Blizzard announces Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred expansion, welcoming the Paladin class

The Game Awards night saw a host of major announcements, and of course Blizzard took the opportunity to introduce to the eyes of gamers everywhere its next major expansion for Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred. This expansion will be completely separate from the first expansion released in 2024, Vessel of Hatred, though it will continue the story of what happened there to some extent.

The final battle against Mephisto approaches, now that the demon is more powerful than ever, and the Wanderer must make the difficult decision to form an alliance with his ancient enemy, Lillith, who has returned from the dead to prevent the complete destruction of Sanctuary. Travelling through the world's oldest region, Skovos, the former home of Inarius and Lillith, we will explore a unique region with biomes, dungeon designs, and monsters never before seen in the franchise. Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred will arrive on 28 April 2026 in three different versions: Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate. Oh, and if you didn't previously own Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, don't worry, because it will be included here as well.

But that's not all, because along with this new story campaign, two new classes are coming to Diablo IV. One is yet to be revealed in the near future, and the other is the Paladin class. The Laladin is a holy warrior, imbued with divine power, who bases his strategy on a combination of melee, auras and angelic light. There will be four Oaths or subclasses that the Paladin can choose from, depending on their playstyle, in a formula we saw with the Spiritualist in Vessel of Hatred. These Oaths are Juggernaut, Zealot, Judicator and Disciple.

What do you think - will you be defending Sanctuary from annihilation against Mephisto when Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred arrives in April?

Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred Paladin Class Oaths Gallery