Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred: War Plans, Horadric Cube, and Skill Tree Changes
20.02.2026 - 14:27:39
Diablo 4 , Game Guides
The Diablo 4 development team has been busy at work fixing the most common issues with the game, particularly after the campaign. If you thought that the endgame is boring, I couldn’t agree more. That is why you can expect some major changes to Diablo 4 systems in the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion.
Let’s just say that you’ll get the Best D4 Items if you carefully craft War Plans. Besides that, the Horadric Cube is there to help you get rid of or breathe new life into some of your “junk” items. Whatever the case may be, Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred is shaping up to be one of the best pieces of content that the game has received since its inception. If you want to know more about the new D4 systems, read further to learn more!
War Plans: A Great Way to Customize Your Endgame Experience
Diablo 4, as it currently stands, is okay. The endgame surely needs an overhaul, especially because many players complained that it was a bit lacking compared to other ARPGs like PoE 1 and PoE 2. Fortunately, the developers thought about the same thing, which is why they are introducing a new feature called the “War Plans” in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred.
Basically, the War Plans are a feature that lets you customize your endgame progression by focusing on the activities that you really love the most. Do you want to push the higher levels of The Pit and forego Helltides entirely? How about Undercity? Do you favor that over the aforementioned endgame experiences? If the answer to these questions is a resounding “yes,” then you should be excited about the War Plans!
When the Lord of Hatred expansion drops on April 28, you can create a playlist via War Plans based on the following endgame activities:
- Infernal Hordes
- Nightmare Dungeons
- Lair Bosses
- Kurast Undercity
- Helltides
- The Pit
Once you have created your ideal endgame playlist, you can initiate the War Plans, and you will begin the activities that you have set immediately after. Completing your curated War Plans gives you experience points that enable you to fine-tune certain parameters. This can be seen on the activity tree that is part of the War Plans feature in Diablo 4.
In addition, certain nodes on the activity tree can add various types of content, depending on what you want. For instance, you can have the lair boss, The Beast in the Ice, spawn in Nightmare Dungeons when running them. This formidable creature will assist the main boss of the dungeon, making things a bit harder for you, though with a promise of better rewards.
Echoing Hatred: Battle the Endless Wave
While the new War Plans feature is awesome, it might not satiate your cravings for more carnage. If that is the case, perhaps this next endgame activity is something to your liking.
Echoing Hatred is a new activity in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred that puts you against endless waves of enemies at increasing difficulty. The longer you engage with the enemy, the more challenging the activity becomes.
You will start out with very weak enemies, akin to fighting them in Normal Difficulty. After a short amount of time, the challenge becomes progressively harder as you not only fight more waves, but the encounters will force you to utilize the entire capabilities of your D4 build.
If you are playing the Brandish Paladin build, for example, you should equip your character with Heir of Perdition and a 4-GA Supplication to greatly increase your damage output. Don’t forget to pop your defensive cooldowns, such as Fortress and Defiance Aura, when the going gets tough!
According to the developers, you can partake in the Echoing Hatred when you obtain a Trace of Echoes as a random drop. Consider the Trace of Echoes as your “golden ticket” toward this new activity in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred.
Skill Tree Overhaul: 40+ Reworks and Build Changes
Many people have criticized the skill tree in Diablo 4. Sure, it looks a bit complex when you zoom out the camera, but once you hover over each node, you will find that it’s actually not that complicated.
The problem with the current skill tree is that you are quite limited in how you can approach your build. Because of this, build diversity remains a problem, until now.
When Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred launches, the expansion will bring a completely revamped skill tree. It’s going to come with more than 40+ skill reworks for those who own the base game, and another 20 reworked skills for those who have the expansion.
According to the D4 dev team, the rationale behind the skill tree overhaul is to give players significantly more ways to theorycraft builds, leading to more build combinations.
The thing that you have to remember about the skill tree revamp is that each ability can be altered at a fundamental level. For instance, Hammer of the Ancients prompts you to slam your hammer with the fury of the ancients, dealing damage in a relatively small area. When you allocate the Furious Hammer of the Ancients augment, the skill will act as if you have the Mantle of Mountain’s Fury equipped!
Aside from that, the developers have confirmed in a recent “Sanctuary Sitdown” live Q&A event that they are removing all passive skills from the tree, so you are left with only the main skills and their corresponding augments. This is a massive change, considering that you will now have more points to tweak your favorite skills to your liking!
The power that you lost with the removal of the passive skills is going to be recouped via the Paragon Board overhaul (scheduled sometime after the expansion’s release), as well as the new Talisman System.
Talismans and Charms: Gain the Power of Set Bonuses
Set bonuses have come to Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred in the form of Talismans. The new Talisman System has two major components: the Horadric Seal and the Charms.
The Horadric Seal unlocks the charm slots. Simply drag and drop the seal onto its rightful place in the middle of the UI, and it will give you some slots where you can place the Charms.
Speaking of which, the Charms provide a lot of power, especially if you equip several of them that are part of a set. In most cases, you will receive a set bonus just by equipping two Charms. Of course, the more Charms you have in the same set, the more bonuses you can enjoy!
With how it’s made, the Talisman System in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred effectively solves the issue that was prevalent in Diablo 3. In case you don’t know, D3 had a huge problem with set bonuses because you are “forced” to equip full set pieces in order to avail of the perks. Since the Horadric Seal and Charms are completely separate, you can wear your favorite legendary items and mythic uniques and still enjoy what the new Talisman Set Bonuses can provide!
Horadric Cube
The iconic Horadric Cube returns in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred. You will find this object somewhere in Temis, which is the central hub that plays a huge role in the campaign.
Interacting with the cube presents you with a 4x3 grid that allows you to place items for transmutation. Of course, you’ll be able to enjoy different Horadric Cube Recipes simply by clicking on the book icon in the lower-right corner of the UI. Some of the things that you can do with the cube are:
- Amalgamation: Transmute several copies of the same item to upgrade it.
- 3-to-1 Transmutation: Transmute 3 pieces of gear or Talisman items of the same type to form a new item of that type (ex. 3 belts = 1 new belt).
- Recycle Uniques: Repurpose your junk uniques by transmuting three of the same type into a new version of that unique item.
FAQ
What is the Echoing Hatred?
It is a rare event in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, where you will encounter endless hordes of monsters at increasing difficulty.
What Does the D4 Horadric Cube Do?
It transmutes various items. It is mainly used to repurpose your junk items, though it can also be utilized for other things (that have yet to be revealed).
Should I Stockpile Materials Now?
Season 13 will commence as soon as Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred is released on April 28. This means there is an economy reset, forcing everyone who creates a new character in the season to start from scratch. Therefore, there is no need to stockpile items now since you can’t use any of them anyway.
Are Previous Meta Builds Still Viable?
There is a high chance that the meta builds of today will still be viable in the Lord of Hatred expansion. However, there are major changes to their skills and required items due to the skill tree revamp, so expect some differences.
Where Can I Find More Information About the Lord of Hatred?
The developers will hold an event on March 5 that explains the new Warlock Class in detail. Stay tuned to our RPGStash Blog for more information.