Diablo 4 heard fans "loud and clear" on Paladin class, 2026 expansion could be the occasion
In 2024, Diablo 4’s Brent Gibson (Game Director) opened up about a potential return of the Paladin class to the game. He and Aislyn Hall (Systems Designer) spoke about the Spiritborn and a possible return to the familiar sword-and-board Paladin class. Of course, it made sense that an expansion set in the jungles of Nahantu would feature something from the area instead of just throwing a Paladin down into the jungle.
It gave the team at Blizzard a chance to stretch their creative muscles and do something interesting — which the Spiritborn definitely was. It’s a fun class with lots of possibilities, and it was incredibly overpowered at launch. Things have calmed down with it since. But could it be time for Diablo 4 to bring back the Paladin? The developers have heard our cries, and it could very well be time... in 2026.
Brent Gibson spoke to to GamesRadar in 2024 about the community's desire for the Paladin, but there was a reason why Spiritborn came out instead. Gibson said that Blizzard heard the community "loud and clear." He added:
"But, you know, bringing something new, this was the time to do it, right? Five originals. It's like doing a sixth original. We could do that, but the team wanted the opportunity to go big."
Diablo 4’s 2026 expansion would be a fine time to bring the Paladin back
As per the GamsRadar interview, the reasons for going with the Spiritborn instead of a Paladin certainly made sense — even if it did likely upset players who missed the classic plate-wearing church knight.
The first was that they had already dropped five “Classic” (familiar) classes into the game. They didn’t want to just slap another familiar face in.
Instead, they chose to get their hands dirty and create something new — the Spiritborn, which was certainly a hit. They didn’t want to just “rehash old content,” and thus worked on something new for the Vessel of Hatred expansion. However, Brent Gibson also said that the team has heard the player’s demands for a Paladin class “loud and clear.” They just wanted to “go big.”
We don’t know what the next expansion of Diablo 4 will look like, but it’s certainly another chance to get a Paladin into the game. The best time is right now, but the next actual time the popular class could join the game would be the 2026 expansion. We already knew an expansion was coming, but it was confirmed in the recent 2025/2026 Roadmap.
We know that the next expansion is in 2026, and there was a mention of a “New ???” in the bottom corner of the Roadmap — and that, as far as I can tell, is a new class. Why not add the Paladin to Diablo 4 then? It seems like the Church will be a big part of the next expansion, if we look back to the ending of Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred.
Akarat, essentially the Diablo equivalent of Jesus, has had his dead body stolen by Mephisto, who no doubt has something quite sinister planned with it. This could be the perfect time to bring back that Paladin, with a religion-flavored expansion sometime in 2026. We don’t know for sure that it’s coming back, but if there’s ever going to be a “right time,” that time is with the 2026 expansion.
The 2025 roadmap hasn't blown everyone away, with some thinking it's just a few seasons that all are going to feel similar. Combine that with a few weak seasons in 2024, and this could be a great way to pull those lapsed fans back in.
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