Diablo Immortal has received two new classes since its release. Senior Narrative Designer Ryan Quinn and Lead Game Designer for Content Scott Burgess answered MeinMMO’s questions regarding the development of the new hero. This can certainly teach Diablo 4, as it is still waiting for its first new class.
In July 2023, the Blood Knight was introduced as the seventh class for Diablo, albeit for the less popular part of the series, Diablo Immortal. The game faces ongoing P2W accusations against it. In Diablo 4, players, on the other hand, can choose between five classes, and that hasn’t changed since the release in June 2023. Since then, fans have been waiting in vain for another class.
Recently, Blizzard introduced the next new class, which will be free to play, and announced: It will also be available for Diablo Immortal and is coming later this month. In a conversation with MeinMMO, the developers of Diablo Immortal answered a few questions about the new class. Other Diablo teams can certainly benefit from this.
“Vessel of Hatred” brings a new class to Diablo 4. Here you can see a trailer for the first expansion for Diablo 4:
A balanced mix of magic and melee
What kind of new class is this? On May 23, 2024, Diablo Immortal will receive the new eighth class named “Tempest.” This is an agile fighter who, according to Senior Narrative Designer Ryan Quinn, can move across the battlefield as if he were dancing.
For the Tempest class, the team wanted to utilize elemental control. Hence, they came up with the idea of the northern elements, Wind and Water. This allows the hero to push his enemies across the battlefield and strike them with elemental fury.
Tempests are capable of passively summoning Zephyrs—misty shadows that appear at various points on the battlefield and repeat/duplicate skills. To use this effectively, the positioning of the player character plays an important role. The Tempest class is based on strength and the balance between magic and melee is almost 50–50, according to Ryan Quinn.
The goal is to create new identities
How was the development of the new classes? Diablo Immortal launched in 2022 with six classes: Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, Demon Hunter, Crusader, and Necromancer. With the new classes, the team had the opportunity to experience entirely new ways of playing:
Blood Knights and Tempests are our first classes after the release of Diablo Immortal, and they are new to the Diablo universe. We started Immortal with six familiar classes that many of us have played since Diablo 3 or, in some cases, since Diablo 2. We had a strong foundation of well-known classes, identities that players already know and are excited about.
After the launch, we had the opportunity to create some new identities that were unique to Immortal, but also filled archetypes that we had not seen in the six core classes. By archetypes, I essentially mean everything: the different settings of the lore, like the monstrosity of the Blood Knight or the pure souls of the Tempests.
They also have different silhouettes—these types look different from your Barbarian and Necromancer in a line-up—they have different color palettes, different effects, and of course, what might be the most important, different playstyles. Playing a Blood Knight feels neither like playing a Barbarian nor like playing a Tempest. That is what excites us the most when we think about new classes.
Ryan Quinn, Senior Narrative Designer
The Diablo teams exchange ideas
What does this mean for Diablo 4? Regarding the exchange of experiences with colleagues, Ryan Quinn notes that the team constantly talks with the other Diablo teams about their creations. “We exchange ideas with each other. We are really excited about how each team expands, develops, and deepens the Diablo universe,” reports the Senior Narrative Designer.
Blood Knights are the first new class in the entire Diablo franchise since the Witch Doctor was introduced in Diablo 3 in 2012, or the Crusader in Reaper of Souls (2014). Since the introduction of the first new class for Immortal, there have been discussions about whether it should also appear in Diablo 4 and if it’s the right choice for that.
The first new class will enter Diablo 4 with the expansion “Vessel of Hatred,” which is scheduled for late 2024. Whether and when other classes will follow, and how the teams will inspire each other in the process, remains to be seen. Perhaps we can also expect new classes in Diablo 4 that play completely differently from those we already know. The new hero in Diablo Immortal sounds like 2 of the best classes from Baldur’s Gate 3 and is free for all
