The world of Sanctuary is buzzing with anticipation as Diablo 4 moves into its next chapter. With the Lord of Hatred expansion on the horizon, Blizzard has started to roll out hints, event teasers, and roadmap details that have the community speculating about what’s next. Whether you’re gearing up for Season 12, tracking new class rumors, or eager for the next DLC, there’s a lot to unpack. Here's our preview look at what's coming to Diablo 4 in 2026, including season schedules, leaks, and Lord of Hatred expansion details.

Diablo 4 Roadmap 2026 (Season 12, Next Expansion, New Classes & Seasons)

As 2026 begins, Diablo 4’s development cycle enters a dynamic phase. The Lord of Hatred expansion is set to launch in April, and a series of events and content updates are lined up to bridge the gap between current content and the expansion. According to the latest official materials, the roadmap points to a tightly packed schedule: Season 11 wraps up in March, followed quickly by Season 12 and, soon after, the next major expansion.

One intriguing detail in the roadmap is a deliberately blurred or obscured segment for February 2026, hinting at a surprise event or reveal. The rest of the timeline makes it clear that March is slated for Season 12, with April reserved for the massive Lord of Hatred release.

Diablo 4 Season 12 Release Date (Start & End Date)

Based on the current battle pass countdowns and official roadmap images, Diablo 4 Season 12 is set to begin in March 2026. The end date for Season 11 is listed as March 10, 2026, and Season 12 kicks off almost immediately after—most likely on March 11, 2026. This timing aligns with the visible countdowns in the game’s Reliquary system and the “Mark Your Calendar” section from Blizzard’s preview images.

Season 12 is expected to be shorter than previous seasons, lasting roughly five to six weeks. This condensed duration serves to ensure that the season concludes right before the Lord of Hatred expansion launches in April. Such scheduling avoids overlap between the new expansion and the seasonal journey, something Blizzard appears to be intentionally prioritizing based on past feedback and previous awkward overlaps.

Diablo 4 Season 12 Leaks: New Content To Expect

Season 12 is expected to act as a bridge between Season 11 and the Lord of Hatred expansion, with Blizzard zeroing in on refining systems and providing fresh experiences for endgame players. Developers have stated their goal is to enrich current gameplay rather than overload the game with too many simultaneous activities. While Blizzard has kept official details limited, recent interviews and data-mined insights offer a window into what Season 12 might bring. Below are the upcoming features and tweaks leaked from developer interviews and the community:

Improved Sanctification for High-End Items

Season 12 brings adjustments to sanctification, a system that became the super endgame focus in Season 11. It’s been revealed that sanctification will have better results on higher-end items, and there’s going to be no removing affixes on high-end items. The new approach means players won’t have to worry about losing key stats on mythic or ancestral pieces. Rare items, however, can still brick, but the idea is to make sanctifying mythics and ancestrals safer, so if people do not sanctify a mythic item and get plus ranks to core skills, they're just going to simply be further behind. This update aims to keep the risk in lower-tier items while rewarding investment in top-tier gear.

Masterworking System Changes

There’s mention of a new masterworking bonus on top of the main affix. While it’s not clear if this means new stats or a reworked masterworking crit, the developers have spoken about the need to give more of a dopamine hit when upgrading items. In the current system, upgrading goes to 20 out of 20 and just gives the implicit stat, which didn’t feel meaningful. The team is looking to introduce something better, since past upgrades were described as kind of mid. The upcoming version is expected to address those concerns and provide more excitement for players chasing upgrades.

Evolving The Tower and Leaderboards

The tower, which was added as a new endgame system, is set to continue its evolution. The plan is to have a leaderboard that resets every single one to two weeks and gives rewards based on placement, with all of these rewards being cosmetics. Players will receive a new Halo cosmetic slot, which is per character, not account-wide. This is intended to encourage players to push themselves in the new tower cycle. Boss HP will also be lowered, with the intention of making the top floors more accessible, but it’s not expected that anyone will be able to clear the highest levels, as several pit tiers lower is what you'd be able to do in the tower.

Pit Activity Tweaks and Mid-Season Experiments

Season 12 is widely believed to include a pit update, as developers mentioned the desire to adjust the pit to be a little bit more crazy. While there are no plans to share exactly what’s coming, prior comments suggest possibilities like a pit full of goblins or even a cow level pit. The tower is seen as the new push content, but the pit could be where developers experiment with new ideas. The rewards for the pit are tied to glyph upgrades, so any adjustments are likely to have an impact on progression as well.

Focus on Existing Content

The stated direction from Diablo’s team is to add depth to existing content rather than overload it with many activities. The goal is to make the current content better, which should go alongside the new season mechanic. This means players should expect improvements and new incentives in familiar systems, instead of a completely separate seasonal mode. The idea is to give players more reasons to revisit and enjoy parts of the game they already know.

More Experimental PvP

For the first time since launch, Blizzard has openly discussed the possibility of adding 1v1 PvP arenas and other competitive features. The team is open to being more experimental, which could mean testing new formats like ranked 1v1s, 2v2s, or even clan-based modes. There’s a desire for more replayability once players are done with PvE content, and PvP is seen as a way to provide that. While it’s not confirmed for Season 12, this signals a new direction for the game’s ongoing updates.

Diablo 4 DLC 2 Expansion Release Date & New Content To Expect

The second expansion for Diablo 4, titled Lord of Hatred, was officially revealed at the 2025 Game Awards. To many players’ surprise, the next DLC expansion release is set for April 28, much sooner than many anticipated. The story moves to the Sco Isles, known as the homeland of the Amazons. This new region becomes the core setting for the expansion’s campaign, where the Wanderer must confront Mephisto and navigate uneasy alliances, most notably with Lilith, whose return ties back to unresolved threads from the original storyline.

New Region: Sco Isles

The new expansion shifts the action to the Sco Isles, the homeland of the Amazons. This region serves as the backdrop for the next chapter of the main story, where the Wanderer faces the threat of Mephisto and must navigate alliances with familiar foes—including the return of Lilith in a way that ties back to unresolved plotlines from the core campaign.

New Playable Class (Yet to be Revealed)

Although the Paladin enters the game in Season 11, Lord of Hatred introduces an entirely new class alongside its main content. The silhouette of this class, shown in teasers, doesn’t resemble the Amazon, fueling speculation about a new archetype. Possibilities discussed in the community range from a witch or warlock to a shamanic or demon-summoning class. Blizzard has kept the identity under wraps, increasing anticipation and speculation as the expansion’s release approaches.

New Campaign Content

Players can expect about 10 hours of fresh campaign content, picking up where previous arcs concluded. The narrative centers on the escalating threat of Mephisto and the challenge of preventing hatred from consuming the world. The expansion also explores the ramifications of Lilith’s return, forcing the Wanderer into alliances that are necessary but not built on trust.

Talisman System and Set Bonuses

The Talisman system debuts as a new endgame progression feature. Talismans are items with multiple slots for charms or objects, each providing set bonuses and special effects. This system introduces another layer of build customization, allowing for unique combinations and playstyles without cluttering equipment slots. The concept draws from earlier design ideas in the franchise, now refined for Diablo 4.

Skill Tree Overhaul

A sweeping rework of the skill tree arrives with the expansion. Players will find expanded paths and more branching options, with up to twelve upgrades available per skill and the ability to morph skills into new variants. For example, a sorcerer’s Ball Lightning can now be transformed into a fiery ground-based version, offering new strategic possibilities. Early game flexibility is also improved, with all skill slots unlocked at level one.

War Plans: Custom Endgame Progression

The War Plans system offers personalized endgame content, letting players choose playlists of activities and select their preferred rewards. Unlike the static reward structure of the current game, War Plans allow for nearly complete customization of both challenges and outcomes. Each endgame activity such as nightmare dungeons or boss ladders, features its own progression tree. As players participate, they earn points to further specialize and adjust rewards, creating a more strategic and tailored endgame loop.

The Return of the Haradric Cube and Crafting Upgrades

Lord of Hatred reintroduces the Haradric Cube in a reimagined form, part of a broader overhaul to crafting systems. This new approach takes cues from both the classic Haradric Cube and the Kanai’s Cube, providing new ways to extract, apply, and combine item aspects and powers. Details remain under wraps, but players can expect more depth and flexibility in item crafting.

Echoing Hatred: Endless Horde Mode

For those seeking a challenge beyond existing content, Echoing Hatred introduces an endless horde mode. This activity pits players against escalating waves of enemies and bosses, with rewards that grow the longer they survive. Runs can end either by player defeat or by allowing too many monsters to overwhelm the arena, requiring builds that balance both survivability and efficiency at high difficulties.

Fishing: A Leisure Activity

Fishing arrives as a non-combat feature, available throughout Sanctuary’s waterways. Designed as a low-pressure diversion, fishing serves as a collection activity and may offer cosmetic rewards such as new appearances, mounts, or titles. Its purpose is to provide downtime content for players who want a break from combat.

Loot Filters and Quality-of-Life Improvements

Players can look forward to loot filters, which will streamline inventory management and make farming more efficient. Additional improvements include a higher level cap, more skill points, and user interface upgrades such as immediate access to skill slots and waypoints from the start.

Beyond these headline features, the expansion will also bump the level cap to 70, introduce revamped set mechanics, and extend the campaign’s story, potentially concluding Mephisto’s arc and featuring familiar faces from across the Diablo series.

Diablo 4 Next New Classes & Release Date in 2026

With the Paladin already confirmed for Season 11, speculation and evidence around the other playable class arriving with the Lord of Hatred expansion in 2026 have become a central topic in the community. Below, you’ll find a detailed look at the most discussed possibilities and the reasoning behind each, along with information on their expected release windows.

Oracle - Lord of Hatred Expansion, Mid-2026

A strong case has emerged for the Oracle as the next playable class launching with the Lord of Hatred expansion. The idea draws heavily from established lore about the Scovos Isles, which is where the expansion is set. Within Ascari society, Oracles serve as mystics and spiritual guides, setting them apart from the more martial Amazon caste. The Order of Seers, as they're known, is deeply involved in prophecy, spirit communion, and interpreting fate, offering a perspective that doesn’t align with either Heaven or Hell.

The Oracle archetype is supported by narrative cues from both the main campaign and side quests, such as the character Baywin the Seer, whose practices point to a tradition of divination and spiritual leadership distinct from necromancers or druids. In Lord of Hatred, the story’s focus on manipulation, endurance, and the price of knowing the future lines up with the Oracle’s thematic space. Mechanically, this addition would create a second willpower-based class, balancing out the primary stat distribution among all classes: two for strength, dexterity, intelligence, and, with the Oracle, two for willpower.

Given Blizzard’s approach to class design—anchoring each class in a cultural or institutional background—the Oracle fits naturally within the expansion’s setting and narrative direction. All signs point to the Oracle, or a class inspired by the Order of Seers, debuting with the Lord of Hatred expansion, which is slated for release in mid-2026.

Amazon - Unlikely as a Playable Class in Lord of Hatred

While the Amazon remains an iconic favorite tied to the Scovos Isles, several factors make its addition as a playable class this expansion less probable. Traditionally, Amazons are depicted as a female-only warrior caste, and Blizzard’s current class system supports all genders for each playable class. Adapting the Amazon would require either a major lore shift or introducing the male Death Ravens, a group that historically never leaves the Isles. These complications, along with the fact that the Paladin is already a returning class, suggest that Blizzard may steer away from another classic reintroduction in the same cycle.

However, the Amazon archetype could still appear in a different form. It’s possible that Amazons, along with Oracles, will be featured as recruitable mercenaries or important narrative figures rather than as a new class. The “maiden” archetype referenced in earlier leaks aligns with the Amazon’s identity, but current evidence points to this role being filled through supporting characters rather than direct player choice in the upcoming expansion.

Warlock - Speculation Around the Silhouette, But Unlikely

The Warlock has surfaced as a candidate due to a mysterious, robed silhouette teased by Blizzard. This visual cue, combined with pre-order cosmetics featuring both holy and corrupted elements, has fueled theories about a class dedicated to ritual magic and forbidden powers. Despite the speculation, several points argue against the Warlock’s inclusion.

In Sanctuary, “warlock” is not a formal institution but a term for those who cross boundaries in pursuit of dark arts. This space is already well-covered by necromancers and sorcerers, both of whom handle curses, rituals, and summon minions. Additionally, in Diablo’s lore, individuals making pacts with demons are rarely portrayed as heroes; instead, their stories tend to end in tragedy or villainy. Blizzard’s class philosophy favors groups with established traditions and positive player associations, making the Warlock archetype less compatible with Diablo IV’s current direction.

If a class does emerge from the “warlock fantasy,” it will likely be presented with a fresh identity, possibly drawing from the Oracle’s spiritual and prophetic theme rather than direct demonology.

Other Possibilities and Timing

Suggestions like Witch Doctor, Monk, Demon Hunter, Assassin, and Blood Knight have surfaced, but each comes with challenges related to lore, gameplay overlap, or recent game history. For example, the Witch Doctor’s cultural roots are tied to the Tagoni jungle, a region already covered in the previous expansion. Monk, Assassin, and Demon Hunter share mechanics or themes with existing classes, and the Blood Knight’s association with Diablo Immortal makes its introduction less likely.

Current evidence suggests that Blizzard will reveal the next playable class, likely the Oracle, at a major event ahead of the Lord of Hatred expansion’s launch. Expect the announcement to arrive a few months before the expansion’s mid-2026 release, providing plenty of time for players to learn about the class’s unique mechanics and lore before the new content drops.

Diablo 4 Season 12 & DLC 2 PTR Timeline

The Diablo 4 new expansion's rollout coincides with some unique calendar choices: Season 12 and a new collaboration event in March, the expansion's launch in late April, and a curious gap in February that may hint at a seasonal event or a public test realm. Lord of Hatred is shaping up to be a major content update, potentially larger than its predecessor, prompting speculation about the future direction of the game.