DIABLO III

The most controversial one, but crucial to the story

Set 15 years after the events of Diablo II, Diablo III returns to Tristram (now known as New Tristram) and the cathedral where the nightmare began. Accompanied by his ward Leah, the Horadrim sage Deckard Cain continues his research into the cathedral, when a star falls from the sky and strikes the building, burying Cain in a whole mess of rubble. That fallen star turns out be the archangel Tyrael, who has abandoned the High Heavens to warn Sanctuary of an invasion by two Lesser Evils, Belial and Azmodan.

While searching for Tyrael’s identity, Deckard Cain is killed by a cultist leader named Maghda. Afterward, Leah, Tyrael and the player pursue Azmodan and Belial to the city of Caldeum. There they encounter Leah’s mother Adria, and learn that the key to defeating the pair is a mysterious artifact known as the Black soulstone.

Leah and the player succeed in trapping Belial and Azmodan in the Black soulstone. But Adria betrays the pair. Revealing that she is a servant of Diablo, Adria uses Leah as a vessel to empower the Lord of Terror. The revived Diablo proceeds to assault the High Heavens. Together, Tyrael and the player travel to the High Heavens for a final confrontation with Diablo, destroying his physical manifestation, although the Black soulstone is lost in the fight.

Alongside the key events in the plot itself, Diablo III has major ramifications for what happens both before and after its own story. Diablo III retcons the first two games, reframing the original protagonist (who becomes the Dark Wanderer of Diablo II) as Prince Aidan, the eldest son of the tragic King Leoric. Copeland explains Blizzard’s process when it comes to reworking previous events: “What I’ve found when it comes to creative sessions is the word no, or being ‘lore police’, as it were, usually doesn’t help the creative process” he says. “We want to make sure that we give [writers] the suggestions to make their story work, because at the end of the day, we’re all trying to tell cool stories.

DARK HARVEST

The other crucial story change that Diablo III leads to is the climactic events of the Reaper of Souls DLC. After defeating Diablo, the angel Tyrael tries to hide the Black soulstone with the aid of the newly reformed Horadric order, but his efforts are undermined by another angel, Malthael, who steals the soulstone as part of his own plan to exterminate humanity. “Everybody’s gut instinct is to think angels equal good demons equal bad, but as we see in the past story of Diablo there are some angels that are awful,” Copeland says. “Malthael being the aspect of death that culled humanity being a prime example.”

WHILE SEARCHING FOR TYRAEL’S IDENTITY, DECKARD CAIN IS KILLED BY A CULTIST LEADER