levels represents a substantial shift. However, it’s difficult to fully gauge how this will impact the average player’s experience. In the review build, none of the Renown rewards, like free skill points or Paragon points, were carried over, making progression slow. I didn’t even advance beyond Normal difficulty until the campaign’s end. This felt like more of a grind compared to the original game, and I didn’t experience the same exhilarating power spikes from rare loot drops or major Paragon upgrades.

In terms of new activities, one standout is the Kurast Undercity, a timed dungeon run that allows players to extend their time by killing specific enemies. It offers bonus loot through mini-events within the dungeon and provides the option to spend materials to upgrade the dungeon for even more rewards. While fun, it feels like an enhanced version of traditional rift runs rather than something radically different.

The seasonal content includes an intriguing event where players chase down a Realmwalker, kill it, and then enter a portal on its back to navigate a dungeon that offers specialized rewards like gear, materials, and gold. Though the seasonal offerings feel somewhat light, especially as they launch alongside the expansion, there’s still enough content to keep players engaged for some time.

One feature I didn’t get to fully explore is the Dark Citadel, a new cooperative mode for 2-4 players. With weekly rewards tied to its completion, it promises to be a mainstay in the endgame. However, playing solo in the review build made it challenging to assess this feature adequately.

Mercenaries also make a return, albeit in a new form. The expansion introduces several new mercenaries, each with unique abilities: a barbarian tank, a berserker cannibal, a demonic child, and a bounty-hunting archer. Their attacks and buffs add a nice touch to combat, and the quests to recruit them are enjoyable.

Finally, the expansion reintroduces the rune system, though it’s been streamlined. Instead of the old prestige-laden system, players now use activator runes that generate currency and result runes that spend it. While this adds some variety, early impressions suggest that traditional gem sockets might still be the better option—at least in the midgame.

Overall, “Vessel of Hatred” delivers a solid experience. Its campaign is serviceable but lacks the punch of the base game’s narrative. The true star is the Spiritborn class, which offers deep customization and engaging gameplay. As Blizzard continues to refine Diablo 4’s mechanics, this expansion feels like a step in the right direction, even if it doesn’t fully revolutionize the game just yet.

Score: 8.5/10.