Diablo 4 leads know you want a sword-and-board Paladin, but after 5 classic classes they wanted to go big on something new: "It's not just about rehashing old content"

Diablo 4
(Image credit: Blizzard)

Diablo 4's leads know you want a sword and shield-based class, but they're really happy with the feedback to Vessel of Hatred's new Spiritborn class.

If you didn't already know, the new Diablo 4 DLC releasing later this year in October is introducing the Spiritborn, which will be the action RPG's sixth class. Since Diablo 4 launched last year, though, there have been legions of fans asking Blizzard to make a class using a sword and shield. In other words, your archetypical 'Paladin' character.

GamesRadar+ spoke to Diablo 4 game director Brent Gibson and systems designer Aislyn Hall about the fan demand for a Paladin class in the wake of the new Spiritborn class in Vessel of Hatred. "It was really important to us that, after delivering five classic classes, we continue to grow the number of classes you can see in geography, right? It's not just about rehashing old content all the time," Gibson says of the new DLC class. 

Despite this, Gibson says Blizzard has heard its fans "loud and clear. But, you know, bringing something new, this was the time to do it, right? Five originals. It's like doing a sixth original. We could do that, but the team wanted the opportunity to go big," the game director continues, explaining the philosophy behind Vessel of Hatred's Spiritborn. 

Gamescom 2024 attendees have had the chance to go hands-on with the Spiritborn on the show floor, and the feedback has apparently been astounding. "Honestly, every one of those folks that have gotten the hands-on, like, 'Okay, we understand now, yep, this is great. This is exactly what we're looking for.' And so, yeah, I'm glad, I'm glad we stuck to our guns on that, and I'm really happy with the outcome," Gibson adds.

For her part, systems designer Hall believes the Spiritborn was a "wonderful choice" and one that accurately reflects the jungle environments of the Vessel of Hatred expansion. "With the theme of the jungle of Nahantu, the class ties in so well to the vibe of Vessel of Hatred, and that just serves to immerse you even more in the campaign," Hall explains.

For what it's worth, Gibson points out that a class for a new expansion like Vessel of Hatred should reflect the environment it's arriving in, otherwise "it just doesn't feel right." This is why Blizzard's developers have conceptualized a big cat as a new mount in Vessel of Hatred - because it "felt really natural in the jungle," Gibson explains.

Elsewhere, Blizzard also spoke to GamesRadar+ about the "layer of additional pressure" in designing the Spiritborn. It turns out it's really hard to design a brand new Diablo 4 class when it can't be defined "by a classic tabletop RPG archetype," as Gibson put it, meaning Blizzard had to get creative for the new DLC class.

Diablo 4 devs will "learn a whole bunch" from Vessel of Hatred feedback, and pledge to be "very reactive to the community."

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Diablo 4 season 7 screenshot
Diablo 4 season 7 all but revives the Diablo 3 class I've been wanting Blizzard to officially add since launch
Diablo 4 The Butcher
Diablo 4's second expansion won't come out until 2026
Diablo 4
Diablo 4 boss would push for patches to have more fun stuff to balance out unpopular but necessary nerfs: "Lots of medicine, don't see much sugar"
Diablo 4
10 Games like Diablo to play after Diablo 4
Diablo 4 season 8 boss
Diablo 4 season 8 is revamping the boss ladder system with new mechanics and bosses, including one of the best from Diablo 3
Dragon Age Veilguard warrior class hammer ability against demon
All Dragon Age: The Veilguard classes explained and the best classes to use
Latest in Diablo
Diablo 4 lunar event
Blizzard came up with Diablo 4's most powerful item modifiers at the last minute: "Literally, we had 2 weeks left in the development schedule"
Diablo 4 season 8 boss
Diablo 4 season 8 is revamping the boss ladder system with new mechanics and bosses, including one of the best from Diablo 3
Diablo 4 Goblin event
What is the Diablo 4 Goblin event and how to claim rewards
A demon towers over its foes in some Diablo 2: Resurrected concept art
Diablo 2 creator says players treated the action RPG like a "lifestyle game" because it was fun, and MMOs like World of Warcraft had more to do with starting the live service trend
Diablo 4
Diablo 4 boss would push for patches to have more fun stuff to balance out unpopular but necessary nerfs: "Lots of medicine, don't see much sugar"
Diablo 4 The Butcher
Diablo 4's second expansion won't come out until 2026
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"