Diablo 4’s Lord of Hatred expansion is bringing a pretty bold shake up to how characters grow, with Blizzard confirming that passive skills are being removed from the main class skill trees and power is being shifted into active abilities, items, and the Paragon system. Lord of Hatred is planned as the game’s next major expansion after Vessel of Hatred, which launched in October 2024, and is currently slated to arrive in late April 2026. Instead of filling trees with flat damage boosts and small defensive perks, the new system focuses on making each active skill more customizable, adding new branches and modifiers that change how abilities behave in practice.
Blizzard’s aim is to cut down on “filler” nodes and encourage builds that lean more on gear synergies, Legendary Aspects, Paragon boards, and unique effects, rather than just stacking rows of minor percentage increases. For players, that will likely mean reworking existing builds, since many current setups rely heavily on layers of passive bonuses, but it also opens the door to more expressive skill combinations and clearer identity for each class. Some details are still up in the air, especially around Key Passives, which are currently crucial capstone choices, although the developers have hinted that build defining mechanics will remain in some form even if they move to different systems.
Alongside the progression overhaul, Blizzard has teased a range of new and reworked skills, plus class additions across the broader Diablo lineup, signaling that Lord of Hatred is meant to be a substantial update rather than just a small content drop. With a confirmed removal of passive nodes from skill trees and a clear focus on making every point spent feel meaningful, Lord of Hatred looks set to change how Diablo 4 is actually played day to day, both for new characters and long term mains.
