Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is live and there's no better time to jump in

GamesRPGDiablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is live and there’s no better time to jump inWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Blizzard)

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred cutscene

Even as someone who has followed everymajor updateto Diablo 4 over the last year, the release ofVessel of Hatredfeels like the launch of a whole new action RPG. The bulk of the new expansion is like upgrading to a new phone: all the familiar stuff is still there but it’s faster and easier to use. And the new campaign has plenty of moments that I wouldn’t have ever expected to see in a dark fantasy story where you’re hunting yet another demon from hell.

TheDiablo 4 of 2023wasn’t broken, but it sure needed fixing when it came to playing it as the live service action RPG as Blizzard intended. Starting a seasonal character from scratch every three months was a problem when it took weeks to reach max level and even longer to find loot that was exciting to play with. All the fun was buried.

Here are my favorite new features in Vessel of Hatred:

Survive Sanctuary with these Diablo 4 guides(Image credit: Blizzard)Diablo 4 best mercenaries:Combat palsDiablo 4 runewords:Make your own skillsDiablo 4 waypoints:How to fast travelDiablo 4 loot tables:Best loot

Survive Sanctuary with these Diablo 4 guides

(Image credit: Blizzard)Diablo 4 best mercenaries:Combat palsDiablo 4 runewords:Make your own skillsDiablo 4 waypoints:How to fast travelDiablo 4 loot tables:Best loot

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred cutscene

Diablo 4 best mercenaries:Combat palsDiablo 4 runewords:Make your own skillsDiablo 4 waypoints:How to fast travelDiablo 4 loot tables:Best loot

All of this is on top of the foundation that Diablo 4 laid down when it launched. As I said in myDiablo 4: Vessel of Hatred review, it has “unparalleled combat where you can feel every hit land and see every spell light up the room,” the kind of grippy combat that other action RPGs can’t match. And now all the stuff that fuels that combat is just better.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is a triumph in understanding exactly what players want in a live service action RPG without compromising Blizzard’s brand of making complex systems surprisingly approachable. It found a balance between depth and simplicity that will hopefully carry Diablo 4 into an even brighter future as it gears up to release another expansion next year.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is live now, and there’s never been a better time to jump in.

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