Should You Buy Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred?

Quick Specs

What You're Getting

Lord of Hatred is Diablo IV's second major paid expansion, dropping April 28, 2026 alongside Season 13. It's larger in scope than Vessel of Hatred and includes:

The Paladin (available now if you pre-purchased) — a holy warrior class with auras and an Arbiter Form transformation. The Warlock — a dark caster class arriving at expansion launch. Skovos — a new region with storm coastlines, ancient ruins, and a fresh endgame hub city called Temis. War Plans — a new endgame mode that lets you chain five activities (Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, Pit, etc.) with stacking modifiers.

Plus a complete skill tree overhaul, return of the Horadric Cube for gear manipulation, set bonuses via Charms and Talismans, a long-requested loot filter, and a level cap raise to 70.

Why You Should Wait

Three reasons. First: Blizzard expansion launches have a history of needing a week or two of hotfixes. Vessel of Hatred had launch issues that were patched within 10 days. Second: the expansion is permanent — you can buy it tomorrow, or in May, or during the inevitable winter sale, and the content will be the same. Third: Season 13 launches the same day, and seasons run 3 months. You're not missing exclusive content if you start week 2.

Critics across multiple gaming sites note that committed Diablo 4 players will buy this regardless — for them, it's already a foregone conclusion. The audience that should pause is lapsed players wondering if Lord of Hatred fixes their old complaints. Wait for impressions on the skill tree rework and loot filter specifically — those are the systems that will determine whether returning is fun or frustrating.

The Case For and Against

Price & Editions

Standard edition starts at $39.99, with Deluxe and Ultimate editions at higher tiers. Pre-purchase grants immediate Paladin access plus the original Vessel of Hatred expansion if you don't already own it. Important: you must own Diablo IV base game separately, and the expansion is per-platform — buying on Battle.net doesn't unlock on Xbox.

The Bottom Line

Lord of Hatred is shaping up to be Diablo IV's biggest content drop since launch. But unlike a brand new game, expansions have zero scarcity — there's no day-one bonus, no exclusive content for early buyers, and seasonal play extends for months. Wait one week. Read the launch impressions on the skill tree rework, the loot filter, and War Plans. Then buy.