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When I reviewed Diablo IV originally, I found that it was a decent game at heart that was held back by technical issues (such as lag and random crashes). Now, more than a year later (and tons of patches in between), Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred is finally here to bring the game to the next level.
After the cliffhanger ending from the original, I’ve honestly been awaiting for Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred to hit! I didn’t really care about the Spiritborn class. As somebody who’s been with the series since the very beginning, I just wanted to know the story!
Well…It took me a few days, but I’ve finally finished the game.
Did Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred meet my expectations?
What is Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred?
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred is an expansion to Diablo IV. It is an isometric action RPG. Developed and published by Activision Blizzard, the expansion is available for all platforms that Diablo IV was released on.
Our expansion review code was provided to us by Activision Blizzard! We really appreciate it!
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred brings a host of new features to the table. You get a new region to explore (Nahantu), a new class to play as (Spiritborn), a completely new gameplay mechanic in the hirable Mercenaries and more endgame content to power up your characters with.
That is of course, on top of all the improvements and tweaks done to Diablo IV.
As an expansion, it’s imperative that you manage your expectations before going into Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred. This isn’t a new game, it’s not meant to bring major changes. Don’t go in thinking that it’ll fix everything that was wrong with Diablo IV. Go in and expect Diablo IV, but with new stuff included and you’ll be fine.
That’s pretty much what it is.
The lore is pretty decent (though the ending is a gyp) and you’ll venture to all sorts of familiar places (which is cool if you’re a longtime player). Unfortunately, while there’s a ton of cutscenes, they’re pretty disappointing as most of them are viewed from the same perspective (isometric top down) as general gameplay.
That means you’re just looking at small figures gesturing and moving about. You’re detached from the scene, so you don’t really care as much. Weirdly, the game does have proper cutscenes where the camera’s up close….but only for some scenes. Why not all of them? That’s what I was asking myself the whole time too!
It’s a shame because the story (while super predictable) is still interesting enough to warrant a playthrough. Throughout the whole chase for Narelle, I keep wondering what will happen. Will Mephisto win in the end? Is Neyrelle going to be the end boss for the expansion? Will Diablo finally appear in a Diablo game?!
One of those questions is answered in the game (I’m not going to say which one) but I’m much more impressed how much Akarat is involved in the plot. Akarat’s a pretty big deal in Diablo lore but he’s always been a part of the history of the world since he’s been dead for awhile when the games take place. To see the mythical figure feature prominently (and see what made him so revered by many in-game) in the game is honestly, quite refreshing.
It’s also refreshing that Activision Blizzard added in a long time requested feature; Mercenaries. The addition of hirable Mercenaries (the Pale Hand) does make the game a bit less lonely for solo players (like me) but there’s more to them then just being AI helpers.
The Mercenaries in Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred function a bit differently than those in past games. Each has their own specialties and skill trees. You can have two mercenaries assist you at any one time; one will accompany you in battle, while another will jump in and execute a chosen skill when certain conditions (that you set) are met. It’s cool as more and more skills you can assign are unlocked the more you use the mercenaries in battle.
I did miss the ability to outfit your mercenaries like in Diablo II. I have a ton of surplus legendary gear that I don’t need and should’ve relished passing them to my bodyguard. Not only for a sense of progression, but also to change up their appearances.
After all, all this time, the only historic beings from Sanctuary’s history that we’ve had encountered are mostly of the Angelic or Demonic variety. Yet Akarat isn’t either, he’s just a regular joe (mostly) like the rest of the people in the game. Hell, I nicknamed him Diablo Jesus for how similar he is to Jesus Christ.
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred doesn’t radically alter Diablo IV. The new Spiritborn class slots in rather well with the established cast of playable classes but in my honest opinion, doesn’t really stand out.
It’s a blend of Druid and Witch Doctor (Diablo III), with totemic spells powering its attacks. It can focus on power, speed or damage over time skills, which does give it some versatility on your gameplay styles.
It also unfortunately highlights a core issue of Diablo IV; its handling of poison damage.
If you’re unfamiliar with it, in Diablo IV, poison takes effect over time. As you deal poison damage, the target healthbar will show a lighter overlay that decreases to signify how much of their health will be left once the poison has fully done its job. The issue here is that you can poison an enemy completely but it won’t kill them outright as the poison needs time to take effect.
In theory, it makes sense. In gameplay, it doesn’t.
The Spiritborn’s Centipede skills (all of which deal poison damage) is practically useless when you compare them to the direct damage skills the class has. Unless you have equipment or affixes on your gear to detonate poison damage or use the class’ Special (which summons a giant poison ray spewing centipede) which has a special affix that kills anything outright when their health bar is filled with poison, you’ll be spending a lot of your time just running around waiting for your enemies to keel over.
Playing on Hard from Level 1 as a Centipede-centric Spiritborn, I found myself totally outclassed in damage output by pretty much everybody else. They’d already kill their targets while I’m still waiting for my poison to do its job.
It’s an exercise in frustration solo, as you’re almost always being swarmed by tons of bad guys and need to stay alive as your poisons take effect. The problem does lessen the more levels you gain (as you gain more potent attacks) but I was never satisfied with my damage output, especially when compared to other classes.
I’m of the opinion that the class needs more skills that finish off enemies fully poisoned by default, instead of depending on affixes, legendary gear or the Special. That, or a complete rework of the Centipede skills or how poison damage is handled.
The other major new addition to Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred comes in the form of Nahantu. It’s the southern part of the map, which opens up the jungles that surround Kurast. If that sounds familiar, it’s the very same place that was in Diablo II back in the day.
Compared to the other regions included with the main game, Nahantu isn’t really that much different. Sure, it’s a jungle but the winding paths are just as filled with enemies as everywhere else in the game. It’s not that visually impressive too, as apart from the route to Akarat’s Tomb near the end, its mostly just generic looking jungles and ruins.
It’s definitely the weakest (visually speaking) section of the game for me. Diablo has always been about gothic architecture for me, and the nightmarish hellscapes of the underworld…everything else (like these jungles, or the badlands or the highlands) seems out of place. There’s nothing particularly bad about the jungle, but it’s just so generic and not Diablo-like for me.
The jungle ruins are a bit better but they still don’t evoke the Diablo feel to me that the gothic cathedrals and other dungeons in the main game does. I wished there were more standout locations. As it stands, its all a mishmash of jungles and ruins that all blends together into something utterly forgettable.
Despite more than a year since its release, Diablo IV is still not as stable as I’d have expected. Throughout my playing of Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, I had the game crash to desktop at least once in every session I played. It doesn’t matter where I was or what I did. I’d still get kicked to the desktop and find myself staring at the game’s error reporting form.
Other technical issues (such as lag and disconnections) aren’t an issue any more, though I did encounter some rubberbanding when I played during the game’s launch. That issue vanished relatively quickly and was pretty much gone within a few days.
I did encounter a ton of RMT spam in the Trade channel, so I strongly suggest turning the channel off so you’re not bothered by bots selling gold. I reported a few but I don’t think any action’s been taken so far as I noticed the same names selling more gold a few days later.
On the ROG Ally X, the game played beautifully on 1080p, with medium settings all across the board, with ray tracing disabled. The game’s mostly stutter free, though cities do cause the game to hitch as it loads. It resolves after a few seconds though it’ll always happen whenever you teleport into town.
The game also hitches a bit in the overworld too, when you’re about to encounter large swarms of enemies. This isn’t a confirmed occurrence though. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. Dungeons don’t have this issue weirdly and things flow much better in them.
The Bottom Line.
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred does a great job of expanding on the groundwork already laid down. The Spiritborn might not be powerhouse, but it is quite fun to play with. The new Mercenaries also add to the longevity and another goal to strive for.
Nahantu is of a letdown but the endgame content makes up for it with a ton of optional activities to do as you get stronger and stronger.
It’s just a shame that the game’s technically shaky. I never had so many issues with crashes when I reviewed the base game as I did with Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred. Hopefully those will be ironed out and the game made more stable.
TLDR:
A great story addition, and some great gameplay mechanics that’s tempered by a boring new setting.
The Good:
- Lots of new endgame content.
- Decent story and ending to setup the next game.
- Spiritborn class is interesting.
- Mercenaries fun to level up, with lots of benefits.
The Bad:
- Nahantu is a boring location.
- Crashes regularly.
- Poison needs a rework.
Salehuddin Husin, EIC
Sal's been in the industry since the early 2000s. He's written for a ton of gaming and tech publications including Playworks, Hardwarezone, HWM and GameAxis. Recently, Sal served as a juror for the Indie Game Awards at Taipei Game Show 2020. A geek and hardcore gamer, Sal will play everything, on any platform.
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