The story of Diablo 4 revolves around Lilith, even though the series is called Diablo. Blizzard has now commented on the role of the dark lord in the new hack ‘n slash.
Where is Diablo? In the current storyline description of the hack ‘n slash Diablo 4, the dark lord is not mentioned. After all, Diablo was the enemy in all three previous parts. Does that mean we’re getting a Diablo without Diablo?
Game Director Luis Barriga explains that Diablo already did not play a role in the Reaper of Souls expansion for Diablo 3, as he was defeated at the end of the main game. In Reaper of Souls, the archangel of death, Malthael, was the opponent. And it worked well.
According to Luis Barriga, this has changed the formula of the Diablo games. The team asked themselves, “What if we don’t bring Diablo back right away in Part 4? What if we take the time to explore some of the other characters [from the Diablo universe]?”
Thus, the idea emerged that Lilith should be the antagonist and Diablo would not play a role for now.
Fight against Lilith
Who is Lilith? Lilith is the daughter of Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, and of Lucion. She is known as the Queen of Succubi and created the world of Sanctuary together with the angel Inarius after they stole the Worldstone from the Pandemonium Fortress.
Lilith brought the first Nephalem into the world, whom she conceived with the angel Inarius. Other Nephalem followed from the union of angels and demons. But angels and demons recognized a danger in these beings and planned to destroy them.
When the Nephalem were to be exterminated, Lilith went insane, as she did not want her children to die and saw them as the future of the world of Sanctuary. She killed all of Inarius’s followers, who then banished her from the world. In Diablo 4, she will be brought back with a ritual.
During the Pandemonium event in Diablo 2, Lilith appeared as a boss enemy, and in Part 3, she was only mentioned in passing.
Is Diablo coming back?
Will we see Diablo sometime in Part 4? Blizzard stated that they want to focus on other characters from the Diablo universe first. However, this does not mean that Diablo will not make an appearance at all.
Diablo 4 is set to receive several expansions that will continue the story, and there is certainly room for a return of the dark lord in this grand narrative. Since the release of Diablo 4 is still some time away, we will also have to wait to reunite with Diablo.
What do you think about the idea of leaving Diablo out of the story for now and focusing on other characters? Or are you disappointed that Diablo does not appear at least at the beginning?
