After two and a half years, eleven seasons, and one huge, game-changing growth, Diablo 4’s Age of Hatred is lastly coming to an in depth. Announced as a part of 2025’s The Game Awards, Diablo 4’s subsequent growth, Lord of Hatred, marks the tip of the sport’s ongoing saga–one which has seen Lilith, Inarius, Mephisto, and the people of Sanctuary have interaction in an epic battle to realize management of the world and its future. But whereas the upcoming growth guarantees a “satisfying” conclusion and an “epic, final showdown” with the sport’s massive unhealthy, Mephisto, it additionally guarantees various different thrilling options, too.Prior to the growth’s announcement, GameSpot, IGN, and PC Gamer have been invited to attend an unique interview with two key members of Lord of Hatred’s narrative crew: lead narrative designer Matt Burns and narrative designer Eleni Rivera. The pair have been desperate to reply our questions on Lord of Hatred, even people who have been, admittedly, each thirsty and weird. We left the Q&A session with a greater understanding of Mephisto’s plans, the lore behind the revamped Paladin class, and the Skovos Isles, in addition to quite a lot of anticipation–anticipation for extra personality-filled dialogue choices, loads of “Jedi mind tricks,” and the return of Amazons, Lilith, and Ralph Ineson’s velvety voice.
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Now Playing: Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred Review
IGN: Vessel of Hatred felt such as you guys have been holding your breath. Was {that a} Band-Aid or part of the story that you just all the time needed to inform? I’m positive you guys heard just a little little bit of the suggestions that Vessel of Hatred was good and in addition felt prefer it was teasing out of the showdown that we have been all actually ready for. I’m questioning how a lot of that was deliberate versus you guys simply taking longer to supply this massive showdown.Burns: It’s all the time been our intention. This is an “Age of Hatred” or Mephisto-Lilith-themed saga. Even earlier than the bottom sport got here out–once we had completed our work on it, however earlier than the precise launch date–we have been already planning out the following chapters of the story and it was all the time going to be concerning the story about Mephisto, his plans for Sanctuary, and in the end all culminating to a remaining confrontation with him.Rivera: When it involves story, there’s all the time issues that change and it is attempting to determine what can we hold, what will get misplaced, and what’s the streamline–especially on the subject of telling this actually enjoyable, massive story. With Vessel of Hatred, we needed to essentially dig into Mephisto and his motivation and hold that with Neyrelle. Now we get an opportunity to finish it. I believe it is sticking to our themes about household; that is a extremely massive theme that we now have with Mephisto and Lilith, and her youngsters and Inarius. I believe that it is lastly all coming collectively. And that was all the time the plan–to have this massive story that feels well-thought-out, and characters that you just love and also you wish to struggle for and wish to struggle in opposition to.IGN: And is that this the ultimate showdown?Burns: Yeah, this can be a remaining showdown. We’re going to see Mephisto in his full prime evil demonic glory. It’s like what Eleni was speaking about just a little earlier: When you take a look at the larger image, you are seeing these phases of Mephisto, proper? In the bottom sport, he is very on the sides. He’s not reborn but and he is taking over the wolf type. In Vessel, he is just a little extra highly effective as a result of now he is on this Soulstone and he is in a position to do extra. And so in Lord of Hatred, it is like there aren’t any extra chains on him. And though he is assuming–at first, at least–this type of Akarat, this prophet determine, he likes to control folks and do these kinds of issues. He’s utilizing a brand new device now to do this, however in the end, the story culminates in us going through him, taking off his masks, and actually simply having this massive epic showdown with him.Rivera: It’ll be very satisfying, I believe, for the gamers with a variety of the story. There shall be satisfaction together with horrors, and I believe that is one of the best factor for Diablo. You’ve obtained some loopy, horrific issues, and then you definitely get this good finale.GameSpot: Could you inform us a bit extra concerning the Paladin and the way they differ from earlier video games?Burns: There’ve been Paladins in Diablo earlier than in addition to the Crusader, who’s much like a Paladin in some ways as a result of they’re utilizing the sunshine as their supply of magic. The Diablo 4 Paladin is just a little bit totally different when it comes to the lore and story. Rather than coming from the Zakarum church or being a part of this massive faith or establishment, they’re of a smaller order who’re impartial. And they’re simply out on the planet attempting to do good. They’ve realized from the previous that being a part of these massive establishments inevitably results in corruption, in order that they’ve purposefully, deliberately gone out and stated, “We’re not going to get involved in that kind of stuff. We’re just going to find the light within us and use that to do good out in the world.” And in order that they have these oaths that they reside by in order that they do not comply with the corruption and that form of factor.Eleni Rivera: The enjoyable half is that we get to reinvent the Paladin. While they acknowledge the previous, they know concerning the Zakarum, they learn about different Paladins which have existed… They get to redefine who they’re, what they’re, and what The Order is. That’s who they’re. They even select a brand new identify after they be a part of The Order, and their identify is straight related to what they discover crucial inside it. It’s so cool. You get an opportunity to see this new type of who they’re.Burns: And what’s attention-grabbing about them too is they–due to their shut reference to the light–are additionally conscious of angels and the heavens. They know that angels are beings of sunshine. And so they do not worship angels or something like that, however they see them as these embodiments of sunshine and embodiments of values which might be related to the sunshine, like valor.A Paladin gazes from beneath their blood-soaked helmet.GameSpot: Could you inform us a bit extra concerning the area that is coming with the growth? Are there any real-life areas that impressed it, or elements of historical past?Burns: Skovos is absolutely cool, actually distinctive, and attention-grabbing to Sanctuary. We talked about earlier that Skovos is the place Lilith, Inarius, and these different insurgent angels and demons created Sanctuary, after which they frolicked in Skovos. It wasn’t essentially known as Skovos again then, however they lived there on the daybreak of the world. This is the place they created people, or somewhat the place they created the primary people: the Firstborn. When you consider this saga as a narrative of household, as Eleni stated, or possibly as one about what humanity’s destiny is, it is smart to deliver this fruits with Mephisto to the place humanity itself started. There’s tons of Firstborn ruins and, typically, not even ruins–it’s the modern-day folks, the Askari. They’ve maintained this structure, they reside inside it, they usually see the Firstborn as a part of their heritage in a method, though it is distant.There’s a variety of totally different environments all through these totally different islands. Each one in every of them has a singular theme and taste. We discover a variety of the tradition of this place, so you have got the Amazons and you’ve got this oracle order, this Order of Seers. We get to see how they work collectively and the way they rule over this island nation to assist it operate and survive all this horrible stuff that is taking place in different elements of Sanctuary.But the massive attention-grabbing level of battle is that now the unhealthy stuff that was taking place in Sanctuary–the stuff that we noticed in base sport and Vessel of Hatred–now it is coming to Skovos. Mephisto, within the physique of Akarat, has gathered a bunch of followers, he is introduced all of them to Skovos, and he is disrupting the order and the piece of this place. Anything you wish to add to that, Eleni?Rivera: I really feel such as you coated a variety of it, but it surely’s actually stunning. It’s beautiful and it is a spot that you have not seen earlier than, so I believe that is actually thrilling. And there’s only a lot to take a look at. There’s water that you just get to take a look at, and I do know that is very small, but it surely’s simply… the surroundings crew did a extremely good job. And normally, there’s a variety of deep lore that we obtained an opportunity to discover there. I believe that’ll be actually thrilling for gamers who actually love lore and gamers who’re additionally simply diving into Diablo for the primary time.GameSpot: And in comparison with Vessel, how massive is Lord of Hatred? How many hours of story can we anticipate?Rivera: I’d say it is similar to Vessel of Hatred. The map is fairly massive. Like Matt stated, there’s a variety of lore stuff you get to discover in Skovos, so it is obtained fairly a little bit of content material that the gamers get to dive into.PC Gamer: How do you strategy making a villain like Mephisto in a method that looks like a menace to the participant, provided that our participant characters have simply killed tons of demons that have been already very highly effective?Rivera: It’s narrative. It’s understanding what a participant’s weak spot is, proper? And it is constructing that up and connecting the participant to folks like Neyrelle and Lorath. You have these stakes that get larger and greater since you care about them extra. So on the subject of somebody who’s so highly effective, or somebody who can defeat all these demons, what actually is the factor that may get them to crack? It’s the those who they love, the those who they wish to struggle for, and Sanctuary. And on the subject of creating a extremely massive villain, it is constructing off that.Burns: When we first launched [Mephisto] within the base sport, a part of the rationale we launched him that method is as a result of he is not the antagonist within the story but. We’re looking Lilith and he is serving to us, and so it is creating this sense of, “Yeah, I don’t know if I should trust him or I shouldn’t trust him, but he’s sort of useful to me, so at what point will the usefulness wear out or will he turn the tables on me?” Because it’ll occur ultimately, proper? I believe we needed to introduce him that method simply in order that it might really feel just a little totally different than abruptly there is a prime evil sitting in entrance of you and also you simply wish to struggle him.I imply Eleni stated it completely: It’s how his impact on the characters we care about–and on the world at large–raises the stakes. And once more, we’re persevering with this thread of him all the time being a little bit of a satan on our shoulder. We’re not all the time working with one of the best characters–sometimes our allies are just a little shifty, too. He exploits that actuality. He makes us doubt, possibly typically our actions, and the folks round us.IGN: How do you make facet quests really feel like an natural a part of the story when there’s actually Satan operating round?Burns: One factor that we have executed is there are a selection of facet quests the place it is a continuation of a personality story that you just meet in the primary marketing campaign. There are quests that comply with an necessary character that you just’re round for some period of time, and now you get to see what has occurred to them in any case these massive occasions have unfolded. Yeah, Mephisto is operating round and the stakes are so excessive, however what is going on on with these different characters? It’s about displaying the aftermath of these massive occasions, or displaying the repercussions of the satan operating free.Rivera: Yeah. I imply, the primary story is so particular to our primary characters, however the facet quests are what breathe life into Sanctuary. They present us what everyone else is doing whereas the world is crumbling, and seeing intimate stories–seeing what different characters who possibly we all know however they are not in the primary quest–I believe that offers us an opportunity as writers to dive deeper, and provides gamers get the prospect to know what these persons are doing whereas there’s this chaos. Life retains on life-ing even while you’ve obtained Mephisto operating amok. And I believe that is the cool half about writing facet quests.GameSpot: It looks like this concept of generational trauma is absolutely on the core of this saga. Is that one thing that was intentional to this story? Are there another concepts and themes that you just have been actually hoping to get throughout and discover?Burns: Yes. One of the themes that is current all through is this concept of the passing of the torch, or such as you stated, it is form of a generational… Maybe trauma is a part of it, but additionally the way you move on legacy, and whether or not you may even move it on in any respect. And in passing on a legacy, what sort of burden are you placing on the brand new folks?For Lilith wanting to guard Sanctuary, or for the Horadrim eager to do their factor, these usually are not simple jobs, proper? They require a variety of sacrifice. Sometimes the objective is noble, however passing it on could be laborious as a result of you realize that you just’re dooming these folks to a troublesome life. That’s positively a theme that we performed with in base sport and Vessel, and in addition we discover in Lord of Hatred as nicely.There’s additionally this prophecy within the base sport, and I believe it exhibits up in Vessel of Hatred too, that Rathma had. He had these visions and noticed the Great Serpent, and that is nonetheless part of the story. As Eleni stated, destiny is an enormous theme and so is that this prophecy, the way it’s unfolding, what it really means, and whether or not it should occur or could be averted. This factor will unfold and be fulfilled, however possibly not in the way in which the characters essentially suspect. There shall be a variety of sacrifices and selections made by characters that there aren’t any getting back from. [Lord of Hatred] goes to be an enormous, thrilling fruits of the whole lot that began within the base sport.PC Gamer: Could you speak just a little bit extra about Lilith coming again to the story and what her function is? I do know there are fairly a couple of gamers that basically, actually loved her within the first sport.Rivera: We all love Lilith, proper? She’s cool, she’s sizzling, she’s our mother. I believe it is actually thrilling we get an opportunity to see her in a brand new method. There’s a variety of intimacy that we get to have with Lilith, and I believe that we have all the time needed to–or at the very least I’ve all the time needed to–partner up along with her. But Lilith will all the time be a demon on the finish of the day. She has her personal motivations and he or she’s all the time going to have her personal concept of what she needs on the planet. So she has to resolve whether or not or not she needs to ally with us for this larger downside.Burns: The solely factor I’d add is, once more, it is about bringing these totally different threads to an in depth. In the bottom sport, we have been fed Lilith’s blood petals–fed her blood. She’s been part of us this entire time. And although we defeated her in Hell, one thing of her has lived on in us. There’s a presence within us that’s slumbering mainly. And now that we’re going after Mephisto and the stakes are excessive and the destiny of the world hangs within the steadiness, her presence inside us actually turns into a key to determining learn how to cease Mephisto. Like she stated within the base sport, “There would be no victory without me.” That form of concept, it is true–we will want her to repair this and to avoid wasting Sanctuary from Mephisto.Lilith poses in entrance of a deep-red background.GameSpot: What impressed the choice to deliver again Lilith so quickly? Were you a bit anxious about bringing her again or was it simply one thing that appeared like, “Oh no, we have to do this?”Burns: Like after I talked about earlier, earlier than the bottom sport really launched and we have been planning out future tales, we all the time did wish to deliver her again. Then it turned a query of when. It was about discovering the fitting alternative to do it and make it really feel probably the most impactful to the story.During [Vessel of Hatred’s] improvement, we have been toying round with the concept. We really made a few of these scenes the place you heard her talking. There was a scene the place you noticed her reflection or one thing like that too, however we minimize these issues out of Vessel as a result of we have been simply attempting to determine, “Okay, where’s the place where we should highlight that so that it feels like something really juicy and impactful and not just a little thing that happens and then there’s no payoff for it yet?” You know what I imply?Rivera: I really feel like one of many largest issues is deciding how a lot payoff we wish. We speak rather a lot about how this growth goes to be tremendous satisfying and the whole lot will really feel prefer it’s tied collectively. Vessel of Hatred was the story of Neyrelle, it was a narrative of Mephisto, and it was about seeing what he may do with out the facility of being in Sanctuary. Now that he is out, it is seeing what he’ll do with this free will again in Sanctuary however masked as this main spiritual determine.Burns: One enjoyable factor we’re doing in Lord of Hatred that we did not actually do earlier than is, with Lilith, you have got totally different dialogue choices for a way you wish to reply to her about sure issues. We know that folks have totally different emotions for her–whether she was proper, whether or not she was flawed or whether or not they would’ve needed to affix her or not–and so we needed to discover that by way of a number of the dialogue you may have along with her. Now, you get to see alternative ways she’ll reply to you as nicely based mostly in your selections.Rivera: I really feel like Lilith is so nuanced and so complicated. You get a mixture of seduction and horror all on the similar time and it is so cool and enjoyable. And now we get an opportunity to essentially see her differently. When we final noticed her we have been combating in opposition to her, however now there is a larger challenge. There’s extra at stake right here, so it is her deciding what’s necessary to her.GameSpot: You introduced up that you just now have choices for a way you wish to work together with Lilith, and I assumed that was actually attention-grabbing as a result of, proper now, choice-driven, branching CRPGs have gotten extra of the usual within the trade. Is that one thing that you have ever thought of exploring with Diablo? Having extra selection all through the story, exploring possibly totally different endings, totally different tales, and branching paths? Is that even doable within the construction of the sport?Burns: I believe it is cool and I take pleasure in that sort of stuff too. For Lord of Hatred, it is extra according to the bottom sport and Vessel of Hatred. We do not do this sort of branching stuff. The selections I discussed earlier, there’s various locations within the marketing campaign the place you have got these totally different choices of what to say, or how somebody may reply to you, but it surely’s extra about giving the second some attention-grabbing taste. It’s about permitting you to think about your personal story in this–who you’re, your selections, or your opinion about one thing. It’s giving you a chance to say it out loud, mainly, though it does not essentially create a branched quest or storyline based mostly on that. It’s nearly that chance of expression to your character or for a number of the different characters too.Rivera: That’s why we do it typically in facet quests. It’s not like you have got two totally different paths, however I do suppose we get to discover just a little little bit of that. There was a facet quest from, I believe in Vessel of Hatred, that you just get to have an alternate ending based mostly on what you select.IGN: Romance choices? That’s all I obtained.Blizzard PR consultant: Are you asking, “Can we hook up with Lilith?”GameSpot: It’s what everyone’s pondering.Rivera: In phrases of romance, we get to see just a little little bit of Lorath’s previous, which is one thing that we’ve not actually gotten an opportunity to see with different characters. He has interactions with Queen Adriana that we get to see. We additionally get to see much more of Lorath, how he was painted up to now, and who he was versus who he is change into now.PC Gamer: Is Lorath again? Are we going to listen to extra Ralph Ineson?Burns: Yeah, Lorath is among the primary characters within the growth. He’s going to be with you nearly on a regular basis all through the marketing campaign, besides the instances you break up up and also you’re off doing various things, proper? But yeah, he is there, he is persevering with his story. There’s rather a lot about Lorath and the Horadrim in Lord of Hatred. And once more, it goes again to the themes of legacy and the destiny of the Horadrim.We’ve been in VO classes with Ralph recording all of his traces, and it is all the time nice to listen to his voice once more. The second you hear it, you are like, “Oh yeah, it’s Lorath.” That’s been actually enjoyable and I’m tremendous enthusiastic about Lorath’s story in Lord of Hatred. I believe it has a variety of nice moments. He’s a variety of enjoyable to write down as a personality and, once more, Ralph’s voice is simply wonderful.Another factor is Lorath has a historical past in Skovos, and that is one thing we’ll discover within the marketing campaign however, years and years in the past, he got here to Skovos with another Horadrim and went on an journey there. He met this Amazon named Adriana they usually fashioned a bond, so he has some historical past along with her. And now Adriana is the Amazon queen of Skovos. So with him coming again, there is a connection he has to this place that we’ll discover.IGN: I’m interested in the way you guys are going to make gamers care about Akarat. The significance of the ultimate minimize scene of Vessel of Hatred may need been misplaced on folks except they’re in deep on Diablo, however he is clearly a special sort of puppet than a wolf. I’m interested in how you consider bringing Akarat as a personality into the fold–and all the luggage that comes with him–and attempting to elucidate why that issues whereas additionally displaying this new model of the Lord of Hatred who’s now strolling round as a deity.Rivera: When it involves Akarat, he is simply going to look as a traditional man. I believe what will actually minimize deep is the quantity of people who find themselves now speeding to get to Skovos; seeing the affect that he has as a result of he is such an enormous determine on the planet and he is been doing miracles in Sanctuary. The concept of all these folks worshiping this person who you realize as a participant is Mephisto, I believe that’s the place that terror begins to come back.He additionally has his Jedi thoughts methods, proper? Mephisto is excellent at getting in your head. You suppose you see one factor, however actually he is displaying you one thing else and that is the facility. We get an opportunity to indicate how Mephisto actually performs along with your feelings and I believe that is one of the best half about him.Burns: Just so as to add to that, a pair attention-grabbing issues about Mephisto on this form–and methods to create curiosity for folk enjoying by way of it–is at first he is defying expectations, proper? Yeah, he is a main evil on this physique, however he is not doing something unhealthy, which is attention-grabbing as a result of that is how Mephisto was within the base sport as nicely. Oftentimes, he is simply telling you the reality. Maybe he is attempting to get his personal method by saying it, however he is not all the time mendacity about issues. Right now, he is simply on the market serving to folks and doing miracles. So it turns into this query, or this thriller, of what’s he doing all of it for? Why is he placing on this act? What’s his finish sport for all of it?The different thing–and this ties into our themes–is that I believe that Mephisto believes that people do not actually have any management over their destiny. They’re simply cattle that extra superior entities or clever entities like him can lead round. What he is doing right here is nearly to show some extent to us, The Wanderer, and in addition to Lilith; you may create these items, these people, and you may hope that they’ve some sort of free will or company, however in the end I’m going to indicate you that they do not. That’s one thing else we play with, once more, to only deepen his character a bit and make it extra attention-grabbing.IGN: You have described Diablo IV as The Hatred Saga, and with this being the ultimate confrontation with the Lord of Hatred, one would assume that that signifies that’s the tip of the aforementioned saga. I’m questioning the way you guys are desirous about Diablo IV’s future. I’m assuming that there is going to be extra Diablo IV after this.Burns: You’re proper when it comes to us simply it as The Hatred Saga, and actually that is been our focus–just bringing this story to an in depth in a extremely massive and impactful method. But there are different tales to inform on Sanctuary, after all, although I can not actually go into element about another stuff.Rivera: I believe one of the best half is Diablo’s reside service. It provides us the chance to dive into no matter we wish. Like Season 11, proper? We get an opportunity to deliver Hadriel again and we’re getting an opportunity to speak to this angel that we solely met briefly in Diablo II. We get to increase Hadriel’s lore, which is absolutely cool. We get an opportunity to all the time, probably, inform new tales. But proper now, we’re simply specializing in getting this growth out and seeing what occurs.The above interview has been flippantly edited for readability and brevity.