Good news, bad news: The good news is rumors of the Blood Knight being Blizzard's latest class were true. The bad news is this awesome new human/vampire payable character is for Diablo Immortal only. Well, at least for now. There is still hope it will make its way to Diablo 4.
Blizzard confirmed rumors of a new class coming to Diablo Immortal on Friday. The Blood Knight is the first new player character since introducing the Crusader in 2014. The addition also brings Diablo Immortal up to the standard seven classes that all previous games have, aside from the original Diablo, which had six after the Hellfire expansion.
The Blood Knight brings a lot of fresh new mechanics to master. As with any character, the BK has unique skills that will change how players battle. Here's Blizzard's overview:
"The Blood Knight is a mid-range Class with hybrid attack options that are either melee or ranged depending on your proximity to the target. This vanquisher of vampires feeds on enemies' life, entraps them in deadly shadows summoned with cursed strength, and relies on their trusty polearm to maintain distance from danger. And if all else fails, they may just succumb to the unholy abomination within themselves that's vying for control of their humanity. Watch the [above] video on the Blood Knight to get a taste of who they are."
In addition to new skills, the Blood Knight update adds class-specific armor, weapons, and the legendary gem Spiteful Blood. The BK's preferred weapon is the polearm, but like all classes, it can use a variety of armaments found in loot drops. Blizzard says there are 60 new class-specific legendary items for the Blood Knight. These can dynamically change aspects of the character to allow players to facilitate various BK build options.
The class comes with reams of backstory and lore, including a short story by Ryan Quinn that you can read online right now. A player recently found some of the Blood Knight's lore in Diablo 4, which led to speculation that the new class might be headed there. Unfortunately, at this point, it seems D4 is not getting the Blood Knight. However, we can't rule it out since it is official Diablo canon now.
Blizzard has already confirmed two big content updates coming this year that it is "already working on." One of them containing the Blood Knight is not out of the question. So all hope is not yet lost. Who knows? Maybe Blizzard has something even more exciting in the upcoming D4 expansions.
Once unlocked, there are a few ways to start playing as a Blood Knight. The first option is to start a new character and customize it to your preferences. The second is to wait for the upcoming three-week-long Crimson Plane event, where everyone participating plays as a Blood Knight. Blizzard hasn't set a date for that but promised more information on July 11. The last option is to use the recently improved Class Change option that so far is unique to Diablo Immortal.
Class Change becomes available at level 35, allowing players to convert their existing character to a different one. While changing back to your previous class is allowed as soon as immediately after the switch, performing another swap has a seven-day cooldown. However, Blizzard is removing the cooldown for the first three weeks after release.
So using the Class Change feature, you can immediately start playing Blood Knight at whatever level (above 35) you are. If you don't like it, you can switch back whenever you want. Do keep in mind that changing classes resets your paragon point asignments, and your class-specific gear is replaced with "placeholder" equipment of the same level but compatible with the new character.
Check out Blizzard's blog if you want a headstart on planning your build. It lists all the BK's skills and gear to give you an idea of what it can do. Diablo Immortal is free-to-play on PC, iOS, and Android.