By Andrea Trama
Diablo 2: Resurrected has received what is arguably its most significant update since launch. The Reign of the Warlock expansion introduces the Warlock, the first new playable class added to the Diablo 2 ecosystem in decades. Not only that, but the Warlock is also coming as the second class of Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion, and it will be featured in Diablo Immortal too. At the same time, Blizzard has released the game on Steam, which marks a new era for Diablo 2: Resurrected.
It may not seem at first glance, but this decision is very relevant because it means removing Diablo 2: Resurrected's former Battle.net exclusivity and making it fully compatible with Steam Deck. While the Warlock understandably draws the most attention, the platform shift could ultimately have a broader long-term impact on the game's future, if not the franchise as a whole.
Diablo 2: Resurrected's Warlock Class Compared to the Original Roster – And Why the Steam Release May Matter More
The original Diablo 2 class selection has long been defined by clear archetypes. The Barbarian dominates in melee combat, the Sorceress specializes in elemental burst damage, the Paladin balances auras with survivability, and the Necromancer commands summons and curses. Even later additions like the Assassin and Druid filled distinct mechanical niches. The Warlock does not fit neatly into one category, and instead, it blends mechanics traditionally split across multiple classes:
- Demonic Binding: The Warlock can enslave specific enemy types and temporarily convert them into allies or consume them for stat boosts.
- Eldritch Weapon Manipulation: The class can telekinetically wield heavy weapons in combination with off-hand items, enabling unusual gear configurations.
- Chaos Magic Skill Tree: Rather than focusing purely on elemental damage, the Warlock leans into corruption-based abilities, area denial effects, and scaling debuffs.
In comparison to the Necromancer, the Warlock's summons are more temporary and transactional. Compared to the Sorceress, its spellcasting is less about raw elemental burst and more about sustained battlefield control. Melee viability exists, but it is tied to magical scaling rather than physical damage optimization. The result is a hybrid class that encourages experimentation. For longtime ladder Diablo 2: Resurrected players, this opens new theorycrafting opportunities in a meta that has remained largely stable for years.
The First New Diablo 2 Class in Nearly 25 Years
When Diablo 2 launched in 2000, its class lineup was expanded in 2001 with Lord of Destruction, which introduced the Assassin class archetype and the Druid, which is also in D4. After that, no new classes were added to the game's framework. Diablo 2: Resurrected, released in 2021, modernized visuals and infrastructure but preserved the original class design. Until now, it had not meaningfully expanded the roster.
From a technical standpoint, the Warlock is the first new class in Diablo 2: Resurrected in nearly five years. From a historical perspective, it is the first entirely new class built into the Diablo 2 system in almost 25 years. That distinction matters. The Warlock is not a seasonal variant or temporary mode addition, but rather it represents a structural change to a game many players considered mechanically complete. The update also includes quality-of-life features such as expanded stash management, loot filter customization, and broader interface refinements. However, the class addition is what fundamentally alters gameplay variety.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
