Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred does not merely expand Blizzard’s action RPG with new classes, the region of Skovos and fresh challenges. It also adds something almost nobody expected: fishing. According to Diablo IV associate game director Zaven Haroutunian, this is not a random detour, but part of a broader design philosophy in which the game should not have one single end goal, but several meaningful targets for different types of players.

Blizzard has significantly expanded the Diablo IV experience with Lord of Hatred. The new expansion introduces two classes, including the long-awaited Paladin, opens the ancient region of Skovos, and adds challenges that are already generating serious discussion across the community. However, the bigger question is not simply how much new content has arrived, but how a game aimed at such a varied audience can remain coherent over time.

One of Diablo IV’s recurring problems is exactly this paradox. Hardcore players want newer and tougher endgame challenges, while newer or slower-moving players also need goals that do not feel like unreachable walls. If the game leans too heavily into its hardest content, it risks losing a large part of its audience. If it makes everything too accessible, veterans may feel there is no reason to return. That is the narrow path Blizzard now has to walk.

Zaven Haroutunian, associate game director on Diablo IV, discussed the issue on Rhykker’s YouTube channel, explaining that the game needs what he calls “aspirational content”: content that acts as a longer-term goal players want to reach. At the same time, he argues that such features should not be presented as the only true endpoint. If the whole game looks like a straight road leading to the ultimate challenge, then players will reasonably expect every earlier step to prepare them for it. According to Haroutunian, that is basic video game design logic.

Diablo IV Is Not Only For Players Who Want To Tear Apart The Endgame Immediately

Blizzard’s goal, then, is not to push everyone in the same direction, but to offer different kinds of motivation. Haroutunian says that if something in the game is too strong or too weak compared to what the developers originally intended, it has to be fixed, otherwise every later system will be forced to bend around that outlier. That is especially important in a game where progression, loot, class power, endgame structure and seasonal content all feed into one another.

Lord of Hatred therefore takes a somewhat more horizontal approach. The expansion does not try to push players toward one single peak, but offers several different directions. Those who want tougher combat challenges can find them. Those looking for new classes, a new region or new progression routes have plenty to follow. And those who simply want a different kind of objective now have one of the expansion’s most surprising additions: fishing.

At first glance, fishing may seem almost absurd in a world defined by demons, blood, destruction and constant battle. Diablo is not exactly the series that first brings peaceful lakeside downtime to mind. Yet Haroutunian argues that this is precisely what makes it interesting: fishing can also be aspirational content, just not necessarily for the same player who wants to smash through the hardest endgame walls.

Fishing May Look Ridiculous, But It Shows Where Blizzard Is Heading

According to Haroutunian, one of the goals of Lord of Hatred was to create opportunities for players to set their own targets. Not everyone plays for the same reason, and not everyone sees the “real” endgame in the same place. Some players chase the strongest build, some want to defeat the hardest bosses, some find rhythm in collection systems, and yes, some will be motivated by catching every fish.

The developer does not treat that idea dismissively. In fact, he considers it healthy for a game to contain different kinds of goals. Fishing has already produced memes, with players joking that it is the “real endgame.” Haroutunian, however, does not read those reactions as an attack, but as evidence that players connect to the same world for different reasons. A large game stays alive when not every system is made for the same audience.

That does not mean every Blizzard decision will automatically work. Diablo IV has already had plenty of moments when players felt the content was too thin, too slow or poorly weighted. Endgame structure, loot, seasonal systems and difficulty balance have long been points of debate. Fishing is therefore not a major solution by itself, but a signal: Blizzard is not only building upward toward harder challenges, but also sideways, broadening the ways players can engage with the game.

This is where Diablo IV’s current dilemma sits. The game cannot be only a hardcore arena, because that would narrow its audience. It cannot be merely relaxed entertainment for everyone either, because that would drain the tension and depth that keep veterans attached. Lord of Hatred appears to be trying to create big, long-term, difficult goals while making sure those goals do not exclusively define what counts as meaningful play.

Haroutunian’s point that not everything has to be for everyone is crucial to modern live-service and action RPG design. In a game as large as Diablo IV, systems work best when they do not suffocate one another, but instead give different layers of players a reason to return. That is why fishing can be a joke, a side activity and an important design statement all at once: even in hell, not every path has to lead to the same destination.

Sources: 3DJuegos, GamesRadar+