LORD OF HATRED — LAUNCHED APRIL 28, 2026

Lord of Hatred
Expansion Guide

The Lord of Hatred expansion is Diablo IV's second major expansion, launching April 28, 2026 alongside Season 13: Season of Reckoning. It is permanent content — not a seasonal mechanic. Everything introduced here carries forward through every future season.

What the Expansion Adds

Lord of Hatred fundamentally changes the game. It introduces a new continent, two new classes, an entirely new endgame hub, and three systems that reshape progression from the moment you complete the campaign. Here is everything that comes with it.

Skovos Isles

A Mediterranean-inspired island chain added to the Diablo IV world map, featuring coastal cliffs, jungle ruins, underground temple networks, and open ocean zones. New monster families unique to the region include the Skovosi Corsairs, Serpent Cultists, and the Tide Wraiths that appear during Helltide events on the islands. The expansion campaign takes place entirely across the Skovos Isles and concludes at the city of Temis. The region also introduces a fishing system — fish are used as Horadric Cube material components and for Talisman Charm crafting at specific vendors in Temis.

Temis — New Endgame Hub

Temis is the coastal endgame city that replaces Kyovashad as the primary hub after completing the LoH campaign. It houses the three core expansion stations in a single location: the Horadric Cube crafting station operated by the Horadrim artificers, the War Plans Command Table for building your endgame activity playlists, and the Talisman vendors where Seals and high-tier Charms can be acquired and upgraded. Lorath Nahr and key NPCs from the base game relocate to Temis after the expansion campaign, making it the social and functional centre of all endgame activity from Season 13 onwards.

Paladin — New Class

A tank-oriented holy warrior built around the Oath system — a class-exclusive mechanic that lets you pledge one of three Oaths (Zealot, Crusader, or Guardian) to empower a specific playstyle. Zealot Oath powers aura-based builds that stack passive damage buffs for the entire party. Crusader Oath focuses on Blessed Shield and burst damage windows. Guardian Oath unlocks the tankiest defensive builds in the game. The Auradin — a Zeal Aura stacking build — is the top solo and group pick in Season 14 and the strongest Hardcore class by a significant margin. Gear requirements are forgiving and the class is recommended for beginners and returning players alike.

Warlock — New Class

A dual-resource class that manages Wrath for offensive abilities and Dominance for control and defensive empowerment simultaneously. The Pact system lets you empower specific abilities by spending stored Dominance, creating windows of heightened damage or crowd control that reward precise resource management. Mechanically it is the most demanding class in the game. After opening the Season 14 PTR at the bottom of the rankings, Warlock received the largest buff pass of the launch patch and now sits comfortably in A-tier — Shadow Claws and the demon kit perform well across both boss content and speed farming. Still not recommended as a season-start character for new players; learn the Wrath and Dominance interaction in softcore before committing to it in Hardcore or SSF.

New Systems at a Glance

Three interconnected systems form the backbone of endgame progression in Lord of Hatred. All three are permanent expansion features that unlock after completing the LoH campaign and carry through every future season.

Horadric Cube

The central crafting hub for all endgame gear modification, replacing the Occultist for mid-to-late endgame players. Core functions include rerolling, adding, and removing affixes using Primordial Dust — an account-bound material that drops from elites at level 20 and scales through Torment tiers. Tuning Prisms let you bias results toward offensive, defensive, or utility stat categories, reducing the randomness that made the old enchanting system frustrating. Transfiguration is the final and irreversible upgrade step — it permanently locks an item in exchange for a uniquely powerful modification unavailable through any other means. Common and Magic items now have real crafting value as clean base items. As of the Season 14 launch patch, Mythic Uniques can be Enchanted, Tempered and Transfigured, with added affixes rolling at maximum. Full Horadric Cube guide → Enchanting & Affixes →

Talisman System

A dedicated inventory tab entirely separate from your gear slots, consisting of one central Seal and up to six Charm slots. Seals determine how many Charm slots are available and what Charm types can be equipped — choosing the right Seal is the foundational decision for your Talisman setup. Charms provide stats, set bonuses, and in the case of Unique Charms, the special effects of Unique items without occupying a gear slot. Set bonuses return to Diablo IV through the Talisman — you no longer need matching armor pieces. Any Unique item can be converted into a Unique Charm via the Horadric Cube, freeing its gear slot for a better-rolling Legendary. This is the system's most impactful feature for advanced builds at endgame. Full Talisman guide →

War Plans

A Command Table at Temis where you build a custom playlist of up to five endgame activities — Nightmare Dungeons, Helltide, Kurast Undercity, Lair Bosses, Infernal Hordes, and The Pit — and complete them in sequence without interruption. Each activity has its own Skill Tree with seven levels of investment that permanently change how that content plays: adding enemy density, bonus loot drops, guaranteed material types, and rare high-value events. Complete all five activities in a plan and open the War Chest for consolidated rewards. Running activities outside an active War Plan forfeits the Skill Tree bonuses and War Chest consolidation — never break the chain. Full War Plans guide →

Getting Started with Lord of Hatred

Campaign First

All three major systems — Horadric Cube, Talisman, and War Plans — unlock only after completing the Lord of Hatred campaign. This is non-optional. The campaign takes place in the Skovos Isles region and concludes at Temis. Plan for roughly 6–10 hours on first completion depending on difficulty setting. Do not attempt to skip directly to endgame content on a new seasonal character — complete the campaign to unlock the systems before investing in your build.

Which Class to Play

If you are new to Season 14 or returning after a break, Paladin is the strongest recommendation. It has the highest survivability, the most forgiving build requirements, and its Auradin build functions effectively without Mythic Uniques early on. Warlock is one of the most rewarding classes after its launch-patch buffs but is also the most mechanically demanding — play it in softcore first. Sorcerer remains a reliable option for players wanting a familiar, lower-stress experience with strong clear speed through Ice Shards or Crackling Energy builds.

Endgame Priority

Once the campaign is complete, unlock War Plans at the Command Table in Temis and equip your first Seal from the Talisman vendor to open your Charm slots. The Horadric Cube becomes your primary gear upgrade tool — start farming Primordial Dust immediately from elite kills. The Occultist is effectively obsolete for mid-to-late endgame once the Cube is available. Set your first War Plan before running any endgame content — every activity completed outside a War Plan loses its bonus rewards and Skill Tree progress.

D4TIERLIST.COM — LORD OF HATRED — SEASON 14: SEASON OF DEATH AWAKENING

Lord of HatredExpansion Guide