Diablo II: Resurrected Reign of the Warlock Review: The DLC Loot Goblins Deserve

Image: Blizzard

If you told me a that Diablo II: Resurrected would get a proper DLC, 25 years after Diablo 2’s initial release, with a brand-new class, I would have laughed, then immediately done another Baal run out of habit. And yet, here we are.

Reign of the Warlock launched on 11 February 2026 and, somehow, it feels both completely unexpected and totally “yes, obviously we need this”.

Pros

• The stash overhaul is the kind of quality-of-life upgrade you feel in your bones, especially if you hoard loot like it is your pension. Dedicated tabs, plus stacking items, are massive.

• The Warlock is a genuinely interesting eighth class that plays like a cursed hybrid of caster and summoner, with a cool mechanical hook that opens up builds.

• The Chronicle gives collectors a proper in-game way to track their sets and uniques without keeping a spreadsheet like a maniac.

• Endgame gets more bite, including more control over Terror Zones and a new pinnacle fight with the Colossal Ancients.

Cons

• Converting means a bit of housekeeping up front. If your stash looks like a dragon’s hoard, expect an evening of sorting before you feel the benefits.

• The DLC is paid (around $25/£21 at launch), so if you only dip into D2R casually, you might not feel the value the same way a ladder gremlin will.

• Warlock power feels strong early, which is fun, but it also means balance chat is inevitable.

“Actual stacking. No more scrolling through five pages of gems like I am leafing through a cursed geologist photo album.”

The first thing I had to do after converting was sort my life out. Stash tabs, mules, half-finished “I might use this one day” plans. Proper admin.

Then the DLC hits you with the good stuff: dedicated tabs for Materials, Gems, Runes, and consumables, plus the heavily requested feature that feels like someone finally listened to the community shouting into the void for two decades.

Stacking items. Actual stacking. No more scrolling through five pages of gems like I am leafing through a cursed geologist photo album.

It is hard to overstate how much this improves the flow of Diablo II: Resurrected specifically, because D2R is the version where a lot of us play like goblins with a 4K monitor and a worrying number of free evenings. I was already laddering a Bowazon towards 99 and having a great time in Hell, so these changes landed perfectly. I am a loot goblin. The DLC supports my lifestyle.

Warlock-wise, Blizzard has done something clever. The class fantasy is strong, and the kit feels like a natural fit for the D2R sandbox rather than a modern class awkwardly bolted onto a classic.

“It plays like a cross between Sorceress and Necromancer, but with its own flavour”

The Warlock’s identity is built around three skill trees: Demonic Binding, Eldritch Weapons, and Chaos.

In practice, the vibe is exactly what I wanted. It plays like a cross between Sorceress and Necromancer, but with its own flavour. Early abilities have you firing nasty projectiles and throwing out effects like Miasma, while the demon side lets you summon specific demon types like Goatmen, Tainted, and Defiler, then enhance them or even consume them for buffs.

The real game-changer, though, is the Warlock passive and weapon gimmick. The Warlock can levitate their weapon, which means you can equip a two-handed weapon in one hand and still run an off-hand.

That is such a Diablo II sentence. It sounds illegal. It also opens an absurd number of playstyles and runeword combos, because suddenly you are theorycrafting like: “Right, what if I do this with a two-hander, but still keep an off-hand, and also I have a demon mate doing crimes in the background?”

This is the kind of build flexibility that makes D2R sing.

The Chronicle: “us loot goblins finally get a sticker chart.“

One of the quieter wins is The Chronicle, which is basically Blizzard acknowledging that a large chunk of the playerbase is not chasing power, we are chasing completion. Sets, uniques, runewords, the lot. Yup, us loot goblins finally get a sticker chart.

It gives you an in-game way to track what you have found and what you are missing, which turns your hoarding into something that feels deliberate instead of a personal problem.

RotW also adds more reasons to stay in Hell difficulty beyond “just because”.

You can now earn consumables that let you choose which Act becomes terrorised, which is huge if you like optimising your farming routes rather than waiting for the rotation to bless you.

Then there are the Colossal Ancients, the new endgame challenge Blizzard highlights as a headline feature.   I have not fought them yet, but I do not need to in order to respect them. The regular Ancients can still humble you on Hell if you turn up unprepared, so the idea of an even nastier version is equal parts exciting and horrifying. Which is Diablo, really.

Reign of the Warlock is the sort of DLC that feels aimed directly at people who still actively play Diablo II: Resurrected in 2026, and it nails that audience. The stash changes and stacking alone are worth it if you live in the loot loop, and the Warlock is not just “new”, it is properly interesting, with mechanics that create loads of build variety.

“Reign of the Warlock is the sort of DLC that feels aimed directly at people who still actively play Diablo II”

It is not a must-buy if you only pop into D2R once in a blue moon, especially at a paid DLC price, but if you are laddering, farming, or chasing sets like it is a second job, this is the easiest excuse you will ever have to sink another hundred hours into a game you already know will steal your evenings.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to bind something demonic, collect an irresponsible number of ears, and then get my arse handed to me by the Ancients because confidence is free and preparation is effort.