Diablo 4 Will Be "Like the First Chapter of a Book", Diablo May Not Even Show Up

[KOUNTERPARTS]

This write-up is based on an interview conducted by AusGamers with Game Director Luis Barriga and Art Director John Mueller. The following is IcyVein's summary of the interview.


Interesting points:

It seems the story plans for D4 are quite a bit more expansive than just the main story of the game itself, as we found out in a recent interview with AusGamers. Talking with Game Director Luis Barriga and Art Director John Mueller, AusGamers found out a lot about the story, lore and the way they wanted to present it, especially with the reveal cinematic.

"When we were looking at the early animatics that was always the moment. The last shot was the most important shot. Because it's not just a summoning, it's a summoning of the Queen of Sanctuary." - John Mueller

But the big piece of info from the interview has to be the fact that there's a much grander plan for Diablo 4's re-imagined Sanctuary, with the story in the base game being only the beginning:

"Diablo IV is like the first chapter of a book. We want to tell a big story and we want to tell it, hopefully, for a very long time. Treating this like the first chapter of a book and Lilith as a key character in this story, it feels great knowing that there are still all these other characters that could come back in the future. Or, new characters that we haven’t seen before." - John Mueller

There's also the matter of Diablo himself, and it seems like we're not going to be running into him in the base game, as he may be planned for a later expansion:

"It also changes up the formula. In Reaper of Souls if you go up against Diablo, after playing to max level - it’s a battle that’s almost like a like a minor speed bump. Malthael became the real boss. So, it’s also, what if we don't bring him back right away? And instead, take the time to explore some of these other characters first." - Luis Barriga

Personally I don't mind Diablo himself not being at the forefront of the story, and the fleshing out of new characters and new "big bad guys" refreshing. However, the game is still called "Diablo" and if he isn't doing some sort of shenanigans in the background -- apparent or not -- it wouldn't feel right.


But I like Diablo's story telling more than WoW's in many regards. The more interviews I read about D4 the more The H Y P E builds.

[Thelxi]

I'm glad to see they still have ambitions for the franchise. If they do this right, which they can do, it might breathe more life into Blizzard.

[Thrif]

Another piece of evidence that the designers actually care about both the lore and gameplay. And rightfully so, diablo never felt like more of a boss than any other boss in D3.

He did in D2 despite Bhaal somewhat sharing his spot, and he definitely did in D1.

We already knew the designers seemed dedicated but it's always refreshing to get to see more of it, considering how rare it is nowadays.

[Coldkil]

If anything, i read this as an actual confirmation that Diablo WILL be in the game, just not at the beginning. And the reasoning is pretty much this - if Diablo is the ultimate evil to beat, why in every game we beat him and then a worse opponent appears?

Makes sense also for the story. Rathma calls Lilith back because there's some bigger opponent to deal with. Which is the most diffused speculation around.

EDIT: btw, a leak appeared and it was confirmed that the bald guy in the video is in fact Rathma. There's still a chance that Blizzard changed something in the meanwhile but it's a pretty solid find. Details in the video.

[Spiral Mage]

I like the sounds of it .. that was one idea I had for ARPGs. You keep the story going by telling a bigger story rather than making it all self-contained.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

EDIT: btw, a leak appeared and it was confirmed that the bald guy in the video is in fact Rathma. There's still a chance that Blizzard changed something in the meanwhile but it's a pretty solid find. Details in the video.

I had a feeling that was him. Although, I don't think lore wise it makes sense for him to want to be aligned with Lilith. I remember watching some Diablo content creators freak out saying it was Rathma because he supposed he was missing a finger or something on his left hand?

[Raven]

May not even show up, it sound pretty much like they confirm Diablo will show up, just that he might not be there in chapter 1.

[korijenkins]

Another piece of evidence that the designers actually care about both the lore and gameplay. And rightfully so, diablo never felt like more of a boss than any other boss in D3.

He did in D2 despite Bhaal somewhat sharing his spot, and he definitely did in D1.

We already knew the designers seemed dedicated but it's always refreshing to get to see more of it, considering how rare it is nowadays.

Idk in D3 before they absolutely gutted the difficulty, even reaching Diablo was challenging, let alone beating him. This was on release anyway, when every boss and every mob post-butcher (aka post-beta test) hit far harder than they should've.

[Wildmoon]

It means they will take time exploring the world with more characters and lands with xpacs rather than go straight to Diablo in the base game. I like this direction. Just because the game is named Diablo doesn't mean you always have to fight and kill him. He could just serve as a threat in the background while we explore other characters. Hopefully, they eventually fill the whole map of Sanctuary.

[Segus1992]

Idk in D3 before they absolutely gutted the difficulty, even reaching Diablo was challenging, let alone beating him. This was on release anyway, when every boss and every mob post-butcher (aka post-beta test) hit far harder than they should've.

Well no not really, you had to kill him 2/3 (don't remember) to even reach Inferno. I really hope they don't follow either of D3s difficulty versions.

[Niroshi]

I had a feeling that was him. Although, I don't think lore wise it makes sense for him to want to be aligned with Lilith. I remember watching some Diablo content creators freak out saying it was Rathma because he supposed he was missing a finger or something on his left hand?

It might make sense for him to summon her, he's a Necromancer after all and the end of Diablo 3 RoS pretty much had the balance shot to shit. Reintroducing Lilith might be a way to bring some things back into balance.

[Coldkil]

I had a feeling that was him. Although, I don't think lore wise it makes sense for him to want to be aligned with Lilith. I remember watching some Diablo content creators freak out saying it was Rathma because he supposed he was missing a finger or something on his left hand?

I did some research about this, to see if it would fit or needed a massive retcon to be working.

And in the end, it fits. During the Sin War, Rathma was pretty much blatantly opposed to both his parents. Inarius wanted to get rid of all the Nephalem, locking their powers and killing most of them. Lilith on the other side wanted total control over them to make them her personal army and conquer all the Creation.

Long story short, Rathma ended doing what Lilith had planned for Uldyssian. He is all about the Balance, so makes sense for him to "side with evil" if the Light powers became too strong. His primary objective is the safety of the Nephalem and of all people around, Lilith is actually the only other being that cares for them (for the wrong reasons).

I can see that in the event of an invasion of Sanctuary from eithe Heaven or Hell, Lilith is the only aid Nephalem can ask for, being her not sided with anyone else. Not the best solution but if it's the only one it's good enough.

Plus, Inaruis is still prisoner of Mephisto, and i don't think he's going to stay there for a long time. And i suppose given how Mephalem are responsible for his imprisonment, he's going to go full ballistic on them.

[Wildmoon]

I did some research about this, to see if it would fit or needed a massive retcon to be working.

And in the end, it fits. During the Sin War, Rathma was pretty much blatantly opposed to both his parents. Inarius wanted to get rid of all the Nephalem, locking their powers and killing most of them. Lilith on the other side wanted total control over them to make them her personal army and conquer all the Creation.

Long story short, Rathma ended doing what Lilith had planned for Uldyssian. He is all about the Balance, so makes sense for him to "side with evil" if the Light powers became too strong. His primary objective is the safety of the Nephalem and of all people around, Lilith is actually the only other being that cares for them (for the wrong reasons).

I can see that in the event of an invasion of Sanctuary from eithe Heaven or Hell, Lilith is the only aid Nephalem can ask for, being her not sided with anyone else. Not the best solution but if it's the only one it's good enough.

Plus, Inaruis is still prisoner of Mephisto, and i don't think he's going to stay there for a long time. And i suppose given how Mephalem are responsible for his imprisonment, he's going to go full ballistic on them.

How would that work though? Lilith's coming apparently brings out the worst in the people of sanctuary making the world an even worse place. People also go all cult crazy on her.

[Mirishka]

Sounds good to me. I felt it was a bit anticlimactic dealing with Diablo so soon in D3, would have preferred a 'WoW expansion' approach where we're building up to fighting him over months or even a couple of years.

[Coldkil]

How would that work though? Lilith's coming apparently brings out the worst in the people of sanctuary making the world an even worse place. People also go all cult crazy on her.

Eh, not really actually. Who made the first cults in sanctuary were the Three prime Evils with the Triumvirate, and then Inarius with the Cathedral of Light. When Lilith came back from her first exile in the Void, she manipulated Uldyssian by framing him for homicides but in the end, he went all out on his own with the help of Rathma, Mendeln, etc.

So, from what we know, it's not like people went all "LILITH". On the contrary, she always worked from the shadows excluding the first time when angels and demons of Sanctuary wanted to exterminate the Nephalem so she went ballistic and killed them all.

I'd like more details on what you said. Maybe i'm missing something that changes the things completely.

[Wildmoon]

Eh, not really actually. Who made the first cults in sanctuary were the Three prime Evils with the Triumvirate, and then Inarius with the Cathedral of Light. When Lilith came back from her first exile in the Void, she manipulated Uldyssian by framing him for homicides but in the end, he went all out on his own with the help of Rathma, Mendeln, etc.

So, from what we know, it's not like people went all "LILITH". On the contrary, she always worked from the shadows excluding the first time when angels and demons of Sanctuary wanted to exterminate the Nephalem so she went ballistic and killed them all.

I'd like more details on what you said. Maybe i'm missing something that changes the things completely.

Slides in the story section of D4 official site. Her mere presence inspires evil in the hearts of men.

[Coldkil]

Slides in the story section of D4 official site. Her mere presence inspires evil in the hearts of men.

Ok, just read them. They said that Lilith's returned spawned a new wave of cultists and "all prayers are still unanswered". Lilith is not "good" as in the classic acception. However doesn't clash with my hypotesis because either being enslaved by demons or exterminated by angels is still worse than stand under Lilith.

I'm not saying we won't clash with her. I am pretty sure we will actively fight her to avoid being dominated by her. Stikll if we are in the situation of choosing the lesser evil, i'd go with Lilith for sure.

What i am still kinda torn, is the alignement of Rathma. While i try to explain stuff based on what we know and what it should be, Blizzard can retcon everything very easily.

[Wangming]

Honestly I'm tired of Diablo. The character I mean. I'm glad we are focusing on other villains for now.

[Mehrunes]

I'd prefer if Diablo didn't appear at all. In D3 he basically became Tathamet reborn after merging with all of the other Evils and still got fucked by us. At this point his return would feel cheap, pandering and redundant. Especially if they try to hype him up as some ultimate threat when D3 has shown that he's really not.

[Dracullus]

I don't want Diablo right after release, he is a)overused b)needs good build up. Lilith seems like perfect villain for vanilla game.