The new expansion for Diablo 4, Lord of Hatred, is well received by players. They repeatedly praise the campaign and the new systems. Even Blizzard itself seems to be satisfied with the DLC, as the developers revealed in an interview. Only the new endgame is… a downer.
I have already tested Lord of Hatred before release and have played through the entire campaign for 10 hours straight. Not just because I “had to”, but because the addon captivated me within minutes.
Lord of Hatred brings many new features to the game and improves what is already there. My highlights are the Warlock as a new class and the talisman, which finally brings back sets. They were my favorite part of Diablo 3 and have been sorely missed in Diablo 4.
There are also “small things” like loot filters or the transparent map overlay – things the community has been crying out for for years. And that’s the point: Blizzard has implemented what the players wanted, and apparently quite deliberately.
“A love letter to Diablo and its players”
Before release, the press had the opportunity to ask the developers questions in a group interview. The answers were given by:
- Zaven Harountian, Associate Game Director
- Colin Finer, Associate Director for Game Design
- and Barry Morales, Associate Production Director
Unfortunately, the interview took place right in the middle of my vacation, so I couldn’t ask any questions myself and could only read the answers afterward. However, a particularly interesting answer came to the question from a journalist from PCGamesN, who wanted to know if Diablo 4 is now at its best.
Zaven Harountian simply confirmed, Colin Finer, who is already a community favorite, went into a bit more detail:
100 %. So many features are a love letter to Diablo and its players. It was a great labor of love from the team. We played the game internally all the time; it was easy to get lost in the flow state of grinding the war plans… using the MAP OVERLAY to navigate efficiently through each level… using loot filters to make ultra-endgame items shine.
Colin Finer
Some further questions in the interview addressed the story but would contain some spoilers that I do not want to publish at this time – not until a large part of the players has gone through it. Because here is where Blizzard has really stepped up.
Blizzard hits the mark – especially regarding story and atmosphere
I have known and played Diablo for years and have invested several hundred, probably even thousands of hours into the series. Especially Diablo 3 kept me busy for a long time. For me, it was always most important that the games truly feel like “Diablo”: dark, grim, and to a certain extent hopeless. After all, the big villains always come back in some way.
Diablo 4 had a certain problem here so far. Lilith as an antagonist worked but was quickly out of the picture again, at least temporarily. Inarius, even though an important character, was rather little known outside the lore bubble.
However, Lord of Hatred packs a punch. Right from the literally first cinematic, Blizzard sets the stage for the atmosphere and disposes of one of the most important story characters almost with a snap of the fingers. A sign of how great the danger really is.
I will continue to write spoiler-free here, but the campaign left me speechless at many points. There were moments that I found dark even for Diablo and that clearly show why Mephisto is not only the first but the greatest evil.
Lord of Hatred rocks, but the new endgame feature is not fully thought out
With all the praise for the new features, I must point out one thing that is not well received in the community and is considered a plus point by the devs: war plans.
The idea is nice, to be able to assemble your own endgame, but somehow the opposite is true, at least at first: You have to complete the prescribed content to progress. The selection can be re-rolled, but it costs resources.
Do you want to play in groups? Well, tough luck. Only one player can complete their plan at a time, unless you coincidentally have the same plans. This rather counters the general idea of Diablo 4.
War plans are not complete rubbish, but they feel rough – something that stands out when everything else is polished.
Nevertheless, Lord of Hatred is definitely currently the best state Diablo 4 has ever had, I agree. And even in the otherwise often cynical community, the expansion is well received. Complaints mainly come – as usual – from the core players who can’t get enough: Player is dissatisfied, copies the best Warlock build in Diablo 4 from streamers, gets told: That’s the mistake
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