Warlock’s Reign: The Rain Annihilation

The dark arts have found a new champion in Sanctuary. The Warlock, the first new playable class for Diablo II in a quarter-century, has arrived with the massive Reign of the Warlock update. This mysterious scholar of forbidden magic steps from the shadows, wielding the power to bind demons and unleash apocalyptic chaos. This expansion isn’t just a new class; it’s a substantial overhaul featuring terrifying new end-game challenges, a wealth of fresh items, and significant quality-of-life improvements long requested by the community.

Wielding a unique blend of dark magic, the Warlock commands three distinct skill trees. The Demonic Binding tree focuses on enslaving hellspawn like Goatmen, Tainted, and Defilers to fight as allies. A master can even consume these bound demons to steal their life force. The Eldritch Weapons tree allows for psychic manipulation of armaments, enabling hexes that cripple foes or cause them to explode. This path grants a unique combat style, allowing the Warlock to be the only class capable of wielding a two-handed weapon alongside an off-hand item. Finally, the Arts of Chaos tree calls upon hellfire and void energy to rain destructive projectiles and area-of-effect devastation upon enemies from a distance.

This taboo power has a deep and dangerous history. Its origins trace back to the Vizjerei mages, with only the most arrogant or iron-willed individuals daring to pursue it. Most who attempt this path are driven mad or become slaves to the very demons they sought to control. Those rare few who succeed find their first bound demon awakening a hellish power within, a force once responsible for Sanctuary’s golden age. Warlocks believe they can succeed where the Vizjerei failed, aiming to reshape the world into a paradise of their own design, no matter the cost.

To experience this new era, players have several options. Existing owners of Diablo II: Resurrected can purchase the Reign of the Warlock DLC. New players can jump in with the Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition, which includes the base game and the expansion. For the first time, the game is also available on Steam and through Xbox Game Pass, though Game Pass subscribers will need to purchase the Infernal Edition to access the Warlock content.

End-game players face a revolutionized challenge with updated Terror Zones. These desecrated areas now rotate every 30 minutes and offer consumables that let you choose which Act becomes terrorized, dramatically increasing difficulty and rewards. Within these zones, deadly Heralds of Terror now stalk players in Hell difficulty. Conquering a terrorized Act boss can yield special statues; collecting all five unlocks the ultimate pinnacle encounter: the Colossal Ancients.

The Colossal Ancients present a brutal, escalating gauntlet where defeating one foe empowers the others. Victorious players are rewarded with powerful Unique Jewels, each tied to a specific Ancient, Talic, Korlic, or Madawc, and behaving similarly to Gheed’s Fortune Grand Charm.

The update introduces a full arsenal of new gear tailored for the Warlock. Their signature off-hand item is the Grimoire, a tome that can spawn with staff mods and inherent elemental damage. Daggers have been reworked to roll Warlock skill bonuses and are now available from vendors. New Unique items, Set items (Bane’s Garments and Horazon’s Splendor), and Runewords like Void and Ritual provide fresh avenues for powerful builds.

A major new system, the Chronicle, allows players to meticulously track every Unique, Set, and Runeword they’ve ever collected, including where and when they found it. Completing parts of this collection unlocks exclusive rewards.

Quality-of-life enhancements are a cornerstone of this update. A built-in, customizable Loot Filter gives players precise control over which items are highlighted. The stash system has been overhauled with new dedicated tabs for Materials, Gems, Runes, and consumables, complete with stacking functionality. Purchasing the expansion also grants two additional shared stash tabs and two character slots.

Finally, the game now operates across three distinct eras: Diablo II Classic, Diablo II: Resurrected, and Diablo II: Reign of the Warlock. Characters exist separately in each era, allowing you to play your way. You can permanently move characters forward from Classic to Resurrected, and then to Reign of the Warlock, but they cannot be moved backward. The reign of dark scholarship is now underway.

(Source: Blizzard News)