There are too many hints at a Diablo 4 shadow drop at The Game Awards to convince me paladins won't be playable next week

A hulking crusader character from Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls. He is standing in front of a crowd of people bathed in sunlight and armed with a massive shield and mace and covered in dark plated armor.
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Tin foil hats on, everyone. Several clues point to a new class dropping in Diablo 4 right after next week's Game Awards, where Blizzard is expected to announce the next expansion.

I wouldn't be convinced of this if it weren't for a preview image on the Diablo 4 website that contains something that wouldn't exist otherwise: a new flail weapon type.

  • An internal build of the game had "paladin" in the title before it got taken down earlier this year
  • Diablo 4 developers urged people to watch The Game Awards in an interview last month
  • Season of Divine Intervention happens to start right at the end of The Game Awards
  • The developers once again told everyone to watch The Game Awards earlier this week
  • The lead class designer pointed out the coincidence on X with a thinking emoji

(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

I don't know about you, but I think this smells like a surprise paladin release for people who preorder the next expansion. World of Warcraft players got player housing early; Diablo players get a class that people have been begging for since it came out.

It'll be interesting to see how the new season goes if this is the case. Season of Divine Intervention is basically overhauling a few of the core systems in Diablo 4, like itemization and crafting. Upgrading your gear won't be as tedious as before, and there will be a new way to gamble with your items to make them even more powerful than you can normally.

Keep an eye out for Diablo-related stuff at The Game Awards on December 11, and then pray the servers don't collapse under the weight of everyone scrambling to play a new class when the season launches right as the show ends.

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Tyler has covered videogames and PC hardware for 15 years. He regularly spends time playing and reporting on games like Diablo 4, Elden Ring, Overwatch 2, and Final Fantasy 14. While his specialty is in action RPGs and MMOs, he's driven to cover all sorts of games whether they're broken, beautiful, or bizarre.

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