With a live service game like Diablo 4It is often difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff of the community outrage cycle. This is especially true when watching it from the outside, or even semi-inside if you're a casual player playing from time to time (like I am with Diablo 4). Excitement about new content and change gives way to disappointment, disillusionment and boredom as regularly as night follows day. Is it really over? Are we really back like this? Or is it essentially the same game as before?
However, the statistics don't lie and I'll tell you this: I'm currently much deeper in the end game. Diablo 4 than ever before and I'm not done yet. I'm almost as obsessed as I was Diablo 3 on top. It just clicked. This game is just purring right now.
There are several reasons for this. First, the current season, Season 11, also known as the Season of Divine Intervention, is a thorough overhaul of the game's systems that doesn't give a complete overhaul, but it does set everything up that way. The second is the early addition of the Paladin, one of two new classes included in the game's second paid expansion. Lord of Hatewhich will be released on April 26th. Paladin is available to play now if you pre-order. Lord of Hate.
I'll share my impressions of both shortly, but first a quick recap. Diablo 4 released in 2023 in decent condition, but with somewhat dull and unimpressive item play – the process of collecting and customizing loot that is at the core of this RPG. It was successfully renovated in an excellent fourth season. Loot Rebornin mid-2024. Later that year, the Vessel of Hate expansion landed with a muffled thud; The Spiritborn class was cool, but the campaign storyline was still there and players weren't thrilled with the new features. In 2025 Diablo 4 it seemed to be marking time, with a constant change of mostly uninteresting seasons, and the community became more and more restless.
When Paladin and Season 11 came out together in December Lord of HateAt the Game Awards, it was revealed that the first one was an instant draw. Paladin, a heavily armored holy warrior, was a fan favorite in Diablo 2 and was strongly reflected in Diablo 3Mighty Crusader. Experienced Diablo players knew exactly what they were getting, and knew that Blizzard's developers, building on the wealth of refined and effective skills already built into these classic titles, were unlikely to disappoint. As long as we can carry a shield and use the Blessed Hammer, which fires phantom hammers of holy justice in spiraling arcs to smash waves of monsters, we'll be golden.
We are golden. Diablo 4''s Paladin is proving its worth and has immediately jumped to the top of many players' personal rankings. Part of this is due to the current strong state of the class, which is bound to be nerfed at some point, but most of it is due to Blizzard's comfortable command of the archetype, which the studio also explored to brilliant effect in World of Warcraft (and perhaps in OverwatchBridget).
Tough and indomitable, with a good mix of close and mid-range attacks, as well as defensive and healing auras. Diablo 4''Paladin is simply great to play. He's less about positioning than some other classes and more about letting the hordes come to you. IN Diablo 4the class has been carefully expanded with several interesting combinations of subclass styles: the powerful, physical Juggernaut, the swashbuckling Zealot swordsman, the holy Judge (wielder of the famous Blessed Hammer), and the Apprentice, who has wild angelic transformations that soar and fall on the battlefield. I had fun exploring them, but I couldn't resist the siren call of the classic Hammerdean, albeit with a hybrid build that brings some of the awesome power of this subclass.
Season 11 isn't exactly a highlight per se, but it's a well-paced and well-paced season that works well as a sort of tour through the best additions to the series over the past 18 months. Diablo 4. It has a fun hook, sending you repeatedly fighting four classic Diablo bosses – Lesser Evil Azmodan, Belial, Duriel and Andariel – in new contexts. And it features a sensational new loot customization system called Consecration, which many players hope will become permanent.
Consecration allows you to add second The Legendary Aspect is the build change effects at the heart of Diablo item loadouts – for any item. But the aspect is chosen completely randomly, and after its application it completely blocks the element, not allowing further customization. Since Loot Reborn, Diablo 4The item game focuses on deep customization, with players using tempering, masterworking, enchanting and imprinting, as well as gems and runes to get each item exactly how they want it. It's fun work, but the deeper you get into the finale, the more the new loot becomes worthless. Consecration brings back the thrill of rolling dice, with the ability to radically increase the power of a favorite item – or add nothing useful to it and render it inert.
Consecration is balanced by changes to tempering and mastery, which make these crafting systems less random and more strategic. The community seems divided over these changes; my personal feeling is this Diablo 4Item play is generally more balanced and efficient, with meaningful drops not diminishing as quickly as you get deeper into the endgame. At its core, it's a game about tailoring your booty to suit your body type, rather than the other way around.
Structurally, Diablo 4 like any mature live service game, it runs the risk of buckling under the weight of its many features and systems. But Season 11's progression finds a clear path through a variety of options that include open-world Helltide events, Whisper bounties, and many varieties of end-level specialty dungeons—the Pit, Hellish Hordes, Undercity, boss lairs, and more. All of them are useful and all are more or less optional, although if you dig deeper, they are connected by a web of items and keys. Capstone dungeons have been reintroduced, offering welcome structural definition and serving as a convenient gear check (and skill check) as you unlock higher difficulty levels.
It can be confusing and overwhelming; Diablo 4 is still a game that relies on a dizzying abundance of systems, mechanics, and possibilities for infinitesimal minimal maximization. But with this setup, the fast-paced action, compelling setup, satisfying fountains of loot, and cleverly crafted reward path easily cut through the noise. Roll on Lord of Hate.
