Technologies

Get Ready to Ride the Light: Diablo 4’s Next Expansion Adds Paladin Class, Revamps the Endgame

A second new class will also be included in the expansion, which focuses on the fight against Mephisto.

Grab your sword and shield, Wanderer — the Paladin is coming to Diablo 4 next year alongside the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion. The announcement came at this year’s Game Awards, with the Paladin announced as one of two new classes in the expansion. If you’re dying to wield the power of the Light, you can preorder Lord of Hatred and gain immediate access to the Paladin.

The action RPG was released in June of 2023, just a few months before Xbox-maker Microsoft closed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In October 2024, Blizzard launched the first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, which included the new Spiritborn class and took players to the jungles of Nahantu.

The new Lord of Hatred expansion is set in Skovos — the oldest region in Sanctuary, and the former home of Lilith and Inarius. Players will battle their way through forests, coasts and ruins in a battle against Mephisto, the expansion’s titular greater demon that Diablo series veterans first fought in the third act of Diablo 2.

They’ll be able to fight the great evil as the Paladin, one of the playable classes from Diablo 2, and a much-requested class for Diablo 4.

Here’s what we know so far.

Diablo 4 expansion release date

The Lord of Hatred expansion will be released on April 28, 2026.

New classes in Lord of Hatred

The expansion will come with two new classes. One of them remains a mystery, and we’ll likely have to wait until closer to launch to find out what it is.

But the headliner here is the Paladin class.

Paladins augment medieval armor and heavy weaponry with the holy power of the Light. As a Paladin, you can channel powerful auras, summon Holy weapons to fight enemies and become an indomitable guardian on the battlefield.

Paladins will be able to choose among four oaths, each supporting a different style of play.

Juggernaut: This shield-focused style turns defense into offense and supports tankier tactics.

Zealot: A sword-based oath that focuses on an updated Zeal mechanic and a holy blade ultimate ability.

Judicator: The premier option for inflicting divine punishment through holy conjurations such as Blessed Hammer and Heaven’s Fury.

Disciple: If you want to transform into an angel, spearing through the legions of darkness on wings of holy light, take this oath.

Diablo 4 endgame upgrades

D4 has been criticized for its endgame, particularly for the limited number of activities available to a fully geared character with optimized stats. Lord of Hatred promises to revamp the endgame around player choice with higher challenges and, uh… fishing? I guess even Wanderers need to chill sometimes.

Lord of Hatred will introduce War Plans, which allow players to select preferred activities and enable modifiers as they push for rewards.

The big challenge will be Echoing Hatred, a post-game gauntlet specifically designed to challenge the most optimized builds. Plan your build, grind for loot and see if you can survive the onslaught.

Beyond those additions, the expansion will also rework Diablo 4’s skill trees by expanding level caps and providing variants specific to each of the game’s classes. The game’s crafting system will be upgraded with the Horadric Cube, a legendary artifact that allowed you to transmute items in Diablo 2 to other items via specific recipes. A new Talisman mechanic will add set bonuses to items that can be equipped.

Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred editions

We don’t have pricing details yet, but Lord of Hatred will be available in three editions:

Standard: Includes the earlier Vessel of Hatred expansion, which featured the Spiritborn class.
Deluxe: Both expansions, plus a mini chimera pet, a mount bundle, a cosmetic bundle and a premium battle pass bundle.
Ultimate: All of the above, plus 3,000 Platinum (can be used for cosmetics and battle pass), an armor bundle for six classes, a trophy, town portal skin and more.

Preorders of any edition grant immediate access to the Paladin class.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 12 #649

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Dec. 12, No. 649.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle will appeal to literature lovers and English majors (like me). Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Shakespearean titles.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Famous plays.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

MUST, CANT, RANT, RACE, CARE, CHARD, CHANT, HARD, SIDE, HIDE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

MERRY, SHREW, TEMPEST, TWELFTH, MERCHANT, MIDSUMMER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THEBARD. To find it, start with the T that’s four letters down on the far-left row, and wind across.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest in recent weeks.

#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.

Technologies

I Love Super Mario Bros Wonder and It’s at a New All-Time Low, but Only for Today

One of the most inventive Switch games made is down to just $40 right now.

The holidays are nearly here, and that means it’s time to lock in and sort out the gifts you need to get. If you’re looking to buy something the whole family can enjoy, then looking to the best gaming gifts makes perfect sense. There are some amazing deals on right now, and if you’re buying for someone with a Switch, this one is a must-have.

Woot has a deal that knocks the amazing Super Mario Bros Wonder down to $40, which is the lowest price it’s ever been. This is a whimsical and wonderful platform game that’s going to have you all laughing out loud in each level, but the deal is only on until the end of the day. So, if you want it, don’t wait around.

Super Mario Bros Wonder takes the classic platformer and puts an incredible twist on it in every single level. The story has you following Bowser as he causes chaos in a new kingdom, but with Wonder Seeds all over the place, reality itself often ends up changing. It’s a fun and intensely silly affair, and you can even play it with up to four players, making it the perfect game for the holiday season.

This being the lowest price we’ve seen for this amazing game easily makes it one of the best Nintendo Switch deals. It’s going to end tonight, though, so if you want it, get it quickly.

Why this deal matters

Super Mario Bros Wonder is undoubtedly one of the coolest Mario games we’ve had in a very long time, and one of the best games released for the Nintendo Switch. It’s rare to see first-party Nintendo games go on sale with this much off, so this is a very rare chance.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Dec. 12

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 12.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.