Vessel of Hatred's Setting is a double-edged sword

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Important takeaways

  • Vessel of Hatred's story only loosely ties up loose ends from Diablo 4's main campaign.
  • The new setting of Vessel of Hatred offers a fresh break from the Eternal Conflict theme.
  • Despite a fresh setting, Vessel of Hatred's disconnect from Diablo 4's main story is a drawback.



Diablo 4's Vessel of Hatred expansion was expected to tie up the loose ends of the base game's main story, and it did tie some of them up, but only loosely. At the end of the campaign for Diablo 4s Vessel of Hatred expansion, players are basically back where they started again, making much of the work that was done feel fruitless. That said, the setting for Vessel of Hatred also has its advantages.

Heart off Diablos story has largely remained the same since its origins, and that includes Diablo 4. However, Vessel of Hatred's new setting provides uncharted territory for players to explore, giving them a chance to break away from the norm for a while. Unfortunately, this is counterproductive at the same time Diablo 4s main story at the end.

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred all Spiritborn art

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Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred's Spiritborn is the latest step towards an evolution of RPG classes

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred's Spiritborn class further solidifies an evolution of stereotypical RPG classes that has occurred over the past few years.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred's new approach is a double-edged sword


Vessel of Hatred's new environment feels fresh after Diablo 4's main campaign

As the name suggests, Diablo's eternal conflict between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells for the World Stone has been going on forever, and it has continuously played a role in both the foreground and background of each Diablo story. IN Diablo 4humanity dwells in Sanctuary between this conflict, thereby emphasizing the importance of its agency in the midst of war and how it can change that conflict of its own free will. But despite how relevant this conflict is to the world of Diablohas the Vessel of Hatred expansion introduced a new setting that feels detached from the eternal conflict, and perhaps for the better in some ways.


IN Diablo 4Neyrelle's expansion of the Ship of Hate has traveled to the jungle region of Nahantu, with the soul stone containing Mephisto in her hand, hoping that she may be able to confront him directly and prevent his influence from spreading further throughout the sanctuary. Ultimately, this is largely what the story is about, as a large part of it sees players simply chasing after Neyrelle, hoping to reach her before the Soul Stone's corruption destroys her from the inside out. As such, the eternal conflict is sort of paused for a moment to focus on a smaller, more personal story than what Diablo 4 have treated so far.

Vessel of Hatred's Nahantu region is also a refreshing change of pace, with bright, saturated colors in place of Sanctuary's palpable darkness and endless hopelessness. It also complements the story's tribal themes, along with the new Spiritborn class and its ability to harness the spirits of animals for supernatural powers. The setting for Vessel of Hatred's story, which sees it distanced from the long-running war between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, is further enhanced in this way, as the people of Nahantu have worked hard to keep their land safe.


This is also where Eru comes in, as his ultimate desire is to ensure that Nahantu remains free of Mephisto's corruption. Unfortunately, he eventually makes a deal with Mephisto anyway – a deal that costs him his life.

Vessel of Hatred's disconnection from Diablo 4's main story is still a drawback

While Vessel of Hatred's setting gives players a brief respite from the eternal conflict, but its connection from Diablo 4The main story is still a bit of a let down. One of the original's biggest unresolved plot points Diablo 4 The promo was Neyrelle capturing Mephisto's essence in a soul stone and then disappearing. Vessel of Hatred was expected to resolve this plot, and in a way it did. However, at the end of Vessel of Hatred's story, despite Neyrelle being freed from her bond to Mephisto's soul stone, it is confirmed in dialogue that she is still connected to Mephisto and will have to face him at some point in the future.


Basically everything Diablo 4the main story set up for the next expansion was never fully resolved, meaning that it could be argued that Vessel of Hatred didn't really continue the story of Diablo 4 and only extended its original ending. It's nice that players can jump right into the expansion without playing through Diablo 4s main campaign, but it's also pretty telling of how little Vessel of Hatred's story really matters to the overall story of Diablo 4. Regardless, the hope is that the game's next expansion will finally see these unresolved plot points wrapped up once and for all.

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