Blizzard unveils gameplay details for the new Diablo IV class, Spiritborn

Following a preview at last year’s BlizzCon, Blizzard has now unveiled additional information about the new character class set to debut in Diablo IV later this year. The Spiritborn appears to be a dynamic and formidable combination of various characters from previous Diablo games. Picture the combat skills of the Diablo 3 Monk, the animalistic powers of the Witch Doctor from the same game, and the visual style of the Amazon in Diablo 2 all rolled into one. It certainly seems like an exciting and promising addition to the game.

Spiritborn is a cleverly controlled class with four Spirit Guarders whose powers you can use in battle. The jaguar deals fire damage and the eagle deals lightning damage. With Gorilla, players gain defensive power and survivability. And the centipede offers poison and fear skills for damage over time and crowd control. During the live stream, class designer Bjorn Mikkelson said Spiritborn is “probably our fastest, most aggressive class.” Consider jumping into groups of enemies to deal high burst damage with explosives, sentries, and polearms.

In a typical round, players use these short cooldown skills with added spirit power. But the real win for Spiritborn is the ultimate ability that brings one of the Spirit Guardians to fight alongside the player. “Summoning a god into battle is the fantasy of this class,” said Diablo IV game designer Brent Gibson.

Part of what has always made the Diablo games appealing is the ability to personalize and specialize your playstyle within a broad character concept. And some other Diablo 4 class designs encourage players to specialize in one ability tree, such as choosing one elemental power to use for Sorcerer. With Spiritborn, players can choose to specialize in one Spirit Guardian skill tree or mix and match as they wish without losing any stats. Things get even more personal with the Spirit Hall class mechanic and all-new legendary and ancient gear for the Spiritborn, fine-tuning your preferred playstyle for crushing demons.

Today’s live stream also had some good parts for geeks, and die-hard fans will likely find the video worth watching to see all the details of the world-building that the Blizzard teams put into developing this character. Diablo IV’s Vessel of Hatred expansion, a.k.a. “Neyrelle and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”, will be released on 8 October and the standard edition costs $40.