Summary
MAJOR Spoilers for Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred Ahead
Diablo 4launched with what was considered one of the best campaigns in the series' history thanks to a compelling, ever-present villain in the form of Lilith, whose true intentions were masked in the first half of the game. Vessel of Hatred had a lot of expectations riding on its shoulders because of this, and its lackluster story thatdidn’t resolveDiablo 4’s biggest conflict with Mephistowas received poorly by fans. Arguably, not much has changed in Vessel of Hatred’s story, as Urivar is introduced and then killed, and the same applies to other key characters, with Mephisto still being at large - but with a new body. However, another story beat is repeatedly shown but never resolved.
Any futureDiablo 4expansions will need a better story after Vessel of Hatred’s debacle, and Blizzard will have to bite the bullet and let players confront Mephisto sooner rather than later. Whether this happens in the next expansion or further down the line remains to be seen, but Vessel of Hatred also has a strange plot point that never gets anywhere, posing the question of whether Blizzard is paving the way forDiablo 5by teasing players with the “Lilith’s blood” subplot.
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred May Have Paved The Way For Lilith’s Return in Diablo 5
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred’s Lilith Blood Subplot Explained
One of the key events of the prologue ofDiablo 4is that the player character is fedLilith’s blood, which then plays into the connection with Lilith throughout the campaign, often revealing the demon’s plans and whereabouts. The prologue of Vessel of Hatred sees the main character die at the hands of Urivar and be resurrected by Eru, only for them to repeatedly struggle with their heart due to Lilith’s blood being still in their body.
While this is an interesting subplot at first, it never leads to anything other than some dialogue between the main character and Eru, or scenes where the main character stops what they are doing because of the pain.Diablo 4’s Lilith is dead and gone, but she is still mentioned in the Vessel of Hatred expansion, and Lilith’s blood is a constant reminder of her shadow still lingering in the game’s fiber. What makes this a strange occurrence is that there is no follow-up on this subplot, not even in the final cutscene, which instead shows Mephisto possessing the body of Akarat. As such, it could very well be that this will be a key story beat ofDiablo 5.
How Diablo 5 Could Bring Lilith Back After Vessel of Hatred
One can’t help but wonder if the whole Lilith’s blood subplot was there just to tie the expansion to the base game or if there’s more to it than meets the eye, and if so, it could be a likely exploit to justify Lilith’s return inDiablo 5. It seems a bit too soon to discuss Lilith’s possible return inDiablo 4expansionsconsidering she was defeated at the end of the campaign, so even future DLCs are unlikely to bring her back.
This wouldn’t be the first a bigDiablo bossor villain comes back in a later game.
However,Diablo 5could easily pick this abandoned thread and haveDiablo 4’s main character die in some sort of ritual performed by Lilith’s loyalists to mark her return. Considering how many times the Lilith’s blood subplot is brought up during Vessel of Hatred, it wouldn’t make much sense for it to be an inconsequential addition, even if it didn’t bear fruit just yet. For the time being, it remainsDiablo 4’s biggest Chekhov’s gun, especially given that the Mephisto battle will have to come sooner or later, thus being more a question of when rather than if.
Diablo 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Diablo® IV is the ultimate action RPG experience with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish dungeons, and legendary loot. Embark on the campaign solo or with friends, meeting memorable characters through beautifully dark settings and a gripping story, or explore an expansive end game and shared world where players can meet in towns to trade, team up to battle world bosses, or descend into PVP zones to test their skills against other players – no lobbies necessary – with cross-play, cross-progression, and couch co-op on Xbox.This is only the beginning for Diablo® IV, with new events, stories, seasons, rewards, and more looming on the horizon.
