Diablo IV Teases a New Class While Diablo II: Resurrected Kicks off Season 11

Blizzard has said that the 11th Ladder Season of Diablo II: Resurrected will begin on June 20, 2025. This season's ladder reset lets players start over with new characters, a fresh economy, and a new race to level 99 on the leaderboards.

That being said, I don't think that this reset will add new content or change the balance. It's a brand-new start for competitive climbers, especially those who want early-game items, speedruns that are optimized, or the thrill of being at the top of the ladder charts. Blizzard has kept Resurrected's seasonal schedule, but fans who want new Runewords or changes to the game's mechanics will have to wait.

The fan-made Project Diablo II (PD2) mod could be the answer for Diablo II fans who want to get more out of the game. PD2 is a significant update to the original Diablo II (2000), adding modern quality-of-life features, expanded skill trees, an endgame mapping system, and consistent balance patches. It is also starting its own Season 11.

However, PD2 only works with the original Diablo II client and not the remastered Resurrected version. The community-led team has added custom UI tweaks and graphical upscaling filters to make the classic look and feel better without taking away from its pixel-art charm. If you want an old-school grind with a twist and don't mind not having the shiny graphics of the remaster, it's worth a look.

On the other hand, Blizzard is running what they call an "Anniversary Event" in Diablo IV, which has a lot of fans confused.

The event is mostly just a few free cosmetics, like a mount, armor skin, a title, and a bunch of emotes. There are also some fancy marketing emails and banners in-game. That's it. There aren't any celebration dungeons, changes to the way you play, themed bosses, or even new quests. You're done after you log in and click "Claim Rewards."

Many fans say that calling it an "event" sets unrealistic expectations, even though they like the free stuff. Players might have been more open to it if Blizzard had called it "Anniversary Login Rewards." It's been a mess instead; some people have even called it "the most boring Diablo event ever." A rumor says that the Burned Knights are a strange group that shows up every night in Kyovashad Tavern at 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the Diablo game. They appear between the notice board and the cloaked NPC who famously yells, "You, wanderer!" "I know what you are!"

The knights aren't like other background NPCs because they wear heavy armor and carry polearms and shields. Many people are wondering if they're an Easter egg, a hint at new content, or a dev tool that was left in the world by accident because they don't interact with players and go away quickly after showing up.

A few players have tried to confirm the appearance, but it doesn't seem to be consistent or time-gated. Some people who logged in at the same time as them didn't see the knights. So—glitch, ARG tease, or teaser timed just right?

The holy order of the Knights Penitent, led by Reverend Mother Prava, fought in one of the most intense movie scenes in Diablo IV when they marched into Hell to serve Inarius. The Knights were mostly wiped out when the angel was killed, but Prava lived.

Urivar, one of her former followers, lost faith in Prava's leadership and split off, starting the Burned Knights, a more extreme and zealous group that thought that Sanctuary could only be free of evil by taking absolute, cruel action. They burned their armor to show that they were holy fire warriors.

In the Vessel of Hatred storyline, players finally face Urivar, who has gone crazy and beaten him. The Burnt Knights were not completely destroyed, though, which is very important. Some remnants made it out alive, and their goals are still unclear. They're not completely evil, but they're also not completely good either. You can think of them as religious extremists who carry a sword and a torch.

This sudden sighting of a Burnt Knight has sparked new rumors that Diablo IV's next playable class will be a holy warrior like a Paladin, which is said to be coming in Expansion 2.

Diablo IV and Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred don't have a traditional holy knight archetype yet, but Diablo II and III do. There are only classes like Sorcerer, Rogue, and Barbarian. No Crusader or Paladin. With their shiny shields and spears, the Burnt Knights look like they would be perfect for this role.

Blizzard is known for planting subtle visual teasers months ahead of time. Putting an NPC from the Holy Order in a strange place and time is a classic example of a slow-burn tease. Some fans even think that the new class might have divine buffs, fire-based AoEs, and polearm mobility skills, making it different from the Barbarian or Rogue, who are more brute-force-based.

The Cow Level is a mythical, moo-filled alternate world that is said to be in every Diablo game. No Diablo theory thread is complete without a mention of it.

There are vague church messages about the "Divine Advent," knights that only show up at strange times, and mysterious symbols on the notice board. This has made some fans wonder if it could be part of a bigger puzzle or ARG. Could it have something to do with getting to the cow level? Or is it just a nice way to build the world?

On one side, Diablo II: Resurrected has a straight-up ladder reset, which is very old-school. On the other hand, Diablo IV is building mystery and getting mixed reactions. The Burnt Knights could just be background noise, or they could be the first sign of what's to come.

What do you think? As a bug, a tease, or a breadcrumb trail? No matter what the answer is, Sanctuary is still as mysterious as ever.