Diablo 4 should add this new class next

After the Vessel of Hatred expansion, Diablo players may have more than a year until they see a new character class. However, Blizzard could take a very different approach in 2025.

First things first, I’m a huge fan of the Spiritborn class from Vessel of Hatred. I used them in Season 6 and I may even run another build in Season 7. I’m also a massive supporter of the character’s combat and art style.

Blizzard wanted to bring back the Witch Doctor, but with the two OG summoner classes, the Necromancer and Druid, already included, they needed to adapt the warriors of Nahantu into something fresh.

It worked, and we got a class that was part Witch Doctor and part Monk, which was another class many players anticipated would return in Diablo 4. This leaves Blizzard with a tough decision to make in the future – which class does it add to the game next? And when could this happen?

Diablo 4’s next expansion

It’s assumed by many that the next Diablo 4 class will be added in Q4 of 2025, roughly a year after Vessel of Hatred, as part of the next expansion. Blizzard originally revealed that Diablo 4 would receive annual expansions, but later said its approach may be more fluid.

This reminds me of Diablo 3, a game that released its first major expansion, The Reaper of Souls, in 2014, just under two years after the base game was released in 2012. This also included the new Crusader class, a reworking of Diablo 2’s Paladin. Like Diablo 2, Diablo 3 only had one major expansion, but unlike Diablo 2, the third game had additional DLC after that.

In June 2017, Diablo 3 released Rise of the Necromancer, which finally added the fan-favorite class to the game after five years of players calling for it. While I don’t think Blizzard will leave this much time between Diablo 4’s content drops, it could adopt a similar approach when adding new classes.

Much like Diablo Immortal, who says there always needs to be a major expansion to add a new character? Blizzard could choose to release a new class without an expansion, just like Diablo 3 and Immortal have. However, I also suspect it’ll continue to release them as part of the expansions, too.

Just like the Spiritborn was a native of Nahantu, Diablo 4’s next class may be linked to the next region we visit. Or it could have no connection at all. For example, it’s only a matter of time until Diablo 4 adds the region of Harrogoth to the game, but the Barbarian class that calls that land home is already part of the roster. So, if that region were added, Blizzard would need to introduce a different class.

With the Monk, Amazon, and Witch Doctor classes essentially being occupied by the Spiritborn, these are now unlikely to ever be added. The Demon Hunter and Assassin classes are also occupied by the Rogue, and the Warrior class was replaced by the Barbarian long ago.

So out of the classes from previous games, only the Crusader or Paladin remain viable options.

Becoming Immortal

Of course, Blizzard could adapt an earlier class and change it from the ground up as they did with the Witch Doctor to the Spiritborn. Or they could add a new class entirely – something Diablo Immortal has done twice now. When Immortal launched, it included most of the classes from Diablo 3, only omitting the Witch Doctor, but since then, the game has released brand-new (never seen before) classes.

These were the Blood Knight and the Tempest, two characters that would be incredible, not to mention game-changing, if added to Diablo 4. Not only would their inclusion give them mainline Diablo game recognition, but they’d be different from anything else in the game so far. And in the case of the Blood Knight, the groundwork has already been laid for their arrival.

Season 2 of Diablo 4 introduced the vampire threat that rose after the defeat of Lilith. While Lord Zir and his cronies were defeated, the vampire menace still exists in Sanctuary. As the Blood Knight class is essentially Sanctuary’s version of Blade, making use of vampiric powers to slay the forces of Hell, they could be an ideal class to add between expansions.

As for the Tempest, these water wizards are unique enough to stand apart from any other class in Diablo 4, much like they do in Diablo Immortal. Hailing from the islands in the northern part of Sanctuary, this is a land unseen by Diablo 4 so far, so it could make an excellent setting for a future expansion, with the Tempest as its resident class – much like Vessel of Hatred did with the Spiritborn.

We already know that Blizzard wants to keep expanding Diablo 4’s map, and while there are still many places to visit, some regions are more interesting than others. However, my money is on Blizzard adding the Crusader/Paladin to Diablo 4 in the near future, after all, the game is crying out for a Holy Warrior class and the story involving the Cathedral of Light makes it ideal.

But after that, I think it’s time for Diablo 4 players to sharpen their fangs or get ready to cast their enemies into the churning maelstrom.