Diablo 4’s Spiritborn class, for the Vessel of Hatred DLC, has been revealed and fan response has been mixed. However, many are looking forward to trying it out.
When Vessel of Hatred and the Spiritborn class were first announced, it became clear that players were returning to Kurast in the DLC, a jungle region that Mephisto terrorized back in Diablo 2. The location is also home to the Witch Doctor class, who joined the Nephalem in Diablo 3 to push back against the tides of Hell.
The Witch Doctor felt like the logical choice of class to return in the Diablo 4 DLC. However, the class is primarily a summoner, and this role is already taken in Diablo 4 by the Necromancer and Druid. This caused Blizzard to go back to the drawing board and create a new class, the Spiritborn.
Revealed during a live stream on July 18, 2024, the Spiritborn was revealed in all its glory and was announced to be a hybrid class, borrowing from the Witch Doctor and the Monk class, also from Diablo 3. This resulted in a surge of negative feedback for Blizzard, with some players accusing the class of being too derivative.
However, since then, other players have chimed in defending and even praising the Spiritborn. Tackling the negative view of the community head-on in a Reddit thread, one user said:
“Spiritborn looks dope, can’t wait to play him on October. He is his own thing. Not Monk, Druid, Witch Doctor, Rogue, Assassin, Amazon, Etc. Spiritborn is Spiritborn. His abilities and gameplay looks very unique.”
Some players seemed to accept that the character was indeed derivative, but accepted it anyway, saying: “Jungle Monk looking good! 8/10”.
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And: “Monk Doctor. If you havent played D3, I can see why you would think its none of those things. If you have played D3, I’m not really sure what reveal stream you watched because its really a pretty solid combination of the two. Not saying that in a bad way at all. Those are my two favorite classes in one now. I’m pumped.”
Another also enjoyed the class being similar to the Witch Doctor, but with a new spin on the class, saying: “Witch Doctor was my FAVORITE class in Diablo and Spiritborn is giving those vibes. Spiritborn is like Witch Doctor but less Necromancy and more “Druid” / wholesome nature vibes. I love it.”
Of course, some players were still sitting on the fence, with one saying: “Meh, bit feels a bit uninspired. Feel they could’ve done better creating a Jungle theme character.” And another said: “It’s just reskinned monk.”
The Spiritborn hails from the same region as the Witch Doctor, so there was always going to be some overlap. Also, the Monk is a character class that’s been requested by fans, so it made sense for Blizzard to create a hybrid class.
While the Spiritborn may not be original enough for some players, those who enjoy the Monk and Witch Doctor classes in older Diablo games may find a lot to love about it. It’ll also be fun to see which class follows them next year.
