Diablo 4 — How to Play
What it is
Diablo IV (2023) returns the series to a dark, shared open world rather than a menu of instanced acts. It is a live-service game with a campaign, world bosses, Nightmare Dungeons, quarterly seasons and two expansions — Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred.
Getting the game
- Buy it on Battle.net or Steam, play it through Xbox Game Pass, or get it on PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
- The base game stands on its own; Vessel of Hatred (2024) and Lord of Hatred (2026) are separate expansions that each add regions and classes.
Choosing a class
Eight classes today — five at launch and three from the expansions:
- Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue and Sorcerer — the launch roster.
- Spiritborn — added by Vessel of Hatred.
- Paladin and Warlock — added by Lord of Hatred.
Starting out
- Create a character as Seasonal or Eternal — Seasonal starts fresh on the current season with its own mechanic and Battle Pass; Eternal keeps every character you make.
- Play the campaign, or skip it to dive straight into seasonal content if you have played before.
- Raise the difficulty as your power grows, unlock the endgame Paragon boards, and take on world bosses and Nightmare Dungeons.