The brand-new Spiritborn class received a deep-dive livestream about a month ago, during which the Diablo IV developers explored what makes it so unique. It has a ton of utility and variety, allowing players to play aggressively or defensively, depending on their preference. Diablo IV’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred is due to release on October 8, where players will be introduced to Neyrelle, a character who is on a vicious and gory path.
In addition to the Spiritborn class being added to Diablo IV, players will now experience the Mercenaries feature. This allows players to meet companions that can accompany them in battle. They can be customized to fit your play style and compliment your build in a way you see fit. Not only this, but the Mercenaries will all come with their backstory and skill trees that you can get lost in to make them more supportive or aggressive, depending on how you choose to play in the expansion. To utilize Mercenaries, they are listed as reinforcements, which can then periodically join you in battle to perform attacks to help you clear out mobs.
There are four Mercenaries you can choose from, all hailing from different parts of Sanctuary. Below is what you can expect from each of them:
- Raheir – Born on the streets of Gea Kul, they were trained by the Iron Wolves.
- Varyana – Former cannibal who left her tribe and became a butcher by trade turned mercenary.
- Aldkin – Half-child, half-demon creature born half-demonic due to the First Khazra from the Citadel performing dark rituals on his mother.
- Subo – A disgraced archer from the mountains, shunned by the people who turned to him for aid, and has now become a bounty hunter for hire.
As you explore the world alongside your Mercenaries, they can gain rapport with you, allowing you to unlock rewards and bartering currency. As you increase your rapport levels with your chosen mercenary, you can barter with them to get a chance to snag some powerful loot that may benefit your character in the long run.
One of the other new features added in this expansion for Diablo IV is The Dark Citadel. This is PvE content made for the end-game, where players participate in multiplayer combat in a dungeon-crawler to take down bosses they encounter. You can enter the Dark Citadel with up to four players to take down complicated bosses. If you are playing with them and don’t have the option to communicate, you can utilize the brand-new marker system added to help develop some tactics.
Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred is receiving a ton of new content aside from just those two features, such as major progression updates and a new time-attack dungeon.
On August 29, excited Diablo fans will be able to get more information on what to expect from the upcoming expansion, where the developers detail changes to the Paragon system, difficulty tiers, and more.
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