Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred Review: The Spiritborn Brightens A Familiar Trail

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Our verdict:

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred’s flexible character class and revamped progression are backed by compelling characters and a serviceable plot. It’s the culmination of Blizzard bunkering down and reworking the decisions players found fault with in Diablo 4.

Pros

  • A new class that's a blast to play
  • Nahantu is a stunning new setting
  • Kurast Undercity is an engaging endgame activity

Cons

  • Underdeveloped character arcs and ending

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred at a Glance

Category Our rating (out of 10) Comment
Graphics 8 The region of Nahantu offers some of the game’s best visuals, from decrepit temples to pools of tar corrupting the landscape.
Gameplay 8 A new melee-focused class with the ability to mix and match elemental attacks makes Diablo 4 feel incredibly tactile. New dungeons and bosses are a treat to tackle.
Story 7 While the story does have meaningful twists and alters the course of Sanctuary, it isn’t as compelling as the base game.
Replayability 8 A reworked progression system and a variety of endgame activities means that you can spend dozens of hours mastering your character’s build.
Overall 7.75 Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred’s flexible character class and revamped progression are backed by compelling characters and a serviceable plot.

Diablo 4 had a strong start thanks to a meaty campaign, strong underlying systems, and Blizzard’s leading cinematics. The seasonal storylines and accompanying mechanics that followed weren’t groundbreaking, but they didn’t need to be. The sole exception is Loot Reborn’s overhaul of item drops, making the fourth season almost feel like a new game. Season Six arrives alongside Vessel of Hatred, Diablo 4’s first big-budget $40 expansion. Its biggest task? Having a Loot Reborn-sized impact.

There are several big Vessel of Hatred features brought with the expansion: the Spiritborn class, a Mephisto-focused story arc in the new Nahantu region, and fresh dungeon modes to tackle. And that’s outside the sixth season’s walking portals and new questline.

The base game also gets broad changes to difficulty levels and skill progression, no questions asked. Despite clocking in at around 12 hours, Vessel of Hatred’s story reveals aren’t as developed as those in the original game.

But there’s a lot more to do in Nahantu as the Spiritborn. Our full Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred review goes into the full details further down the page.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred introduces the Spiritborn class.
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred introduces the Spiritborn class. Source: Antony Terence via Techopedia

The Spiritborn Masters All Trades

While the game’s five classes let you branch out your skills, the Spiritborn outdoes them in sheer scope and variety. Its dash attacks keep Vessel of Hatred’s combat snappy and responsive. As nimble melee fighters, Spiritborn channel animal spirits focused on specific tenets of combat.

Mix the eagle’s ranged lightning moves and gorilla beatdowns with the jaguar’s flurry of blows or the occasional centipede poison cloud. As I worked towards the new max level of 60, I embraced the jaguar’s path with a sprinkle of centipede crowd control. That’s when I ran into Vessel of Hatred’s biggest surprise.

Once I cleared the character class’ Spirit Hall questline, my primary spirit choice could infuse all skills with its energy. I could now use eagle-focused items in a build with zero eagle skills. Moments later, electric feathers lashed out from my jaguar-centipede Spiritborn on every dodge, making me a three-spirit devotee. A couple of horde extinction events and boss fights later; the explosive Aztec-inspired class proved to be the expansion’s most significant addition.

It’s a class that feels at home in the Kurast Undercity, a randomized multilevel dungeon under the ziggurats of Nahantu. This replayable dungeon, exclusive to Vessel of Hatred, pairs a ticking timer with modifiers and objectives that add seconds to your survival. Beat its boss, and you’ll be rewarded with loot based on the modifiers you set. While I didn’t get to test the expansion’s MMO raid-like Dark Citadel, expect Spiritborn to dish out some serious damage in the co-op-only endgame mode.

Recruit mercenaries to bring them into combat.
Recruit mercenaries to bring them into combat. Source: Antony Terence via Techopedia

Programs for Your Build-Crafting

Alongside your Diablo 4 character, the game takes more steps towards personalization with Mercenaries and Runewords. After you recruit Mercenaries via their quests, these AI companions can fight alongside you with skills and mini-progression systems.

While one assists you directly, another can serve as a reinforcement who hops in mid-battle when you use a particular skill. Similarly, Runewords can be socketed into your equipment to pair “if action” conditions with “then boom” buffs and skills.

Both these clever ideas let you play with more crowd control and damage options. They pair well with a shorter level grind and account-wide paragon levels to spice up character progression that was growing long in the tooth. Diablo 4 gameplay feels enhanced by Vessel of Hatred in a good way. Level up your paragon board’s glyphs at the Pit of Artificers to level 100 now, up from 21, to unlock new Legendary effects.

Speaking of Vessel of Hatred difficulty, the new Torment tiers test your mastery over build optimization, while four lower tiers keep casual players engaged across endgame activities. You’ll need to hit Torment I to access boss summoning and master working materials (for upgrading Ancestral gear).

Loot Reborn’s item refresh is felt here, too, with less junk, more build-focused gear, and targeted buffs being a blacksmith visit away. The best gear is locked behind Torment tiers, so becoming the strongest Wanderer in Sanctuary remains a prolonged if streamlined, resource grind.

Vessel of Hatred continues Neyrelle’s story arc.
Vessel of Hatred continues Neyrelle’s story arc. Source: Antony Terence via Techopedia

A Tense Chapter With a Serving of Hope

While taking down Lilith in the base game was supposed to grant Sanctuary some respite, the core theme of strife rears its head again. Between deep scratches of misery, the game surfaces a glimmer of hope with newfound friendships and heartfelt responses to grief.

Even as Neyrelle’s mind cracks under the pressure of carrying the big bad Mephisto in a frail shard, I couldn’t help but feel optimistic as new companions brought in self-reflection, loss, and even humor. Your character has a fair bit of dialog as well as outside cutscenes and key events.

Mercenaries and story companions mean that even solo players will have allies dishing out AoE attacks and defensive spells. Urivar, a secondary villain, is another highlight who doesn’t outstay their welcome. A church leader who favors punishment, his distorted sense of justice is an interesting result of the power vacuum left by Inarius’ death. Strong writing and decent pacing conceal the contrast between Vessel of Hatred’s upbeat banter and its throat-constricting horror.

The unkempt temples of Nahantu, connected by rope bridges and decaying ziggurats, are largely kept from the Prime Evils’ visual corruption. Connecting with the Spiritborn’s animal spirits via a bright dimension of blue hues and glowing beasts is a more serene affair than the hellish death chambers of the base game. But if you prefer the latter, Mephisto’s grime brings plenty of tentacled abominations and pustule-riddled dungeons to purify. Vessel of Hatred also continues the excellent tradition of inventive boss fights. Memorable examples include a gleaming snake with an AoE attack that fills a chamber in gold coins and a cursed octopus-like mutant whose fleshy limbs lash out at every opportunity.

Maybe Diablo 4 is about clearing waves of infernal fiends that come in all shapes and sizes. Maybe it’s about boss attack patterns and building a laser-focused character for the right damage output. Blizzard believes Diablo can be more than that. Vessel of Hatred’s first steps towards the light do not diminish its grimdark core. If anything, it’s a middle chapter between a prologue of redemption and a conclusion that may, for once, offer peace. It’s no “power of friendship” tale, but it’s a step forward from Lilith’s harrowing onslaught.

Nahantu is a stunning new region in Vessel of Hatred.
Nahantu is a stunning new region in Vessel of Hatred. Source: Antony Terence via Techopedia

The Bottom Line

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred’s character class and revamped progression are backed by compelling characters and a serviceable plot. It’s the culmination of Blizzard bunkering down and reworking the decisions players found fault with in Diablo 4.

After Loot Reborn, Vessel of Hatred is another step in the right direction. While I wish more meat were present on the narrative’s bones, an assortment of endgame activities and the engaging grind for gear make Diablo 4 more compelling than ever before.

The Vessel of Hatred price is $40, on the more costly end of the spectrum for an expansion, especially since the progression upgrades are handed out for free to Diablo 4 owners. But the Spiritborn class makes a strong case for the expansion, even if its story isn’t as impactful as we would have liked.

The Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred release date was October 8, 2024. It’s available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5. While Diablo 4 is on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you’ll need to pay up for Vessel of Hatred, albeit at a 20% discount.

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Antony Terence
Gaming Writer
Antony Terence
Gaming Writer

Antony Terence has over four years of experience and bylines at some of the biggest gaming publications out there. He specializes in city-builders, shooters, and strategy titles but won’t turn down a good JRPG or the occasional rogue-like indie gem. Catch him at board game cafes or tech stores.