Diablo 4's Vessel of Hatred expansion is the most substantial update the game has received since its initial launch, with a brand-new story for players to experience, the new Spiritborn class, and much more. The expansion hasn't just brought new content to the game, however, as many significant updates have launched alongside Vessel of Hatred that include new active and passive skills for Diablo 4's base game classes.
As it is with every skill already available in Diablo 4, each new active skill (apart from the Necromancer's) introduced with Vessel of Hatred includes a node to enhance that skill and then two other skill upgrade nodes, of which players can only choose one. Since the Necromancer's new active skill is an Ultimate skill, it only comes with two upgrade nodes. Furthermore, each Diablo 4 class also receives five brand-new passive skills that are automatically applied to the character once they're unlocked.
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Every New Active Skill Introduced With Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred
The Barbarian's New Active Skill: Mighty Throw
Diablo 4 Barbarians are gaining the new Mighty Throw active skill with Vessel of Hatred, in which the Barbarian's weapon is thrown to inflict 80% weapon damage on impact and then buries itself in the ground. For 4 seconds after that, the Barbarian's weapon pulses, dealing 35% weapon damage every second. Additionally, Mighty Throw's enhanced version, Enhanced Mighty Throw, grants the Barbarian 25% increased Attack Speed while a thrown weapon is out.
Players can also select from two upgrades for the Barbarian's new Mighty Throw active skill: Fighter's Mighty Throw and Warrior's Mighty Throw. Fighter's Mighty Throw allows players to create an additional pulse for a grounded weapon if they swap weapons near it, generating 5% of their Maximum Life as a Barrier for 6 seconds. Warrior's Mighty Throw, on the other hand, increases the impact of Mighty Throw by 200% and also stuns enemies for 2 seconds.
The Druid's New Active Skill: Stone Burst
Diablo 4 Druids are granted access to the Stone Burst active skill with Vessel of Hatred, which deals 120% weapon damage upon gathering stones beneath enemies and detonating them. Channeling the skill deals 20% weapon damage and then increases the size of the area where stones are gathered, allowing players to increase the area of effect by up to 400% after 1 second. Enhanced Stone Burst increases the damage of the final explosion by 25% inside the blast zone's initial radius.
Two upgrades are available for the Druid's active Stone Burst skill as well: Primal Stone Burst and Raging Stone Burst. Primal Stone Burst increases players' Attack Speed by 30% while they Channel Stone Burst and for 2 seconds after it ends, whereas Raging Stone Burst increases the Spirit cost of Stone Burst by 66% but also increases the damage of its final explosion by 50%.
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Diablo 4 reveals a big change to Unique items, and gives more details on other itemization adjustments that will be available to players.
The Necromancer's New Active Skill: Soulrift
Diablo 4 Necromancers have received the Soulrift active skill with Vessel of Hatred, which allows them to corrupt surrounding enemies for 8 seconds, dealing 65% weapon damage per second. Additionally, every 0.25 seconds for that 8-second duration, players gain 2 Essence and a Barrier for 2% of their Maximum Life for 5 seconds upon absorbing the souls of up to three enemies or up to three souls from one boss.
One of Soulrift's upgrades, Supreme Soulrift, increases the skill's damage by 1% up to 30% for every soul absorbed, and the effect continues for 5 seconds after Soulrift expires. Prime Soulrift, on the other hand, makes enemies whose souls were absorbed Vulnerable for 2 seconds, and players are granted a 5% chance to absorb the souls of Soulrift-affected enemies when they damage them.
The Rogue's New Active Skill: Dance of Knives
Diablo 4 Rogues gain the dual-wielding Dance of Knives active skill with the launch of Vessel of Hatred, which is Channeled to launch knives at surrounding enemies for 6 seconds (one second per Charge), with each knife dealing 70% damage. Furthermore, while Dance of Knives is being Channeled, the Rogue gains 20% increased Movement Speed and 10% increased Dodge Chance. Dance of Knives' enhanced version, Enhanced Dance of Knives, grants 4 additional Charges for every 30 meters that players travel while Channeling Dance of Knives.
The new Dance of Knives active skill also comes with two available upgrades: Methodical Dance of Knives and Disciplined Dance of Knives. With Methodical Dance of Knives, players will drop up to 12 Stun Grenades upon canceling Dance of Knives, with each grenade dealing 20% weapon damage. Disciplined Dance of Knives, however, grants the skill a 20% chance to pierce and Slows enemies hit by Dance of Knives by 25% for 3 seconds.
The Sorcereress' New Active Skill: Familiar
Diablo 4 Sorceress players are granted access to the Familiar active skill with Vessel of Hatred, which allows them to summon up to 6 Familiars that match the element of the last skill that they cast. For 8 seconds, the Familiars will then seek out enemies and periodically explode to deal 40% elemental damage in an area. Enhanced Familiar allows each of the player's Familiars to apply elemental effects around them every 0.5 seconds. Fire Familiars apply 40% Burning damage to enemies, Cold Familiars apply 15% Chill to enemies, and Lightning Familiars stun enemies for 1 second.
The Sorceress' Familiar skill also features two upgrades: Summoned Familiar and Invoked Familiar. With Summoned Familiar, Familiars' elements cycle through Fire, Ice, and Lightning as players cast skills. Additionally, players are granted 3% reduced damage when they have Familiars of two or more different elements. Invoked Familiar, on the other hand, allows players to deal 10% more damage of an active Familiar's type.
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Every New Passive Skill Introduced With Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred
Every New Barbarian Passive Skill
Diablo 4's Barbarians have received some hefty damage-increasing passive skills with Vessel of Hatred, making them even more formidable. The new passive skills for the Barbarian in Vessel of Hatred are Belligerence, Heavy Hitter, Warpath, Irrepressible, and Barbed Carapace.
- Belligerence: Damaging an enemy with a Basic Skill increases the player's damage by 3/6/9% for 4 seconds.
- Heavy Hitter: The player's Ultimate Skills deal 15/30/45% increased damage.
- Warpath: After Overpowering, the player deals 4% more damage for 4 seconds.
- Irrepressible: Casting a Weapon Mastery Skill Fortifies the player for 10% of their Maximum Life.
- Barbed Carapace [Key Passive]: For every 25 Fury spent, the player gains 10% Thorns for 8 seconds, up to 120%. Casting any Skill with a Cooldown grants Unhindered for 5 seconds, during which the player deals 100% of their Thorns as physical damage to Close enemies every second.
Every New Druid Passive Skill
Like the Barbarian, the Druid is receiving some new damage-increasing passive skills with the arrival of Diablo 4's Vessel of Hatred expansion that affect both them and their companions. The new passive skills for the Druid are Humanity, Catastrophe, Feral Aptitude, Backlash, and One With Nature.
- Humanity: The player deals 5/10/15% increased damage while in Human form.
- Catastrophe: The player deals 5/10/15% increased damage for 8 seconds after casting an Ultimate skill.
- Feral Aptitude: The player deals 3% more damage while Healthy and 3% more damage while over 100% Movement Speed, both of which can stack.
- Backlash: The player deals 4% more damage for 5 seconds after casting a Defensive Skill.
- One With Nature [Key Passive]: Companion Skills each gain 1 additional companion and deal 50% more damage. Gain the Passive Effect of Ravens, Wolves, and Poison Creeper.
Every New Necromancer Passive Skill
The Necromancer is notorious for being one of Diablo 4's best classes, and the five new Necromancer passive skills that have arrived with Vessel of Hatred should only increase that notoriety. The Necromancer's new passive skills are Necrotic Fortitude, Finality, Titan's Fall, Precision Decay, and Affliction.
- Necrotic Fortitude: Lucky Hit: The player's damage has up to a 5/10/15% chance of granting a Barrier for 5% of their Maximum Life for 6 seconds.
- Finality: The player deals 5/10/15% more damage for 8 seconds after casting an Ultimate Skill.
- Titan's Fall: While Fortified, the player deals 6/12/18% more damage to Elites.
- Precision Decay: The player's Lucky Hit chance is increased by 5/10/15%.
- Affliction [Key Passive]: Enemies affected by Vulnerable, Crowd Control, or Shadow Damage over Time are infected with Affliction and take 15% increased damage from the player and their Minions. Curse Skills deal 80% (Weapon Damage) Shadow damage to enemies that have Afflictions, with that amount increasing by 30% of the player's damage to Crowd Control, Vulnerable, and Shadow Damage over Time combined.
Every New Rogue Passive Skill
The Rogue's new passive skills that have arrived with Diablo 4's Vessel of Hatred expansion center around Critical Strike Chance, damage, and evasion. The new passive skills for the Rogue included in the arrival of Vessel of Hatred are Target Practice, Balestra, Evasive, Unto Dawn, and Alchemical Admixture.
- Target Practice: Critical Strike Chance with Marksman and Cutthroat Skills is increased by 3/6/9%.
- Balestra: The player gains 4/8/12% more Damage for 4 seconds after Evading.
- Evasive: After Dodging an attack, the player gains 2/4/6% Damage Reduction for 4 seconds.
- Unto Dawn: Ultimate skills deal 15/30/45% more damage.
- Alchemical Admixture [Key Passive]: Dealing 3 different types of non-physical damage increases the Potency of Imbuement skills by 40% for 5 seconds, which is further increased by 20% of the total amount of the player's Bonus Damage to Poison, Shadow, and Cold.
Every New Sorcereress Passive Skill
Finally, Diablo 4 Sorceress' will have a chance to enhance their gameplay with the addition of five new passive skills that deal with both Damage Reduction and increased damage. The new passive skills for the Sorceress class are Evocation, Energy Focus, Dampen Layer, Elemental Synergies, and Enlightenment.
- Evocation: Gain 4% Cooldown Reduction.
- Energy Focus: The player generates a 6-second Barrier for 0.5/1.0/1.5% of their Maximum Life every second up to 30%. This effect is lost for 5 seconds after losing health.
- Dampen Layer: The player gains 2/4/6% Damage Reduction while they have an active Barrier.
- Elemental Synergies: The player's Frost, Shock, and Pyromancy damage is increased by 1/2/3% for each skill they have equipped of that type.
- Enlightenment [Key Passive]: Casting any Skill grants one stack of Enlightenment or grants 15 if the player's previous cast Skill was a different Element. After gaining 100 stacks, the player becomes Enlightened, can no longer gain stacks, and loses 10 stacks per second. While Enlightened, the player's Bonus Damage with Fire, Lightning, and Cold are equal to them combined, and they gain 25% increased damage, 45% Mana Regeneration, and 20% Attack Speed.
Diablo 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
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 epic campaign solo or with friends, meeting memorable characters through a gripping story in a beautifully dark world, or explore an expansive end game: battle iconic bosses for powerful loot, fight back the encroaching onslaught of Hell in Helltides, master the Forge to create your ultimate weapons and progress powerful characters, with cross-play and cross-progression on all available platforms.
Discover the critically acclaimed franchise that defined the Action RPG genre. As the battle between the High Heavens and Burning Hells rages on, hatred devours Sanctuary as evil spreads and a new wave of cultists and worshippers arise to embrace Lilith’s coming. Only a brave few dare to face this threat and bring light to the all-consuming darkness.
Expansive Open WorldForge your own path through the corrupted lands of Sanctuary, an ever-growing, fully explorable world teeming with challenges, quests, enemies, and loot. Join your fellow adventurers, rescue and retake besieged towns, delve into nightmarish dungeons and uncover lost secrets as you fight back evil. The many zones of Sanctuary are yours to explore, and with rotating areas of extreme peril like World Bosses and Helltide, danger lurks at every turn.
Immersive Character DevelopmentCreate and customize your character to face the encroaching darkness. Choose from one of five classes and build your hero with skills, abilities and cosmetics, creating a champion that is uniquely your own. Grow stronger as you progress through powerful Skill Trees and develop even more unique end game specializations with Paragon Boards.
Legendary Gear, Epic BattlesDiscover and experiment with a vast arsenal of powerful weapons, armor and more to fight back against the demons threatening Sanctuary. Explore unique combinations, create your own upgrades and collect a plethora of powerful tools to battle in immersive, action-packed combat against the deadliest of enemies.
Seasons & EventsThe tales of Sanctuary continue to unfold. Create Seasonal Characters and join in fresh adventures - master new mechanics and take on the latest threats in each new Season. Complete harrowing feats of the Season Journey and earn new Battle Pass rewards. Plus, sharpen your swords and get in the spirit of the seasons when Limited-Time Events sweep through Sanctuary.
End Game UndertakingsThere’s even more Diablo® IV to explore as you reach higher levels and more fearsome World Tiers. Face the greatest challenge yet as you take on the most powerful demons in The Pit, steel yourself against Uber Bosses to reap uber unique rewards, fight back overflowing armies of Hell as Helltides emerge across Sanctuary, battle larger-than-life World Bosses, and master the Forge to create the mightiest weapons fit for a hero.
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Cross Save
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Diablo
- Number of Players
- 1-2 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
- How Long To Beat
- 26 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- File Size Xbox Series
- 158.25 GB
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 players (console only)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
