In 2023, Diablo 4 launched with a fresh storyline set 50 years after the events of Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls, peopled with new characters and a new antagonist. A little under three years later, the campaign of second expansion Lord of Hatred has ripped through this storyline’s cast and seemingly closed the book on almost all the story’s thread with a resounding thud of finality.
It’s pretty dramatic stuff. But it would be shocking if Lord of Hatred was Diablo 4‘s last expansion. So where does it go next?
[Ed. note: This article spoils the plot of Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred in its entirety.]
First, a quick recap.
Diablo 4 introduced a big bad who wasn’t even one of the Prime Evils: Lilith, demon daughter of Mephisto, the Prime Evil of Hatred. Deckard Cain, the wizened old wizard, item identifier, and exposition dispenser of the first three games, was long dead. In his place, developer Blizzard put Lorath Nahr, a more reluctant, cantankerous, and slovenly Horadrim with the unmistakable gravel-pit tones of actor Ralph Ineson.
Lilith, who was plotting to rule the realm of Sanctuary that she co-created with the angel Inarius, was killed at the end of Diablo 4’s main campaign. But it’s now apparent that Blizzard was setting up a kind of trilogy that would play out in the following two expansion packs. In order to secure her defeat, the Wanderer (the player character) bargained dangerously with Mephisto. Meanwhile, Lorath struck a dark bargain of his own with the Tree of Whispers — a cursed repository of knowledge that claims your head upon death if you seek information from it.
At the end of the game, Neyrelle — a young scholar who accompanied the Wanderer and Lorath — turned on Mephisto and imprisoned him in a Soulstone. It didn’t go great for her. In the first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, some stuff happened. Most of it wasn’t important. Lorath was mostly AWOL, Neyrelle was being tormented by Mephisto. The story ended with Mephisto taking possession of the resurrected body of Akarat, the founder of the Zakarum religion.
So what happens in Lord of Hatred?
I’ll just give you the bullet points:
- Neyrelle dies in the opening cutscene, offed by Mephisto-Akarat. She was kind of annoying, so that’s fine.
- Lorath is back on the scene. It’s nice to have the old bugger back.
- Mephisto-Akarat is doing the false prophet thing, leading a whole bunch of religious disciples in a rampage across Skovos (think Diablo Greece).
- Lilith is back, kind of, and a good guy now, kind of. She lives on in the Wanderer’s mind and provides useful tips and access to Mephisto’s memories. We even fight alongside her in a realm that is, I think, Mephisto’s mind palace?
- Tyrael turns up! The now-mortal Archangel of Justice, who appeared in Diablo 2 and 3, has finally decided to help out. He and Lorath have an emotional scene together.
- Almost immediately after, Lorath dies. He is beheaded by the queen of Skovos, who is in Mephisto-Akarat’s thrall (and who seems to be Lorath’s ex-girlfriend).
- Lilith sacrifices herself (even though she’s already dead) by severing her bond to the Wanderer to save them from being possessed by Mephisto.
- Mephisto is banished to the void, which is more final than being sent back to Hell or trapped in a Soulstone as has happened to him before, but probably not all that final.
- Lorath’s head is claimed by the Tree of Whispers but Tyrael and the Wanderer burn it down to release him, which is awkward because it’s an important source of endgame quests.
So basically, everyone’s dead. The Wanderer’s two main allies across the Diablo 4 campaigns so far, Lorath and Neyrelle, are both dead. The two main antagonists are gone, too, to the extent demon bad guys are ever really gone in Diablo. Lilith is redeemed, but even more dead than she was last time. Mephisto is ultra-super-banished. Somehow, I think they’ll both be back, but probably not for a while; likely not before Diablo 5.
So… what happens now?
Good question! Lord of Hatred pretty much pushes the reset button on Diablo 4. The Mephisto storyline is wrapped up and Lilith’s character arc has reached a satisfying conclusion. Our friends and allies have been taken out. Losing Lorath is a blow to everyone who assumed he was the new Deckard Cain (and to Ralph Ineson fans like me). But getting Tyrael back feels like more than just fan service; he has a substantial role to play in the expansion and, if anything, it seems like he’ll be our main ally going forward.
Where the storyline goes next is anyone’s guess. Fan theories center on Westmarch, the setting of the excellent Diablo 3 expansion Reaper of Souls. It’s geographically close to Skovos, and it’s where Tyrael’s been hanging out; he mentions that things aren’t too rosy there. (No surprise — this is Sanctuary, the least accurately named of all video game worlds.)
And which Prime Evil will we face next — even if it’s indirectly, the way Mephisto took three campaigns to step fully into the frame?
It’s tempting to say it will be Diablo himself, the Lord of Terror. But there’s a third Prime Evil: Baal, the Lord of Destruction. It seems possible that Blizzard’s plan for Diablo 4 is to have the player take on all three Prime Evils in the course of one game for the first time in the series’ history. If that’s the case, it would make sense for Baal to be up next, and Diablo to be the final final boss, however many years down the line.
But Blizzard could also throw us a curveball. Reaper of Souls‘ villain was not a Prime or even a Lesser Evil but the Angel of Death, Malthael. In Diablo lore, the angels aren’t much bigger fans of humanity than the demons are. Could we be about to go to war with heaven instead?
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