Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred FAQ: Release times in your time zone, best place to buy, what's included in the DLC, Twitch drops, and more

What you need to know

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred will be released on October 7th or 8th depending on the region.
It will be available for pre-download along with a Season 6 patch on September 30th for PC and October 5th for consoles.
To celebrate the launch, there will be free items in the store and Twitch Drops to earn.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is just around the corner, releasing on October 7th in the US and early October 8th in the rest of the world. Blizzard has just released the start times map and preload details so we can prepare well in advance to enter the jungles of Nahantu.

The expansion will be released at the same time as Season 6: Season of Hate (which we know is the title based on this Wowhead leak). The season’s content is available to all players, not just those who purchased the expansion. Here’s everything you need to know about launch day and what to expect, whether you bought the expansion or not. If not, I even have a discount for you!

When does Vessel of Hatred come out?

Vessel of Hatred was scheduled to release on October 8th, but US territories will actually receive the game on October 7th, 2024. (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Although announced as launching on October 8th, this means different times around the world and will actually be October 7th in US territories. Here are the times Vessel of Hatred and Season 6: Season of Hatred go live in your time zone:

October 7, 2024

4:00 p.m. PDT
7:00 p.m. EDT
8 p.m. BRT

October 8, 2024

12pm BST
1 a.m. CEST
2am TRT
8am KST
10am AEDT
12pm NZDT

Preload times for Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred

The pre-download is available on all platforms. You can pre-download the Vessel of Hatred and Season 6 content patch regardless of whether you purchased the Vessel of Hatred expansion.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Pre-download available
platform	Summer time	PDT	BST
Battle.net	September 30, 7:00 p.m. EDT	September 30, 4:00 p.m. PDT	October 1st, 12pm BST
Console (Xbox and PlayStation)	October 5, 7pm EDT	October 5, 4:00 p.m. PDT	October 6, 12pm BST

Steam users will be able to download the update once Vessel of Hatred goes live October 7that 4:00 p.m. PDT.

Best place to buy Vessel of Hatred?

If you want to get Vessel of Hatred on Xbox right now, it’s actually cheaper on CD keys than through Microsoft. However, if you want to download the game on PC for Battle.net or Steam, it’s still available at full price, which is $39.99 for the base version.

What’s in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred?

When you purchase Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred you will gain access to the following new content:

Nahantu Region (new map area) – including dungeons, strongholds, side quests, new Legion events and Nahantu monster families.
New Spiritborn class.
“Vessel of Hate” campaign.
Notoriety in the Nahantu region.
Runic words.
Dark Citadel (new co-op PVE dungeon).
Mercenary.
Kurast Lower Town.
Trade Vessel of Hatred-specific resources.

New content for all players, even if you don’t buy the DLC

If you’re still on the fence about whether to buy the new expansion and just want to play Diablo Season 6, then have no fear, there are new things for everyone to enjoy without buying Vessel of Hatred to have to.

New maximum level of 60.
New difficulties.
New Paragon, maximum level 300.
Rework of the Paragon system.
Article quality revision.
2 new character slots.
New class abilities and passive abilities for each class.
New party finder feature.
New seasonal content (Season of Hate).
New Season Rewards (Season Journey, Battle Pass, Reputation Board).

Do I have to purchase Vessel of Hatred for each platform I want to play?

Yes. If you want to play Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred on both Xbox and PC, you’ll need to purchase it on both platforms. The same applies to Steam too.

Is Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred on Xbox Game Pass?

No. Diablo 4’s base game is included in Xbox Game Pass for Ultimate subscribers, but if you want to play the Vessel of Hatred expansion, you’ll need to purchase it. This is similar to how Starfield Game Pass players need to purchase Shattered Space.

Free in-store items to celebrate the launch

“Ship of Hate” loot.

There are free cosmetics to earn in The Dark Citadel (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

If you log in when Vessel of Hatred launches, there will be three new cosmetic items in the store that everyone can get for free. If you complete The Dark Citadel from October 8, 2024 to November 8, you will receive a new cat mount, Reins of the Longfur Beast, in addition to the weekly reward cache.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hate Twitch Drops

To celebrate the release of Vessel of Hatred, from October 8th to November 5th, you can earn in-game cosmetic rewards simply by watching your favorite streamers (or leaving them on in the background while you play). Owning an edition of Diablo IV or Vessel of Hatred is not required to progress towards achieving and earning Twitch Drops, so you can earn them and claim them later!

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Diablo 4 Vessel of Hate Twitch Drops(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Week 1 Twitch Drops: Wizard and Necromancer

Each week of the event there will be items for each class. You must watch 3 hours of qualifying Diablo 4 content to receive each week’s rewards. Please note that after watching an eligible streamer for three hours, you must claim the corresponding reward before you can progress to the next reward.

From October 8th to November 5th, you can also show your support for streamers in the Diablo IV category by purchasing or gifting their channel Twitch subscriptions of any tier. By purchasing or gifting 2 Twitch subscriptions, this is what you get Spirit of the conquered mountain. With 4 Twitch subscriptions you will receive the “Glory of Victor Mount Armor”.

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Reward for gifting 2 Twitch subscriptions.

You can progress toward a drop by watching any eligible content creator in the Diablo IV category on Twitch. For example, you can watch 30 minutes on one channel and then switch to another without losing your progress. Keep in mind that watching multiple channels at the same time will not speed up your progress. Additionally, streams playing in the background or inactive tabs do not count toward the required watch time.

Make sure your Battle.net account is linked to your Twitch account before participating.

Live stream before launch on October 2nd

The next stream will help you with your final preparations for #VesselOfHatred and provide a detailed look at the upcoming season. Tune in to the pre-launch livestream to get a load of knowledge.📅 October 2nd🕚11am PTRight here on X. Image .twitter.com/bDgM4LAarJSeptember 30, 2024

The Diablo 4 developers will appear in a livestream on October 2nd at 11:00 am PDT / 2:00 pm EDT / 7:00 pm BST to discuss what they see from the Patch 2.0 public test realm, the activities of the Season 6 and more learned on Vessel of Hatred.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred FAQ: Release times in your time zone, best place to buy, what’s included in the DLC, Twitch drops, and more

What you need to know

When does Vessel of Hatred come out?

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