During today’s developer livestream, Blizzard has finally shared a full look at the upcoming Warlock class coming with the Lord of Hatred expansion, launching April 28.
The class focuses on dark magic and demon summoning. Warlocks tear open the veil between worlds, bind demons to their will, and then send them to attack their enemies.
A Dark Caster That Commands Demons
As Blizzard describes it, Warlocks do not serve Hell. Instead, they force demons into submission and turn Hell’s own power against it.
The class uses two main resources:
- Wrath, for casting abilities
- Dominance, which is used to summon and command demons
Managing both resources is the main part of the Warlock’s playstyle.
The class also introduces multiple new combat mechanics and specific keywords, including Hex, Demonform, Shadowform, and Volatility, which interact with different abilities and strengthen your demonic powers during combat.
Four Warlock Archetypes, Four Different Playstyles
At Level 30, Warlocks unlock their main class mechanic through Soul Shards.
Each shard changes how the class plays and binds a specific demon to your character. The four archetypes are:
- Legion – overwhelm enemies with swarms of demons
- Vanguard – fight on the front lines with demonic power
- Mastermind – control the battlefield with shadow magic
- Ritualist – focus on rituals, curses, and occult abilities
Each shard changes how the class functions and how demons are summoned.
New Warlock Uniques and Class Quest
The expansion also adds new Warlock Unique items, many of which strengthen demon abilities or interact with mechanics like Hex and Demonform.
Warlocks will also receive a class quest at Level 15 that begins in Ked Bardu once the expansion launches.
You can read the full post with all Warlock skills, archetypes, and Unique items below.
Master Hell Itself with the Warlock
Tear open the veil between worlds to become a vessel of annihilation as the new Warlock class. A conduit of infernal wrath, you bind demons to your will and harness the raw power of Hell to obliterate your enemies. Enact forbidden rituals to bring forth demons, disrupt battlefields with conjured hellfire, and unleash infernal wrath as you command your demonic legions.
Pre-purchase Lord of Hatred and play the Warlock when the expansion releases on April 28, 2026. Wield demons like fangtoothed meat trebuchets and give Hell a taste of its own evil.
Read on to learn more about this black prince of carnage, their bleak origins, feared craft, and powerful Uniques.
Codex
Wreathed in Dark: The Warlock’s Lore
Annihilate your Foes with Diabolical Skills
Harness Soul Shards: Warlock Archetypes
Disciple of the Forbidden Class Quest
Pre-purchase Lord of Hated and Unlock New Rewards
Wreathed in Dark: The Warlock’s Lore
Warlocks are dark, relentless casters who bend demons and the powers of Hell to their will. Hell itself is the source of their power, conjured through ritual, alchemy, and spellcraft. The Warlock is not a servant of Hell; they are its bane, using its unholy fruits against itself.
Not everyone has the ability to become a Warlock. It takes natural-born insight, exceptional willpower, and rigorous training to resist the temptation of corruption. Even the best can fail. They roam the world as ragged outcasts, scavenging their forebears’ knowledge—some seeking mastery over their inner demons, others hunting demons where they rise.
The Vizjerei: Origins of the Warlock
Birthed from forbidden knowledge that ignited The Sin War, the original demon summoners were Vizjerei who sought this power in secret. The discovery of this blasphemous craft tore the mage clans into civil war. In the aftermath, demonology was outlawed once again, and its remaining practitioners—branded “Warlocks”—were hunted across Sanctuary.
Nearly 15 centuries later, underground enclaves keep this knowledge alive, believing it essential to humanity’s survival. Few Warlocks are raised in the practice; many are simply born with demonic insight, a cursed gift that often leads to rejection by society.
The more fortunate ones find old, accursed seals, driven by voices they appear to hear from within. These seals are tenets of their study, guiding their practice. The knowledge within is often incomplete and varies by discipline.
These are sources of inspiration for how the Warlock exudes their power, influencing how they understand the world and shape it to their will. These are not their skills, but a foundation of their ceaselessness.
- Force of Will – Above all, warlocks must strengthen their will against opposition, striving to purge fear, doubt, and weakness.
- Demonology – The history, taxonomy, physiology, psychology, summoning, and subjugation of demons. From the lowest maggot to the Prime Evils.
- Hellfire – Theory, conjuration, and application of Hell’s destructive elements.
- Shadow – Tools of deception, inception, and manipulation, useful both in combat and subterfuge.
- Martial Weaponry – Symbolic and literal extensions of the warlock’s will.
Once a Warlock has begun their practice of tearing open the veil between worlds, they cannot stop. Their hunger for power and purpose is insatiable, stronger than any pain they endure.
Now, after centuries of working in secret, many warlocks believe Mephisto’s return signals their ultimate test is at hand. They rise from the shadows to meet this challenge.
Annihilate your Foes with Diabolical Skills
The Warlock is a visceral caster that conjures Hell and exploits demons as tools, quickly summoning them to unleash demonic onslaught against their foes. Summoning demons is a challenge for Warlock—it is a constant, painful struggle to resist corruption. The Warlock walks a razor’s edge, pushing the limits of their control while never allowing it to break.
Class Resource: Wrath & Dominance
Skills consume Wrath, while summoning Demons and using their abilities cost Dominance. Mastering both of these resources is necessary to become the pinnacle of hell-summoning prowess.
If the pen is truly mightier than the sword, the Warlock’s tome may perhaps be best evidence of that epithet.
New Keywords:
- Hex
- Increases Abyss skill damage taken against enemies, based on their missing Life. Stacks up to 3 times.
- Eviscerate
- Eviscerated enemies instantly lose a portion of their Bleeding Life and then Bleed for additional damage.
- Shadowform
- Shadowform grants Unhindered and any movement grants Stealth but consumes stacks.
- Demonform
- Increases your Maximum Life. While active, kills increase the damage of Demonology Skills.
- Volatility
- Randomly Empowers Hellfire Skills when you attack with them. Empowered skills deal increased damage on their next cast.
Basic Skills
Doom
Burst a sigil on your enemies, Hexing them and dealing damage.
Molten Bomb
Lobs volatile lava at an enemy, dealing damage in a small area.
Command Fallen
Summon a Fallen Lunatic that charges your target and explodes, dealing damage.
Hellion Sting
Whip a demon tail forward, dealing damage with a chance to Eviscerate enemies.
Core Skills
Bombardment
Smash down demons into the ground, each dealing damage.
Umbral Chains
Send for a shadowy chain, dealing damage and linking enemies for a short duration.
Blazing Scream
Send forth a Demon Skull, dealing damage as it travels.
Hell Fracture
Summon the fires of hell to fracture the ground, dealing damage to enemies in the area.
Dread Claws
Burst forth shadowy claws, dealing damage on impact.
Defensive Skills
Dark Prison
Create a Shadowy Totem for a duration that chains enemies, Tethering them to the area and preventing them from escaping.
Tortured Wretch
Summon a tortured demon on your enemies, dealing damage and Taunting them.
Wall of Agony
Summon and bind several frenzied demons into a line for a duration. The demons block enemies and flail wildly, dealing damage per hit to those in front of them.
Nether Step
Step through the shadows of Hell to emerge at the target location, gaining Shadowform and a decaying Movement Speed bonus.
Archfiend Skills
Rampage
Summon a rampaging brute for a duration that smashes wildly, dealing damage with a chance to Eviscerate.
Infernal Breath
Summon a demonic head for a duration that breathes fire on enemies dealing damage per hit.
Profane Sentinel
Summon a demonic eye for a duration that focuses upon enemies with a beam that makes them Vulnerable and periodically blasts them.
Tyrant’s Grasp
Summon a Demon hand that Pulls enemies away from you, dealing damage.
Sigil Skills
Sigil of Chaos
Create a destructive ritual for a duration that grants you Volatility while within. Killing fuels the ritual’s chaotic hellfire, increasing the chance for each enemy to explode on death.
Sigil of Subversion
Create a subversive ritual for a duration that Hexes enemies. Killing fuels the ritual to send forth shadow trails that periodically grant you Shadowform.
Sigil of Summons
Create a binding ritual for a duration that extends the duration of your Summons. Killing fuels the ritual to summon demons that attack nearby enemies.
Ultimate Skills
Apocalypse
Create a massive Sigil that detonates after a delay, dealing damage to all enemies within.
Fiend of Abaddon
Summon a massive fiend for a duration that attacks enemies.
Terror Swarm
Summon a terror from the depths that deals damage and spews a voracious swarm that deals damage for a duration.
Metamorphosis
Harness Soul Shards: Warlock Archetpyes
Those who take up the Warlock’s burden fuse soul shards into their bodies, manifesting power through one of several forbidden archetypes:
- Legions summon relentless fodder to overwhelm their prey
- Vanguards become monstrous front-line terrors
- Masterminds seize the battlefield through oppressive shadowcraft
- Ritualists weave doom through blood-etched rites
Harness Soul Shard Fragments
After reaching Level 30, the Warlock’s Class Mechanic unlocks. Select one of four Soul Shards to infuse yourself with that power, imbuing your summoned demon with precise fervor.
Choose wisely; for the Soul Shard defines which demon is linked to you and establishes the core of what your Warlock focusses on.
Soul Shards are made up of two components:
- Primary Shards:
- Grant a transformative playstyle passive which alters your core gameplay loop. Summoning demons, controlling them, how effects are chained together.
- Binds a specific demon to you.
Do not mistake your summoned demon as a companion. To do so would be a slander to your craft and the indomitable will it takes to force a servant of hell to turn against its master.
Legion Shard
Casting a Greater Demon Skill increases Lesser Demon Skill Cast Speed and Cooldown Rate temporarily. After many of your Lesser Demons die, your next Greater Demon Skill Cast has no Resource Cost.
Summoned Greater Demon: Ae’gron
- Summon Ae’grom, the Demon of Legions. Ae’grom cleaves its enemies for damage. While summoned, this skill becomes Command Ae’grom. Command Ae’grom causes Ae’grom to summon a swarm of Vile Child Lesser Demons to fight for you.
- Passive: Ae’grom has a Claw attack that deals damage. Vile Child demons have a claw attack dealing a portion of that damage.
Soul Shard Fragment Bonuses:
- Spawn: Ae’grom now spawns a Vile Child Demon passively. Summoning a Greater Demon increases this spawn rate temporarily, up to a maximum. Additional stacks do not refresh this duration. Command Ae’grom no longer spews Vile Children and instead causes all of your Lesser Demons to explode, dealing damage.
- Sacrificial: You are Unstoppable as long as you have active Lesser Demons. When you would become Crowd Controlled, 1 of your Lesser Demons is Sacrificed to prevent it.
- Evisceration: While an enemy is Eviscerated, your Summoned Demons prioritize them and gain increased Movement Speed. Demonology Skills gain a chance to Eviscerate enemies that are already Eviscerated.
Vanguard Shard
Summoned Greater Demon: Abodian
- While in Demonform, Casting Archfiend Skills additionally Summons the Archfiend Demon:
- Rampage summons a brute for that temporarily follows you and swipes at enemies, dealing damage.
- Infernal Breath summons a demonic head that temporarily orbits you and spews flames, dealing damage.
- Tyrant’s Grasp summons additional demon hands that each deal damage.
- Profane Sentinel summons an additional eye that temporarily follows you and blasts enemies, dealing damage.
Soul Shard Fragment Bonuses:
- Hellguard: Abodian gains increased Cast Speed and Movement Speed and cleaves on its attacks. Abodian erupts Brimstone during Command Abodian, launching them periodically while moving and when dismounting. Each Brimstone deals damage.
- Warden: While in Demonform, lose Dominance per second Close Summons Greater Demon to extend their durations. Demonform also increases the damage of Hellfire Demonology Skills.
- Inferno: While you are Volatile in Demonform, Hellfire Skill damage causes you to emanate fire temporarily, dealing some of that damage to Close enemies periodically over a duration.
Mastermind Shard
Summoned Greater Demon: Laalish
- Recast Skills no longer break Shadowform Stealth at the cost of a few stacks of Shadowform per Cast. While you have Shadowform, Abyss skills deal increased damage, and you gain increased Movement Speed per stack.
Soul Shard Fragment Bonuses:
- Unfathomable: Laalish also Weakens enemies. Laalish deals increased damage and Executes enemies. When an enemy is Executed, the Cooldown of Command Laalish is reduced.
- Blasphemous: Recast Skills Hex enemies on hit and increase the damage they take from your Abyss Demonology Skills.
- Subjugation: Summoning a non-Soul Shard, Abyss Great Demon consumes all Dominance increasing its damage per Dominance consumed. Losing stacks of Shadowform grants Dominance.
Ritualist Shard
Summoned Greater Demon: Vollach
- Summon Vollach, the fallen one. With Vollach active, siphon it’s lifeforce to increase your maximum Overpower. With several stacks of Overpower, Occult Abyss skills apply additional Hex to enemies on hit, and Occult Hellfire Skills have a chance to grant Volatility temporarily when Cast. Occult skills deal increased damage per stacks of Overpower and gain increased Size.
Soul Shard Fragment Bonuses
- Abyssal: Hex Stacks up to a maximum. When a target gains stacks, a portion of the damage dealt to the target echoes after a short duration and removes all stacks of Hex. Command Vollach also causes Occult Abyss skills to apply 1 additional stack of Hex to enemies while you’ve siphoned its power.
- Scorching: Occult Hellfire Skills are always empowered and consume a portion of your Maximum Life. Volatility can now stack up to a maximum, increasing the damage of empowered Skills and the Life they consume by per stack. Command Vollach also siphons its life to Fortify you for a portion of your Maximum Life and causes Vollach to pay a portion of Life Costs instead while you’ve Siphoned its power.
- Twisted: Occult Hellfire Skills consumes stacks of Hex on targets hit to increase its damage against the target by a portion. Occult Abyss skills can be empowered by Volatility and cause explosions, dealing damage when hitting an enemy for the first time
Wield New Warlock Uniques
Powerful Uniques were crafted in the shadows across centuries, waiting for the moment these restless masters emerge from the dark.
Anathema of the Primes
Hitting enemies with a Core Skill increases the damage they take from you per Skill, up to a maximum. Archfiend Demonform Skill Variants are Core Skills and cost Wrath.
Cage of Madness
Your Evade transforms you into an angry Lunatic for a limited duration, then explodes for 2,500% of Command Fallen’s damage.
While you are an angry Lunatic, your Movement speed is increased and you spawn a Mini Lunatic every half-second that seeks enemies.
Command Fallen deals increased damage.
Litany of Sable
Dread Claws deals increased damage and additional claws fire out when you gain a stack of Shadowform.
Cowl of Malefic Torment
Hex dooms enemies below a threshold of Life, maintaining the Hex and dealing a portion of Doom’s damage every second until they die. Doom deals increased damage.
Lurid Pact
Rampage deals increased damage. Each enemy or demon killed by Rampage increases the size of the brute and its smashes.
Seal of the Ophanim
Profane Sentinel deals increased damage and summons an additional eye that follows you for 10 seconds.
The Eightfold Idol
Blazing Scream leaves Sigil of Subversion Shadow or Lava trails behind. Sigil of Subverision deals increased damage.
Ae’grom’s Schism
Ae’grom and its summons deal increased damage. You additionally summon Ae’grom’s other half and gain a second Charge of Command Ae’grom.
Hellhound’s Sabatons
Abodian deals increased damage. After Command Abodian ends you are connect with a fire chain that deals Command Abodian’s Drag damage periodically and grants you increased Movement Speed for a limited time.
Rictus of Terror
Taz’rauth deals increased damage. Command Taz’rauth’s Terror Realm is an Ultimate Skill that lasts longer, and while active your Abyss Skills Execute enemies.
Disciple of the Forbidden Class Quest
To be a Warlock is to wield the power of Hell and know that one day, such power will consume you. To continue your path as a Warlock once Lord of Hatred launches on April 28, visit Ked Bardu after you’ve reached Level 15 to begin the Disciple of the Forbidden quest.
Pre-purchase Lord of Hated and Unlock New Rewards
Battle Mephisto in sinful garb fit for a dark prince of Sanctuary. Alongside this closer look at Diablo IV’s most fiery class comes the unveiling of three new cosmetic offerings, yours for the taking with the Lord of Hatred Expansion.
Battle Mephisto in sinful garb fit for a dark prince of Sanctuary. Alongside this closer look at Diablo IV’s most fiery class comes the unveiling of three new cosmetic offerings, yours for the taking with the Lord of Hatred Expansion.
Pre-purchase Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred Ultimate Edition and unlock two new Warlock-inspired cosmetics starting on March 11 with Patch 2.6.0.
- Avel’hud, Nucleus of Perdition Reactive Back Trophy
- Embrace of Evil Town Portal
Plus, with the Lord of Hatred Deluxe or Ultimate Edition, you will unlock a cosmetic bundle for the Warlock class when the new expansion launches on April 28.
- The Infernal Apostle Back Trophy Cross-Class Armor Bundle
For more information on the Lord of Hatred expansion, and the different pre-purchase editions, see here.
Lord of Hatred available April 28, 2026.
Lord of Hatred and Vessel of Hatred Expansion require Diablo IV base game.
Internet connection and Battle.net account required to play.
Master the dark arts and give Hell a taste of its own devilry.
—The Diablo IV Team
For more updates on Lord of Hatred, make sure to check out our Diablo 4 news hub.
