Vessel of Hatred feels like Diablo 4 at launch in the best ways possible

I was a huge fan of Diablo 4 at launch last year but quickly fell off once I finished the story and got into the seasonal content.

The allure of a game like Diablo is in the story, replayability, leveling grind, and build exploration. Thankfully for players, Vessel of Hatred excels in these areas and has been a pleasure to play through in my early-access period thanks to Blizzard Entertainment.

Everyone loves new activities in an expansion, but in my time spent with the game, all of the new content added in Vessel of Hatred made me want to play more. And that’s without even taking the DLC’s exciting new storyline into consideration as it sets the stage for what else is to come.

A spirited revival

The main attraction in Vessel of Hatred, the Spiritborn class is genuinely so fun to play in the also-new region of Nahantu, and I feel like there is a lot of potential for several different kinds of builds to play with. Each of the four different Spirit Guardians (Jaguar, Gorilla, Eagle, and Centipede) offer a unique way to play, and their powers can combine for some unique play styles.

My early review build focused on the powers of the Eagle and Gorilla, combining to create a lightning-quick Spiritborn that also had the ability to stun enemies and deal immense damage while they were afflicted with the Vulnerable status. But that’s just one of several different ways to play the new class. Centipede powers focus on Poison, for example.

Spiritborn is the most fun I’ve had in Diablo 4 since launch, harnessing the powers of the Spirit Guardians, along with new quality-of-life changes and additions like Runes, Mercenaries, and other things that make Vessel of Hatred worth coming back for.

In fact, with the different combos, fluid movement, and overall “fun” effect, I think it may be my new favorite class overall. Be prepared for nerfs after launch, though, because it feels strong at present.

A whole new world

Diablo 4’s new world is Nahantu, but also a number of changes to the base game that Blizzard revealed, including a major overhaul to character progression that piggybacks on tweaks to loot that came in Season Four: Loot Reborn.

First, Nahantu is a dark, sweaty, grimy-feeling location, rife with swamps, jungles, and deserts all inhabited by a new enemy called the Hollow. They’re mostly responsible for how gross everything feels, as lumpy, amorphous monsters of flesh and bone that are just nasty to look at.

The new area is fun to explore, complete with new Dungeons, Strongholds, and biomes to explore while leveling. The region also has less towns or cities with fast travel points, too, which further lends to the desperation the DLC evokes.

Leveling has been massively changed in Vessel of Hatred. The new max character level is 60, and reaching that point felt breezy compared to what I remember higher levels feeling like at launch. Paragon and character levels are now split, with the Paragon board opening up at 60 for further customization and build-crafting, including new Legendary nodes for each board. Each class now also has one new skill, five new passives, and new Legendaries and Uniques galore.

In short, there’s a lot to discover or re-discover in this DLC.

New-found love for the grind

Other than the continuing story, my favorite new addition to Diablo 4 are two specific activities called Dark Citadel and Kurast Undercity.

Dark Citadel is described by Blizzard as the game’s new co-op end-game experience that combines facets from multiplayer with dungeon combat to create something new. And its boss fights are unique in that they’re more complex than usual, requiring the mode’s two-to-four players to coordinate. It definitely rewards voice communication, but using the new Marker system, it’s not impossible without it.

Kurast Undercity, meanwhile, is a time attack dungeon featuring fun new boss fights that can be used for both late-game farming and early-game leveling. Using keys called Spirit Tributes, you can focus what kind of loot you want to earn beforehand, but the real fun kicks off inside. A countdown timer begins when you exit the spawn area, and it’s a race against time to finish the dungeon’s multiple stages and get to the boss fight to secure your gear.

You can add to the time allotted by killing specially marked Afflicted enemies, who have an hourglass icon on the minimap. There are also areas where you can add extra enemy spawns to take them out and increase item quality.

I think these both will become a favorite for players who are trying to go fast, slay lots of enemies, and blast through repeatable activities.

But you gotta have friends

As a solo player, I also have loved the addition of Mercenaries. These AI companions follow you around, defending you, attacking and taunting foes, and bringing valuable buffs and debuffs to combat no matter where you go.

There’s four different Mercenaries to unlock via quests, each with their own backstories and abilities. There’s Aldkin, a half-child, half-demon, Varyana the berserker, and Subo the archer/bounty hunter, but my favorite friend has been Raheir with his massive shield and taunts.

Each Mercenary can be leveled up passively with Rapport as you take them with you on adventures, finishing quests, missions, dungeons, and more, each with their own skill trees and upgrades for you to customize. And honestly, they are pretty useful when it comes to evening the odds in certain activities, and even moreso useful at base camp because you can barter and trade loot with them.

After spending time with Mercenaries, it’s tough to imagine going back and playing without one. It makes Sanctuary feel way less lonely. I could get friends, but now with Vessel of Hatred, I don’t have to.

If you’re like me and you don’t have friends—well, that’s what the Party Finder feature is for. It can be accessed via the map, in-game menu, or even the emote wheel. And it will be free to use for all Diablo 4 players at Vessel of Hatred’s launch.

After finishing my time in the early access media build, I’m greatly looking forward to digging back in to the DLC when it launches on Oct. 8. I feel the same way now that I did at Diablo 4’s launch, and I hope the new features added in Vessel of Hatred will keep me coming back for more seasonal content over in the future.