Warlock Now Live in Diablo II: Resurrected — Diablo IV “Lord of Hatred” Expansion Set for April 28
Blizzard delivered some major news at their Diablo 30th Anniversary celebration: the Warlock is now live in Diablo II: Resurrected, while Diablo IV prepares for the warlock invasion in its next expansion Lord of Hatred, launching April 28.
The anniversary spotlight cinematic introduced a Vizjerei demonologist wielding Hell’s power for vengeance — and since the February 11 launch, players have already begun testing builds, pushing early Ladder progress, and theorycrafting the class’s endgame potential.
Diablo II: Resurrected – Reign of the Warlock (Live February 11)
The Reign of the Warlock DLC launched February 11 for Diablo II: Resurrected on Battle.net and for the first time ever d2r is available on Steam, introducing the game’s 8th playable class.
Warlock Class Overview
Drawing heavily from Vizjerei lore — with strong Horazon inspiration — the Warlock blends demonic pacts, eldritch weapon imbuements, and chaos fire magic into a high-risk, high-reward toolkit.
Three Skill Paths
Demon Path
- Demon minions and aura-bound summons
- Bind Demon enables powerful aura effects
- Consume trades resources for survivability and scaling buffs
Eldritch Path
- Melee-focused magic damage
- Echoing Strike multi-hit bursts
- Weapon imbuement scaling
Chaos Path
- Fire-based DoTs and projectile spells
- Strong AoE leveling potential
- Abyss and Flame synergy builds emerging early
The class includes:
- 30 skills
- Up to 110 total skill points
- Grimoires as a new off-hand item type
- Levitating 2H weapon + shield/off-hand combinations
New Gear & Systems
The DLC also introduces substantial itemization and endgame updates:
- 8+ new Unique items
- Ars Al’Diabolos set
- Horazon’s Dominion set
- New runewords
- Grimoires with staffmod-style bonuses
Endgame Additions
- Dynamic Terror Zones (player-vote activated)
- Colossal Ancients — new multi-phase Uber-style encounters
Quality of Life Improvements
- Custom Loot Filter
- Stackable stash tabs for gems and runes
- Account-wide Chronicle (Holy Grail tracker)
- Era toggle (Lord of Destruction vs modern balance)
- Cross-game rewards for Diablo IV and World of Warcraft
Patch 3.1.1 deployed alongside launch to address early bugs and balance tuning.
Hardcore Level 99 Race Begins February 20
The Hardcore Level 99 Race kicks off February 20 at 5 PM PT. Blizzard has announced that the top 300 Warlocks will be commemorated at its Irvine campus.
With Chaos builds showing strong early leveling speed and Demon builds demonstrating surprising survivability, the early ladder meta is already taking shape.
Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred – April 28 Launch
Blizzard also confirmed that Lord of Hatred, the next expansion for Diablo IV, launches April 28.
Pre-purchase bundles are now available, including a Paladin + Warlock package.
A full gameplay deep dive is scheduled for March 5 at 11 AM PT, where Blizzard will outline:
- Warlock gameplay details in D4
- Season 12 updates
- Major system overhauls
Expansion Highlights
New Zone
Skovos Isles featuring:
- Temis city hub
- Firstborn and Askari lore
New Endgame Systems
- War Plans — customizable activity playlists (Pit, Helltides, rotating modifiers)
- Echoing Hatred — infinite wave survival mode
Major System Changes
- Skill Tree rework (40+ skills, 80 nodes)
- Talisman progression system
- Horadric Cube crafting functionality
- Loot Filter implementation
- Shared cosmetics with D2R
Final Take
Two days in, the Warlock already feels like one of the most mechanically ambitious additions to D2R since launch. Whether Demon aura stacking or Chaos fire builds end up defining the Ladder remains to be seen — but the early signs are strong.
With the Hardcore race approaching and D4’s expansion looming in April, February is shaping up to be a pivotal month for Diablo fans.