“The Ultimate Expression of Diablo IV” — Blizzard on Why Lord of Hatred Is the Best It’s Ever Been

About midway through the review period for Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred, Blizzard organized a roundtable Q&A with a few key developers from the team: Game Director Zaven Haroutunian, Production Director Barry Morales, Lead System Designer Colin Finer, and Senior Composer Ted Reedy.

The team answered questions on various topics, from the narrative and setting to world design and the music score, new gameplay systems like War Plans and the Horadric Cube, and an overall assessment of the game's state ahead of its second expansion's upcoming launch. You can find the full transcript below.

As a reminder, Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred launches on April 28, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S and X.

In this developer Q&A:

• Story, Setting, and Characters
• Skovos, World Design, and Music
• The New Paladin and Warlock Classes
• Systems, Endgame, and the Big Picture

Story, Setting, and Characters

Did the team take into account any of the feedback from Vessel of Hatred's story reception when planning Lord of Hatred?

Zaven Haroutunian (Game Director): The overall direction of the story didn't fundamentally change. We've been building towards a conflict centered on Angels and Demons, the Horadrim vs. the Prime Evils, Lilith's return, and the Wanderer's role in the story.

Lord of Hatred seems much more story-heavy compared to the base game. Was there a specific goal to give Lorath a more complete arc?

Barry Morales (Production Director): Diablo IV has always been connected to previous games through the Horadric order and characters like Tyrael, but we haven't really had the opportunity to deliver a strong, complete arc for one of our central characters. With Lord of Hatred, we wanted to prioritize that with Lorath. He's been with the player since the very beginning of Diablo IV, serving as both a guide and a mentor, especially in his relationship with Neyrelle and in carrying the weight of his past, including his history with the Amazon Queen Adreona, which comes into focus in this expansion. Players who want to go even deeper should check out The Lost Horadrim (an official prequel novel)!

The end of Lord of Hatred's campaign has a finality not found in Diablo IV or Vessel of Hatred. Is it intended to be the conclusion of the "Hatred" arc? Will future expansions have a different focus or threat?

Barry Morales: Finality within Diablo is an often highly debated term. We have fought the different enemies within the Diablo franchise multiple times, including the Prime Evils. However, we are looking at this as the end of the Age of Hatred and the player's journey with Mephisto, from fighting his herald in wolf form in Vessel of Hatred to now being able to confront him directly in Lord of Hatred. We're happy with how it turned out. As for the future, we're focused on Lord of Hatred right now, with the 30th Anniversary and BlizzCon around the corner.

Skovos, World Design, and Music

Lord of Hatred lets us visit Skovos, the Amazon homeland. Does the team feel like they missed an opportunity by not releasing an Amazon class?

Zaven Haroutunian: It's been exciting to visit Skovos for the first time. The Paladin, as everyone knows, is the most-requested class, and alongside the Warlock, it helps support the overall design vision of this expansion being focused on the Eternal Conflict that is so core to the series.

But we don't think we've missed an opportunity, because that would imply we have closed the door on something. Just because we've been to a region doesn't mean we can't or won't make classes that come from there. That is as true of Skovos as it is of any other region in the game.

With this new region extending beyond the shores, have the previously unexplored areas on the original main map now been largely developed?

Zaven Haroutunian: There are no significant changes to the previous regions, but the campaign does start and end in the original regions, and there are things to do there for Lord of Hatred. Fishing is a really good example of this.

Fishing is a surprisingly fun addition in Lord of Hatred. What inspired it, and can players expect more side activities like this in Skovos or in Diablo IV in general?

Barry Morales: Fishing is an activity the development team has been pretty passionate about for a while now. While prototyping small side activities to accomplish in Skovos, fishing quickly rose to the top as something that offers a change of pace from the combat-heavy activities currently in the game. It also allows you a moment to take in the beautiful landscapes on the island, which are unlike any environment Diablo has seen before. You may even fish up some items that seem ordinary but may be useful for...the future. Additionally, lava fishing is pretty cool.

The music seems much grander in scale. Epic, for lack of a better term. What was the inspiration behind the soundtrack of Lord of Hatred?

Ted Reedy (Senior Composer): As far as the scale of the score generally, this came from where we are now in the story of Diablo IV. Even though the base game itself was sizable, it always felt a little more open-ended and more like the "beginning" of something, so going too big too early or too often could potentially feel overly dramatic. In Lord of Hatred, with the story as focused and high-stakes as ever, it felt more appropriate to evolve the scale emotionally.

We were inspired by the work of the narrative and art teams throughout the process. With Skovos being home to the birthplace of humanity, we felt the idea of the Firstborns would be a strong backbone to build from thematically. Then, with Skovos being ruled by the two Queens, the Oracle and the Amazon, we wondered if it could be impactful to have their presence felt in the score through two unique vocalists. Combining that human texture alongside orchestra, choir, and a few select soloists inspired by the world (aulos, lyre, electric violin) helped establish a special soundscape and identity for Skovos, while imparting an appropriate sense of scale and emotional depth for the story.

The New Paladin and Warlock Classes

This expansion features two classes at launch, with one shadow-dropped four months in advance, a first for the franchise. What went into that process? Was it hard to keep the Paladin a secret while players were so vocal about requesting the class?

Zaven Haroutunian: Actually, this isn't the first time Diablo has shipped two classes in an expansion, as Lord of Destruction did this before for Diablo II. But it is the first time we've approached it this way, with one arriving ahead of the expansion as a shadow drop and the other woven into the launch.

From the start, everything in Lord of Hatred was built around the central tension of Angels and Demons, with humanity caught in between, and we see classes as a key part of expressing that. The Paladin in particular was something the team approached with a lot of reverence. It's such an iconic part of Diablo's history, and we wanted to strike the right balance between honoring what players love and evolving it for Lord of Hatred. And yes, it was really, really hard to see posts lamenting the lack of a Paladin while we were playtesting it every day at work.

The Warlock feels like a hybrid class, like if the Sorcerer and Necromancer had a child raised on a diet of Black Sabbath. What drove the decision to add this new-to-the-franchise class instead of another returning one, like the Amazon?

Zaven Haroutunian: Angels and Demons. Without the Paladin, there is no Warlock. These two classes are such great representations of Diablo's narrative and lore. With the Paladin being a returning class, we wanted to make sure players looking for something new had something for them to look forward to as well.

Regarding the Warlock's design philosophy: did the team intentionally aim to differentiate it from or align it with the Warlock in Diablo II: Resurrected? And does the team have a recommended beginner build for players new to the class?

Zaven Haroutunian: Both Warlocks share a lot of high-level creative DNA. They're all drawing from the same core Diablo lore and inspiration. We did some work to coordinate things like iconography and terminology, but otherwise, each Warlock was free to be the best Warlock for the game it was in. We didn't specifically try to avoid or match anything; we trusted each team to make the best call for their respective game.

Colin Finer (Lead Systems Designer): On the recommended beginner build: the Demonology skills on the Warlock, paired with Ae'grom, the Legion Soul Shard demon, let you summon unending legions of demons upon your enemies. It's like a feeding frenzy. The core of this build revolves around Ae'Grom's special ability, which vomits out a bunch of lesser demons, setting you up for Command Fallen and Bombardment to overwhelm your enemies with even more demons. Throw in the Ultimate Fiend of Abaddon, and nothing will stand in your way.

Systems, Endgame, and the Big Picture

Adding new classes and new story content is a great way to bring back returning players. But for players new to Diablo IV, what is the one thing the team is most excited about that would make it easier or more tempting for new players to join?

Colin Finer: We're super excited for new players to try out War Plans. War Plans provides a clear-cut entry to the endgame for everyone, from completely new players to veteran players who have been with us the whole time. It always gives you an answer to "what should I be doing?" in a fun, rewarding way. It's easier than ever to hop in for any amount of time and progress your character.

The Horadric Cube gives players more routes to gaining power. Can an individual item be re-rolled any number of times, or can constantly re-rolling the same item "brick" it and make it unmodifiable?

Colin Finer: That depends on what you're trying to do. For most recipes, the Cube will perform them as many times as you want, as long as you have the materials. A big goal for the Cube was to not only add a ton of depth to crafting, but also to create an even more rewarding experience by injecting tons of Cube-specific material into the loot you get. There's a ton of bits and bobs you can find that are needed for different recipes. You can remove affixes, add affixes, and tune the outcomes with Tuning Prisms.

However, there are a few higher-risk recipes — like Transfiguration — which have incredible outcomes, but also terrible ones. Have a mediocre item with great potential? Transfigure it. You might even find that you're able to transfigure it multiple times. Have a near-perfect item? Slot an Entropic Tuning Prism into the Transfigure recipe to minimize the risk — but also the reward.

With some of the most powerful runes removed, it feels difficult to build truly meaningful Runewords. Is this smaller, support-oriented role exactly where you wanted runes to be, or are further updates planned?

Colin Finer: In general, we found that there were extreme outliers (both too weak and way too powerful) that were dominating the system and shrinking the build diversity too much. Additionally, with the Cube, we've made it easier than ever to hunt for the runes you're looking for. So we're attacking this problem from both sides: editing down the list with build variety in mind, and giving you more options to obtain the runes you want. Long-term, runes are a place we want to continue to evolve, especially with the Cube now in the mix.

There's been a lot of iteration on various systems throughout Diablo IV's lifecycle. Do you feel like Lord of Hatred is Diablo IV at its best?

Zaven Haroutunian: Yes, absolutely. We think Lord of Hatred is the best Diablo IV has ever been — we think of it as the ultimate expression of the game.

Colin Finer: One hundred percent. So many of the features are a love letter to Diablo and its players. It's been a huge labor of love from the team. We've been playing the game constantly internally; it's been so easy to lose yourself in the flow state of grinding War Plans, using the map overlay to efficiently navigate every level, and using the loot filter to make ultra-endgame items pop.

Thank you for your time.

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