In the summer of 2023, the long-awaited next part of the popular series, Diablo 4, will finally be released. But what is actually happening and how did it come about? MeinMMO explains the story of Diablo 4 so far and summarizes for you what has happened so far.

What can I find here? 

In this article you will find a summary of all the information we know about the story of Diablo 4 as well as background information about the two protagonists Lilith and Inarius. Since we haven't played Diablo 4 ourselves yet, the article is practically spoiler-free - every detail mentioned should already be known by now.

But before that, we'll explain how the whole storyline in Diablo 4 came about and briefly summarize the previous games. If you want to follow the story, the order of the games would be:

• Diablo + DLC Hellfire

• Diablo 2 + DLC Lord of Destruction

• Diablo Immortal

• Diablo 3 + DLC Reaper of Souls

With Diablo 2: Resurrected, a remaster of the game was released in 2021, which you can experience with better graphics and new updates, but otherwise almost identical content.

By the way, you don't have to have played the previous parts to enjoy Diablo 4. One of the reasons Diablo is so popular and successful is because the gameplay of looting and leveling is catchy and timeless. You don't have to know much except who to bang on the bell for a better item.

The series is now over 26 years old and is accompanied by books, comics, and more in addition to the games. We'll largely refrain from explaining all the sources in detail and limit ourselves to giving you only the details that are important for understanding, so that the overview is preserved.

The story so far - What happened before Diablo 4?

At the center of Diablo's plot is a never-ending war. In the "Eternal Conflict", Heaven and Hell are trying to gain dominion over the Worldstone. This artifact makes it possible to create and shape new worlds.

The archangels face the three Great Evils Mephisto, Baal and Diablo, the eponym of the game series, as enemies. They are behind the machinations and tragedies that take place in the games.

The story of Diablo 1: At the start of the first game, Diablo, the Lord of Terror, is imprisoned in a soul stone. However, he manages to corrupt Archbishop Lazarus and, through him, indirectly Leoric, the King of Tristram, and later his son Albrecht.

Albrecht is implanted with the Soul Stone, which causes Diablo to manifest in him. Tristram is overrun by demons, Leoric goes mad and slaughters his subjects. The heroes finally defeat Diablo, remove the Soulstone from Albrecht's forehead, and wear it themselves to protect the world from evil. He becomes the "Dark Walker."

The story of Diablo 2: The Dark Walker loses control of the Soul Stone. Diablo tries to free his demonic brothers Baal and Mephisto, also leaders of the hells, and finally himself, which succeeds. New heroes pursue the Wanderer and defeat the three Great Evils.

In the process, however, the World Stone, locked in Mount Arreat, is corrupted and eventually destroyed by the angel Tyrael. The shards spread all over Sanctuary.

The story of Diablo Immortal: Skarn, a new demon and servant of Diablo, searches for the shards of the World Stone to bring Diablo back. He wants to reignite the Eternal Conflict. However, the end of the story is not yet known.

The story of Diablo 3: Tristram is again attacked by evil and heroes help to free the land. They support Deckard Cain, a powerful sorcerer (a "Horadrim"), and his niece Leah. The goal is to find the Black Soulstone, an artifact said to bind the souls of all evil.

Leah's mother, Adria, is a follower of Diablo and instilled the essence of the Dread Lord in her daughter. After the Black Soulstone is recovered, Adria transforms Leah into a new, even more powerful Diablo, attacking the heavens. The heroes defeat him.

Malthael, who was originally the Angel of Wisdom, then decides to do something himself and wants to use the Black Soulstone to capture the evils. The stone's power corrupts him and the High Heavens however.

What is Diablo 4 about?

Diablo 4 takes place several decades after Diablo 3. The angels of heaven and the demons of hell are fighting a never-ending war, with countless humans falling as "collateral damage."

In search of something like leadership, cults form in the world, mainly serving the angel Inarius. However, the demon Lilith also reappears and manages to draw some people to her side.

This is where Diablo 4 comes in. As a hero, you'll come into contact with both cults early on, and for the time being you'll have to pursue Lilith in order to prevent her supposedly dark plans.

Who is Lilith?

Lilith is the daughter of Mephisto, who no longer wants to take part in the Eternal Conflict. She no longer sees any sense in the war and the constant fighting of the same opponents and is looking for a way out.

However, while the war is still going on, Lilith takes a prisoner, the angel Inarius, who surprisingly shares her views. The two forge an alliance and steal the World Stone, over which demons and angels fight.

With the power of the stone, they create the world of Sanctuary, on which the Diablo series is still set today. However, the theft of the World Stone brings the Eternal Conflict to a halt, and shortly thereafter the attention of both parties turns to the newly created Sanctuary.

Lilith and Inarius eventually even fall in love, and after creating Sanctuary, they father children together: the first Nephalem, powerful beings whose descendants we play in Diablo today.

"Mom and Dad", however, also have their own plans for the powerful Nephalem and partly use them for their own purposes, destroying the trust of the more powerful Nephalem in particular.

Who is Inarius?

The angel Inarius is a former archangel of the High Heavens who was wounded and captured in a battle. In captivity, Inarius complains about the Eternal Conflict and its hopeless end, falling on open ears with Lilith.

Since Nephalem are stronger than angels and demons alone, and their existence is seen as sacrilege even by Heaven and Hell, a new war breaks out to destroy Sanctuary. To prevent this, Inarius considers genocide of his own children.

We'll explain in more detail who Inarius actually is in our article. Lilith prevents this from happening, but out of anger she kills all the angels and demons that helped her and Inarius. Inarius banishes her and decides to dampen the power of the Nephalem so much that Sanctuary becomes uninteresting for Heaven and Hell. Those Nephalem who resist are destroyed.

While the Nephalem became human over time, until Lilith reawakens the power of the Nephalem in one of them. As a result, a war breaks out in which Inarius is captured and tortured in the hells.