Diablo IV made a devil of a first impression, and then spent the next three years arguing with its own players.
Now Blizzard is rolling out a major expansion,Lord of Hatred, and the vibe isn’t “new adventure!” so much as “okay, did you finally finish the game?” A French gaming outlet, JVCom, put it bluntly on X, pointing readers to a review framed like a verdict on whether this is a catch-up patch disguised as an expansion. (Source: @JVCom, https://x.com/JVCom/status/2046621230568997061)
Remember: Diablo IV didn’t struggle to sell. Activision Blizzard bragged during its 2023 earnings that the game pulled in more than$666 millionin its first five days. The problem was never hype. The problem was keeping people around once the campaign glow wore off and the endgame treadmill started squeaking.
An expansion that’s really an endgame intervention
Expansions live or die on one brutally simple question: what do you actuallydonow?
Lord of Hatredis being positioned as an answer to Diablo IV’s most persistent complaint since launch: endgame repetition. Same activities, same rhythms, same “log in, do chores, log out” loop, just with bigger numbers floating off monsters’ heads.
Blizzard doesn’t just need more content. It needs betterstructure: clearer goals, more variety that isn’t cosmetic, and a progression path that feels like you’re making choices, not following the most efficient spreadsheet route because everything else is a waste of time.
That’s why the JVCom framing matters. A new zone and some lore won’t cut it. The hardcore crowd wants the bones strengthened: more readable power growth, more compelling endgame targets, and rewards that feel earned instead of stingy or random.
And yeah, the ghosts of Diablo past are in the room. Diablo II is still the emotional gold standard for loot and progression depth. Diablo III, after years of reworks, ended up with an endgame that was clean and legible. Diablo IV has been trying to split the difference while also doing the “open world” thing, and that choice has blurred the lines of what the game even wants you to be doing at max level.
Three years of patches, one long argument with the player base
If you’re asking “is it finally good?” you’re really asking “did Blizzard learn anything since 2023?”
Because Diablo IV’s post-launch story has been a roller coaster of smart fixes, uneven seasons, and the kind of balance changes that make players feel like the studio is confiscating their toys. The most infamous moment: summer 2023, when a major patch landed like a blanket nerf and the backlash was immediate and ugly, followed by walk-backs and adjustments.
That episode didn’t just tweak damage numbers. It damaged trust. Balance in an ARPG isn’t academic; it’s personal. You’re messing with people’s time, their builds, their sense of power.
To Blizzard’s credit, the game has improved in comfort and clarity in places, and seasons have added variety. But the core gripes never fully went away: loot management that can feel like paperwork, endgame loops that blur together, and that missing Diablo “flow” where the grind feels addictive instead of obligatory.
And then there’s the seasonal model itself, regular resets that some players love and others bounce off hard. Blizzard needs to add depth without making everything feel disposable every few months.
Loot, balance, progression: the holy trinity that decides whether you stick around
You can ship a mountain of new content and still lose players if the loot feels bad.
ARPG longevity comes down to three things:balance,loot, andprogression. Not in a marketing-deck way, in a “do I feel rewarded for my time?” way.
Loot has been a sore spot since launch. A lot of players complained Diablo IV dropped too much junk, turning the game into a constant salvage-and-sort routine with too few “oh hell yes” moments. Fixing that usually means choosing between two risky paths: make drops more generous (and risk trivializing the chase), or make loot more targetable and readable (harder design work, but healthier long-term).
Balance is its own minefield. You’ve got class/build diversity, whether multiple playstyles feel viable, and you’ve got pacing, whether leveling and gearing hit that sweet spot. Too slow and endgame feels like punishment. Too fast and players burn through the meal and complain they’re hungry again.
Progression is also psychological. Players need to understand why they’re getting stronger, or why they’re stuck. If the systems feel opaque, the game feels unfair. If everything is linear, it feels like you’re on rails. IfLord of Hatredmakes these loops clearer and more satisfying, it can change the whole conversation around Diablo IV.
Path of Exile is the rival; Diablo II is the judge
Diablo IV doesn’t get graded in a vacuum.
Path of Exilehas spent years setting expectations for deep endgame systems and a robust item economy. The comparison isn’t always fair, PoE and Diablo aim for different flavors of complexity, but players absolutely compare them anyway, especially the ones who bounce between seasons and leagues across games.
Then there’s the internal comparison Blizzard can’t escape. Diablo II is still the “they don’t make ’em like that anymore” reference point: iconic items, meaningful danger, a progression curve that felt sharp. Diablo III eventually nailed a clean, repeatable endgame structure (even if it got a little samey). Diablo IV tried to blend those legacies with an open-world approach, and the result has sometimes felt… diluted.
An expansion likeLord of Hatredhas to clarify what Diablo IV wants to be when it grows up: Which endgame is it building? Who is it for? The grinders? The seasonal dabblers? The campaign tourists who might come back once a year?
Monetization and trust: Blizzard’s credibility check
There’s another factor hanging over all of this: money.
Since 2023, Diablo IV has asked players to pay up front, then nudged them toward season passes and a cosmetic shop. That model is common. It also becomes radioactive the second players feel like “real” content is being carved up and sold back to them.
A paid expansion likeLord of Hatredputs the question front and center: does this feel like a meaty addition, or a toll booth you pay to get the complete experience you thought you bought in 2023?
Trust is the whole ballgame. Players tolerate shops when the rest of the game feels generous. But when progression feels grindy or systems feel inconvenient, every annoyance gets interpreted as a monetization strategy.
So yeah, JVCom’s blunt framing lands: is this expansion adding to Diablo IV, or repairing it? Either way, the real answer won’t come from launch-week hype. It’ll come a few weeks later, when players either keep experimenting with builds and chasing endgame goals… or drift back to whatever else is feeding them better.
