Diablo 4’s Next Class Is Obvious After Vessel of Hatred

Key Takeaways

• Vessel of Hatred’s story sets the stage for Diablo 4’s future expansions.
• A holy knight class like a Paladin or Crusader could complement Diablo 4’s continued story and combat Mephisto.
• The absence of a “sword and board” class may signal room for a Paladin or Crusader type class.

While the new Spiritborn class introduced with Diablo 4‘s Vessel of Hatred’s expansion has impressed with its unprecedented versatility and raw power, it’s ultimately just another stepping stone toward a bigger and better ARPG experience. As Diablo 4 continues to move forward into its future, more expansions are likely on the way, along with even more new classes that will hopefully give the Spiritborn some friendly competition. The only question is what those classes might be.

As the pool of RPG classes continues to increase in size, with many developers now looking for creative ways to evolve the genre’s core classes, there is plenty of potential for Diablo 4‘s future regarding new playable characters. That being said, as far as its immediate future and next expansion goes, there is one clear route it can take that would not only provide players with a class that has been missing from the game but also serve as a complement to the continued story of Diablo 4.

A Holy Knight Class Would Complement Diablo 4’s Continued Story

Vessel of Hatred Ended With Mephisto’s Corruption of Akarat’s Mortal Body

Vessel of Hatred’s story has been divisive due to its open-ended conclusion and anticlimactic plot points, but it has nonetheless left the game’s story with a clear direction moving forward. At the end of Vessel of Hatred’s narrative, the mortal body of Akarat, the Shepherd of Light, is handed over to Mephisto by Eru and is later consumed by Mephisto’s corruption to become the Lord of Hatred’s new vessel.

Ultimately, this symbolizes the downfall of the light and establishes the motif for Diablo 4‘s next expansion, which will presumably feature a world bathed in an overwhelming sense of doom and hopelessness, as Akarat himself, the formerly incorruptible one, has been claimed by Mephisto. However, Akarat still lives on in some form, as confirmed in his promise to Neyrelle that she would see him again, and with the end of Vessel of Hatred’s story teasing the return of Tyrael, it could mean big things for the next expansion’s new class.

Diablo 4’s Next Class Being a Holy Knight Would Be Fitting

Unlike its predecessors, Diablo 4 has been missing a classic “sword and board” class since launch. Despite many requests that Blizzard add one to the game, the developer has doubled down on its decision to exclude one, inferring that it prefers to introduce more complex classes than simple, traditional classes. Even so, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a holy knight type of class is off the table, especially in light of the current direction of Diablo 4‘s overarching narrative and classes the series has featured in the past.

Akarat still lives on in some form, and the end of Vessel of Hatred’s story teasing the return of Tyrael could mean big things for the next expansion’s class.

Diablo 2 and Diablo 3, for instance, both featured a holy knight class of some sort, with Diablo 2 offering a Paladin class and Diablo 3 eventually implementing a Crusader class. In other words, the blueprint is there. Diablo 4 just needs to reinvent it now according to Blizzard’s new class standards. Furthermore, with Vessel of Hatred’s story teasing the return of Tyrael and a holy knight class arguably being exactly what is needed to fend off Mephisto, it would make sense for Diablo 4‘s next class to be a Paladin or Crusader-type class, but with a unique characteristic like the unmatched versatility of Vessel of Hatred’s new Spiritborn class.

It’s too soon to tell where Diablo 4‘s story will go from here, but the facts as they stand suggest a holy knight class like a Paladin or Crusader could be on the way. The only hope is that Blizzard will devise a way to make it just as special as the Spiritborn class, if not more so.