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Mephisto borrowed Akarat's body to resurrect in Sanctuary, foreshadowing a full-scale conflict in Diablo 4's first expansion, 'Vessel of Hatred'. Blizzard revealed the new expansion 'Lord of Hatred' at The Game Awards (TGA) 2025, signaling the climax of the 'Age of Hatred' narrative that began with the original Diablo 4.

The emergence of a new wanderer, including the new region of Scosglen and the Paladin, is expected to lead to a confrontation with Mephisto. You will directly face Mephisto, resurrected by borrowing Akarat's body, in his true demonic form. Lilith, who needed her power, will also join the wanderer, and the foreshadowing that has been laid out so far is also expected to be resolved.

Inven had a chance to hear about the present and future of Diablo 4 in advance with Lead Narrative Designer Matt Burns and Narrative Designer Eleni Liverakolun. As the interview was conducted before the expansion pack was revealed through TGA, many parts were not directly mentioned at the time of the interview, but we were able to get a glimpse of the core of the world and the story that will be depicted in the expansion Lord of Hatred.

Narrative designers Matt and Eleni, who participated in the interview, introduced themselves as leading the work on this expansion, explaining that Diablo 4 was designed from the beginning to form one large saga, the so-called 'Age of Hatred', from the main story to the first expansion Vessel of Hatred, and then to the next expansion Lord of Hatred.

The plan for the Age of Hatred was basically drawn as the next story even before the main game was released. We wanted to tell the story of Mephisto's influence on the world, how Lilith and Inarius, the mother and father of mankind, return and shake the fate of humans, what that means to humans, and finally, how humans move forward in the Sanctuary where they have returned.

Of course, some details were adjusted and some changes were made over time, but creating the 'Age of Hatred' saga was one of the developers' grand plans.

The ending of Vessel of Hatred, where Mephisto takes over Akarat's body, is in the same vein. The ending completes the story of Neyrelle trying to contain the evil, while at the same time, it was a long-term design to move from Mephisto being released into the world to Lord of Hatred.

The developers said that in the expansion they are currently working on, this 'Age of Hatred' will reach its climax, and players will finally face Mephisto in his complete form and be tested to see if they can stop him.

Matt described Mephisto as an entity who is above all else skilled at manipulating and toying with humans. Mephisto does not believe that humans can control their own destiny. Rather, he tries to prove through his actions that humans cannot escape his influence after all.

That value is revealed in the form of him walking around Sanctuary in the body of the legendary Akarat. He performs miracles, heals people, and gathers thousands of followers to lead them to Scosglen. The people of Sanctuary see Mephisto's actions and appearance and recognize Akarat as their savior. But he is plotting a terrible and unholy thing in Scosglen that will change the fate of all mankind.

The developers also emphasized that Mephisto has shown this side of himself throughout the Diablo series. Just as he corrupted the Zakarum Order from within in Diablo 2, this time he uses faith and religion as tools, but he has refined his strategy in a more efficient way than before. That makes him even more dangerous, and the wanderer's role in stopping his plans is also more important.

And this will soon lead to a confrontation with Mephisto. Eleni strongly affirmed when asked if Lord of Hatred would be the end of the story with Mephisto, saying that they will face a big showdown that they have been preparing for a long time. In the Age of Hatred, we have finally reached the Lord of Hatred, and we will have a satisfying interaction through the opportunity to defeat Mephisto. And we met Mephisto in the form of a wolf or another form, or in the state of borrowing Akarat's body at the end of Vessel of Hatred, but in Lord of Hatred, we will finally face his true demonic form.

Meanwhile, the developers saw Eru as a victim of Mephisto's influence, unlike the many traitors who have appeared in the Diablo series. Eru is only mentioned in the story rather than appearing directly. However, there will be more characters who will be corrupted by Mephisto's influence, who deceives and manipulates humans, in Lord of Hatred.

As this expansion focuses on Mephisto and the Age of Hatred, the story is expected to conclude with a confrontation between the wanderer and Mephisto. Eleni implied that Diablo will not appear directly, saying that everyone knows that a great evil like Diablo has not died and has not completely disappeared, but that they wanted to focus on the final ending and confrontation with Mephisto in this expansion.

As revealed through the synopsis, the wanderer will reunite with Lilith before the confrontation with Mephisto. Eleni said that in the main game, the player was in a confrontational relationship with Lilith, but now Lilith can ally with the player while maintaining her own motives. You can check Lilith's confrontation, the reason for her existence, and her intentions at the end of the story.

Matt says that this story is finally about confronting Mephisto and tracking him down to stop him before he does something terrible to Sanctuary. And he emphasized that building a relationship with Lilith, who exists within the player, will be a key factor in whether or not they can stop Mephisto.

One of the important themes that runs through the entire 'Age of Hatred' is the sense that humans are alone. Matt emphasizes the setting that the heavens no longer have any involvement with humanity and are intentionally stepping away. In Season 11, an angel character like Hadriel appeared and added content to accompany the wanderer. But the heavens as a whole still do not intervene in Sanctuary and humanity, and leave the fate of humanity to themselves.

Eleni explains that this setting greatly increases the sense of crisis for the characters in Lord of Hatred. Players feel alone and experience a more desperate situation. The heavens do not want to intervene and have no intention of intervening. Mephisto infiltrates Sanctuary and disguises himself as a religious figure that everyone can believe in, and does good deeds.

While Mephisto travels around Sanctuary as Akarat, performing miracles and saving people, the common people are excited by the hope that the long era of disaster may be coming to an end. When a great religious figure comes back to life and performs all the miracles, the people of Sanctuary are excited and rejoice, hoping that 'everything may finally be over, the demons will finally disappear, and the light will be here'. And this hope in deception becomes a new obstacle for the player, Lorath, and Neyrelle to face.

In addition to these types of obstacles, the developers explained that the fact that the player has the essence of a demon, Lilith's blood, will also create a new story. And the conflicts and tensions that arise from this will serve to heighten the sense of crisis in the final battle with Mephisto.

Meanwhile, the soulstone will not reappear to solve the problem. Matt said that the soulstones used before were certainly effective, but they were not a permanent solution. The point is to find a way to 'break the cycle' of Mephisto returning to torment humanity. One of the solutions is the existence of Neyrelle, who has been connected to Mephisto through the previous story. He suggested that the solution could be found through the prophecy in the main game, or that something bigger could be done, and encouraged players to check the game for more details.

The main stage of Lord of Hatred is Scosglen. Scosglen is a place in the Diablo universe that has been mentioned in Diablo 2 and the setting book, but Lord of Hatred is the first time that players will actually play in this place. Scosglen is where Lilith and Inarius, and many demons and angels, first created Sanctuary, and where the first generation of humanity was born. Naturally, players will encounter ancient artifacts and places that have existed since the dawn of the world, and the current society that exists now.

Returning to the place where humanity began to conclude the story was a natural decision for the developers as they created the narrative for Lord of Hatred. Just as Diablo 4 began with Lilith and Inarius, the mother and father of humanity, returning to Sanctuary. Mephisto is Lilith's father and, in a way, the grandfather of humanity. In a way, this great family element is also being concluded at Scosglen, its starting point.

Mephisto is plotting in Scosglen to change the fate of humanity. Whether Mephisto is stopped or not, what happens here will change the future of Sanctuary.

Along with the main storyline, players can find a lot of things in Scosglen. As it is an area that was not accessible before, you can experience the deep history and settings that you could not explore, and a lot of content has been prepared for it. In addition, the Horadrim also appear, allowing you to experience interesting content.

In Lord of Hatred, which is set in Scosglen, various new characters appear, including the Amazon Queen, a prophet, and another leader, who will join the wanderer. In addition, Lorath, who was mentioned earlier, will reappear, and you can also see a new side of Lilith. Through them, you can see what the Amazon society is like, and you can also see pieces of the future through the prophet.

It is clear that Mephisto, who has Akarat's body, has emerged as a figure of hope for the public, but not everyone has the same opinion. In fact, opinions are divided within the Zakarum Order as well. Some in the Order believe that Akarat's resurrection is a trick and do not trust him. In addition, Mephisto's goal is not to rebuild the Zakarum Order. He is saying, 'If you follow me, not Zakarum or the Cathedral of Light, I will show you the truth and lead you to a better world'.

The Cathedral of Light is also unable to actively intervene. They are trying to heal the wounds they received after what happened in Vessel of Hatred with Uribar, what Prava has to deal with, and after Inarius disappeared. Therefore, they are unable to directly intervene in what is happening in Akarat or Scosglen.

In this situation, what adds new strength to the players is the existence of the Paladin, the Holy Knight. As the interview was before the Holy Knight was directly revealed through TGA, the Holy Knight as a new class was not discussed, but there were several mentions of him by the developers.

The new class Spiritcaller, which was released through Vessel of Hatred, was a class associated with the new region of Nahantu Jungle. However, in the case of the Holy Knight, the new region is not directly connected to Scosglen. The Holy Knight exists everywhere in Sanctuary and is depicted as an entity who wanders the world and does ultimate good. The Holy Knight has come to Scosglen to do good.

The same is true for another class that will be revealed through Lord of Hatred. Although the direct details themselves cannot be revealed yet, the new class may not be directly connected to Scosglen like the Holy Knight. However, since there is a Holy Knight that can be played in advance, the appearance of the new class will be revealed at a later time.

Webzine InvenReporter Kang Seung-jin
2025-12-16