Summary
Warning: This article contains spoilers forDiablo 4. Proceed at your own risk.Although Lilith is the primary antagonist inDiablo 4, her father, Mephisto, is also featured prominently throughout the game’s story. With players taking up the quest to prevent Lilith from killing Mephisto and gaining his power, the plot ofDiablo 4hinges on their ability to successfully reach the Cathedral of Hatred in the depths of Hell before Lilith can achieve her goals. However, the game’s ending leaves players with a massive cliffhanger as to Mephisto’s status, potentially setting him up to play an important role in the first major expansion forDiablo 4.
Mephisto, Lord of Hatred has been a recurring villain throughout theDiabloseries, with his biggest appearance coming as the boss ofDiablo 2’s Act 3. He is one of theDiabloseries' three Prime Evilsalong with Diablo, Lord of Terror and Baal, Lord of Destruction who act as the rulers of the Burning Hells and the strongest demons in existence. Although Mephisto takes a backseat to his daughter Lilith inDiablo 4with the player never having to actually do battle with him, his presence is still felt throughout the game, setting him up to be a potential foe in a future content expansion.
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Signs Point Towards Mephisto Playing a Key Role in Future Diablo 4 Content
While nothing has been confirmed in regard toDiablo 4’s first major expansion, there are some hints throughout the base game that could suggest how this expansion will play out.Diablo 4’s maplayout suggests that this expansion will take players south of Kehjistan to the city of Kurast and the Torajan Jungles to the southwest. If this is indeed the case, it could tie perfectly into a plot revolving around Mephisto as a villain since this is the same location asDiablo 2’s Act 3 where Mephisto serves as the driving force behind its plot and ultimately acts as its boss.
Diablo 4has already made it clear that Blizzard is paying homage to the fan-favorite entry in the seriesDiablo 2with this title, so this future expansion being a callback to one of that game’s iconic Acts inDiablo 4seems like a probable scenario. Even beyond allusions toDiablo 2, this story structure forDiablo 4’s first major expansion is likely given the implications ofDiablo 4’s ending. Rather than sealing Lilith within the Soulstone as planned, Neyrelle and the player trap Mephisto in the Soulstone to prevent Lilith from being able to access him and his power.
As a result,Neyrelle departs with Mephisto’s Soulstonein hand following the defeat of Lilith at the game’s climax. Where Neyrelle is going or what she plans to do with Mephisto is left up in the air, setting up a cliffhanger that could be followed up by the plot ofDiablo 4’s first major content expansion. It seems very possible that Mephisto could escape his imprisonment within the Soulstone, leading to a showdown between the player and the Prime Evil as the final boss of this expansion, bringingDiablo 4’s story full circle.
This wouldn’t be the first time Mephisto was able to escape imprisonment from within a Soulstone asDiablo 2sees the Lord of Hatred freeing himself from the Soulstone that was being guarded by the priests of Zakarum in the Zakarum Temple below the city of Kurast. This escape led to the corruption of Zakarum and the neighboring Torajan Jungle, which could be mirrored in the plot ofDiablo 4’s first expansion. It seems likely that Neyrelle, looking to dispose of the Soulstone, would travel to the temple where Mephisto was once kept in order to right past wrongs and seal the Lord of Hatred away for good.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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