Summary
Diablo 4will be entering its second year of service in 2024, which should prove to be a great test of the game’s staying power. After a rocky first season in 2023,Diablo 4made some massive improvements with its Season of Blood to close out the year, and the future roadmap of content teased by Blizzard at Blizzcon 2023 was a great sign for fans hoping to see a renewed interest in the game in the coming year. Despite the drop in player count since its launch in June 2023,Diablo 4has the chance to grow its player base in 2024 if it can deliver big with its teased new content.
As a live service game,Diablo 4fans can expect to see regular content updates throughout 2024 as the game introduces new seasons as well as its first major content expansion in the form ofVessel of Hatred. Blizzard has stated that they are committed to delivering quarterly seasons forDiablo 4as well as annual expansions like Vessel of Hatred. With the game launching halfway through last year, 2024 will be the real test to see if Blizzard can make good on this promised content schedule.
Diablo 4 Season 3 Begins in Late January
AlthoughDiablo 4’s Season of Bloodis still ongoing, it’s scheduled to end on January 23, meaning players can expect that Season 3 will begin on the same day. So far, Blizzard has not revealed much about what this season will entail, such as its theme and other content players can expect to see during this third season. However, there are a few pieces of information that Blizzard has shared about content coming inDiablo 4Season 3, so players can begin looking forward to these new additions.
New Content like The Gauntlet and Leaderboards
Some of the new content confirmed forDiablo 4Season 3 during Blizzcon were the additions of The Gauntlet and leaderboards. The Gauntlet will be a special challenge for players who reachWorld Tier 4, where they must successfully navigate a fixed seed, non-linear dungeon as fast as possible to earn the most coveted rewards. Along with The Gauntlet, leaderboards will be added to keep track of the players who earn the top scores for runs through this dungeon in a variety of categories, including solos for each class, as well as co-op runs.
More Seasonal Content Throughout the Year
Diablo 4Season 3 will be the first of 2024’s seasonal content players can expect to participate in, but it will likely set the tone for the rest of the year. FollowingDiablo 4’s schedule of quarterly seasons, players can expect to see Season 4 begin sometime in April, and it is planned to include some major updates to the game’s itemization system. While not much is known about the theme or story content ofDiablo 4’s 2024 seasons, the amount of content that has been confirmed to be coming should still have players excited about what’s in store.
Other Quality of Life Updates for Diablo 4 Are Likely
It’s clear that Blizzard is listening to theDiablo 4community when it comes to optimizing the gameplay experience after the harsh criticism it received with the release of Season 1. Much of what has been discussed in terms of future content forDiablo 4has been quality-of-life improvements players want to see, such as an improved itemization system to help players better sort through loot and find the item with just the right affixes they’re looking for. Blizzard has also acknowledged the need tomake Helltides more accessibleand plans to increase their length and decrease the downtime between events in the coming season.
Diablo 4’s First Major Content Expansion Vessel of Hatred Arrives in Late 2024
Perhaps the most excitingDiablo 4content players can expect to see in 2024 is the Vessel of Hatred expansion planned to be released later in the year. This expansion was announced with a teaser trailer at Blizzcon 2024 and is set to pick up where the story of the base game left off withNeyrelle traveling to the jungles of Kurast with Mephistotrapped in the Soulstone. The Vessel of Hatred expansion is planned to deliver a much more substantial amount of content toDiablo 4players than the seasonal updates, making it likely the largest piece of content players can expect in 2024.
New Class
A major part of the Vessel of Hatred expansion will be the introduction of a new playable class that is sure to shake upDiablo 4’s gameplay. While the new class itself has not been confirmed, Blizzard has hinted at what this class could potentially be, claiming it will be one never before seen in theDiabloseries. Leaked information about the Vessel of Hatred expansion suggests that this new class will be called Spiritborn and will wield a glaive while utilizing natural elements for combat, butother possibilities forDiablo 4’s new classinclude a potential Cleric class or a sea-based Corsair.
New Storyline
The Vessel of Hatred expansion will also include a new storyline that is set to follow up on the ending ofDiablo 4’s base game. It will be set in the jungles surrounding the city ofKurast fromDiablo 2, in a region known as Nahantu, and will likely feature Mephisto as the primary villain, given the Prime Evil’s history with the region. While details about the Vessel of Hatred expansion are scarce outside what little was revealed at Blizzcon, fans can expect Blizzard to dive into more detail about the content they have planned for this expansion later in the year as its release approaches.
