So the Game Awards 2025 was, as usual, a night of huge reveals and announcements, with more than a few surprises thrown in. Tomb Raider remake, Legacy of Atlantis, and Total War: Warhammer 40,000 might have been speculated upon for months, but they were still exciting. One thing we’ve all been talking about for a while, though, is the Paladin class for Diablo 4. It’s been much-rumoured for a long time, and the success of the Vessel of Hatred campaign expansion endured that another one would be on the way and that it would certainly launch with a new area and new class – but no one was expecting Blizzard to do this with Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred.
As Season 11 launches today (December 12 2025), anyone who preorders the Lord of Hatred expansion will get immediate access to the new Paladin class. This is an unprecedented move by Blizzard, not simply opening the new content to a Public Test Realm, but dropping a whole new class into the game – but only if you preorder the expansion.
Now, it’s also a weird way to do it. While Vessel of Hatred was a great addition, the Spiritborn class was undoubtedly the star of the show. By the time Lord of Hatred (ye gads, we couldn’t have called it something a little more catchy?) drops in April 2026, will we all be bored of the Paladin – and will the new area and content be enough to retain interest? Will it matter, since you’ll have already paid for it anyway? Well, maybe – if it wasn’t for the fact that a second new class is dropping with the expansion in April.
Yep, this one’s a secret, but there will be a second new class emerging with Lord of Hatred. Could this be the much-anticipated Amazon, or perhaps something entirely new like the Spiritborn? At this point Blizzard are saying nothing. What they have confirmed, though, is that Lord of Hatred will take place on the sacred isles of Skovos as Mephisto’s nefarious plans near their fruition. This also suggests that this will be the final big expansion for Diablo 4, although that isn’t confirmed.
Blizzard have also promised a reworked and expanded endgame with new activities, as well as a complete rework of the existing skill system, which sounds pretty exciting to us.
Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred is available to pre-order now for £39.99 on all viable platforms, and is scheduled to launch on April 28, 2026.
