Diablo 4’s first majorexpansion,Vessel of Hatred, is out this week, and players are gearing up to start their next seasonal journeys into the realm of Sanctuary. However, far from the typicalDiablo 4drop of seasonal content,Vessel of Hatredis a full-fledged expansion, featuring a new map, new build options, and so much more.
While players typically have to create a new character for eachDiablo 4season,Vessel of Hatredis a little different in thatplayers aren’t strictly required to create new characters to play through the DLC. There is a way to migrate certain preexisting characters over to the expansion if the player so chooses - but considering much of what the DLC offers, it may be worth starting from scratch.
You Don’t Have To Make A New Character For Vessel Of Hatred
Pros & Cons Of Keeping Your Old Character In Diablo 4’s Expansion
Again,players don’t need to make new characters forDiablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, and can simply transfer their previous characters from the Eternal Realm into the expansion.Diablo 4effectively has two different kinds of servers: the rotating Seasonal Realm, and the static Eternal Realm. Players are forced to make new characters on the Seasonal Realm each time a new season begins. They can still play as their old characters, though; as soon as a new season starts, all player characters are transferred to the Eternal Realm, where they can be played in perpetuity.
Diablo 4: Vessel Of Hatred Release Date, Preorder Bonuses, & How To Get Prepared For The DLC
Diablo 4’s first major expansion, Vessel of Hatred, may be its biggest content update yet. Here’s what to expect from the upcoming DLC.
Effectively, the only difference is thatthe Eternal Realm doesn’t get seasonal content- players are stuck with vanillaDiablo 4unless they start new save files on each Seasonal Realm. Otherwise, they can access everything about the game, including single-player and multiplayer functions, within the Eternal Realm.
And if they want to,players can also use their existing Eternal Realm characters inVessel of Hatred. This should be as easy as loading into the Eternal Realm and following the quest steps to head for Nahantu. The currentDiablo 4season, that of the Infernal Hordes (Season 5), will end the momentVessel of Hatredcomes out, which means that all current characters will also be migrated to the Eternal Realm just before the expansion is released. Therefore,players can effectively bring their Season 5 characters (or even older ones) intoVessel of Hatredseamlessly.
Bringing a preexisting character intoVessel of Hatreddoes have its perks. For one thing,there likely won’t be too much respecing involved- unless the player is going in with a character they haven’t used in multiple seasons, whose build has been completely altered by balance changes in the interim, they should be able to keep that character almost entirely intact. As soon as they’ve finished the main campaign, they can head directly into the DLC.
The player’s campaign progress carries over from the Seasonal to the Eternal Realm, so don’t worry if there are still a few chapters left in the current campaign - these can always be completed once the new season starts.
That’s another benefit of using a preexisting character forVessel of Hatred- if it’s one the player has already beaten the campaign with,they won’t have to waste any time before hopping straight into the expansion. This can be convenient, but is ultimately unnecessary - purchasingVessel of Hatredentitles players to skip the majority of the campaign automatically, and jump right into the expansion. All they really need to do is complete the prologue.
A New Character Is The Only Way To Play Vessel Of Hatred’s New Class
Pros & Cons Of Making A New Character For Diablo 4’s Expansion
However, there’s one excellent reason to start from scratch inVessel of Hatred:players will need to make new characters in order to try the new character class, Spiritborn. Characters are fixed to their classes from the beginning; while it is possible torespec skills inDiablo 4, character classes can never be changed.
Spiritborn wield the powers of Spirit Guardians, otherworldly beings who grant boons only to the most worthy.Using glaives, polearms, and quarterstaves, Spiritborn is a quick, highly mobile class. It can also summon its Guardians to deliver powerful attacks. This is a distinct, exciting class, and arguably the biggest change introduced by the expansion, so it’s worth making a new character to play Spiritborn alone.
Diablo 4’s Developers On “Leaning Into The Power Fantasy” With Vessel Of Hatred
Two Diablo 4 developers spoke with Screen Rant at Gamescom about the creative process behind upcoming expansion Vessel of Hatred’s new features.
The story ofVessel of Hatredalso centers on Spiritborn, who are a unique cultural conceit to the new region of Nahantu. While it’s entirely possible to play as another class, Spiritborn are just intricately connected to the world of the expansion in a way other characters could never hope to match.
Remember,making a new character forVessel of Hatreddoesn’t mean playing through the entire campaignagain; with the included campaign skip, players can simply complete the prologue, then jump forward directly into the expansion. Besides, playing through the prologue might be a great way to get used to the Spiritborn’s skillset before heading straight forVessel of Hatred. It’s not entirely necessary, but making a new character is undoubtedly the best way to experienceDiablo 4’s first expansion.
Diablo 4
Players are set to return to the world of Sanctuary in Diablo 4. Set after the events of Diablo 3’s Reaper of Souls DLC, Lilith, the daughter of Mephisto, has been summoned to the world and has assumed power in the absence of demons and angels. Lilith establishes Sanctuary as a haven for refugees caught in the crossfire between hell and heaven. Wanting to protect her kind from the recently emerged Nephelem, Lilith is banished to the void. Now she has returned, seeking revenge for the crimes committed against her
