Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred Press Q/A

During the Press event for Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred, Press got to ask Developers, game Directors and more from the Diablo staff questions about the lastest expansion. We have complied the questions and answers from this session below: 

To answer questions, we had access to the following people :

– Zaven Harountian, Associate Game Director

– Colin Finer, Associate Director for Game Design

– Barry Morales,  Associate Production Director

The below questions come from many press outlets who attended the event; some questions have been slightly edited for clarity and to remove spoilers 

Question 1:

Did the team take into account any of the feedback from Vessel of Hatred’s story reception when planning on how to release Lord of Hatred?

Zaven Haroutunian (Associate Game Director):

Yea great question. The overall direction of the story didn’t fundamentally change. We’ve been building towards a conflict centered on Angels & Demons, the Horadrim vs Prime Evils, Lilith’s Return, and the Wanderer’s role in the story.

Question 2:

Adding new classes and new story content is a great way to bring back players to return to the game. But for players who are new to the game, what is the one thing that the team is excited about that this new expansion is doing which would make it easier/tempting for new players to join in.

Colin Finer (Associate Director, Game Design):

We’re super excited for new players to try out War Plans. War Plans provides a clearcut entry to the endgame for everyone, from completely new players to veteran players that have been with us the whole time. It **always** gives you an answer to “what should I be doing?” in a fun, rewarding way. It’s easier than ever to hop in for any amount of time and progress your character.

Question 3:

LOH lets us visit Skovos, where we get to explore the Amazon homeland. Does the team feel like they missed an opportunity not to release an Amazon class?

Zaven Haroutunian (Associate Game Director):

Its been exciting to visit Skovos for the first time. The Paladin as everyone knows is MOST requested class, and alongside with Warlock, it helps support the overall design vision of this expansion being focused on the Eternal Conflict that is so core to the series.

But we don’t think we’ve missed an opportunity, because that would imply we have closed the door on something. Just because we’ve been to a region, doesn’t mean we can’t or won’t make classes that come from there. That is as true of Skovos as it is of any other region in the game.

Question 4:

Fishing is a surprisingly fun addition in Lord of Hatred. What inspired it, and can players expect more side activities like this in Skovos or Diablo IV in general?

Barry Morales (Associate Production Director):

I am glad you like it! Fishing is an activity that the development team has been pretty passionate about for a while now. While prototyping small side activities to accomplish in Skovos, fishing quickly rose to the top as something that is a change of pace from the usual combat heavy activities currently in the game. It also allows you a moment to take in the beautiful landscapes on the island that are unlike any environment Diablo has seen before. You may even fish up some items that seem ordinary but may be useful for…the future. Additionally, Lava fishing is pretty cool.

Question 5:

The music in general seems much more grand in scale and for lack of a better term, epic. What was the inspiration behind the incredible soundtrack of LoH?

David Gredell (Q/A Moderator):

I told our Senior Composer, Ted Reedy how much you all were loving the music of LoH. Ted is not part of the AMA but I asked him on the side last night and he got back with an answer so I will toss it here!

Ted Reedy (Senior Composer):

Glad to hear the soundtrack is resonating. As far as the scale of the score generally, this kind of came from where we are now in the story of Diablo IV. Even though the base game itself was sizable, it always felt a little more open-ended and more like the “beginning” of something, so going too big— too early or too often, could potentially feel overly dramatic. In LoH with the story as focused and high-stakes as ever, it felt more appropriate to evolve the scale emotionally. We were inspired by the work of the narrative and art teams throughout the process… with Skovos being home to the birthplace of humanity, we felt the idea of the Firstborns would be a strong backbone to build from thematically. Then with Skovos being ruled by the two Queens, the Oracle and Amazon, we wondered if it could be impactful to have their presence felt in the score through 2 unique vocalists. Combining this sort of human texture alongside orchestra, choir and a few select soloists inspired by the world (aulos, lyre, electric violin) helped establish a special soundscape and identity for Skovos while imparting an appropriate sense of scale and depth emotionally for the story.

Question 6:

This expansion is the first time in Diablo that two classes were part of the design, much less shadow-dropping one four months in advance. What went into that process? Was it hard to keep Paladin a secret when players have been pretty aggressive in their requests for the class?

Zaven Haroutunian (Associate Game Director):

Actually, this isn’t the first time Diablo has shipped two classis in an Expansion! Lord of Destruction did this before, but it is the first time we have approached it this way, with one arriving ahead of the expansion as a shadowdrop, and the other woven into the launch.

From the start, everything in Lord of Hatred was built around the central tension of Angels and Demons, with humanity caught in between. And we see classes as a key part of expressing this. Paladin in particular was something the team approached with a lot of reverence. Its such an iconic part of Diablo’s history, and we wanted to strike the right balance between honoring what players love and evolving it for Lord of Hatred

Question 7:

Similarly, the Warlock feels pretty close to a hybrid class — like if the Sorc and Necro had a baby and that baby grew up on a diet of Black Sabbath’s discography. They’re really fun to play so far! What drove the decision to add this new-to-the franchise class to the lineup instead of another old reliable like Amazons?

Zaven Haroutunian (Associate Game Director):

Angels and Demons! Without the Paladin, there is no Warlock. These two classes are such a great representations of the Diablo narrative and lore. WIth Paladin being a returning class, we wanted to make sure players who were looking for something new had something for them, something to look forward to as well.

Question 8:

The Horadric Cube is such a nice addition to the game, giving players more routes to gaining power. Can an individual item be re-rolled any number of times, or can constantly trying to re-roll the same item “brick” it, or make it unmodifiable?

Colin Finer (Associate Director, Game Design):

That depends on what you’re trying to do!

For most recipes, the cube will perform them as many times as you want… as long as you have the materials. a big goal for the cube was to not only add a ton of depth to crafting – but to also create an even more rewarding experience by injecting tons of Cube Stuff ™ into the loot you get. There’s a ton of bits and bobs you can find that are needed for different recipes. You can remove affixes, add affixes, TUNE the outcomes with Tuning Prisms… however, there are a few higher risk recipes, like Transfiguration, which have incredible outcomes, but also terrible ones.

have a mediocre item with great potential? transfigure it! you might even find that you’re able to transfigure it multiple times… have a close to perfect item? slap an Entropic Tuning prism into the Transfigure recipe to minimize the risk, but also the reward.

Question 9:

With some of the most powerful runes gone, it feels difficult to write really meaningful runewords. Is this smaller support role exactly where you wanted runes to be, or are you planning further updates to the system?’

Colin Finer (Associate Director, Game Design):

great question,

in general we found that there were extreme outliers, both too weak and way too powerful that were dominating the system. we felt like it was shrinking build diversity too much. additionally, with the Cube, we’ve also made it easier than ever to hunt for the runes you’re looking for. so we’re attacking this problem from both sides – editing down the list with build variety in mind, and giving you more options to get the runes you want. Longterm, runes are a place we want to evolve, especially with the Cube now in the mix.

Question 10:

There’s been a lot of iterating on various systems throughout Diablo 4’s lifecycle. Do you feel like Lord of Hatred is Diablo 4 at its best?

Zaven Haroutunian (Associate Game Director):

Yes, absolutley! We think Lord of Hatred is the best Diablo IV has ever been, we think of it as the ultimate expression of the game.

Colin Finer (Associate Director, Game Design):

100%. so many of the features are a love letter to Diablo and its players – it’s been a huge labor of love from the team. we’ve been playing the game constantly internally, it’s been so easy to lose yourself in the flow state of grinding war plans… using MAP OVERLAY to effectivently navigate every level… using the loot filter to make ultra endgame items pop.

Question 11:

Regarding the design philosophy of the Warlock, did the team intentionally aim to differentiate it from or align it with the version in Diablo II: Resurrected?

Additionally, does the team have a recommended beginner build that would be suitable for players who are completely new to the class?

Zaven Haroutunian (Associate Game Director):

Both Warlocks share a lot of high level creative, they are all drawing from the same core Diablo lore and inspiration. We did some work to coordinate things like iconography and terminology, but otherwise each Warlock was free to be the best Warlock for the game it was in. We didn’t specifically try to avoid to match anything, we trusted the team to make the best call for their respective game.

Colin Finer (Associate Director, Game Design):

and, i can chime in on the recommended beginner build – the Demonology skills on the warlock, paired with Ae’grom, the Legion soul shard demon lets you summon unending legions of demons on your enemies. it’s like a freeding frenzy.

the core of this build revolves around:

Ae’Grom’s special ability which vomits out a bunch of lesser demons, which sets you up for Command Fallen and Bombardment to overwhelm your enemies with even MORE DEMONS. throw in the ultimate Fiend of Abaddon and nothing will stand in your way.

Question 12:

With this new region extending beyond the shores, have the previously unexplored areas on the original main map now been largely developed?

Zaven Haroutunian (Associate Game Director):

Yea, great question. There are no significant changes to the previous regions, but the campaign does start and end in the original regions, and there are things to do in the original regions for Lord of Hatred. Fishing is a really good example of this.

Question 13:

The end of LoH’s campaign has a finality that isn’t found in D4’s or VoH’s; is it intended to be the conclusion of the “Hatred” arc? Are future expansions going to have a different focus/threat?

Barry Morales (Associate Production Director):

Finality within Diablo is an often highly debated term. We have fought the different enemies within the Diablo franchise multiple times, including the prime evils. However, we are looking at this as the end of the age of hatred and the players journey with Mephisto. From fighting his herald in wolf form in Vessel of Hatred, to now being able to confront him directly in Lord of Hatred, we are happy on how it turned out. As for the future, we are focused on Lord of Hatred right now, with the 30th Anniversary and Blizzcon around the corner.

Question 14:

This seems like it’s very story heavy compared to how I remember about Vanilla (base game). Was there a goal here to focus in on telling us more about Lorath?

Barry Morales (Associate Production Director):

You’re right! Diablo IV has always been connected to previous games through the Horadric order, but we haven’t really had the opportunity to deliver a strong, complete arc for one of our central characters. With Lord of Hatred, we wanted to prioritize that with Lorath. He’s been with the player since the very beginning of Diablo IV, serving as both a guide and a mentor – especially in his relationship with Neyrelle and carrying the weight of his past, including his history with the Amazon Queen Adreona, which comes into focus in this expansion. Players that want to go even deeper, check out The Lost Horadrim!