Vessel of Hatred’s Setting Is a Double-Edged Sword

Key Takeaways

• Vessel of Hatred’s story only loosely ties up loose ends from Diablo 4’s main campaign.
• The new setting in Vessel of Hatred offers a fresh break from the Eternal Conflict theme.
• Despite a new setting, Vessel of Hatred’s disconnect from Diablo 4’s main story is a downside.

Diablo 4‘s Vessel of Hatred expansion was expected to tie up the loose ends of the base game’s main story, and it did tie some of them up, but only loosely. By the end of the campaign for Diablo 4‘s Vessel of Hatred expansion, players are essentially back where they started again, making much of the work that was done feel fruitless. That being said, the setting for Vessel of Hatred has its upsides as well.

The heart of Diablo‘s story has largely been the same since its origins, and that includes Diablo 4. However, Vessel of Hatred’s new setting provides some unfamiliar territory for players to explore, giving them a chance to break away from the norm for a bit. Unfortunately, this simultaneously works against Diablo 4‘s main story in the end.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred’s New Setting Is a Double-Edged Sword

Vessel of Hatred’s New Setting Feels Fresh After Diablo 4’s Main Campaign

As its name suggests, Diablo‘s Eternal Conflict between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells for the Worldstone has gone on forever, and it has continuously played a role in both the foreground and background of every Diablo story. In Diablo 4, humanity resides in Sanctuary between this conflict, thereby emphasizing the importance of its agency in the middle of the war and how it might alter that conflict using its own free will. However, despite how relevant this conflict is to the world of Diablo, the Vessel of Hatred expansion has introduced a new setting that feels detached from the Eternal Conflict, and perhaps for the better in some ways.

In Diablo 4‘s Vessel of Hatred expansion, Neyrelle has traveled to the jungle region of Nahantu, with the Soulstone containing Mephisto in hand and hopes that she might be able to confront him directly and prevent his influence from spreading further throughout Sanctuary. Ultimately, this is largely what the story is about, as a large portion of it sees players simply chasing after Neyrelle, hoping to reach her before the Soulstone’s corruption destroys her from the inside out. As such, the Eternal Conflict is, in a way, paused for a moment to focus on a smaller, more personal story than what Diablo 4 has dealt with so far.

Vessel of Hatred’s Nahantu region is a refreshing change of pace as well, featuring bright, saturated colors in place of Sanctuary’s palpable darkness and endless hopelessness. It also complements the story’s tribal themes, along with the new Spiritborn class and its ability to tap into animal spirits for supernatural powers. The setting for Vessel of Hatred’s story, which sees it distanced from the long-standing war between the High Heavens and Burning Hells, is further enhanced in this way, as the people of Nahantu have worked hard to keep their land safe.

This is also where Eru comes in, as his utmost desire is to ensure Nahantu remains free from Mephisto’s corruption. Unfortunately, he eventually cuts a deal with Mephisto anyway — a deal that costs him his life.

Vessel of Hatred’s Disconnect From Diablo 4’s Main Story Is Still a Downside

While Vessel of Hatred’s setting does provide players with a brief respite from the Eternal Conflict, its disconnect from Diablo 4‘s main story is still a bit of a downside. One of the biggest unresolved plot points of the original Diablo 4 campaign was Neyrelle trapping Mephisto’s essence inside a Soulstone and then disappearing. It was expected that Vessel of Hatred would resolve this plot point, and, in a sense, it did. However, by the end of Vessel of Hatred’s story, despite Neyrelle being freed from her bond to Mephisto’s Soulstone, it is confirmed in some dialogue that she is still connected to Mephisto and will have to face him at some point in the future.

Essentially, everything Diablo 4‘s main story set up for the next expansion was never fully resolved, meaning it could be argued that Vessel of Hatred didn’t really continue the story of Diablo 4 and only lengthened its original ending. It is nice that players can jump right into the expansion without playing through Diablo 4‘s main campaign, but that’s also rather telling of how little Vessel of Hatred’s story really means to the overarching narrative of Diablo 4. Regardless, the hope is that the game’s next expansion will finally see these unresolved plot points concluded once and for all.