Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred Avoiding Making the Same Mistake as the Base Game

Highlights

• Diablo 4’s new expansion, Vessel of Hatred, seemingly levels the playing field by avoiding early access advantages.
• The expansion can be purchased in various ways, with exclusive in-game items like mounts and town portals included in different editions.
• Season 4 of Diablo 4 introduces the Masterworking crafting system, addressing player feedback and improving itemization in the game.

Fans are discussing Diablo 4‘s upcoming Vessel of Hatred expansion, which seemingly avoids having the same early access advantage found within the base game. Despite launching with several editions, Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred will put all players on equal ground when it releases this fall.

Blizzard ushered in a new age for its decades-old action RPG franchise with the release of Diablo 4 in 2023. The game carried the series to new heights in terms of visual and audio fidelity, as well as the sheer amount of content available through Diablo 4‘s main campaign and various world events. Just like previous Diablo experiences, Diablo 4 players choose between several distinct classes, letting them loose in a massive open world as they search for the game’s terrifying main antagonist, Lilith. Diablo‘s addictive gameplay and satisfying combat still remain, but through various upgrades and continued seasonal content cycles, Diablo 4 has managed to become one of the most talked about and popular titles on the market, with a new expansion seeking to amplify its success even more.

Fans have been looking forward to Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred for quite some time, with one player sharing their excitement over the fact that the new expansion does not grant certain players early access to the new content. Reddit user Bruce666123 shared a photo of the various versions of Diablo 4‘s upcoming expansion, announcing there was no early access being advertised as a bonus for any of the special editions. The post struck a chord among Diablo 4 fans, garnering well over a thousand upvotes and over 600 comments, indicating early access is quite a controversial subject among players. Diablo 4 offered select players early access when it was released last summer, depending on what version of the game fans purchased.

Diablo 4 Seemingly Drops Early Access from Upcoming Expansion

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred seeks to shake things up quite a bit for returning players and can be purchased in multiple ways. The first way players can get their hands on this new expansion is with the Diablo 4: Expansion Bundle, which includes the base game and the expansion. Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate editions of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred are also offered, each coming with a variety of exclusive in-game items such as mounts, town portals, and currency. All versions of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred will include the brand-new Spiritborn class, with the expansion hitting digital storefronts on October 9, 2024.

Players are currently in the middle of Diablo 4‘s season 4 update cycle, which has brought a variety of new features and highly-requested changes to the game. One of the biggest changes in season 4 was the addition of Diablo 4‘s Masterworking crafting system, which allows players to improve items’ affixes through 12 individual ranks. Season 4, officially titled Loot Reborn, also addressed Diablo 4 itemization, a common complaint for players who have stuck with the game since its release.