There are a few franchises in gaming as iconic as Diablo, and there are even fewer franchises that get me excited like Diablo does. Blizzard Entertainment has been dragging us through the endless forces of Hell in a battle of survival, and it’s finally hit its 30th anniversary. As part of Diablo’s 30th Anniversary celebrations and the upcoming Bloodied Jewel (Patch 5.0), Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled the tenth playable class, the Warlock.

You might be sitting there thinking what the Warlock is going to bring to the game, and it brings a fresh take on the summoner archetype, commanding demons, manipulating portals and harnessing the raw energies of Hell itself. Sounds cool, right?.

Alongside the new class, you also get a new dedicated introduction questline that dives headfirst into the Warlock’s origins and role within Sanctuary. As a long-time Diablo fan, I was eager to step back into Diablo Immortal and see what all the hype about the new class is and knowing Blizzard, they’re going to deliver.

I was a big fan of the origin quest as it did a fantastic job of introducing me to the Warlock instead of throwing you headfirst into a massive skill list and hoping you can figure it out. The developers did a fantastic job introducing the class mechanics through gameplay.

The storyline puts you into the role of a novice warlock searching a ruined Vizjerei mage tower for some forbidden knowledge, and it still has that dark, mysterious and focused on the dangers of seeking power at any cost that we all love about Diablo’s storytelling. By the end of the quest, I will be very surprised if you don’t understand the Warlock hands down and why it’s unique.

To me, the standout feature is easily Soulgorger. Besides sounding badass, it becomes a centrepiece of the entire class, unlike most of the summons in Diablo Immortal that simply appear, attack and then vanish. The Soulgorger feels like a genuine partner in battles. It can leap into combat, breathe fire, stun enemies and will even give its own health to keep you alive.

One of the mechanics I got behind was the “Devour” mechanic, which, when your summoned demons die, the Soulgorger will consume them and gain new abilities, which adds some fun to the mix. The Warlock has a huge range of demonic summons, from exploding Fallen Lunatics and swarming Hellspawn down to Bloodlors and some other terrifying creatures.

Which comes with its own fun with the new “Lunatic Rush”, which lets you summon some crazed demon that sprints directly into enemies before exploding, which made for some entertainment. Hellswam was some good fun as well, watching infected enemies spread plague across the battlefield.

Visually, the Warlock class is the most impressive I think I’ve seen to date in Diablo Immortal, from the visuals of the character down to the moves like the Infernal Eruption, which wills the battlefield with geysers of hellfire, devouring darkness, which will tear open reality and tyrant grapes, which summons an enormous demonic hand from another realm to crush enemies.

Everything felt really over the top, but all in the right way. Burning Ascent was probably my personal favourite ability. Summoning a Hellflyer and literally hitching a ride across the battlefield, which it scorches enemies below, never gets old. Brimstone Gateway deserves a special mention for being able to create portals and adding some unique movement to the game.

One thing that separates Warlock from many other Diablo Immortal classes is its willingness to sacrifice health in exchange for power. Abilities like Spiteful Sacrifice, Siphon Life, Blood Offering and Demonic Part all revolve around trading life for stronger effects. I didn’t really know how much I would like this mechanic, but after spending some time with it quickly became a favourite aspect in the game.

It gave the Warlock that feeling of it constantly sitting between a dangerous line between something incredible and self-destruction. It created a gameplay loop that was both engaging and rewarding.

There were a couple of drawbacks that I could find for newer players: the number of summons, effects and interactions might feel overwhelming as there is always a lot happening at all times. I found a couple of times that the screen became overcluttered with all the stuff going on, which was both badass and overwhelming.

Blizzard is pulling out the guns for the 5.0 update, with a brand new quest line, a new area to explore, new Helliquary bosses, a powerful legendary gem and some progression changes. You will now be able to explore Lut Gholein, which, if you have played Diablo before, you would remember from Diablo II.

Known as the “Jewel of the Desert”, the city has fallen under the control of Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish, and now is overrun by demons, which sounds like it’s time for a good time.

You will also gain access to a new subzone called the Common Ward. Which again is full of demons patrolling the streets, docks, gutters and abandoned taverns. You will also find some new enemies, bounties and wanted monsters. When 5.0 launches, only part of the city will be available, but it’s the beginning of what’s happening in Lut Gholein.

If you are a Diablo fan, you will know when there is a major update that means there is also a new questline, which has been called “The Bloodied Jewel” The quest line takes you directly into the heart of Lut Gholein’s demonic invasion, with a couple of faces from Diablo II you will recognise who will help you cause chaos and kill some demons.

The content does not stop with the questline; there are also new Helliquary Bosses called “The Pitbound” deep beneath the sands of the Aranoch Desert, where the ancient demons called “The Pitbound” got uncovered, trying to figure out who uncovered them. The demons were originally summoned by Vizjerei and have remained hidden for centuries since. The bosses’ names are Gulakht, Shackled Maw, and Yradus.

For the gem hunters out there, there has been an addition to the legendary gems with this one being called “Hellbound Desire”. The gem increases both your damage and movement speed by channelling the power of a demonic soul shard. When you attack enemies, you embed Soul Shard Fragments into them, causing them to take increased damage.

The fragments can be stacked with repeated attacks, making the enemies very vulnerable. The fragments also reduce the duration of beneficial effects that enemies receive, making it easier to pressure opponents and bosses alike.

Blizzard is also refreshing the legendary essence pool by removing low-usage essences from active drops, which will start from June 17th, making it easier to target useful drops. Existing gear with removed essences will become legacy equipment, and you will receive 25 Loyalty Bonus Points for each removed essence collected.

Several set items, Windloft Perfection, Skybreaker’s Bolt, Prayer for Endwinter and Wildfire Imperative will also be removed from the active drop pool, with those existing pieces becoming legacy equipment.

After spending some time with both the Warlock and the origin quest, I genuinely believe Blizzard has delivered one of Diablo Immortal’s most unique classes to date. The quest does an excellent job of introducing players to the class fantasy, while the Warlock itself successfully captures what it should feel like to wield weird, forbidden demonic powers.

Written by: Hayden Nelson