Blizzard shared a things that Diablo 4 fans should perhaps be made aware of before the Vessel of Hatred expansion releases on October 8, 2024. These little tidbits of information include the exact time on when the expansion will release in your time zone, if there is a pre-load available, and more.
In addition to Vessel of Hatred coming out on October 8, the new Season for Diablo 4 will also arrive. This means there's going to be a lot of new content and many, many changes coming to Diablo 4 whether or not you own the expansion.
New Base Game Content—Available to all players
Vessel of Hatred Expansion—Available to Vessel of Hatred Owners
**One of the Nahantu Monster Families will appear within the new Seasonal content—stay tuned for more details.
- New Max Level: 60*
- New Difficulties System
- New Paragon Max Level: 300
- Paragon System Changes
- Item Quality Rework
- 2 New Character Slots
- New Class Skills and Passives for each Class
- New Party Finder Feature
- New Seasonal Content
- New Season Rewards (Season Journey, Battle Pass, Reputation Board)
Vessel of Hatred Expansion—Available to Vessel of Hatred Owners
- Nahantu Region–including Dungeons, Strongholds, Side Quests, new Legion Events, and Nahantu Monster Families**
- Spiritborn Class
- Vessel of Hatred Campaign
- Nahantu Region Renown
- Runewords
- Dark Citadel
- Mercenaries
- Kurast Undercity
- Trading for Vessel of Hatred-specific Resources
**One of the Nahantu Monster Families will appear within the new Seasonal content—stay tuned for more details.
There is a pre-load that will be available for Vessel of Hatred and the new season. Those playing on Battle.net can begin to pre-load the content on September 30 at 4PM PT. The Xbox and PlayStation pre-loads will go live on October 5 at 4PM PT. Unfortunately, there is no pre-load for the Steam version but the download will be available at release on October 7 at 4PM ET.
Players who want to hop straight into the Vessel of Hatred campaign have a couple options to do just that. You can create a new character on either the Eternal or Seasonal Realm and then select "Skip Campaign" to go straight to the expansion story. Existing characters will have an option to skip the base campaign when selecting their characters.
I should have a review live for Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred ahead of the game's launch. On October 2, there will be a pre-launch livestream from Blizzard that will show off an in-depth look at content releasing with Season 6 and the Vessel of Hatred expansion."
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Vessel of Hatred and the upcoming season will go live on October 8 globally (check the release map for time zones). Pre-download is available early on Battle.net, Xbox®, and PlayStation® platforms. Steam users will be able to download the update when Vessel of Hatred goes live.
- Experience the Vessel of Hatred Campaign! Access to the Vessel of Hatred campaign and features requires the purchase of the expansion. To jump straight into the Vessel of Hatred Campaign, use the “Skip Campaign” option when creating a new character.
- Vessel of Hatred arrives alongside major updates that will be available to all Diablo IV players. These updates include systemic changes to leveling, difficulty tiers, the Paragon System, and more. Please see the blog for a breakdown of the updates coming between the base game and expansion.
- New rewards await! Upon logging into Diablo IV, claim three new items from the in-game shop to celebrate the Vessel of Hatred launch. From October 8 – November 8, those who complete the Dark Citadel will earn a Nahantu Cat Mount alongside the weekly reward cache.
- From October 8 – November 5, Twitch Drops will be available each week to reward cosmetic items. Gift or purchase two Twitch streamer Subscriptions within the Diablo IV directory, and you’ll earn the new Ghost of the Conquered Mount, while four subscriptions will earn you the Glory of the Victor Mount Armor.
