Diablo 4 Redefines What It Means To Be A Warlock In The Most Diablo Way Possible

Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion being set in Skovos led many players (myself included) to believe that the next class coming to the game would be the Amazons. After all, Skovos is their homeland, and what pairs better with a returning, fan-favorite class--the Paladin--than another returning, fan-favorite class? Blizzard, however, had another class in mind--and not only does it make complete sense in the context of the expansion, it's fun as hell, too.

With Lord of Hatred, Blizzard is introducing the Warlock class to Diablo 4. And while this class might not have the same narrative ties to Skovos as the Amazons, the Diablo team explained it was more focused on the Warlock's thematic relevance. The expansion introduces two classes that represent the union between heaven and hell, with the Paladins (playable now if you preorder Lord of Hatred) serving as a manifestation of goodness, while Warlocks represent the darker side of mankind.

"Skovos is the place where humans were created, and humans were created by an angel and a demon. There's a light and dark aspect of it," narrative designer Matt Burns explained. "So with the Paladin and the Warlock, they're thematically occupying that duality. That was really the connection we were making rather than there being some kind of specific backstory where the Warlock needs to find something on Skovos, or came from Skovos."