The new expansion for Diablo IV has finally been announced for April 28, 2026. The title is Lord of Hatred, which makes total sense. As expected, we will be facing Mephisto in a final showdown after he awakened in Sanctuary during the epilogue cinematic of the previous expansion.

The real surprises, however, are not in the title. They delivered something that I honestly wasn't expecting at all. First of all, they decided to unlock the much-awaited Paladin class RIGHT NOW in Season 11 for everyone who pre-purchases the expansion (even the lower tiers!).

This means we will be able to play a few seasons with this class before jumping into the actual expansion story. This is a very welcome change as I was just about to run out of classes to try (I only had Druid and Paladin remaining). This should keep me busy for a few more months before the expansion drops, and then I will be back to trying all classes one by one.

The other surprise is that there is going to be ANOTHER class unlocked, which is still unannounced. However, I can already tell you it is very likely to be the Amazon. Why? Because the territory where this new expansion takes place is Skovos, the set of islands where the Amazons are located.

Originally these islands were supposed to be released with Diablo 3, but they were cut as they didn't fit in the theme. I guess we'll finally get to see what they were talking about.

I wonder what skillset they will give them though... well, now it is time to go back to farm on my Paladin I guess. Good hunting!