The paladin has had its time to bask in the Light of Diablo 4. On Wednesday’s Diablo Spotlight stream, Blizzard showed us the new warlock class that has emerged from the action RPG’s shadows to fight hellfire with hellfire… and demons.
Whereas the paladin was a fan-favorite holy warrior class that originally debuted in Diablo 2, the warlock is an entirely new creation. With a mix of apocalyptic spells and the ability to summon demons, the newest class gives players a heavy metal option for taking on the Prime Evils.
The warlock isn’t just showing up in the latest fight for Sanctuary — instead, it’s coming to Diablo 2: Resurrected today, Diablo 4 in April and the mobile-focused Diablo Immortal later this summer. That’s an unprecedented range of additions that introduces the warlock into the series’ history and future.
I was at Blizzard’s campus in Irvine, California, in late January to get a glimpse at the Diablo 2: Resurrected class and talk with devs about the warlock, as well as the upcoming Diablo 4 expansion. The new class was created with a sense of progression in mind: The warlock class appearing in Diablo 2 represents its origins, whereas the versions in Diablo Immortal and Diablo 4 will show how the demonic spellcasters have developed over time in Sanctuary.
“There was also this room for each warlock to kind of have its own expression, its own personality for each of the games,” Matt Burns, narrative designer for Diablo 4, told media in a group interview.
The Spotlight showcased details about the new Reign of the Warlock expansion for Diablo 2: Resurrected, which is available today. We also got more details about the new region, endgame features and other updates coming to Diablo 4 in April’s Lord of Hatred expansion. The warlock is also coming to Diablo Immortal in June, along with a return to the city of Lut Gholein (the desert port that first appeared in Diablo 2), now under the control of Andariel, one of the lesser evils.
Witness the warlock’s origins in Diablo 2: Resurrected
The warlock is the first new class added to Diablo 2 in a quarter of a century, and uses its powers to summon, bind and even consume demons. I got to play as the warlock briefly in a playtest at Blizzard last month ahead of the spotlight. It was admittedly my first experience with the famed D2 (which launched in 2000), but the vision and fantasy of the warlock class were immediately apparent, even to my newbie eyes.
Summoning and binding demons and then consuming them to fuel your own power fit seamlessly into the overall Diablo universe. I found myself devouring demons frequently just for the fun of zipping around the map with the additional speed. The hexblade build I played felt like a natural way to adapt the warlock concept in a Diablo game.
Game Designer Tim Vasconcellos said the Diablo 2 warlock is an “idealist scholar” who’s spent a lifetime studying the mysteries of creation, but jumps into the fire when things go wrong in Sanctuary.
“[The warlock is] descending from this life of luxury because he sees the world descending in madness again with the return of the prime evils … and he’s deciding to become a visible outcast instead of [remaining] in his life of luxury,” Vasconcellos said.
How it started…
Redesigned skill trees will give players more dynamic options for how they build their characters.
Warplans are another major feature being added in Lord of Hatred, designed to answer the question of, “I’ve finished the game, so what do I do now?” Warplans let you queue up a series of endgame activities like Whispers, Helltides or Nightmare Dungeons and complete them in succession without having to traipse around the map. Completing warplan activities will earn you rewards, which you can use to power up your seasonal builds.
When asked about whether there was a definitive endgame, Finer said it wasn’t about pointing players toward any one event — instead, they want players to be able to jump between different activities: “Functionally, we try to create lots of different victory points for you to feel good about,” he said.
Season ranks are one example, as are warplans, giving players the opportunity to leave whenever they’re satisfied or continue grinding to take on tougher challenges.
Overall, the new expansion brings two new classes to the game, the new Skovos region, revamped endgame features like warplans and the new endless Echoes of Hatred events, overhauled skill trees and other system updates that help you manage and even upgrade items.
The warlock class has a different look in each of the three games.
Celebrating 30 years of terror… and many more?
Just like Overwatch celebrating its 10th anniversary with a new ongoing narrative and 10 new heroes, Diablo is taking a big swing for its 30th anniversary with a new class for three different games.
Diablo 2: Resurrected’s Reign of the Warlock is setting the stage for transformative changes to the game, though purists can keep things separate by not picking up the DLC.
Lord of Hatred appears to be the end of Mephisto’s storyline, but it also seems to be a new start for the game and how it engages players. In the words of Finer, “We really are excited about the width we’ve added to the game, and we hope it pays off.”
