I tried to dissect more of the in-game and out of game clues over here if you haven't seen that topic.
Does make you wonder where the original Diablo 3 MMO version, if it was a continuation of the story and not set in the Sin War or something, was going to go. (CTRL+F 'diablo version') Hmm, wonder if anyone has ever asked him, if he is able to say.
In another interview he did say that as of 2003 when he and the others left, the game wasn't set in Heaven, like the leaked screenshots of what must be the 2003-2005 Blizzard North version show.
"Corruption has the strength of deceit, but innocence holds the power of purity." - Adria, Diablo
Is Adria just a 'cultist' or corrupted mortal, or is she something more than that?
I'm skeptical that they were planning it way back then, but the townsfolk in D1 cast her as a super duper magic user, or something not human.
Why don't that old crone do something for a change? Sure, sure, she's got stuff, but you listen to me - she's unnatural! She doesn't eat or drink, and you can't trust somebody that desn't drink at least a little.
The witch, Adria, is an anomaly here in Tristram. She arrived shortly after the Cathedral was desecrated while most everyone else was fleeing. She had a small hut constructed at the edge of town, seemingly overnight, and has access to many strange and arcane artifacts and tomes of knowledge that even I have never seen before.
Adria is wise beyond her years, but I must admit - she frightens me a little. Well, no matter. If you ever have need to trade in items of sorcery, she maintains a strangely well-stocked hut just across the river.
While I use some limited forms of magic to create the potions and elixirs I store here, Adria is a true sorceress. She never seems to sleep, and she always has access to many mystic tomes and artifacts. I believe her hut may be much more than the hovel it appears to be, but I can never seem to get inside the place.
Adria truly bothers me. Sure, Cain is creepy in what he can tell you about the past, but that witch can see into your past. She always has some way to get whatever she needs, too. Adria gets her hands on more merchandise than I've seen pass through the gates of the King's Bazaar during High Festival.
Doesn't eat, drink, or sleep allegedly, able to get whatever she wants, most of the town is scared of her.. She seemed to know a lot about what was really going on too.
"No Mortal can truly understand the mind of the Demon. Never let their erratic actions confuse you, as that too may be their plan."
"There are many artifacts within the Labyrinth that hold powers beyond the comprehension of mortals. Some of these hold fantastic power that can be used by either the Light or the Darkness. Securing the Anvil from below could shift the course of the Sin War towards the Light."
"This is a place of great anguish and terror, and so serves its master well. Tread carefully or you may yourself be staying much longer than you had anticipated."
"You will become an eternal servant of the Dark Lords should you perish within this cursed domain. Enter the Chamber of Bone at your own peril."
"The Heaven Stone is very powerful, and were it any but Griswold who bid you find it, I would prevent it. He will harness its powers and its use will be for the good of us all."
So since we now know she was apparently an agent of Diablo, we can assume she was there to make sure things went according to plan. What is this plan?
From the D2:LoD instruction manual:
"And a child will cradle Terror in his breast as the heart of man falls under the shadow.
A Wanderer will pass through the ancient lands trailing chaos in his wake.
The Three Brothers will be reunited as the mortal world trembles before their might.
And so it was foretold that the Three, once reunited, would be shattered again—
And the last of them would set his sights on the holy mount. The warnings held that
Their defeat would be illusory—that the final gambit had yet to be played..."
+ + +
And now at last the storm surges forth from the southlands, and the hand of Destruction
Reaches out to undo the workings of the Ancients. The tides of Hell surge—ready to smash
Down upon the shores of the mortal world—to drown the guilty and the innocent alike.
That was from something called Prophecies of the Final Day by the way.
Druid lore excerpt:
They created a new culture and language, cutting themselves off from their Barbarian cousins and their ways, vowing not to return to the Steppes of Mt. Arreat until the time of the Uileloscadh Mór, the final battle between the men of the world and the demons of the Burning Hells.
At the Túr Dúlra, the greatest of the Druid Colleges, stands the magnificent oak Glór-an-Fháidha. This tree is the most revered source of the Druids guidance and teachings. Under its branches, for centuries, the Druids of Scosglen have been honing not only their powerful arsenal of natural magic, but also the martial skills they have retained from their Barbarian forefathers. They have done this because they believe themselves to be the world’s last line of defense when the time of the great conflict comes, a time they believe is at hand. Lashing out in fury at the recent insurgence of denizens of the Burning Hells, and at the Leathdhiabhala, demonic corruptions of the very creatures they have vowed to defend, the Druids have, at last, emerged from their forests, marching toward their final stand against the minions of Chaos.
In D3 we have the Prophecy for the End of Days, which is a 'warning about Hell's ultimate invasion of our world,' and the pieces of the puzzle mentioned in it seem to be coming true. We were also supposed to learn why the Hells didn't invade 20 years ago in the game.
And at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost (Malthael being gone, or the mortal Tyrael's demise in X1?)
as Justice falls upon the world of men. (Obvious events of D3, or that Tyrael became aspect of Wis., leaving Justice to Nephalem)
Valor shall turn to Wrath - (Imperius raging over Hell invading, or Imperius waging war on the impudent Nephalem)
as all Hope is swallowed by Despair. (In-game events, or tied to the above, Imp's betrayal. sends Auriel into despair)
Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all -(All these lines reference angels/aspects, Malthael returns as Death?)
as all Fate lies shattered forever. (In-game event of the Hero 'shattering' the fate that Heaven lost that day, or a future event where Ithereal gets destroyed, probably by Malthael/Imperius)
So we know the culmination of this storyline, which they have claimed will get resolved in D3, is this final battle/ultimate invasion of Sanctuary by Hell. Something that has been prophecized for centuries and something that the Evils themselves seem to know all about.
I think Diablo/Evils knew what would happen in D3 as well, I forget what he says exactly but why would he send Adria away to be used later if he, and the angels, were sure he would succeed in the attack on Heaven, since it was kind of 'written in stone' on the Scroll of Fate?
My answer, he wouldn't, he knew he would be stopped, in fact, he and Belial/Azmodan wanted to be stopped. Ever look at the various forums and see all the complaints about 'beLIEal more like beFAILal amirite?? lol y is azodon tellin me where he attack??? teh gaem say he the gr8est general. y iz diab0 tellin me bout his hell gaets????' They were leading you along to do exactly what they wanted you to do.
Sidebar: The Prime Evil, supposedly Diablo in the game. The following is said by Tyrael while on the quest, Prime Evil.
Player:
What do you speak of when you say the Prime Evil? Tyrael:
It is the sum total of all seven Evils housed within one body. There is an ancient legend, known only to a few, of the great Dragon, Tathamet, who was the original embodiment of evil.
The legend says that he was ripped apart during an epic battle with Anu, and that the Burning Hells are composed of his remains. Player:
Who is Anu? Tyrael:
Just as Tathamet was the ultimate evil, Anu was the ultimate good. It is said by some that the Crystal Arch is all that remains of this great warrior. Player:
Then Diablo seeks to become the Dragon once again? Tyrael:
In a manner of speaking, yes.
So, either one Nephalem can be more powerful than what is basically one of the (accidental) creator gods of the entire universe, or Diablo was merely supercharged with the souls of the other Evils, and not really the Prime Evil, which even the CE artbook shows as a hydra thing. (Coincidence, D3 was codenamed Project Hydra?)
Also said by Tyrael:
But the Black Soulstone is flawed and cannot contain that many demons for long. We must capture Azmodan within it and shatter it... lest all these Evils be reborn.
Obviously that didn't happen because for reasons we will likely only know in the expansion, Diablo's body was just tossed over the side of Heaven, and the Black Soulstone was left intact.
Now, I don't know if it means anything, but it's near the end of the artbook. They're either concept art for the Child Emperor, or possibly for the future plot. Right below what looks to be a Cultist drawing, there are 3 children sitting 'Indian style' with elaborate headdresses. The middle one has a mostly different clothing style than the other two, while the other two are almost identical to each other. They both have 'face paint' or tattoos in red and blue on their face and bare chests, their eyes are shut with the 'paint' filling in their eyelids, and have what looks to be a 'third eye' possibly tattooed on their forehead. They also have some black jewelry on around their neck, upper left arm, and wrists.
"There is much about the future we cannot see, but when it comes it will be the children who wield it." - Adria, Diablo, talking about Wirt
So, we know if the BS isn't destroyed, the evils will get loose. The Nephalem are super powerful. Diablo possibly wants to re-make the Tathamet hydra. Theory: the Evils will possess children that Adria and/or Triune cultists have been raising after the Worldstone was destroyed, giving them massive power. Enough power to reform into Tathamet and smash the Heavens once and for all. (We, of course, thwart this plan by rescuing Princess Leah (has to be a reason they retconned Warrior into Prince Aidan) and find out her family's destiny is to bring back Anu and/or defeat Tathamet, which is why Diablo and the Evils were working to corrupt and destroy the Leoric bloodline)
Update: Some support for Princess Leah/Leoric bloodline's greater purpose?
So as we know, Mephisto was soulstone'd under the Zakarum Temple of the Light and was eventually able to corrupt them. What did those manipulated leaders do? Proclaimed Leoric king of Khanduras. The Archbishop Lazarus (bastard led us into a trap!) was 'intent' on Leoric choosing the 'broken-down monastery' as his seat of power. (Hmm, wonder why.. )
We have just arrived in Tristram, and I must say I'm a bit dismayed. This place is a backwater filled with serfs and an ancient, broken-down monastery, hardly fit for the king of Khanduras! I cannot fathom why Lazarus was so intent on this becoming our new seat of power.
The Zakarum high priests in Kurast proclaimed Leoric king of Khanduras many years ago. He ruled well until Diablo's influence drove him mad, and the loyal knight Lachdanan was forced to slay him. Afterward, Diablo himself raised Leoric from the dead as the Skeleton King until the monarch's son Aidan vanquished him.
However, the Diablo 1 lore almost seems to imply that Lazarus wasn't under demonic control until they had 'settled' and Diablo used his powers to coerce and eventually corrupt him.
Sensing that freedom was within his grasp, Diablo entered the nightmares of the Archbishop and lured him into the dark, subterranean labyrinth. In his terror, Lazarus raced throughout the abandoned hallways until he at last came to the chamber of the burning Soulstone. No longer in command of his body or spirit, he raised the stone above his head and uttered words long forgotten in the realm of mortals. His will destroyed, Lazarus shattered the Soulstone upon the ground.
...
Lazarus too, had fallen under the sway of the Demon, keeping close to Leoric at all times.
He also was apparently "a guardian of Mephisto's soulstone in Kurast" so it's up in the air, but I think he wasn't, as far as D1 is concerned, corrupted until they got to Tristram and Diablo reawakened, while in Diablo 3 he likely was corrupted from the get-go.
The wording is kind of vague, for what we are talking about here, but this piece also sounds like Leoric just came in on his own volition in D1 and was all 'For the glory of the Light! I am your king! I shall save you from the ever encroaching darkness! I claim this ancient Monastery as my seat of power in the name of the Zakarum!'
It was then that the great northern lord Leoric came unto the lands of Khanduras and, in the name of Zakarum, declared himself King. Leoric was a deeply religious man and had brought many Knights and Priests with him that comprised his Order of the Light. Leoric and his trusted advisor, the Arch Bishop Lazarus, made their way to the city of Tristram. Leoric appropriated the ancient, decrepit Monastery on the outskirts of the town for his seat of power and renovated it to match its time-lost glory.
It could just as easily be interpreted as what we know from the D3 lore, (although it has been retcon'd that he is an eastern lord now) that the corrupted High Priests told him 'Go be king here, in the name of Zakarum' and Lazarus was all 'Hey look, this building looks cool, right? What do you mean it's a dump? Castles are like so last year, you should just pick this place, I mean, we're already here, no?'
Personally, I'm thinking it was some minor retcons to go along with their current plotline, if solely for the fact that they felt the need to give the Warrior a backstory as a son to King Leoric of all things. For all that we saw of it in the game, the Warrior might as well have been just some nameless Warrior or Gheed's brother, as from what I remember, the whole 'Oh my Heavens, Leah is actually the heir to the throne!' plot hasn't come into play....yet.
Possibly going along with the whole 'The Evils were/are playing you like a fiddle' theory, Jay Wilson in some 2011 interviews (although he's talking about Diablo 2's perspective of course):
If the player thinks they outsmarted the forces of Hell and evil and they basically won, well, they are in for a big shock. Because what they are going to discover in Diablo 3 is that things have gone pretty exactly the way Hell wanted them to go all along.
What we really wanted was the idea of a story where we do have some time away, it’s about 20 years later, and things have actually gotten better because evil’s been “destroyed”. But the truth is that it’s actually all just been a ruse, it’s all part of the plan. It’s really just making sure everyone’s nice and complacent for the real war that’s coming.
I guess they get money from tournaments too, wasn't that rumored as the reason they took out LAN support, to get in on that action? (Just like putting in the RMAH for D3)
They were also going to do in-game ads for SC II, but that is likely going to be in Titan now.
Work with major consumer brands to facilitate product placement and licensing within the world of Blizzard Entertainment's next-gen MMO that enhances the gameplay experience.
Questions rise: 1. What are the equivalents of the old Diablo 2 heroes in Diablo 3? Or did Blizzard decided to skip that 'tradition' ?
2. What is the timeline regarding the events in Diablo 1 and the period when Lachdanan, Leoric and others were alive? I know Lachdanan killed Leoric and went alone in the lower-levels of the Cathedral to die, for he was cursed.
As far as we know, none of the D2 heroes were corrupted, but 'not all of them are alive'. There are references in game and out of game to some of them though.
Necromancer - Act II random event hints he had trained apprentice(s)
Sorceress - Wizard's short story
Assassin - Wizard short story (maybe)
Barbarian - Was originally going to be the Barbarian you play as, was later changed to not be the same to downplay his importance or something like that.
The others, as far as I know, have unknown fates.
http://www.diablofan...logy-of-events/
This lore in this topic makes it sound like Leoric ruled for months trying to fight off Diablo. Considering all the torture chambers and prisons you go to in D3, he may have ruled for several months after he went mad.
Perhaps there's a precise timeline out there somewhere, but several months, maybe around a year, is probably accurate for his time ruling as the 'Black King.'
I suppose it depends on how quickly the Khanduras army lost to Westmarch. He was killed shortly after Lachdanan and the survivors of the failed Westmarch invasion returned.
Going by the D1 lore, the Warrior/D1 heroes would have arrived in Tristram not long after Leoric's death, as word of the weird events spread across the lands.
Going by the retconned Warrior = Price Aidan, he probably would have been with Lachdanan and the other survivors.
Not long after Leoric took possession of Khanduras, a power long asleep awakened within the dark recesses beneath the Monastery.
... For many months King Leoric secretly fought the evil presence that twisted his thoughts and emotions.
Its because you never actually beat Belial, and Kulles little structure was the only place he couldn't influence you, when he died the disruption ended and the illusion went on.
I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. Probably because I haven't played the game yet. Can you elaborate?
Also, who says Zoltun Kulle is dead? Like, dead-dead? He's technically immortal, right? Maybe we've simply defeated his body, but he might be out there, somewhere.
Man I can't wait to play this game. =[
I think he was meaning that Belial is trumped up in the game to be this master of deception, and, well, was kind of lacking in that department from what we see, so some have thought the whole thing was an illusion and you don't really beat him or whatever.
Belial, Lord of Lies, is the most elusive of the seven Evils and is a master of deceit. It is said that he manipulated Azmodan into revolt against the Prime Evils. This began the Burning Hells' civil war, which ended with the Dark Exile of the Prime Evils to our mortal realm.
He wields intrigue and artifice as proficiently as you wield your weapons.
Some of the Quest Journal entries suggest he was actually quite devastating during his time on Sanctuary though.
The Lord of Lies casts a long shadow over this land. Towns burn and fall to ruin. Good men and women are thrown to the ground and slaughtered. This world is not the true one, but suffering is suffering. I will end this. I will kill Belial.
Belial is a coward. He fancies himself a master manipulator and hides while he sends others to die in his stead. His cowardice has killed thousands.... No more. Let him try to hide from me. I will find him, and drive him from this world.
I've dreamt of a chance to kill a demon lord. I would give up my chance now if it meant I could undo the suffering this land has seen. But what's done is done. And I will see Belial's corpse lying on the ground, riddled with my bolts.
How long has Belial ruled over Caldeum, the city that I once called home? A month? A year? More? For the near-destruction of this great city, for the dead, and for the people of Alcarnus, I will kill him. The time for talk is over.
Presumably Zoltun Kulle can come back, since the Horadrim had to slice him up and seal all his parts away the first time to make sure he didn't return. The characters all seem to think they killed him in the Quest Journal though. Maybe the cutscene after that battle says something about it and I don't remember.
I once read that Kulle learned to cheat death itself. How interesting if that turns out to be true.
If he has cheated death, then he is powerful, and he is a fool. Death is part of the cycle of life and rebirth; to sidestep it is to lose your humanity.
Have any of you noticed that he looks like the man who followed the Dark Wanderer in the cutscenes in Diablo 2?
Tyrael? You might want to watch those again, Marius (that guy) was balding and frail. Tyrael looks physically powerful, and his hands are probably the size of Marius' upper torso..
I find the entire Tyrael plot line to be the worst plot line, and biggest flaw, in Diablo 3. It isn't conceptually that abysmal, but its delivery is downright awful. I really hope these gaps in logic and story are explained and fleshed out in coming expansions. Doesn't have to be much, just some dialogue threads.
It's my belief that the Tyrael plot line will indeed be a key part of the future story. Prophecy of the End of Days starts with 'And at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost as Justice falls upon the world of men.' In-game lore makes it sound like Malthael has been missing for quite some time, while the prophecy sounds like what goes down happens recently.
Just so happens that Tyrael becomes mortal, abandons his Justice aspect for no reason and takes up, you guessed it, the role of Wisdom. (Evil cannot be stopped, we must destroy the soulstone to do so! Oh, the Nephalem beat down Diablo? Hurrah, Justice has been served! Wait, who smashed the soulstone? No one? What do you mean 'it fell'? Who in the Burning Hells thought that was a good idea? Oh well.)
What kicks off the prophecy, which Deckard Cain says is a warning about 'the ultimate invasion of our world by the Hells'? Wisdom being lost, which now has a mortal as its aspect. The same mortal that gave up Justice without anyone, that we know of, replacing it, leaving it to 'the world of men' to mete out future Justice against the Hells.
Blizzard has said everyone saying they got hacked with an authenticator either had the 'dial in' or the text messaging ones, which aren't the same as the physical or mobile device versions and/or don't work for Diablo 3, or the ones that did have the latter had so much malware on their PC it didn't even matter.
On some other forums, the last week has been constant topics about this, yet none have provided any concrete proof they had the working authenticators when it happened. (That I ever saw) It was always the 'dial-in' version and/or they had a smart phone and didn't bother getting one until after the fact.
Some are claiming that people are just lying about being hacked, but it does seem to be happening on a fairly large scale, in the hundreds-thousands maybe.
What happens when you get hacked? You might post on the Blizzard forum, call their support line, and/or 'google' it for answers. Let's see what Google Trends has to say on the matter.
Of course there's no way to know how many of those people searching got hacked or were merely worried about it, but it's interesting that all of those specific search phrases managed to have about the same interest as some of the big characters in the story. (You can try different variants of 'diablo' 'hacked' 'account' etc and they all, from what I tried, have around the same Search Volume)
In fact, I had to submit a ticket for an unrelated matter and after a few days finally got this in response. (Unfortunately doesn't resolve my issue, either :S)
Greetings,
Thank you for contacting Blizzard Entertainment Customer Support.
We would like to thank you for the enthusiasm you have shown towards Blizzard games! Recently, we released Diablo III and due to the success of the launch we have received a high volume of phone calls, petitions, and other responses. We are working diligently to process all requests in a timely fashion; however, we are unable to get to your request at this time.
From what I noticed in-game and from some out of game sources, if they are going to only have two expansions:
X1 - Save the Princess!
New classes: Templar Knight and Necromancer? Druid? (Templar Knight uses angelic runeblades/angelic spears and perhaps is like Paladin mixed with Javazon with some angel-ish powers. Necro is of course our old Necro with some improvements and refinements, same with Druid.)
Starts in Kingsport/Westmarch. You arrive on a ship or however, Kormac runs off on his own to challenge his Templars, Eireena possibly goes after him. You end up in a big battle with the Thieves' Guild. Finish that up, pay off the Merchant Guild, free his brother, pursue Kormac.
Battle your way into the Templar stronghold, demand answers. Reveal who and for what reason the Templars were given plans for angelic weaponry and set up to fight off an angel invasion.
King of Westmarch is revealed to be under demonic influence, hence his not sending reinforcements to battle an 'imaginary' enemy in Act III. Demon turns out to be one of Azmodan's Sin Lieutenants, new motive to destroy them all. Greed, Envy, Wrath, Pride, and Sloth remain to be seen.
At some point Leah plotline brought back into play. Seek out Cult of Rathma for assistance saving her. Journeying through the "Unformed Land" results in a history of the Leoric bloodline, revealing why that one family in particular seems to have such an affinity to Diablo. Lachdanan's spirit aids you in order to help Leah, fulfilling his promise to 'repay the (D1 hero) from beyond the grave if he could,' from a certain point of view. Spirits of the Warrior, Rogue, and Sorceror, perhaps, help you defeat some kind of boss in here. Lazarus?
Leah finally saved, brought back. Has a 'Uncle Deckard! I now know what you meant!' moment regarding her greater purpose. Adria has of course recovered the Black Soulstone, fight her and claim it. At some point Tyrael is killed, soul stored in the BS, leading to..
X2 - The End of Days
New classes: Assassin, Vizjerei, 'Dark Wanderer' (Assassin is of course based on D2 assassin with some tweaks, Vizjerei is more focused on elemental magic compared to the wizard's arcane, and 'Dark Wanderer' is a demonic power user)
…And, at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost
as Justice falls upon the world of men.
Valor shall turn to Wrath-
and all Hope will be swallowed by Despair.
Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all-
as Fate lies shattered forever.
So, either this prophecy occurred in the game and we take it at face value, that yes Malthael is gone, Tyrael fell, Imperius is mad as, no pun intended, hell, Auriel was attacked by Rakanoth, Lord of Despair, Diablo/the battles resulted in a lot of deaths, and the pre-determined fate that the angels would lose was shattered by the Nephalem hero.
Or, we may have only been led to believe these events occurred, and it was all a set-up for the future story. Tyrael the mortal abandoned Justice (claiming it had been met that day, despite himself saying only by destroying the Soulstone would the evils be destroyed) and took up Wisdom.
Hmm, a mortal is now Wisdom, which is going to be 'lost' when this whole prophecy kicks in, and Justice may 'fall' upon the world of men, meaning the Nephalem have to mete out future Justice since there isn't an Aspect of it at the moment.
Valor goes Wrath mode and wants to destroy the nephalem before they destroy the angels, especially since they were able to defeat the Prime Evil when he could not. Imperius' actions cause Auriel to lose hope, leading to despair. Archangel Malthael returns as the Aspect of Death and joins Imperius' crusade perhaps. Ithereal ends up 'shattered' and sent to their version of the Abyss for trying to stop Imperius.
Either way works I suppose for what might come next.
That prophecy is, according to Deckard Cain himself in-game, a warning about an 'ultimate invasion' of Sanctuary by the Hells.
The Prophecy of the End Days is contained within the Horadric tomes I inherited from my ancestor Jered Cain.
It is a warning to those who could interpret it regarding Hell's ultimate invasion of our world, written by many different people throughout history in many different lands.
Now, we know Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto all still had their armies since they were invading the Heavens. As far as I can recall, we only fought Belial and Azmodan's forces in Sanctuary. So, either all these ancient prophets (and who/whatever was giving them this vision) didn't account for random Nephalem to completely stop this 'ultimate invasion,' or the invasion has yet to come.
So, if the second interpretation of the prophecy is true, that would leave a very fractured Angiris Council, the perfect time for an 'ultimate invasion' of Sanctuary by the Hells to corrupt and 'use them as weapons,' which Tyrael says in a dialogue was the demons' goal. Meanwhile, Imperius was also planning an invasion, and thus three forces meet on the fields of Sanctuary: angels, demons, and nephalem.
The Wrath animation has Deckard Cain talking about how he fears the angel-demon war will soon engulf Sanctuary. and that the 'wrath of angels' cannot be quenched.
You also have the Templar order having been established by someone/thing to fight off angels.
There was also that Book of Cain interview, where 'Angels in Diablo are as nice as angels in our world' got an immediate 'Nnooo.' answer. 'I am afraid of Imperius' was also answered with a 'yes'
The lore in the D2 manuals is mostly about a 'final battle between men and demons' occuring in the future.
And, perhaps one of the biggest things, the Black Soulstone specifically being mentioned that it can hold demons and angels.
I think there may be some more hints towards the 'ultimate showdown' on Sanctuary, but I don't remember them at the moment.
So, there's these huge invasions going down, the Prime Evils possess Nephalem in order to get enough powers to re-form the Tathamet dragon. In any case, somehow this thing comes back.(The CE artbook has some art of Tathamet and Anu, it's in the first area after the classes I think if you have it, the opposing page has some really weird things, too) Leah realizes her true purpose is to bring back Anu to fight the dragon, does so using black soulstone/witch powers/family legacy. Big final battle with Anu and Tathamet duking it out while you run around on Tath and fight the various heads, things go boom, stage set for Diablo 4/'Domain of Diablo'
Some other things that may play a part:
Covetous Shen's Dirgest gem: Very likely this is going to be involved in some form, possibly as a boss you get to fight, depending on what it really is.
Scoundrel Relic: Said to be about the size of a fist and scarlet, possibly the same thing as Shen's gem? Or the heart of someone/thing? Don't remember enough about it.
Lilith/Inarius: Big role in the creation of Sanctuary, seems like we should see more of them. The above Book of Cain interview confirms that Inarius is still in Hell prior to the events of D3 at least.
Druids: Their Diablo 2: LoD lore says: "They created a new culture and language, cutting themselves off from their Barbarian cousins and their ways, vowing not to return to the Steppes of Mt. Arreat until the time of the Uileloscadh Mór, the final battle between the men of the world and the demons of the Burning Hells.
They have done this because they believe themselves to be the world’s last line of defense when the time of the great conflict comes, a time they believe is at hand."
Diablo 2 Heroes: That above Book of Cain interview confirms to us that 'Not all of them' are alive. If this ultimate invasion goes down, you can bet they will be involved, either helping us or corrupted like the original Diablo heroes.
Those giant things in 'eternal torture' in Act III: These things are pretty messed up, they have their hands nailed to their shoulders etc. The following lore mentions Inarius' followers 'shar(ing) an even darker fate' (darker than death). Maybe this is mentioned in the books, but those giant things look like they have attachments for wings on their back, might the 'even darker fate' involve being trapped in some giant, eternally tortured, body?
UPDATE: Had an epiphany a bit ago, remember in D2 how Izual was, you guessed it, trapped in a demon's body? If these are what happened to those Inarius followers, well, there you go. http://d3db.com/lore...anctuary-part-4
In the end, Lilith was banished and Inarius was given over to the demons, who have tortured him in the Hells ever since. Most of Inarius's followers were killed; those who remained shared an even darker fate. Despite the tragedy, I believe the nephalem may yet play a part in resolving the Eternal Conflict.
The colossal golgor is merely a colossal myth! In folklore, they are sons of an infamous demon who smashed half of Hell in anger after the Prime Evils were defeated during the "Dark Exile." Why, if I had a gold coin for each of these tales, I would be a wealthy man indeed!
The grotesques may seem slow and senseless, but they hide many dangers within their hideously malformed bodies. A set of spikes lurks beneath the monsters' flesh, and foul parasites nest within them. It is said that these horrors themselves are constructed by a greater evil... a darkness that I cannot even fathom.
The mallet lords are brutal overseers second only to the seven Evils themselves. The mallet demons rule the seething outer reaches of the Hells that surround the central realms, and have long refused to join any of the Lesser Evils' armies. Surely the destruction would be unthinkable if such a thing ever came to pass.
In the wizard short an assassin is sent after the wizard, and the one who sent the assassin Valthek is very sure that the assassin will reach the wizard and kill her before she can save the would. But when I played the story of D3 with my wizard I didn't find anything even referring to the assassin.
Is there some piece of lore that I missed?
I don't think the Assassins work like what you may think of when you hear 'assassin.' As far as I know, altered dialogues and maybe cutscenes are the only class-specific things in-game. (The Witch Doctor's dialogue is pretty cool with his spirits guiding him) Perhaps class-specific content will be something they do for an expansion.
Wizard short story spoilers I suppose:
Like in the story, an Assassin had been sent to watch Isendra, the Sorceress. They didn't kill her immediately, only when she started casting that powerful weather-altering spell that failed. (Bear in mind this is meant to be the sorceress from Diablo 2, so she would have already proven she had immense power) The same will apply to the Wizard, as long as they aren't corrupted or trying to cast an extremely dangerous spell, they should be fine, for now.
From the Assasin lore:
The small surviving group of sorcerers, the remnants of the once-great Vizjerei clan, resolved forevermore to spurn Demonic Magics and set about renewing their studies in the Elemental Magics. To further ensure that a similar tragedy could never happen again, they formed a secret order whose sole purpose was to police the mage clans, destroying corruption wherever they found it. This was the birth of the Viz-Jaq'taar, the Order of the Mage Slayers — otherwise known as the Assassins.
This place has been hallowed by the blood of thousands of champions of the Light, many of whom were mortal, like yourself. Now the final battle against the Prime Evils draws near... and you must face it alone.
It serves as a base for the Angels and their mortal allies in their struggle against the forces of darkness
Also, I thought only Imperius is against the Nephalem. Hope, Fate, Justice were all 'for' with Wisdom abstaining, which counted as 'against.'
D3 Act IV spoiler:
Imperius is also the only one that wants to wreck you up for being in the High Heavens, the other council members, except Malthael of course since he's MIA, and random angels don't seem to care and/or are glad to see you there helping them, since, you know, they were fated to lose that battle.
I agree that the game feels a little empty at the end game. If the only thing to do is farm for better gear to make fights slightly easier to get better gear then D3 will lose a large part of its playerbase. That gear grind circle is what turned a lot of people off in WoW.
Patching in pvp will help but if it's simply a matter of right clicking on a player and selecting "Duel" then I'll be disappointed beyond belief. Hopefully they add some sort of PvM arena, free for all arena, weekly bracketed tournaments, and the ability to bet gold/real money on matches, then it'll be awesome.
Hopefully it doesn't take them 2.5 years to develop an expansion.
PvP is going to have it's own matchmaking, and be completely separate from the normal co-op portion of the game from what they've said about it. It will also have it's own 'level' system, like WoW's arena rating, or the PvP rating in SW:TOR I think.
In the beta files there were PvP modes listed, I think they were Arena, Diablo 3, Free For All, Team Deathmatch, and DotA. No guarantee those are going to make it in though, as the only thing confirmed is Team Deathmatch in arenas. (And they recently had that thing over 'DotA' which resulted in their 'Blizzard DotA' now being called 'Blizzard All-Stars')
Their leaked product slate showed 1.5 year gaps between D3, X1, and X2. (This was back from early 2010 though.) In September 2011, it was said they would have Diablo 3 and Expansion out in the next 2-3 years, but that was also before the 'Soon was Too Soon' Mike Morhaime post and, as we all know, delay of the game from late 2011 to May 15th. In all likelihood though, they have already started working on the first expansion, especially since in 2011 they thought they were done with the game. (Or something to that effect, it was on one of the developer videos on the reveal site if I recall.)
The Person who killed the sorc, was the Mentor to the wizard. If you read closely he asks "how long she's known who killed (D2 Sorc's Name)" he is basically saying he's the one who did it because he didn't want a repeat of what happened to the village the wizard ruined.
'From a certain point of view' yes, but it was done at the hands, and decision, of an assassin. The whole story is the master of the mage clans recounting his recollections of the wizard for the assassin.
"I am Valthek, high councilor of the Vizjerei and master of the mage clans of the Yshari Sanctum."
...
I know that I told you much of that story when last we spoke, but I left out Li-Ming's part in it, for it was Isendra who concerned me then. You will no doubt agree that my actions were correct, but I am no monster. As always when faced with such situations, I felt a great sadness that I could not do as Li-Ming wished and help the people of Lut Bahadur. It was a familiar argument, and one that we had often. I sympathized with her more than she knew.
It was a short while later when you and I first met, for I worried over Isendra and what course of action she might undertake. In my heart I was certain that the matter was not closed.
I suspect you know some of what came next, details that I may not. This, I think, was where Li-Ming began to turn to the decision that led us to this disaster.
...
Then I saw what I had feared to see: Isendra, her body splayed out like a doll that had been carelessly cast aside. Blood pooled across the wooden floor from wounds on her arms and her stomach. Her skin was blackened in places, and her head was turned unnaturally to one side, her eyes looking vacantly at the floorboards.
...
I believe that was when Li-Ming began to understand the danger of her actions and what failure could mean. We did not speak again of Isendra's death until the last time I saw her. Did Li-Ming know why Isendra had died? Did she know how Isendra had been killed?
...
The first time we met, I told you only to watch Isendra for fear of what madness she might choose to undertake. I do not question the decision you made.
...
Here my knowledge of the wizard's story ends, and my decision awaits. When mages threatened to tear our world apart, a Vizjerei master founded the order of the assassins, the mage hunters, who would ensure that we could not grow so powerful that all would be imperiled. He stood here in my place, speaking to the first assassin just as we speak now, and consigned many a great mage to death.
For my part, this will be the second time I have done so.
I believe she knew that it was I who sent you to watch Isendra, and despite what that must mean, she let me live, knowing that as I once sealed Isendra's death, I might do the same to her.
...
I know the true nature of magic and of who and what I am. Li-Ming knows these things as well, but she has come to a different course. This is the puzzle put before us, assassin. I am not blind to the evil that stalks us, but I fear for what Li-Ming might seek to undertake. Thus I consign to death my brightest student, perhaps the world's best hope for salvation, and pray that I have chosen rightly.
This boss looks exactly like Izual from d2 for some reason... anyone have any info on him?
In the beta, the important stuff was giving code-names, however ineffective they may have been. If you look at the image name's for those, you see 'bigred':
BigRed_Izual The Betrayer
BigRed_A_Unique Herald of Diablo
Honestly.. I actually don't want them to continue it, I want this to be the end. Literally just no more, I get sick of franchises just going and going because of the fan's love of the game when really they are just dragging out more and more story, WoW is a perfect example of this among other game's in the modern day such as the CoD franchise.. It just need's to stop.
This need's to be closure for me and the end of an era.
I'd be happier to see a completely new Blizzard franchise which is what they're working on now, I'd imagine they'll start thinking of an expansion for D3 in about 2 year's time.
They more than likely already have the first D3 expansion(s) planned in some form, as far back as early 2010.
From a 2008 interview, Mr. Morhaime suggested yearly expansions might happen. A seen in that above Product Slate, it looked like they envisioned 1.5~ year gaps between launch, X1, and X2. SC II and WoW also have similar time tables between their expansions as well according to that.
I don't think Blizzard will ever be able to do sequels of products like a "Diablo III" or "Diablo IV" on an annual basis, but we might be able to do expansions to those games close to annually.
I like the Diablo world, and am interested to see how the story plays out in III and the inevitable expansion(s), but their next-gen MMO 'Titan' seems like it may be very interesting from what little has been said about it.
(Mentions of 'post-apocalyptic, historical, sci-fi, all of those combined!', and someone on the project mentioned: (I guess I'll throw this stuff in spoiler tags, for those that want to be completely surprised about the game if they are true)
"shifting tectonic plates, raising Atlantis, and reviving Teotihuacan. Damn I love my job." That same employee also mentioned: "Imagining, creating, and writing the universe for Blizzard's new MMO (working title: Titan) from the ground up -- the history, philosophy, heroes, and villains. In addition to the core construction of the game's story, I wrote flavor pieces for the main characters and important events to lend depth and immersion for our team. Much of my time involved meeting with the art and animation team to ensure their work wove into the narrative."
All of those little bits of info he talked about have since been deleted/edited out, which is why he made that joking comment to Rob Pardo I presume)
No BlizzCon this year, and Blizzard has said they will not be at E3, but apparently will be at Gamescom. Hopefully some more concrete Titan info comes out this year. The rumors range from a FPS/TPS to a 'Second Life' clone with RMT, with 'story' theories involving
a 'Quantum Leap' type thing with 'two lives' (one in the future, one in the past) to just plain time traveling.
Act III
Ghom
Siegebreaker Assault Beast
Cydaea
Azmodan
Act IV
Rakanoth
Diablo
:/ I was hoping for Imperius!
Might be out there in other locations already, but had a GameFAQs topic open while browsing this one, and someone claiming to have the guide posted this as the full boss list for Act I and II. HUGE SPOILERS, of course.
Act 1
Mira Eamon
Manglemaw
Chancellor Eamon
Jondar
Boss:Skeleton King
Urik the Seeker
Ezek the Prophet
The Brothers Karel, Larel and Moek
Urzel Mordreg
Boss: Queen Araneae
the Warden
Act Boss: The Butcher
0
I tried to dissect more of the in-game and out of game clues over here if you haven't seen that topic.
Does make you wonder where the original Diablo 3 MMO version, if it was a continuation of the story and not set in the Sin War or something, was going to go. (CTRL+F 'diablo version') Hmm, wonder if anyone has ever asked him, if he is able to say.
In another interview he did say that as of 2003 when he and the others left, the game wasn't set in Heaven, like the leaked screenshots of what must be the 2003-2005 Blizzard North version show.
50
Is Adria just a 'cultist' or corrupted mortal, or is she something more than that?
I'm skeptical that they were planning it way back then, but the townsfolk in D1 cast her as a super duper magic user, or something not human.
Doesn't eat, drink, or sleep allegedly, able to get whatever she wants, most of the town is scared of her.. She seemed to know a lot about what was really going on too.
"No Mortal can truly understand the mind of the Demon. Never let their erratic actions confuse you, as that too may be their plan."
"There are many artifacts within the Labyrinth that hold powers beyond the comprehension of mortals. Some of these hold fantastic power that can be used by either the Light or the Darkness. Securing the Anvil from below could shift the course of the Sin War towards the Light."
"This is a place of great anguish and terror, and so serves its master well. Tread carefully or you may yourself be staying much longer than you had anticipated."
"You will become an eternal servant of the Dark Lords should you perish within this cursed domain. Enter the Chamber of Bone at your own peril."
"The Heaven Stone is very powerful, and were it any but Griswold who bid you find it, I would prevent it. He will harness its powers and its use will be for the good of us all."
So since we now know she was apparently an agent of Diablo, we can assume she was there to make sure things went according to plan. What is this plan?
From the D2:LoD instruction manual:
A Wanderer will pass through the ancient lands trailing chaos in his wake.
The Three Brothers will be reunited as the mortal world trembles before their might.
And so it was foretold that the Three, once reunited, would be shattered again—
And the last of them would set his sights on the holy mount. The warnings held that
Their defeat would be illusory—that the final gambit had yet to be played..."
+ + +
And now at last the storm surges forth from the southlands, and the hand of Destruction
Reaches out to undo the workings of the Ancients. The tides of Hell surge—ready to smash
Down upon the shores of the mortal world—to drown the guilty and the innocent alike.
That was from something called Prophecies of the Final Day by the way.
Druid lore excerpt:
In D3 we have the Prophecy for the End of Days, which is a 'warning about Hell's ultimate invasion of our world,' and the pieces of the puzzle mentioned in it seem to be coming true. We were also supposed to learn why the Hells didn't invade 20 years ago in the game.
And at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost (Malthael being gone, or the mortal Tyrael's demise in X1?)
as Justice falls upon the world of men. (Obvious events of D3, or that Tyrael became aspect of Wis., leaving Justice to Nephalem)
Valor shall turn to Wrath - (Imperius raging over Hell invading, or Imperius waging war on the impudent Nephalem)
as all Hope is swallowed by Despair. (In-game events, or tied to the above, Imp's betrayal. sends Auriel into despair)
Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all -(All these lines reference angels/aspects, Malthael returns as Death?)
as all Fate lies shattered forever. (In-game event of the Hero 'shattering' the fate that Heaven lost that day, or a future event where Ithereal gets destroyed, probably by Malthael/Imperius)
So we know the culmination of this storyline, which they have claimed will get resolved in D3, is this final battle/ultimate invasion of Sanctuary by Hell. Something that has been prophecized for centuries and something that the Evils themselves seem to know all about.
I think Diablo/Evils knew what would happen in D3 as well, I forget what he says exactly but why would he send Adria away to be used later if he, and the angels, were sure he would succeed in the attack on Heaven, since it was kind of 'written in stone' on the Scroll of Fate?
My answer, he wouldn't, he knew he would be stopped, in fact, he and Belial/Azmodan wanted to be stopped. Ever look at the various forums and see all the complaints about 'beLIEal more like beFAILal amirite?? lol y is azodon tellin me where he attack??? teh gaem say he the gr8est general. y iz diab0 tellin me bout his hell gaets????' They were leading you along to do exactly what they wanted you to do.
Sidebar: The Prime Evil, supposedly Diablo in the game. The following is said by Tyrael while on the quest, Prime Evil.
So, either one Nephalem can be more powerful than what is basically one of the (accidental) creator gods of the entire universe, or Diablo was merely supercharged with the souls of the other Evils, and not really the Prime Evil, which even the CE artbook shows as a hydra thing. (Coincidence, D3 was codenamed Project Hydra?)
Also said by Tyrael:
Obviously that didn't happen because for reasons we will likely only know in the expansion, Diablo's body was just tossed over the side of Heaven, and the Black Soulstone was left intact.
Now, I don't know if it means anything, but it's near the end of the artbook. They're either concept art for the Child Emperor, or possibly for the future plot. Right below what looks to be a Cultist drawing, there are 3 children sitting 'Indian style' with elaborate headdresses. The middle one has a mostly different clothing style than the other two, while the other two are almost identical to each other. They both have 'face paint' or tattoos in red and blue on their face and bare chests, their eyes are shut with the 'paint' filling in their eyelids, and have what looks to be a 'third eye' possibly tattooed on their forehead. They also have some black jewelry on around their neck, upper left arm, and wrists.
"There is much about the future we cannot see, but when it comes it will be the children who wield it." - Adria, Diablo, talking about Wirt
So, we know if the BS isn't destroyed, the evils will get loose. The Nephalem are super powerful. Diablo possibly wants to re-make the Tathamet hydra. Theory: the Evils will possess children that Adria and/or Triune cultists have been raising after the Worldstone was destroyed, giving them massive power. Enough power to reform into Tathamet and smash the Heavens once and for all. (We, of course, thwart this plan by rescuing Princess Leah (has to be a reason they retconned Warrior into Prince Aidan) and find out her family's destiny is to bring back Anu and/or defeat Tathamet, which is why Diablo and the Evils were working to corrupt and destroy the Leoric bloodline)
Update: Some support for Princess Leah/Leoric bloodline's greater purpose?
So as we know, Mephisto was soulstone'd under the Zakarum Temple of the Light and was eventually able to corrupt them. What did those manipulated leaders do? Proclaimed Leoric king of Khanduras. The Archbishop Lazarus (bastard led us into a trap!) was 'intent' on Leoric choosing the 'broken-down monastery' as his seat of power. (Hmm, wonder why..
http://d3db.com/lore/i/leorics-journal-part-1
http://d3db.com/lore/i/the-skeleton-king
However, the Diablo 1 lore almost seems to imply that Lazarus wasn't under demonic control until they had 'settled' and Diablo used his powers to coerce and eventually corrupt him.
He also was apparently "a guardian of Mephisto's soulstone in Kurast" so it's up in the air, but I think he wasn't, as far as D1 is concerned, corrupted until they got to Tristram and Diablo reawakened, while in Diablo 3 he likely was corrupted from the get-go.
The wording is kind of vague, for what we are talking about here, but this piece also sounds like Leoric just came in on his own volition in D1 and was all 'For the glory of the Light! I am your king! I shall save you from the ever encroaching darkness! I claim this ancient Monastery as my seat of power in the name of the Zakarum!'
It could just as easily be interpreted as what we know from the D3 lore, (although it has been retcon'd that he is an eastern lord now) that the corrupted High Priests told him 'Go be king here, in the name of Zakarum' and Lazarus was all 'Hey look, this building looks cool, right? What do you mean it's a dump? Castles are like so last year, you should just pick this place, I mean, we're already here, no?'
Personally, I'm thinking it was some minor retcons to go along with their current plotline, if solely for the fact that they felt the need to give the Warrior a backstory as a son to King Leoric of all things. For all that we saw of it in the game, the Warrior might as well have been just some nameless Warrior or Gheed's brother, as from what I remember, the whole 'Oh my Heavens, Leah is actually the heir to the throne!' plot hasn't come into play....yet.
Possibly going along with the whole 'The Evils were/are playing you like a fiddle' theory, Jay Wilson in some 2011 interviews (although he's talking about Diablo 2's perspective of course):
0
Starcraft II's planned alternate revenue model isn't online yet.
http://www.blizzplan...lyst-day-15.jpg
http://www.blizzplan...lyst-day-31.jpg
http://www.blizzplan...lyst-day-32.jpg
http://titanfocus.in..._1_26_56269.png
I guess they get money from tournaments too, wasn't that rumored as the reason they took out LAN support, to get in on that action? (Just like putting in the RMAH for D3)
They were also going to do in-game ads for SC II, but that is likely going to be in Titan now.
0
As far as we know, none of the D2 heroes were corrupted, but 'not all of them are alive'. There are references in game and out of game to some of them though.
Necromancer - Act II random event hints he had trained apprentice(s)
Sorceress - Wizard's short story
Assassin - Wizard short story (maybe)
Barbarian - Was originally going to be the Barbarian you play as, was later changed to not be the same to downplay his importance or something like that.
The others, as far as I know, have unknown fates.
http://www.diablofan...logy-of-events/
This lore in this topic makes it sound like Leoric ruled for months trying to fight off Diablo. Considering all the torture chambers and prisons you go to in D3, he may have ruled for several months after he went mad.
Perhaps there's a precise timeline out there somewhere, but several months, maybe around a year, is probably accurate for his time ruling as the 'Black King.'
I suppose it depends on how quickly the Khanduras army lost to Westmarch. He was killed shortly after Lachdanan and the survivors of the failed Westmarch invasion returned.
Going by the D1 lore, the Warrior/D1 heroes would have arrived in Tristram not long after Leoric's death, as word of the weird events spread across the lands.
Going by the retconned Warrior = Price Aidan, he probably would have been with Lachdanan and the other survivors.
0
I think he was meaning that Belial is trumped up in the game to be this master of deception, and, well, was kind of lacking in that department from what we see, so some have thought the whole thing was an illusion and you don't really beat him or whatever.
Some of the Quest Journal entries suggest he was actually quite devastating during his time on Sanctuary though.
Presumably Zoltun Kulle can come back, since the Horadrim had to slice him up and seal all his parts away the first time to make sure he didn't return. The characters all seem to think they killed him in the Quest Journal though. Maybe the cutscene after that battle says something about it and I don't remember.
0
Tyrael? You might want to watch those again, Marius (that guy) was balding and frail. Tyrael looks physically powerful, and his hands are probably the size of Marius' upper torso..
It's my belief that the Tyrael plot line will indeed be a key part of the future story. Prophecy of the End of Days starts with 'And at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost as Justice falls upon the world of men.' In-game lore makes it sound like Malthael has been missing for quite some time, while the prophecy sounds like what goes down happens recently.
Just so happens that Tyrael becomes mortal, abandons his Justice aspect for no reason and takes up, you guessed it, the role of Wisdom. (Evil cannot be stopped, we must destroy the soulstone to do so! Oh, the Nephalem beat down Diablo? Hurrah, Justice has been served! Wait, who smashed the soulstone? No one? What do you mean 'it fell'? Who in the Burning Hells thought that was a good idea? Oh well.)
What kicks off the prophecy, which Deckard Cain says is a warning about 'the ultimate invasion of our world by the Hells'? Wisdom being lost, which now has a mortal as its aspect. The same mortal that gave up Justice without anyone, that we know of, replacing it, leaving it to 'the world of men' to mete out future Justice against the Hells.
0
On some other forums, the last week has been constant topics about this, yet none have provided any concrete proof they had the working authenticators when it happened. (That I ever saw) It was always the 'dial-in' version and/or they had a smart phone and didn't bother getting one until after the fact.
Some are claiming that people are just lying about being hacked, but it does seem to be happening on a fairly large scale, in the hundreds-thousands maybe.
What happens when you get hacked? You might post on the Blizzard forum, call their support line, and/or 'google' it for answers. Let's see what Google Trends has to say on the matter.
'Authenticator Hacked'
'Diablo 3 account hacked'
'authenticator diablo'
'diablo 3 hacked accounts'
'Deckard Cain'
'Imperius'
'Tyrael'
Of course there's no way to know how many of those people searching got hacked or were merely worried about it, but it's interesting that all of those specific search phrases managed to have about the same interest as some of the big characters in the story. (You can try different variants of 'diablo' 'hacked' 'account' etc and they all, from what I tried, have around the same Search Volume)
In fact, I had to submit a ticket for an unrelated matter and after a few days finally got this in response. (Unfortunately doesn't resolve my issue, either :S)
5
X1 - Save the Princess!
New classes: Templar Knight and Necromancer? Druid? (Templar Knight uses angelic runeblades/angelic spears and perhaps is like Paladin mixed with Javazon with some angel-ish powers. Necro is of course our old Necro with some improvements and refinements, same with Druid.)
Starts in Kingsport/Westmarch. You arrive on a ship or however, Kormac runs off on his own to challenge his Templars, Eireena possibly goes after him. You end up in a big battle with the Thieves' Guild. Finish that up, pay off the Merchant Guild, free his brother, pursue Kormac.
Battle your way into the Templar stronghold, demand answers. Reveal who and for what reason the Templars were given plans for angelic weaponry and set up to fight off an angel invasion.
King of Westmarch is revealed to be under demonic influence, hence his not sending reinforcements to battle an 'imaginary' enemy in Act III. Demon turns out to be one of Azmodan's Sin Lieutenants, new motive to destroy them all. Greed, Envy, Wrath, Pride, and Sloth remain to be seen.
At some point Leah plotline brought back into play. Seek out Cult of Rathma for assistance saving her. Journeying through the "Unformed Land" results in a history of the Leoric bloodline, revealing why that one family in particular seems to have such an affinity to Diablo. Lachdanan's spirit aids you in order to help Leah, fulfilling his promise to 'repay the (D1 hero) from beyond the grave if he could,' from a certain point of view. Spirits of the Warrior, Rogue, and Sorceror, perhaps, help you defeat some kind of boss in here. Lazarus?
Leah finally saved, brought back. Has a 'Uncle Deckard! I now know what you meant!' moment regarding her greater purpose. Adria has of course recovered the Black Soulstone, fight her and claim it. At some point Tyrael is killed, soul stored in the BS, leading to..
X2 - The End of Days
New classes: Assassin, Vizjerei, 'Dark Wanderer' (Assassin is of course based on D2 assassin with some tweaks, Vizjerei is more focused on elemental magic compared to the wizard's arcane, and 'Dark Wanderer' is a demonic power user)
…And, at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost
as Justice falls upon the world of men.
Valor shall turn to Wrath-
and all Hope will be swallowed by Despair.
Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all-
as Fate lies shattered forever.
So, either this prophecy occurred in the game and we take it at face value, that yes Malthael is gone, Tyrael fell, Imperius is mad as, no pun intended, hell, Auriel was attacked by Rakanoth, Lord of Despair, Diablo/the battles resulted in a lot of deaths, and the pre-determined fate that the angels would lose was shattered by the Nephalem hero.
Or, we may have only been led to believe these events occurred, and it was all a set-up for the future story. Tyrael the mortal abandoned Justice (claiming it had been met that day, despite himself saying only by destroying the Soulstone would the evils be destroyed) and took up Wisdom.
Hmm, a mortal is now Wisdom, which is going to be 'lost' when this whole prophecy kicks in, and Justice may 'fall' upon the world of men, meaning the Nephalem have to mete out future Justice since there isn't an Aspect of it at the moment.
Valor goes Wrath mode and wants to destroy the nephalem before they destroy the angels, especially since they were able to defeat the Prime Evil when he could not. Imperius' actions cause Auriel to lose hope, leading to despair. Archangel Malthael returns as the Aspect of Death and joins Imperius' crusade perhaps. Ithereal ends up 'shattered' and sent to their version of the Abyss for trying to stop Imperius.
Either way works I suppose for what might come next.
That prophecy is, according to Deckard Cain himself in-game, a warning about an 'ultimate invasion' of Sanctuary by the Hells.
Now, we know Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto all still had their armies since they were invading the Heavens. As far as I can recall, we only fought Belial and Azmodan's forces in Sanctuary. So, either all these ancient prophets (and who/whatever was giving them this vision) didn't account for random Nephalem to completely stop this 'ultimate invasion,' or the invasion has yet to come.
So, if the second interpretation of the prophecy is true, that would leave a very fractured Angiris Council, the perfect time for an 'ultimate invasion' of Sanctuary by the Hells to corrupt and 'use them as weapons,' which Tyrael says in a dialogue was the demons' goal. Meanwhile, Imperius was also planning an invasion, and thus three forces meet on the fields of Sanctuary: angels, demons, and nephalem.
The Wrath animation has Deckard Cain talking about how he fears the angel-demon war will soon engulf Sanctuary. and that the 'wrath of angels' cannot be quenched.
You also have the Templar order having been established by someone/thing to fight off angels.
There was also that Book of Cain interview, where 'Angels in Diablo are as nice as angels in our world' got an immediate 'Nnooo.' answer. 'I am afraid of Imperius' was also answered with a 'yes'
The lore in the D2 manuals is mostly about a 'final battle between men and demons' occuring in the future.
And, perhaps one of the biggest things, the Black Soulstone specifically being mentioned that it can hold demons and angels.
I think there may be some more hints towards the 'ultimate showdown' on Sanctuary, but I don't remember them at the moment.
So, there's these huge invasions going down, the Prime Evils possess Nephalem in order to get enough powers to re-form the Tathamet dragon. In any case, somehow this thing comes back.(The CE artbook has some art of Tathamet and Anu, it's in the first area after the classes I think if you have it, the opposing page has some really weird things, too) Leah realizes her true purpose is to bring back Anu to fight the dragon, does so using black soulstone/witch powers/family legacy. Big final battle with Anu and Tathamet duking it out while you run around on Tath and fight the various heads, things go boom, stage set for Diablo 4/'Domain of Diablo'
Some other things that may play a part:
Covetous Shen's Dirgest gem: Very likely this is going to be involved in some form, possibly as a boss you get to fight, depending on what it really is.
Scoundrel Relic: Said to be about the size of a fist and scarlet, possibly the same thing as Shen's gem? Or the heart of someone/thing? Don't remember enough about it.
Lilith/Inarius: Big role in the creation of Sanctuary, seems like we should see more of them. The above Book of Cain interview confirms that Inarius is still in Hell prior to the events of D3 at least.
Druids: Their Diablo 2: LoD lore says: "They created a new culture and language, cutting themselves off from their Barbarian cousins and their ways, vowing not to return to the Steppes of Mt. Arreat until the time of the Uileloscadh Mór, the final battle between the men of the world and the demons of the Burning Hells.
They have done this because they believe themselves to be the world’s last line of defense when the time of the great conflict comes, a time they believe is at hand."
Diablo 2 Heroes: That above Book of Cain interview confirms to us that 'Not all of them' are alive. If this ultimate invasion goes down, you can bet they will be involved, either helping us or corrupted like the original Diablo heroes.
Those giant things in 'eternal torture' in Act III: These things are pretty messed up, they have their hands nailed to their shoulders etc. The following lore mentions Inarius' followers 'shar(ing) an even darker fate' (darker than death). Maybe this is mentioned in the books, but those giant things look like they have attachments for wings on their back, might the 'even darker fate' involve being trapped in some giant, eternally tortured, body?
UPDATE: Had an epiphany a bit ago, remember in D2 how Izual was, you guessed it, trapped in a demon's body? If these are what happened to those Inarius followers, well, there you go.
http://d3db.com/lore...anctuary-part-4
http://d3db.com/lore/i/colossal-golgor
Could this demon be Dirgest? Or is it something we already know about from the books or something.
http://d3db.com/lore/i/grotesque
http://d3db.com/lore...he-mallet-lords
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I don't think the Assassins work like what you may think of when you hear 'assassin.' As far as I know, altered dialogues and maybe cutscenes are the only class-specific things in-game. (The Witch Doctor's dialogue is pretty cool with his spirits guiding him) Perhaps class-specific content will be something they do for an expansion.
Wizard short story spoilers I suppose:
From the Assasin lore:
The small surviving group of sorcerers, the remnants of the once-great Vizjerei clan, resolved forevermore to spurn Demonic Magics and set about renewing their studies in the Elemental Magics. To further ensure that a similar tragedy could never happen again, they formed a secret order whose sole purpose was to police the mage clans, destroying corruption wherever they found it. This was the birth of the Viz-Jaq'taar, the Order of the Mage Slayers — otherwise known as the Assassins.
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http://www.diablowik...lbu_(Diablo_II)
http://www.diablowik...monium_Fortress
Also, I thought only Imperius is against the Nephalem. Hope, Fate, Justice were all 'for' with Wisdom abstaining, which counted as 'against.'
D3 Act IV spoiler:
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PvP is going to have it's own matchmaking, and be completely separate from the normal co-op portion of the game from what they've said about it. It will also have it's own 'level' system, like WoW's arena rating, or the PvP rating in SW:TOR I think.
In the beta files there were PvP modes listed, I think they were Arena, Diablo 3, Free For All, Team Deathmatch, and DotA. No guarantee those are going to make it in though, as the only thing confirmed is Team Deathmatch in arenas. (And they recently had that thing over 'DotA' which resulted in their 'Blizzard DotA' now being called 'Blizzard All-Stars')
Their leaked product slate showed 1.5 year gaps between D3, X1, and X2. (This was back from early 2010 though.) In September 2011, it was said they would have Diablo 3 and Expansion out in the next 2-3 years, but that was also before the 'Soon was Too Soon' Mike Morhaime post and, as we all know, delay of the game from late 2011 to May 15th. In all likelihood though, they have already started working on the first expansion, especially since in 2011 they thought they were done with the game. (Or something to that effect, it was on one of the developer videos on the reveal site if I recall.)
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'From a certain point of view' yes, but it was done at the hands, and decision, of an assassin. The whole story is the master of the mage clans recounting his recollections of the wizard for the assassin.
"I am Valthek, high councilor of the Vizjerei and master of the mage clans of the Yshari Sanctum."
...
I know that I told you much of that story when last we spoke, but I left out Li-Ming's part in it, for it was Isendra who concerned me then. You will no doubt agree that my actions were correct, but I am no monster. As always when faced with such situations, I felt a great sadness that I could not do as Li-Ming wished and help the people of Lut Bahadur. It was a familiar argument, and one that we had often. I sympathized with her more than she knew.
It was a short while later when you and I first met, for I worried over Isendra and what course of action she might undertake. In my heart I was certain that the matter was not closed.
I suspect you know some of what came next, details that I may not. This, I think, was where Li-Ming began to turn to the decision that led us to this disaster.
...
Then I saw what I had feared to see: Isendra, her body splayed out like a doll that had been carelessly cast aside. Blood pooled across the wooden floor from wounds on her arms and her stomach. Her skin was blackened in places, and her head was turned unnaturally to one side, her eyes looking vacantly at the floorboards.
...
I believe that was when Li-Ming began to understand the danger of her actions and what failure could mean. We did not speak again of Isendra's death until the last time I saw her. Did Li-Ming know why Isendra had died? Did she know how Isendra had been killed?
...
The first time we met, I told you only to watch Isendra for fear of what madness she might choose to undertake. I do not question the decision you made.
...
Here my knowledge of the wizard's story ends, and my decision awaits. When mages threatened to tear our world apart, a Vizjerei master founded the order of the assassins, the mage hunters, who would ensure that we could not grow so powerful that all would be imperiled. He stood here in my place, speaking to the first assassin just as we speak now, and consigned many a great mage to death.
For my part, this will be the second time I have done so.
I believe she knew that it was I who sent you to watch Isendra, and despite what that must mean, she let me live, knowing that as I once sealed Isendra's death, I might do the same to her.
...
I know the true nature of magic and of who and what I am. Li-Ming knows these things as well, but she has come to a different course. This is the puzzle put before us, assassin. I am not blind to the evil that stalks us, but I fear for what Li-Ming might seek to undertake. Thus I consign to death my brightest student, perhaps the world's best hope for salvation, and pray that I have chosen rightly.
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BigRed_A_Unique Herald of Diablo
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They more than likely already have the first D3 expansion(s) planned in some form, as far back as early 2010.
From a 2008 interview, Mr. Morhaime suggested yearly expansions might happen. A seen in that above Product Slate, it looked like they envisioned 1.5~ year gaps between launch, X1, and X2. SC II and WoW also have similar time tables between their expansions as well according to that.
I like the Diablo world, and am interested to see how the story plays out in III and the inevitable expansion(s), but their next-gen MMO 'Titan' seems like it may be very interesting from what little has been said about it.
(Mentions of 'post-apocalyptic, historical, sci-fi, all of those combined!', and someone on the project mentioned: (I guess I'll throw this stuff in spoiler tags, for those that want to be completely surprised about the game if they are true)
No BlizzCon this year, and Blizzard has said they will not be at E3, but apparently will be at Gamescom. Hopefully some more concrete Titan info comes out this year. The rumors range from a FPS/TPS to a 'Second Life' clone with RMT, with 'story' theories involving
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Might be out there in other locations already, but had a GameFAQs topic open while browsing this one, and someone claiming to have the guide posted this as the full boss list for Act I and II. HUGE SPOILERS, of course.
Mira Eamon
Manglemaw
Chancellor Eamon
Jondar
Boss:Skeleton King
Urik the Seeker
Ezek the Prophet
The Brothers Karel, Larel and Moek
Urzel Mordreg
Boss: Queen Araneae
the Warden
Act Boss: The Butcher
Act 2
Shatterbone
Boss: Maghda
Goz'turr the Torturer
Mundunogo
Horadric Mage Construct
Gavin the Thief
Boss:Zoltun Kulle
Kamyr
Act Boss: Belial