Blizzard says they felt more pressure when developing Diablo 4’s new Spiritborn class because it doesn’t fit the conventional model of a pen-and-paper role-playing game like the action RPG’s existing classes.
The classes currently available in Diablo 4 include Barbarian, Sorceress, Druid, Necromancer, and Rogue. While visually and mechanically unique, they are by no means specific to the Diablo series. Spiritborn, on the other hand, are Diablo’s invention – jungle predators that can summon spirit guardians in the form of jaguars, gorillas, eagles, and giant centipedes to aid you in battle.
Players will be able to create a Spiritborn build when Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred launches on October 8. Previously, we caught up with Game Director Brent Gibson at Gamescom 2024, who said Blizzard was relieved that the new class was finally playable.
“Honestly, it’s like a heavy weight has been lifted off our shoulders,” Gibson said. “The idea of adding a new class is an extra pressure, right? Because the class (Spiritborn) you can’t really define by a classic tabletop RPG archetype or anything like that. So it’s great to get it to a point where we can actually try it out, and everyone who’s played it is absolutely loving it. It’s super fast, super customizable. I think it’s exactly what fans have been looking for since launch.”
While the new class is undoubtedly the biggest highlight of Diablo 4’s first DLC, there’s also a new jungle region called Nahantu that’s home to all sorts of new enemies, a new quest where you try to uncover Mephisto’s evil plans, a new PvE co-op dungeon that sounds like a proper raid, and the return of a feature that originated in Diablo 2: hireable mercenaries.
The original 1996 Diablo is now fully playable in your browser and still offers an atmosphere unmatched by the best action RPGs of all time..
