Test - Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred: Test: The first add-on shows light and shadow

Diablo IV has already had a long journey. Released around 16 months ago, the game has received both praise and criticism and has undergone serious renovations after Blizzard finally listened to the community. The sixth season is now set to crown the game with a restructuring of the character and paragon system, as well as the first expansion with a new class and many fresh features. However, this does not work in all areas.

Here it is, the first expansion for Diablo IV and, for many, the hope that things will continue to improve for the action role-playing game. Okay, yes, I know, it's more of a hack'n'slay. But since the mixed release in June 2023, apart from a few botched seasons, it has recently been on the right track. Above all, the revised loot system has brought the game forward significantly.

In view of the new expansion, Blizzard is of course well advised to make further modifications and make the add-on appear larger than it actually is. Because let's be honest, a new chapter, a new class and a few additions that could have been used as a season upgrade aren't that much for just under 40 euros. So we can only hope that Blizzard delivers properly in terms of content.

Well, okay. Vessel of Hatred continues the main game's campaign. The focus is on Neyrelle, the young woman who escaped with Mephisto in the stone. After the end of the game, it makes sense to pick up this thread again. The story leads to the new area Nahantu, a mix of jungle and desert with some well-known locations such as the docks of Kurast or Travincal, as well as the metropolis of Kurast itself.

The campaign starts well, starting with a great CGI video and the search for Neyrelle. It's just a shame that the story can't quite maintain this level, especially since a certain expectation is built up over the course of the story that isn't fulfilled in the end. Basically, the chapter seems a bit like a prologue to something bigger, which will probably follow in another expansion at some point. After a strong start, Neyrelle's further development in her actually leading role seems rather bland at the end.

At least Blizzard has integrated the new chapter sensibly. Provided they have completed the main campaign, players can jump straight into the expansion, even with a completely new character - scaling opponents make this possible. It may not make much sense in terms of content to jump straight into the new chapter with a level 1 character, but it saves a lot of time and corresponds to the system of the season characters. That being said, most players will probably want to start with Spiritborn as a new class.

The spirit-born as a new addition to the fighter portfolio is quite successful. The skillset and some animations are somewhat reminiscent of the old monk, but the elements and spirits offer very variable ways to play the class. All in all, the spirit-born is a very successful addition to the portfolio. The four spirits, two of which can be kept active as a buff, offer enough opportunities to play the class both tanky and as a pure damage dealer.

The mercenaries are also new, although not entirely new. There were also colleagues to hire in the previous series. There are four of them, all of which can be unlocked through short series of quests and have different advantages. There is a tank for your glass cannon as well as a damage dealer for your tank class. You can also skill the mercenaries, because through experience they collect points that you can put into mini skill trees, and they also have some rewards in store for you. Unfortunately, equipment cannot be given away.

Now we're slowly getting to the point where it's getting difficult to distinguish the expansion from the season update. The difficulty system has been completely revised and instead of four, there are now eight levels waiting for you, although the game has become significantly more difficult overall in the higher levels. The four levels of torture are also activated via a skill check in the master pit. If you fail there, you simply won't get any further in the higher levels.

The difficulty levels differ primarily in lower armor and resistances, more or less experience and more loot with the chance of higher quality items. What is a bit strange, however, is that the item level remains more or less the same across the levels. Whether on Hard (Level 2) or Torment 1 (Level 5) - the items have an equipment level of 750, from Torment 1 with outliers up to 800, the new maximum. Whether this makes sense in terms of loot motivation remains to be seen in the longer term.

At least higher levels now ensure that you can get Paragon points more quickly through more XP. Because the level system has also been changed. In the past you could reach level 100, but from level 50 onwards there were no longer any skill points, only paragon points. Now the maximum level is 60, which means you get more skill points. After that there is a shift in the shaft and you only get Paragon points, but more than before. Have fun building. The additional skill points at least fill some gaps that were previously there. It is also positive that the Paragon points are now cross-realm and do not have to be earned again for each character.

A little tip on the side: Don't waste yourself unnecessarily in the expansion's campaign. Just playing them on hard is enough to have a solid challenge. In the end you are close to the maximum level and a few follow-up activities will quickly shrink the missing levels. And as I said: the equipment level is the same anyway.

A lot has also happened in the late game and endgame content. Nightmare dungeon levels have been removed, instead they simply scale and you can no longer upgrade glyphs when you complete them. This part has now moved to the master pit, which you have to complete within a time limit and which was previously completely devalued as a farm spot by the hellish hordes. The latter still exists, but now primarily with a focus on crafting materials. Going through the (randomly generated) master pit over and over again to get the glyphs to level 45 out of 100 so that they get “legendary” status is rather less exciting. At least you can now use the nightmare dungeons to farm upgrade materials like Obduzit.

New to the package is the Lower City of Kurast. There you start with a time limit, which you can extend by a few seconds by killing certain enemies. You also have to knock the socks off bosses at altars and occasionally kill goblins in order to be able to empty some loot chests at the end. Practical: Before you start, you can set certain modifiers in order to hunt for prey in a relatively targeted manner, for example if you are in the mood for weapons or jewelry. Not bad.

Runes are also new when it comes to equipment. Two runes can be combined into double-socked items to create new effects. Overall, these are not groundbreaking or overwhelming, but they can be used usefully when fine-tuning a build. However, the system still has a lot of room for improvement given the rather meager effects so far. In return, the gemstones were slightly reworked and given different values.

The Dark Citadel is also new. This is a kind of mini-raid for two to four players. The current raid consists of three wings, two of which can be played independently to unlock the section with the final boss. The bosses in the wings have quite sophisticated mechanics that first have to be explored. The reward for this is generous; three unique items have already fallen in our first wing. The raid also resets every few days so you can go hunting again.

What's practical is that there is now a group finder for many endgame activities. This still works a bit bumpily and is not always up to date, but finding a group for, for example, the Dark Citadel or the Pit or individual boss opponents like Duriel is quite quick.

Season 6 itself is logically a little thinner in terms of content. There's nothing really on offer other than beating up an Empire shifter and his henchmen who show up every few minutes, including, of course, some reward ranks with an NPC. We found it rather less exciting, so you just take it with you if you happen to come across it, especially since there are some nice potions with high XP bonuses to be had. There is no complete quest line like in previous seasons this time, but given the expansion and its new content, we can live with that.