Gaming in city Sanctuary. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has talked up the positive impact of Microsoft acquiring the studio.

On the opening night of BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard announced Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred, the first big DLC expansion coming to the action RPG blockbuster in late 2024.

As the Diablo 4 community continues its hunt for a secret level that may or may not actually exist, the game’s production director has acknowledged players’ efforts and has offered a piece of advice that has sparked further speculation. 

Safety is a far-fetched concept in Sanctuary, only momentarily becoming tangible during the Harvest Bounty holiday…cling to it tightly, adventurer.

Diablo 4's developers have offered up a slight tease about the sought-after 'cow level'.

Should you expect to see Master Chief or his iconic MJOLNIR armor appear in Diablo 4 anytime soon? The game's associate game director laughed off such a suggestion at BlizzCon 2023, with Brent Gibson telling me that "fans have speculated about all sorts of collaborations" following the acquisition of Blizzard Entertainment by Microsoft Gaming. 

Some players reckon Priest will be the next class added to Diablo 4, while others are praying it's Paladin.

With Diablo 4 embracing a live service structure for the very first time, it's difficult to know exactly how Blizzard will handle the release of key expansions. Associate game director Brent Gibson sought to provide some clarity at BlizzCon 2023, telling me that "we're not going to pause" the seasonal structure when Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred launches next year. 

Two Diablo 4 developers have dropped a big hint about a previously-denied secret cow level in the game fans have been searching for.

With Activision Blizzard now officially owned by Microsoft, some pretty major franchises have come under Xbox ownership, and though Call of Duty is obviously getting a great deal of attention in those conversations, one cannot downplay the significance of Xbox now owning major Blizzard properties like Warcraft, StarCraft, Overwatch, and Diablo.

One of the core pillars of gaming is sharing — sharing experiences and moments with others to laugh, cry, and build long lasting friendships. What better way to exemplify the spirit of sharing than with charity? Gaming has always had a long history of charity with charity streams, events like GDQ, contests, and more. Blizzard is no exception to this, with millions of charity pets sold to raise many millions of dollars for good causes. To celebrate BlizzCon this year and the spirit of sharing, Blizzard is now hosting a charity auction online for people to bid on numerous pieces of signed artwork and other great additions to any fan’s collection. The proceeds of this year’s virtual auction will go to Direct Relief, which provides healthcare facilities in resource-poor areas with medicines and supplies in 100+ countries around the world. BlizzCon 2023 Charity Auction Page All Charity Auctions from Blizzard The auctions shown below are some of the ones we liked the most, but you can see them all on theBlizzard Charity Auction eBay Page.

IGN had the chance to speak to Diablo 4 production director Tiffany Wat and associate game director Joe Piepiora at BlizzCon 2023, and they dropped a pretty big hint about the highly sought-after but yet-to-be-confirmed Cow Level.

Sanctuary beckons you forth, wanderer. At BlizzCon 2023, associate game director Brent Gibson, production director Tiffany Wat, lead game producer Kalyeigh Calder, game director Joe Shely, and associate director of community Adam Fletcher, gave a tantalizing glimpse into the future of Diablo IV. Toward the end of the Campfire Chat, the team answered questions from the community, collected from players at BlizzCon and afar. To watch the Developer Campfire Chat in full, check out the replay at the end of this article.

Blizzard released a blog post summarizing all the topics discussed during the Blizzcon Diablo 4 Campfire Chat panel! Diablo 4 Blizzcon Campfire Chat Blue Post

Diablo 4's first expansion will arrive sometime late in spaceyear 2024, but it's also a throwback to Diablo 2. That's because Vessel Of Hatred is all about one of the Prime Evils, Mephisto, who auld players would have slain in that most-beloved of hack-and-slashers. It's also going to add a new character class "never before seen in the Diablo universe."

If you have ever thought, “Wow, I’d love to get my face kicked in by The Butcher in a board game or RPG” while playing any of Blizzard’s Diablo games, then you might just be in luck.

On the opening night of BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard announced Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred, the first big DLC expansion coming to the action RPG blockbuster in late 2024.

Following on from a successful start to Season of Blood and the announcement of a new expansion coming to Diablo 4, it looks like the Eternal Conflict is now making its way to the tabletop, as Blizzard and Glass Cannon Unplugged have announced that both a TTRPG and board game of the series will be coming in the future.

Diablo 4's first expansion, titled Vessel of Hatred, launches late 2024.

Microsoft’s head of gaming, Phil Spencer, appeared at BlizzCon on Friday to address fans following the completion of its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Blizzard has officially announced Diablo IV’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred.

The opening ceremony for BlizzCon 2023 has just begun, and we're liveblogging all of the most interesting highlights! Come join us in watching all the highlights and reveals! The opening ceremony has now included, but you can check out our recap below.

Diablo 4 is getting its first-holiday event called Midwinter Blight, starting December 12! Diablo 4's development team also announced that the event will last for three weeks through the holidays. Potential Midwinter Event Teased for Diablo 4

Blizzard has released a recap blog showcasing the Blizzcon Opening Ceremony — check out the announcement trailer for the first expansion of Diablo 4! Blizzcon Opening Ceremony Liveblog

Blizzard announced during BlizzCon that Diablo 4's first expansion is coming late 2024.

On November 3, Diablo general manager Rod Ferguson and production directors Tiffany Wat and Chris Wilson took the stage at BlizzCon’s opening ceremony to recap the plethora of quality-of-life updates released for Diablo IV since Season of Blood began on October 17, and to provide a glimpse at the fiendish adventures coming to Diablo IV.

At BlizzCon 2023 Diablo 4 fans were thrilled to see the announcement of a new Mephisto themed expansion, Vessel of Hatred, coming in late 2024. Rod Ferguson, Tiffany Wat, and Chris Wilson taking the stage to share exciting updates about the beloved game franchise. A brand new character to the Diablo franchise was also teased. In this article, we’ll delve into the key highlights from their presentations and what’s in store for Diablo 4.

BlizzCon 2023 has officially kicked off and its opening ceremony is currently underway. This first presentation is promised to be filled with the "biggest reveals, Diablo announcements, and panel discussions from Warcraft and Overwatch."

Today at Blizzcon, Blizzard teased an upcoming expansion to Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, which will include a brand new, never-seen-before in Diablo class. It's coming in late 2024.

Diablo 4’s first expansion is already on the way — slated for late next year — Blizzard announced during its BlizzCon 2023 opening ceremony.

At Blizzcon 2023, Diablo 4 production director's Tiffany Wat and Chris Wilson announced Diablo 4's first full expansion, which will focus on the prime evil Mephisto, and his influence on the world of Sanctuary. 

Surprise! Diablo 4 only came out a few months ago, but there’s already a brand new Diablo game in the works. Two, in fact! The twist? These will be tabletop adaptations of Blizzard’s action-RPG series, taking Diablo into the realm occupied by Dungeons & Dragons and Catan.

No Blizzcon is complete without amazing cosplays, so take a look at the official Lilith and Inarius at this year's con — CinderysCosplay and BundelaSameer! The Mother and Father of Sanctuary have never been more lifelike, and we can't wait to see these cosplays up close and personal — the details on both are incredible! Blizzcon Full Schedule Revealed Updated Blizzcon Floorplan Diablo is taking over Hall A of the Anaheim Convention Center, so make sure to be on the lookout for these two iconic characters.

The Mother and Father of Sanctuary have had their share of ups and downs in their relationship, to say the least. Their children, though, are beings of incredible power as well — including Linarian, better known as Rathma, the first Necromancer. This enigmatic figure has been shrouded in mystery for so long, what better time to learn more about them than now? Diablo: Legends of the Necromancer — Rathma is the newest Diablo novel bringing the lore of Sanctuary to life, and with author-artist duo Fred Kennedy and Adam Gorham, Rathma is more than just words on a page. Preorder Diablo: Legends of the Necromancer — Rathma on Amazon At the time of publication the price is $25. This graphic novel follows the origins of Rathma, the famed Necromancer that protects the balance between life and death:

Another Expansion Pack is coming to , and this time it will allow players to become property owners and run their own apartment buildings for a little community of Sims, or become a tenant in an already established complex or duplex. The notion of having multi-residential buildings in has been requested many times over the years and opens up a plethora of opportunities for hilarious hi-jinks and dramatic interactions. As a twisted bonus, the expansion gives a whole new way for Sims to die a gross and painful death by mold.

With everyone excited on the eve of Blizzcon, plenty of players have been musing about the future of Diablo 4. One thing about the near future that looks to have been snuck in during Patch 1.2.0, however, pertains to this Holiday Season — and Sanctuary might be feeling festive! Datamining has revealed several items that were added to the game in Patch 1.2.0, all of which point towards a Midwinter Event, possibly titled the Midwinter Blight. These items range from new currencies to loot caches, and even Midwinter themed items: take a look!

Sanctuary beckons you forth, wanderer. On November 4, at 2:30 pm PDT, a glimpse into the future of Diablo IV will be revealed live to all at BlizzCon. Join associate game director Brent Gibson, production director Tiffany Wat, lead game producer Kalyeigh Calder, game director Joe Shely, and associate director of community Adam Fletcher, who will introduce content releasing during Season of Blood and beyond.

Blizzcon wouldn't be complete without a Diablo 4 Campfire Chat — stay a while and listen for updates on Season of Blood and beyond! Blizzcon 2023 Broadcast Schedule Updated Blizzcon Floorplan

After a bit of a shaky start with controversial buffs, debuffs and oodles of patches, players have had ample time since June to explore Sanctuary and all it has to offer and are wanton for more from Diablo 4 DLC.

Looking to see how you squared up to Season of the Malignant? Blizzard has begun sending out emails to players summing up their Season 1 stats! With some global statistics such as level 100 characters, total Unique items found, and the amount of times Varshan met his demise, coupled with your personal stats for Season of the Malignant, Blizzard has once again offered some insight into player stats in Diablo 4. Players can find out their hours spent in Sanctuary, total monsters slain, Malignant Hearts caged, and more — all while reminiscing about the first season of Diablo 4.

Looking to see how you squared up to Season of the Malignant? Blizzard has begun sending out emails to players summing up their Season 1 stats! With some global statistics such as level 100 characters, total Unique items found, and the amount of times Varshan met his demise, coupled with your personal stats for Season of the Malignant, Blizzard has once again offered some insight into player stats in Diablo 4. Players can find out their hours spent in Sanctuary, total monsters slain, Malignant Hearts caged, and more — all while reminiscing about the first season of Diablo 4.

Diablo 4 players might want to hold off on fighting Duriel until tomorrow, October 31, as there's a patch going live that'll make boss fights considerably more rewarding.

Are you a new player who just tried out Diablo 4 during the free trial weekend? Maybe you're a player who knows the ropes, but is looking to learn some new tips and tricks for their next character? Look no further — Twitch Streamer and YouTuber Actually Arcane has you covered with her newest video guide, a Beginner's Guide to Level 1-50 in Season 2! Actually Arcane's Season 2 Leveling Guide on YouTube Actually Arcane on YouTube Actually Arcane on Twitch Between clearing up any confusion you might have about Eternal characters and explaining Blood Harvests and the Season Journey, Actually Arcane has plenty of tips, tricks, and best practices to make your leveling process smooth and painless.

After collaborating with Diablo 4 for Trials of Sanctuary mode, Overwatch 2 is tying up with K-pop band LE SSERAFIM for a new game mode, cosmetics and more on November 1st. While further details are still to come, the music video for the band’s song, “Perfect Night,” showcases what could be upcoming outfits for certain heroes. Check it out below.

Blizzcon is never boring, especially with all the activities you can find! Diablo will have plenty of opportunities, including Photo Ops, the Museum of Sanctuary, Mountain Dew Quest, and more. Take a look at Blizzard's official guide to Diablo 4 at Blizzcon blog post to find out more. Blizzcon Broadcast Schedule Blizzcon Campfire Chat Content Creators at Blizzcon

The fiery basin of the Burning Hells crackles and sparks in yearning—BlizzCon 2023 will soon be upon us! On November 3–4 in-person attendees can meet their favorite content creators, get a Hell’s Ink flash tattoo, receive a signature from members of the development team and more. For those tuning in from home, we’ll be broadcasting a special Diablo IV Campfire Chat live from the BlizzCon show floor and multiple Diablo-partnered content creators will be livestreaming, which can also be viewed in person by attendees.

Blizzard has just released the official BlizzCon schedule, which will include an hour-long Campfire Chat as well as opportunities for fans to watch Diablo 4 Content Creators stream the game live on official Diablo 4 channels. Diablo 4 Patch 1.2.1 Before BlizzCon BlizzCon — Diablo 4 Campfire Chat

Following a free weekend on Xbox, Diablo 4 is free to download and play on PC from today through October 30th. Meanwhile, the Diablo Immortal team has issued a warning to cheaters.

Blizzard has announced that Diablo 4 will receive a free PC trial that is live now through October 30. Players can jump into Sanctuary on Battle.net and play up to Level 20 before needing to purchase the game. It doesn’t look like the trial is available on the Steam version, and is only available through Battle.net.

If you're looking for something to dip into this weekend, there's a free Diablo 4 PC trial which gives players access to all content from the game so far.

Spooky season is upon us, and what better time to curl up with a dark, gory game than this upcoming Halloween weekend? Diablo 4 agrees — which is why Blizzard has revealed a free PC trial until level 20, starting today and extending all the way through October 30th! Diablo 4 Free Tiral in the Battle.net Shop Players can explore the dark beauty of Sanctuary through the time of the free trial, with one caveat — players can only reach level 20 at maximum, much like the Server Slam Weekend before launch.

There's a Diablo 4 free trial running now until Monday, October 30.

Blizzcon is just around the corner, and with the recent announcement of the Blizzcon 2023 floorplan, many players have been wondering: with all that space dedicated to Diablo, what's next for Diablo 4? While we won't know for sure until Blizzcon begins, we can definitely speculate — and the community has certainly been doing that in droves. We're taking a look at some of the more reasonable community predictions as we wait for Blizzcon!

Like clockwork, HEXWORKS released the promised Lords of the Fallen Thursday patch, which weighs slightly less than 1GB on Steam. Version 1.1.243 brings some performance improvements thanks to the developer's collaboration with Epic Games:

Heart-pounding horror returns to your favorite Battle.net universes as another season of eerie in-game events and chilling celebrations begins. Rally your allies and venture forth into the unknown—all manner of tricks, treats, and hellish fiends await you.

Diablo 4 has a lot of quests and content to find and complete while out exploring the world. Some of these quests can prove to be a bit tricky to finish, especially ones that involve a riddle.

Envisioned by acclaimed Webtoons author Jo Seok, the bone chilling Webtoons of Sanctuary collection may unsettle the most hardened of adventurers. Originally published in Korean, these tales provide a glimpse into the fabled horrors the wary inhabitants of Sanctuary might regale to unruly children under a full moon.

It's spooky season, and you know what that means — horror stories! Blizzard and Webtoons author Jo Seok bring the world of Sanctuary to life in a different format, this time in a webtoon anthology. The inhabitants of Sanctuary have a tough life — and constant demonic, ghostly, and undead threats make it worse. With six chapters, this anthology will have the scary feel anyone wants during the lead up to Halloween — check it out!

Season 2 of introduces new bosses to fight across Sanctuary, including a frozen foe named The Beast in the Ice that you'll have to summon by unlocking a Nightmare Dungeon. Only a specific item your character can craft is able to open the path toward this dangerous boss. Only those who have progressed to a high enough level and World Tier will be able to challenge The Beast in Ice for Unique gear rewards.

Are you the kind of person who revels in the darkness? Are the sounds of the ominous and foreboding your soothing white noise to fall asleep to? Are you ever morbidly curious about what the gnashing jowls and gutteral growls of hellbeasts sound like up close? Well, Blizzard has released something special just for you! Now, you can listen to The Haunted Sounds of Sanctuary to your little black heart's content! The Haunted Sounds of Sanctuary is just over an hour of ambient sounds and effects from Diablo 3, with deep rumbling bass, sweeping winds, the squeaking of bats, rattling of chains, spooky strings and brass, and hopefully distant demons.

The Oxen Gods are finally pleased. After four months with no news, a Diablo 4 player has made a major discovery in the hunt for its supposedly non-existent secret cow level.

Secretfinders, rejoice! A major step in the search for Diablo 4's Cow Level has been completed: a player found out how to obtain the three relics that are needed to access the Forlorn Hovel. Most experts agree that this particular cellar could be the location to open a portal into Sanctuary's parallel cowmension! Diablo 4 Cow Level — What We Know So Far More Secret Cow Level Details Unveiled As it appears, players need to kill exactly 666 cows to get one of the three relics needed to craft a key that opens a secret cellar, which is assumed to be the summoning location for a portal into Diablo 4's Secret Cow Level.

A most ominous foreboding descends across Sanctuary, adventurer.

Two unreleased zones for Diablo 4 were spotted in the localization strings of the Steam version. These can be found on SteamDB, a website that utilizes the Steam API to provide a plethora of information. Diablo 4 on SteamDB Diablo 4 Now Available On Steam Only two of the listed zones on SteamDB are not present in the current iteration of Diablo 4, these being Teganze Plains and Torajan Jungles. It is not the first time these zones have shown up in Diablo 4's game files. The zone names were first spotted in the earliest public beta builds of Diablo 4.Some of Diablo 4's localization strings found on SteamDB. The localization strings above, where these zone names were found, are used to show people's location in Sanctuary in the Battle.net friend list among other things. At the moment we can only speculate if these zones were cut early on in the development of Diablo 4 or if they are part of the game's first expansion. But where are the Teganze Plains and Torajan Jungles located and what role do they play in the history of Diablo? Let's take a look at the history of these two regions of Sanctuary!

The legends and tales of Azeroth aren't just in World of Warcraft anymore — they've made their way to Sanctuary! What better way to honor the return of Icecrown Citadel in Wrath of the Lich King Classic than to bring everyone's favorite undead steed to Sanctuary? Blizzard has released a new mount in Tejal's Shop in Diablo 4, and it is none other than the faithful mount of the Lich King himself. Invincible will ride through the wilds of Sanctuary, exploring new lands and bringing the icy winds of Northrend to a whole new world. Invincible Aspect in the Diablo 4 StoreInvincible Aspect costs 2,500 platinum, or $24.99 USD. Sadly without flight capabilities (the people of Sanctuary like to keep their feet on the ground), Invincible Aspect is still the same mount we know and love, complete with icy Lich King styled particles.

With Season of Blood in full swing, players are fighting back against the forces of Lord Zir across Sanctuary — but what if you wanted to help him instead? Blizzard has announced the next best thing: a blood drive which not only benefits your surrounding community, but can earn the Diablo 4 community goodies as well! Blood Harvest Progress Blood Harvest Website As players work together to donate 666 quarts of blood, they can unlock three potential tiers of rewards as well as a final giveaway: Tier 1:

Salt and Sacrifice, the follow-up to Ska Studios' enormously enjoyable 2D Soulslike Salt and Sanctuary, is making the jump to Switch and Steam (following a period of Epic Games Store exclusivity) on 7th November.

Blizzard has submitted a worthy entry for the year's most-unhinged PR stunt, raffling a Diablo 4 gaming PC "infused with real human blood" as part of a community-wide blood drive seeking 666 quarts by next month, which would require standard 1-pint donations from 1,332 players assuming no repeat entries. 

Diablo 4 is currently enjoying a resurface thanks to the release of Season 2, Season of the Blood. Adding more to that, Xbox users now have the opportunity to enjoy Diablo 4 for free for a limited which could be an omen of its arrival on Game Pass thanks to the Activision Blizzard purchase by Microsoft.

The first 10 hours of Diablo 4 are playable for free on Xbox over the next few days.

Fresh out the shadows, the emissaries of the vampire master Lord Zir have sunk their fangs into Sanctuary’s denizens to fuel sinister rituals—called Blood Harvests—during Season of Blood. We have launched a real-life Blood Harvest, offering fans in-game rewards in exchange for donating their blood.

Salt and Sacrifice, the follow-up to Ska Studios’ 2D Souls-like Salt and Sanctuary, is coming to Nintendo Switch and Steam on November 7th. It’s currently available for PS4, PS5 and PC via the Epic Games Store – check out the announcement trailer below.

Activision Blizzard games may not be arriving en masse on Game Pass anytime soon, but there is a 10-hour Diablo 4 trial available for all Xbox players this weekend.

Microsoft now owns Activision Blizzard, and while the publisher’s games showing up on Game Pass is a conversation that probably won’t begin until next year, Xbox players can look forward to a bit of an exclusive deal on Diablo IV this weekend.

Xbox Free Play Days give players a chance to jump in and try some of the biggest games without spending a cent, and one of those games is none other than Diablo 4. With Microsoft having recently purchased the game’s developers, this is perfect timing and an excellent chance for players to dive into Snatucary for some demon-slaying antics.

Season 2 of is the Season of Blood, which features exciting Blood Harvest events that feature new items called Seeker Keys. Blood Harvests are like Helltides but with vampires instead of demons. When you travel to the green-tinted areas that mark a Blood Harvest, your job is to collect Blood Lures and Seeker Keys to get exciting rewards.

The next big collaboration for Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch 2 is coming November 1st, and it’s Korean pop group LE SSERAFIM. A new game mode inspired by the group and in-game items, like Legendary skins, will go live, with more details coming October 30th.

A new shop rotation means new cosmetics to see! Sorcerers certainly aren't living in Mother's shadow, despite what these set names might imply! Not only that, but Sorcerers have a chance to snag the sleepiest kitty in Sanctuary,, in a pawsitively purrfect Accessory pack — take a look at the model and animation below! Pet Backpacks Enter the Diablo 4 Store While we don't know for certain when thess packages will rotate out of stock, what we do know is that the shop refreshes happen daily at approximately 10 am PDT, so stay tuned — we may have new cosmetic options soon! Premium Currency in Diablo 4

Between Helltides, World Bosses, Legion Events, and more, keeping track of everything going on in Diablo 4 can be daunting. After all, that's a lot of moving parts to keep tabs on — especially when Blizzard adds new events for Seasons.

For all completionists out there, after discovering all areas and playing all side missions in Diablo 4, we were all greeted by rewards thanks to our collected Renown across Sanctuary. Thankfully, our new Seasonal characters won’t have to suffer the same fate of walking across the world searching for souls to help, diabolical enemies to fight, chests to open, and dangerous areas to discover. Does Renown carry over to Diablo 4, Season 2: Season of the Blood? Let’s find out.