You will play Vessel of Hatred without finishing the base game. How to start DLC for Diablo 4?
The land of Nahantu from the DLC Vessel of Hatred is available from the very beginning of the game. We show you a way to get you to the new seventh act right away.
One of the advantages of the Vessel of Hatred DLC for Diablo 4 is that you can start the expansion's campaign without finishing the base game first. This will allow you to instantly teleport to Nahantu and explore a new land. In this guide, we inform how to unlock the DLC while creating a new game and start the seventh act of the campaign.
Vessel of Hatred DLC as act 7
The Vessel of Hatred expansion is treated as the game's seventh act. By default, you can start it after defeating the final boss in act 6.
You will start the DLC on the main map from the base game, but shortly after completing the related quests you will reach the new land of Nahantu where you will find Kurast city.
Starting the Vessel of Hatred expansion campaign right away
A more interesting solution is to jump straight to the add-on's campaign, and this is possible when creating a new character in the main game menu. This is a recommended move if you already know the basics well and if you want to create a character using the new Spiritborn class.
After determining the gender and appearance, do not start a new game immediately, but click the change campaign state button.
Two options will appear in the new window:
- Start with the original campaign – You will start from act 1. You must complete acts 1-6 for the Vessel of Hatred DLC content to become available.
- Start with the Vessel of Hatred campaign – This variant will allow you to skip acts 1-6 and start directly from act 7, and thus begin playing the expansion.
Later in the game there will also be a third option to skip already completed sections of the DLC. When creating another character, you will be able to start from the place you reached in the plot of Vessel of Hatred with other heroes.
Pros and cons of skipping acts 1-6
After selecting the option we described, you will watch the intro of Vessel of Hatred (instead of the main campaign intro) and you will immediately start act 7. This will save you a lot of time, but there are some limitations:
- Your character will start the DLC at level 1 – you will not receive a pre-made high-level hero. You don't have to worry about a tough journey, though, because the enemy level scales to yours and you won't encounter strong bosses right from the beginning. By playing the entire expansion, you should easily advance from level 1 to the maximum level 60.
- You start with basic equipment. Your inventory won't have rewards for, among others, defeating the main bosses from the base campaign. However, you will have access to the stash known from the base game.
- You'll need to replay some of the quests to unlock new mechanics. This includes tasks such as unlocking access to animal companions, unique merchants and service providers, or increasing the number of healing potions.
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