Although it’s only been out for about six months, Blizzard is already ready to reveal the first expansion for Diablo IV. Vessel of Hatred will be released sometime next year, but we already know some pretty exciting details, including that the iconic villain Mephisto will return. Diablo II fans will remember Mephisto, but if you’re a relative newcomer to the series, you may be wondering who this Prime Evil is.
In short, Mephisto is the Prime Evil. Mephisto, the first of the seven great evils, is the father of Lilith, making him more or less the grandfather of Sanctuary. He has manipulated most of the Diablo universe, and although he discovered Sanctuary after creation because it appeared on his radar – along with the humans within – he has sought to consume all his available souls to strengthen himself and ultimately win the great war against Heaven.
Mephisto, however, was not allowed to cause as much chaos as he wanted in Sanctuary. Along with his brothers Diablo and Baal, he was locked in a Soulstone, but over time his power began to leak out, allowing him to exert his influence again. Over the course of the first three Diablo games, Mephisto took control of an entire faith, tried to get his agents to break open the Soulstones his brothers had captured, had his own Soulstone broken open and was eventually trapped in a Black Soulstone before being transported back to Hell.
But now he’s back. Or at least, he’s in another Soulstone. How he got into that stone has not yet been revealed, but this will be shown along with the rest of his story in due course. During the first act of Diablo IV’s campaign, you can see Mephisto as a wolf who follows you everywhere and even helps you from time to time. Despite the fact that his daughter Lilith is the main villain of the game, it seems that he does not want to help her and would rather see her defeated, and so he helps the player. Too weak to take her on himself, he hopes instead to guide a brave person to put an end to her.
Mephisto’s return will also involve a trip back to Kurast, a region explored in Diablo II. Although the Lord of Hatred is once again trapped in a Soulstone, it does not appear that Mephisto will sit idly by. As we know, he has previously destroyed an entire faith from the comfort of a Soulstone, and so this next chapter of the Diablo IV story will likely see the evil Prime Evil return with vengeance. Despite the fact that he has helped us in the past, it was only to achieve his own goals of preventing his daughter from taking over his power. Therefore, do not enter Vessel of Hatred expecting to be buddy-buddy with the Prime Evil.
By returning to a character like Mephisto, this could signal that in other expansions for Diablo IV, his brothers could also return. As production director Tiffany Wat said in our group interview at BlizzCon: “those Prime Evils are annoying.” It is highly unlikely that we will ever see them completely destroyed, and the same goes for Lilith. Even though we defeated her in the base game, with the arrival of Mephisto in the DLC, there is the opportunity to explore the serious father-daughter issues that will arise as we learn more about the Lord of Hatred in Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred.
What do you think of Mephisto’s return in Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred?