Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred continued a year-round effort from Blizzard to improve the base game beyond the addition of new expansion-exclusive content. Numerous changes were made to the gameplay loop and various other mechanics throughout the year followingDiablo 4’s launch, and Vessel of Hatred capitalized on all that with a plethora of big updates. Fromnew active and passive skills forDiablo 4’s classesto the party finder to help the game’s MMO side, the expansion has made a big impact overall. One of the biggest changes was made to the game’s difficulty options as well as the progression from early-game to high-end content.
Originally,Diablo 4’s difficulty was divided into four World Tiers (from 1 to 4), with the difficulty of each encounter as well as the rewards obtained by players scaling upward dramatically. The main difference to the current approach that divides difficulty into four base tiers with the addition of four Torment Levels to take things further is not purely mechanical. In fact, the original vision forDiablo 4was that World Tier 4 was the ultimate goal for the endgame, meaning that settling for anything less than that wouldn’t really allow fans to experience the full extent of the title’s difficulty. Vessel of Hatred changes that, killing two birds with one stone.
Diablo 4’s New Difficulties, Leveling Experience, and Progression Explained
Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred Expansion Overhauls The Endgame For The Best
For starters,Diablo 4’s new endgamegoal is much different, as it allows players to choose their comfort zone and either stick with it or go above it, thanks to Torment Levels. The current system features the following difficulties:
Penitent is the maximum difficulty for players until they reachDiablo 4’s new level capof 60 instead of 100, which then unlocks the four Torment Levels. The level cap change is also a big part of the changes to the endgame, as not only can players choose their difficulty without the fear of missing out on a “true endgame experience,” but getting there is much faster considering the lower level cap and the way leveling was made quicker over the past year.
This means that the endgame is more accessible than ever in terms of how long it takes to get there and what comes after, asParagon Boardsalso come sooner than the original level 100 experience, and with 300 additional levels to fill the Boards, builds will start to become stronger sooner than before. Overall, this change reduces the pain of making new characters each season to try new things, as getting to the cap is going to be much less of a slog.
Why Now is The Perfect Time to Start Playing Diablo 4
One of the biggest complaints regardingDiablo 4’s ARPG seasonal approachwas that players didn’t want to make a new character with each season and go through leveling and gearing up again.
Considering thatDiablo 4’s live-service model combined with its seasons requiring new characters to participate and experience the new content were extremely controversial at launch, it’s refreshing to see Vessel of Hatred make things much simpler. Between 40 fewer levels to go through, a fixed number of 5 Paragon Boards with a total of 300 points maximum, an easier time leveling and gearing up, and flexibility in terms of difficulty options, now is the perfect time to start playingDiablo 4.
Furthermore, the faster access to max-level potions, gear, and Paragon Boards opens up the real fun of the expansion’s new offering much sooner, making Vessel of Hatred arguably more enjoyable thanDiablo 4was on launch. As it stands, future releases can capitalize on this by making seasonal content more replayable and rewarding, especially focusing on adding more endgame content likeDiablo 4’s Dark Citadelor Kurast Undercity.
Diablo 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Diablo® IV is the ultimate action RPG experience with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish dungeons, and legendary loot. Embark on the campaign solo or with friends, meeting memorable characters through beautifully dark settings and a gripping story, or explore an expansive end game and shared world where players can meet in towns to trade, team up to battle world bosses, or descend into PVP zones to test their skills against other players – no lobbies necessary – with cross-play, cross-progression, and couch co-op on Xbox.This is only the beginning for Diablo® IV, with new events, stories, seasons, rewards, and more looming on the horizon.
