Blizzard says it was “freeing” to make a Diablo 4 class like the Spiritborn and just “try some crazy stuff out” that you won’t find in the base action RPG

Not everything made will make it into the final product, though

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

ADiablo 4class designer says it was “freeing” to try out new stuff for the upcomingDiablo 4 Spiritborn, even if not everything made it into the final game.

Speaking to GamesRadar+ recently during our bigDiablo 4 preview,class designer Bjorn Mikkelson explains that there wereover 60 prototyped skills for the Spiritbornand that even though some of the team’s personal “favorite” skills didn’t make the cut,they could one day return in one form or another.

Speaking about the development of the Spiritborn, Mikkelson added that “generally, it was very freeing, very fun to kind of try some crazy stuff out, make some stuff that maybe didn’t make the cut, and were some people’s favorites, but maybe those will come back in the future.”

One new spirit aspect the class is able to draw on is the power of the centipede, and Mikkelson says this was “our chance to try like a lot of strange and sort of different things.” Diablo 4 doesn’t use fear as an ability that often, Mikkelson points out, but the Spiritborn is a chance to expand on this.

“But something we changed, for instance, was digging into blocking. Like it exists currently on shields, shields alone, but it’s technically just a thing that happens. And it’s not particularly interesting,” Mikkelson comments of the Spiritborn’s new blocking ability.

The new Vessel of Hatred class lets Diablo 4’s designers approach blocking in “a more active way,” Mikkelson adds, incorporating a martial arts-style blocking with hands instead of a shield. This feeds into a more “dynamic sense of blocking incoming damage.”

The Spiritborn launches as part of theDiablo 4 DLC, Vessel of Hatred, later this year on October 9. More immediately, anew Diablo 4 Season 5 campfire livestreamis coming within the next few weeks, and it’ll break down the final details of the coming season before it goes live on August 6.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Diablo 4’s Spiritborn class has only just been fully revealed, but you can already find out everything about it thanks to 1 fan’s giant 37-page “giga document.”

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Diablo 4 boss asks players if the broken Spiritborn class should be fixed and gets an overwhelming response: “Leave it!”

Diablo 4 boss admits the Spiritborn is “going to have some issues that need to be addressed,” but “some people don’t recognize the difference between ‘fix’ and ‘nerf’”

In a first for Dragon Age, The Veilguard director reiterates the RPG won’t have DLC as BioWare pivots to work on Mass Effect 5