This article contains spoilers forDiablo 4: Vessel of Hatred’s ending.
A huge part of the draw forDiablo 4’s expansions is the new class that comes with them. As Vessel of Hatred demonstrated, a newDiablo 4class can shake up gameplay more so than any other addition. With the next expansion not releasing until 2026 at the earliest, there is plenty of time for Blizzard to explore options that make the most sense for such a game-changing feature.
Vessel of Hatred’s Spiritborn classmarked a brand-new class never before seen in theDiablofranchise. While elements of past classes clearly influenced the design of the Spiritborn, it made sense forDiablo 4’s first expansion to feature a unique new class. However, the game’s second expansion may need to play it a bit safer with the content it adds after the mixed reception of Vessel of Hatred, and bringing back two classes fromDiablo 3could be a winning strategy.
Diablo 4’s Next Expansion Should Look At Diablo 3’s Monk and Crusader Classes for Inspiration
After Vessel of Hatred, Diablo 4’s Next Expansion Will Likely Focus on the Church of Light
Theending of Vessel of Hatred’s storyleaves Mephisto as arguably a greater threat to Sanctuary than he was when the expansion’s story started. After Akarat sacrifices his immortal soul so that the player can defeat Mephisto, the Prime Evil escapes death by possessing the body of the fallen Zakarum prophet. With a resurrected Mephisto in Akarat’s body, the cliffhanger the expansion ends on opens an obvious door for its follow-up to expand on.
WithAkarat being a holy figure within the Church of Light, it seems likely that the nextDiablo 4expansion will focus on the conflict between the Church and its prophet, now desecrated by the soul of Mephisto. As such, it makes sense that the new class added in this expansion would relate to the Church in some way, just as the Spiritborn connected to the lore of Vessel of Hatred’s Nahantu setting. While a Paladin-type class has been on manyDiablo 4fans' wish lists for some time, a two-for-one of returningDiablo 3classes could satisfy this craving and then some.
Diablo 3’s Monk and Crusader Are the Perfect Holy Warrior Classes for a Church of Light-Themed Expansion
While bothDiablo 3’s Crusader and Monk classes are notable for their dedication to their faith in the Light, they hail from opposing religious factions that could play into the story ofDiablo 4’s next expansion.Diablo 3’s Monkis part of the Saphtev faith of Ivgorod, who historically have clashed with the Zakarum of which the Crusader is a member. Bringing both of theseDiablo 3classes back for aDiablo 4expansion could reignite this conflict, while also making for the perfect excuse for the region of Ivogorod to be added as the expansion’s main setting.
From a gameplay perspective, the Monk is aDiablo 3base game class that is fast and agile, with an emphasis on physical, holy, and fire-based skills. In contrast, the Crusader is a much tankier class originating fromDiablo 3’s Reaper of Soulsexpansion that can deal heavy physical damage, cast mid-range Holy, Fire, and Lightning magic, and wield shields. Adapting both of these classes forDiablo 4could kill two birds with one stone by filling in two missing archetypes within the game while also serving as a callback to the days ofDiablo 3.
The Monk has appeared in other games beyondDiablo 3, includingDiablo 1’s Hellfire expansion andDiablo Immortal. Meanwhile, the Crusader has appeared inDiablo 3,Diablo Immortal, and currently as NPCs inDiablo 4.
