PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Back in June 2023, STARBURST summed up Diablo 4‘s initial release by saying “Diablo 3 didn’t reach its full potential until a few years after release, so we’ll see how Diablo 4 fares in comparison. For now though, it’s off to a cracking start”. Almost 18 months later, and with four seasons’ worth of gameplay additions and minor tweaks under its belt, D4‘s fifth season is now underway, bringing with it the game’s first major paid expansion, Vessel of Hatred. Set in the jungles of Nahantu – a brand new area exclusive to this expansion that takes in a few sights that will be familiar to fans of the series – its 5-hour campaign focuses on the Prime Evil Mephisto and a maiden named Neyrelle who is struggling with the consequences of her choice to imprison Mephisto but also determined to find a way to destroy him once and for all. We’re given more questions than answers, and a cliffhanger finale very much suggests that there’s more to come in the future, but it’s a decent enough romp that introduces Vessel of Hatred‘s new jungle-themed area in fine style.
The Diablo series isn’t really about the campaign, though. It’s more focused on the endgame, giving players so much to do that they keep on coming back for more. To this end, VoH adds plenty of new distractions and unique twists on old favourites, beefing up an already impressive endgame with even more engaging content.
A brand new class joins the playable roster – the Spiritborn draws power from ghostly animals, channelling their skills into attacks based on power (gorilla), movement (eagle), fire (jaguar) and poison (caterpillar). There are no restrictions on which powers you choose, so you’re free to either focus on a single animal’s set of skills or call upon the abilities of two or more animals, effectively combining traits of several of the base game’s classes into a single all-rounder. Each of the existing classes have received a new skill, passive abilities, unique weapons and more besides, so whether you want to try out the new Spiritborn class or rely on an old favourite, you still get something new to play with. Beyond this, the level cap has been lowered – previously, after reaching level 100, you would start to pour your skill points into Paragon boards where you’re given a wider variety of options for upgrading your characters attributes. This now happens at level 60, so you can get into the endgame much faster, and the addition of new glyphs and nodes to the Paragon boards brings even more scope for building your perfect character.
Vessel of Hatred introduces a couple of new dungeon modes for players to get stuck into, with the multi-floor Kurast Undercity challenging you to defeat the boss within a very strict time limit. Killing specific monsters and destroying structures will extend your time, and lighting braziers rewards you with Attunement which improves the rewards you receive at the end of the dungeon. Elsewhere, visiting the Dark Citadel gives access to a new multiplayer raid mode (a first for the series). Playable with two participants (but ideally a full squad of four), your task is to defeat enemies across three wings of the Citadel, earning loot for each wing you clear, while dealing with a few light puzzles and other problems that require a bit of communication to get around. Those averse to multiplayer might be disappointed to learn that there are unique rewards in this mode, including weapons, customisation items and even an exclusive mount, but to tempt you in there’s now an easy matchmaking lobby that allows you to drop into a quick game and then drop back out as soon as you’re finished.
As always, the rewards gained from both of these modes increase at higher difficulties, and the World Tier (difficulty system) has been reworked and expanded to offer additional higher-level challenges. Players are given even more opportunities to strengthen their character than before, such as the reintroduction of “rune words” (gaining an additional ability by slotting runes into any item with two empty sockets), and can now be followed around by two Mercenaries who fight alongside you and can be upgraded as your rapport increases. Changes to the way that glyphs are improved make the endgame feel much more engaging and addictive, and all of the existing favourites like Helltides, Legion events and World Bosses are still very much present and correct.
Vessel of Hatred expands the base game with content that’s fun to play while making changes to improve the all-important endgame – in other words, it does exactly what Diablo 4 players wanted it to do. Very much a big step in the right direction, if you’re a fan of the main game then Vessel of Hatred will keep you going for a fair few months to come.
