Yes, Blizzard knows you want a sword-and-board class in Diablo 4 but no, the Spiritborn is not it

It’s a pretty common criticism of fandoms these days that fans only really want the same things. This is true for games, too, of course, which unquestionably includes Diablo 4. When Blizzard’s action RPG launched, it debuted with five classic and classic-inspired classes.

There was never really a chance every class from the series’ history would return or be reborn in some way, but fans knew future expansions would bolster that line-up. One fighting style in particular, however, has been on everyone’s mind because of its absence from the current game. That, of course, being a sword-and-shield wielder.

We’re now closer than ever to the release of Diablo 4’s first expansion: Vessel of Hatred. Even before we got to see the Spiritborn - the class the expansion is bringing to the game - in action, Blizzard said it won’t be a reimagining of any existing Diablo class, and would instead be something entirely new to the series.

That assessment ended up being accurate, even if the Spiritborn looks like it’s taking a few cues from various existing classes and moulding them into something new. It did not, however, change the fact that Diablo 4 still doesn’t have a class for the slow and steady crowd. In Diablo 2, that role was filled by the Paladin, whereas the Crusader carried the mantle in Diablo 3.

Blizzard, of course, knows the Spiritborn is not going to fill that hole, but the developer wanted to attempt a creative challenge for the first post-launch class to come to Diablo 4.

“When we look at what we had before, what we launched before, we wanted to make sure that we were honouring the past,” Diablo GM, Rod Fergusson, told GamesRadar+. “Because we were essentially ten or so years between [Diablo] 3 and 4, we wanted to make sure we had some classic classes.”

“When you look at making a new class you're looking at both [fitting in and making something new]. What are the different play styles you don't quite have yet? Like if there's things that you want to have, that play [in] different ways, you're going to look at, 'Oh, we could probably lean in on this part of the gameplay style and the way people play,’” he added.

Having enough legacy classes in the base game, however, is what ultimately encouraged Blizzard to go after something different with Vessel of Hatred’s addition. Fergusson called the Spiritborn “a recognition that we're going to a new place with Nahantu, and we wanted to have a class that was part of that design.”

The Diablo boss is, however, well aware that, as exciting and fresh as the Spiritborn is, it simply won’t satisfy anyone who expected a Paladin or Crusader-type class. “People, more often than not, are sort of rearward facing,” he explained.

“Like they know to ask for things, things they've already seen. They don't necessarily ask for the new thing they haven't seen because they don't have a frame of reference. And so again it was really more about, like, yeah we definitely heard the feedback, we know people are excited about Paladins or sword-and-board gameplay. But we also knew that, like, again we did a lot of nostalgia in the first five [classes] and so we felt like, at least for the first one, we have to be able to look beyond nostalgia and start breaking new ground on classes and trying new things.”

All that said, Fergusson was keen to point out that tickling players’ nostalgia isn’t entirely off the table for future expansions or classes. “And so it doesn't mean we won't go nostalgia ever again or we won't do our new classes again,” the Diablo boss added.

“But you know, and like I said, we talked about gameplay and so it's about scratching a different type of itch. So it's like, ‘Okay, I get the melee scratch from Barbarian but what can I get with the Spiritborn?’"

Vessel of Hatred, together with Diablo 4’s sixth season, will be in our hands on October 8. Thanks to the class' recent reveal, fans have been theorising that Diablo 4's level cap is getting lower and numbers are being squished.