Diablo II: Resurrected’s Warlock split the community — clever preservation or broken meta?

Why the Warlock split matters right now

This caught my attention because Blizzard just dropped a paid expansion on a 25-year-old classic and the community reacted faster than a Diablo teleport. Reign of the Warlock (released Feb 11, 2026) has created a polarization: some players demand nerfs because Warlock builds trivialize content, while others – including Path of Exile co‑creator Chris Wilson – argue selling the changes as DLC protects the original vanilla experience. Between ladder prizes, shotgun-like Echoing Strike builds, and heated Reddit threads, this is about more than one class being strong; it’s about how we treat legacy games in 2026.

• New class, old game upheaval: Warlock upended the meta quickly-some builds break endgame balance.
• DLC-as-preservation: Developers and some peers argue paid-era toggles let the base game remain “museum” untouched.
• Blizzard hasn’t committed to nerfs: Season 13 launched with little immediate tuning; official incentives suggest the studio is OK with the Warlock for now.

What’s actually broken (and what’s hype)

Multiple outlets and creators flagged one culprit: Echoing Strike Warlocks. PC Gamer and popular YouTubers reported that an Echoing Strike build behaves like a shotgun, deleting bosses and trivializing resist-immunity mechanics that once mattered in Diablo II. Add summon-buff synergies and cheap “meat shield” tactics—Bind Demon + Blood Oath stacks—and you get a multiplayer-safe, near‑invincible playstyle that steamrolled ladder content before Blizzard had time to respond.

That’s not to say every Warlock playstyle is OP or that melee classes are being ignored; there’s less hard evidence of a coordinated melee backlash in public forums. But the visual impact of one build so clearly outperforming decades‑old strategies is what lit the fuse on Reddit and Steam discussions demanding fixes.

The DLC-as-museum argument, and why Chris Wilson matters

Chris Wilson’s voice carries weight in ARPG circles. He’s said two things that seem contradictory but are important together: he criticized Blizzard’s reveal and packaging of Reign of the Warlock as a “strategic mistake” (saying a new act would have been more compelling), yet he defended the idea of keeping base Diablo II untouched by confining major changes to paid DLC. As reported by 3DJuegos and VidaExtra, Wilson framed the approach as creating an option for purists to play an unaltered “museum” version while letting modernized content exist separately.

That argument matters because it reframes “paywall” conversations: is Blizzard nickel‑and‑diming players, or is it offering a versioned archive so the original stays intact? Both sides have merit—preservation is a real value for a 25‑year‑old title, but gating meaningful meta changes behind a purchase naturally angers those who treat the game as a living ecosystem.

Blizzard’s current posture and community incentives

Blizzard hasn’t rushed to nerf the Warlock. Patch notes around Season 13 prioritized new Terror Zones and ultra‑endgame Colossal Ancients, and the studio even ran a promotion: the first 300 players to hit level 99 Hardcore as a Warlock will be immortalized on a statue at Blizzard’s Irvine campus. That Steam News promotion makes a clear statement—Blizzard is officially celebrating Warlock runs even as community calls for balance pile up.

Lead producer Matthew Cederquist has framed the class as part of a cross‑franchise rollout (D2R now, Diablo IV later), positioning Warlocks as a design experiment with “hundreds of strategic combinations” via demon manipulation. That sounds like intent to let players explore novel synergies rather than immediately neuter them.

What gamers should expect next

• Watch for a balancing patch after Season 13’s initial weeks — community pressure and tournament data usually force tweaks (likely late Feb/early March).
• Expect Blizzard to tinker with demon AI, Echoing Strike scaling, or item interactions rather than instant, large nerfs that upset buyers of the DLC.
• Follow Path of Exile’s March updates and Diablo IV previews; cross‑title class design conversations will influence player migration and expectations.

There’s a real tension here between preserving an untouched classic and evolving it for modern audiences. Reign of the Warlock proves that gated-era changes can protect a “museum” D2R while also introducing meta‑shifting content behind a paywall. Both aims are defensible, but Blizzard will need to show it can balance new toys without alienating the players who want the game to stay what it was.

TL;DR

The Warlock DLC has shaken a 25‑year‑old meta: some builds trivially clear content, Reddit wants nerfs, and Blizzard is equivocating—celebrating early Warlock ladder achievements while leaning on DLC as a way to preserve vanilla D2R. Expect tweaks, not immediate surgery, and keep an eye on the upcoming patch cycle to see whether Blizzard sides with experimentation or quick balance fixes.