Unveiling Diablo 4's Enigmatic Map: Indications of a Game-Changing Expansion

Highlights

With its open-world concept, Diablo 4 offers a flexible story structure, allowing players to delve deeper into the game's secrets. Nevertheless, there is still ample opportunity for the map to expand, leading players to discover iconic locations from Diablo 2.

The southern region of Diablo 4's map, which borders Kehjistan and Hawezar, appears to be a perfect choice for a potential future expansion. This expansion could possibly feature the ancient city of Kurast and the surrounding jungles, which served as a significant setting in Diablo 2's Act 3.

The Season of the Malignant is currently underway in Diablo 4, marking the introduction of the game's live-service content. Although the seasonal update has sparked some controversy due to gameplay changes, it signifies the beginning of consistent content updates that the Diablo series is known for. Historically, each entry in the series has received substantial expansions that introduce new classes, story acts, and regions for players to explore. Considering this pattern, it's likely that Diablo 4 will follow suit, with the location of this expansion potentially indicated on the game's map.

How Diablo 4’s Map Could Expand in a Future Update

Diablo 4 is already equipped with six Acts scattered across the five regions of Sanctuary that players can explore in the base game. In the Season of the Malignant, a brand new quest line will guide players back through these regions as they embark on a search for a cure to the Malignant affliction that has ravaged many of the inhabitants of Sanctuary in Diablo 4. The open-world nature of the game allows for a more flexible and dynamic story structure compared to previous installments, and the map is brimming with countless hidden secrets waiting to be discovered by players. Furthermore, there is still potential for the map to expand and transport players to a beloved location from Diablo 2.

The Season of the Malignant is just a preview of what's in store for Diablo 4. Similar to previous installments in the series, the game is expected to receive major expansions after a few years. Diablo 2 introduced the Lord of Destruction expansion, which was released a year after the base game, while Diablo 3 followed suit with the Reaper of Souls expansion two years later. These expansions not only brought new character classes and story quests, but also introduced new locations as part of the main quest lines. Given this pattern, it is highly likely that Diablo 4 will follow suit and offer exciting new content through its expansions.

The Lord of Destruction expansion in Diablo 2 introduced Mount Arreat as the main location for a new story quest, where players defeated Baal, the Lord of Destruction. Similarly, Diablo 3's Reaper of Souls campaign was set in the newly available region of Westmarch. However, with Diablo 4's open world, a new location connected to the existing map will likely be needed so that players can easily travel between this new area and the base game's map.

Players who have fully explored Diablo 4's map may have an idea of where a future expansion could take place. There is a noticeable empty region displayed in the southernmost part of the map, below the areas of Kehjistan and Hawezar, which appears to be a suitable choice for an expansion setting. Fans of Diablo 2 may remember that the ancient city of Kurast is situated on the southern border of Kehjistan and the Torajan Jungles, an overgrown region inhabited by the Umbaru and Opaya tribes, as well as dangerous flora and fauna that remain unexplored by the inhabitants of neighboring Kehjistan region.

The city of Kurast and its surrounding jungles served as the primary location for Act 3 in Diablo 2. In this act, players ventured into the ancient jungles to defeat Mephisto. This connection to Mephisto could potentially be relevant to the storyline of Diablo 4. Additionally, the jungle setting of Kurast would introduce a new biome not yet seen in Diablo 4's map. Considering the strong inspiration from Diablo 2 in Diablo 4, it is highly likely that players will explore Kurast and the southern region of the game's map in a future expansion. Diablo 4 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.