Over the last year I’ve spent way too many hours playing Diablo IV. It was like a digital addiction, and I dare not point out the hundreds of hours I dedicated to this addiction. I’ve played every season and have kept up to date with all the improvements Blizzard has made over the years. It’s been something of a journey for many, as we all went from shock at the amount of content at launch to collective dissatisfaction with the progression and loot, and thanks to the latter’s rework and other improvements, Blizzard has, in some ways, gotten back on the right track.
So the stars are set for the first major expansion, Vessel of Hatred, which will be released in just a few days. Beyond seasons, updates and fixes, it’s said to be the result of all the feedback the developers have received on the oft-maligned game. I had the great pleasure of getting early access to the expansion eight days before its official release, and I’m ready to share my experiences from the monster-infested areas of Sanctuary.
The story picks up right where Diablo IV left off and captures the dark tone of the main game. Brutality, abuse of power, corruption, evil… are the same central themes that provide a breath of fresh air in a world dominated by comedy and clever jokes. Neyrelle, who we met during the campaign, has taken on the responsibility of protecting the “Soul Stone” from Mephisto, and to be honest, she’s not doing particularly well. In Vessel of Hatred we have to find Neyrelle because despite her best intentions she cannot bear the burden of the stone in the long term, in other words we have to be the Sam to her if she were Frodo. Mephisto constantly tries to manipulate her into releasing him, but so far she has managed to resist. Your task is to find them in the new Kurast area, which will be familiar to many experienced Diablo II players. However, Kurast has seen a huge expansion compared to what we saw in the third area of the second chapter of the series. I don’t want to give too much away, but if you liked the dark and eerie atmosphere of Diablo IV, you’ll love Vessel of Hatred. Neyrelle’s story is deep, emotional and full of surprises, making it one of the strongest in the series to date. The cutscenes are very well implemented and exude atmosphere. We don’t need to go into detail; This works in every way.
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Although Vessel of Hatred is a massive expansion, the overall experience is a bit more focused than the sprawling main game. This is evident in a number of side missions that seem more sophisticated than those in the base game. While many of Diablo IV’s side quests felt monotonous (e.g. go to a random area, kill a monster, and come back), Vessel of Hatred’s quests feel much more meaningful. Some of them tell longer stories about the characters you encounter in the area, and some lead to new dungeons where you can smash monsters and be rewarded with impressive loot. This content has clearly seen a boost and has contributed more to the game world and gameplay than just improving your reputation in various areas. Everything seems better designed and much more satisfying, making your actions seem more meaningful. The story flows smoothly with a successful mix of dark stories and endless battles against hordes of monsters, and although the long-term challenges of repetition, challenge and progression are completely different, the first encounter with these activities is certainly a breath of fresh air on the huge, but monotonous content of the main game.
Speaking of gameplay, Blizzard has introduced some big changes. Vessel of Hatred looks like the expansion that will change Diablo IV forever, just as Reaper of Souls did with Diablo III. One of the most exciting new features is the introduction of the new Spiritualist class. The Spiritualist (as I mentioned when I got to try him out a few months ago) is a type of primitive monk who can draw his power from four different animals in his skill tree, each with their own fighting style. As with the other classes, you can combine different skills, often synergizing with equipment you find along the way. Although the class is now no longer so radically different from the others, it is still fun to play. I’d say it’s somewhere between Sorceress, which is still my favorite class, and Necromancer, which unfortunately bores me due to its focus on autonomy and passivity. The Spiritualist class is well balanced and if you find the combination of skills that best suits your play style, it’s really fun. I completed four difficulty levels in one night and reached the new difficulty level “Torment,” where the challenges really increase. Here too, the Spiritualist holds up, so everything indicates that the game will maintain the same balanced goal that has been achieved through countless updates.
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Torment’s difficulty level is one of the most interesting new features. Before Torment, there are four difficulty levels that basically just increase the strength of the monsters and improve the percentage bonus to experience points and gold. But when you reach Torment, the Ancient One’s unique gear appears, marking the beginning of the game’s true ending. Torment itself offers four levels in which your armor and elemental resistance are drastically reduced, making the game a real challenge for those who reach level 60. Yes, Blizzard has cut 40 levels and when you reach level 60 you go to the legend system where you upgrade your character with new attributes. This is where you suddenly start to feel super strong, and that’s hugely satisfying. However, getting to level 60 can be a bit difficult at first, but at level 30 the game really opens up and you have access to all the systems that will make your team stronger.
Blizzard’s improved equipment systems give you plenty of opportunities to practice. The Blacksmith can add additional skills to your equipment, and the Occultist can give your legendary items legendary properties by adding aspects. There are also new rune words that function differently than those in Diablo II, but still give your team exotic abilities. This whole loadout puzzle is deeply satisfying for players like me who love refining and optimizing their gear. It’s easy to spend hours customizing and improving it, adding an extra dimension to the gaming experience.
But what can you do in Santuario? The Kurast Zone features lots of new content, including “super monsters” that require teamwork to defeat. Unfortunately, the server was pretty empty during my playthrough, as I only encountered two other players in the forty hours I played. This meant I didn’t get a chance to try out the world bosses, which otherwise look very promising. Blizzard has implemented a party finder like in World of Warcraft, but unfortunately it didn’t work without playmates. I look forward to trying this out when more players have access to the content.
How to play Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred on PS5
As an additional addition to our analysis, we participated in the same early access in both the PC version and the console version via PS5, and although there is nothing more to add to the good feelings that Vessel of Hatred left us, they still exist We can offer some ideas of what players can expect when venturing through Nahantu with a controller in hand.
The Spiritualist class is based on the combination of two guardian spirits, combining both fighting styles in a sequence of martial arts strikes that result in a sort of harmony or dance of death. With the Dualsense, this sequence of hits and dodges is just as satisfying as with a keyboard and mouse. Blizzard had already created a pretty good solution for controlling Diablo on consoles, and this class, which is more agile in close combat than the others mentioned above, benefits from it.
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, like the base game, makes the necessary concessions when it comes to console graphics. Movie scenes will never look as good on a big screen as they do on a monitor, and graphical performance is limited. However, there are no major hangs or stutters. The expansion will arrive in a solid version at launch, although there is a list of known bugs that will be fixed with a patch that will be released in the coming days.
Blizzard has listened to players and many of the criticisms raised have been addressed and improved. The game is now much better balanced and the expansion adds a wealth of new content that makes the game even more enjoyable than when it released last year. While there was previously limited content for those who reached level 100, there are now so many activities that there is still plenty to do even after reaching level 60. I can imagine more difficulty levels being added later, like we saw in Diablo III, but the eight difficulty levels alone are enough to provide hours of challenging gameplay. And lots of loot to loot!
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