Get up to speed on the story so far in Diablo 4 (D4)! Read on to learn more about the Diablo 4 (D4) timeline and all of the events that lead up to the game, from the novels to all main series games Diablo 1, Diablo 2, and Diablo 3, including their expansions!

The Story So Far: The Sin War Trilogy

Birthright Novel

Three thousand years before the events of Diablo 1, Inarius an archangel from the High Heavens, and Lilith, a demon from the Burning Hells, sought to end the Eternal Conflict and endless war between angels and demons. Thus, they stole the Worldstone, an object of unfathomable power, then created Sanctuary and gave birth to Nephalem, powerful half-breeds that had the potential to seize control of all realms, which their followers soon grew to fear.

Sensing her children were in danger, she went into a frenzy and killed angels and demons and was subsequently banished to the Void. Inarius then used the Worldstone to weaken the Nephalem and turned them into the humans we know now.

The story then follows a farmer called Uldyssian, as he grapples with strange new powers: the powers of the Nephalem.

Scales of the Serpent Novel

Lilith returned to Sanctuary, and through her many interactions with Uldyssian, stirred him to awaken his dormant Nephalem powers. Soon enough, Uldyssian destroys the Church of the Triune and defeats Lilith, leaving Inarius to banish her to the Void once more.

The Veiled Prophet Novel

Uldyssian and his Edyrem army march on toward Kehjan to dismantle Inarius and his Cathedral of Light. Uldyssian and Inarius clash, and Inarius is defeated when Uldyssian severs Inarius' bond with the Worldstone and sacrifices himself in doing so.

Thus, the Angiris Council of the High Heavens descended upon Sanctuary and decided to spare the Nephalem due to Uldyssian's sacrifice, and keep watch over them, while seeking an armistice with the Burning Hells. Inarius was then given to Mephisto as a prisoner, to be chained up in Hell and tortured forevermore.

All Diablo Prequel Stories Summarized

Diablo 1

Story Premise

Due to the armistice at the end of the Sin Wars, the Lesser Evils of the Burning Hells, who disagreed immensely, rose against the Prime Evils and banished them to Sanctuary. Tyrael, Archangel of Justice of the High Heavens, saw the Prime Evils' reign of destruction in Sanctuary and created the Horadrim to contain these demons: Baal, Mephisto, and Diablo, who specifically was kept under the town of Tristram.

A Son Returned Home

Aiden, son of the late king Leoric, returns to his hometown Tristram and finds it deserted, due to ghastly events that unfolded there, including his brother Albrecht going missing and his father Leoric turned into an undead skeleton king.

Deckard Cain, an elderly man part of an order called the Horadrim, assists Aiden in the search for his brother until he finds Diablo, the Lord of Terror who was responsible for the grisly happenings in Tristram.

Defeating Diablo

Aiden defeats Diablo and then discovers the demon had used the body of Albrecht as a host. He then consumed Diablo's soul stone, attempting to contain the demon, at least, for the moment.

Diablo 2

Story Premise

Diablo 2 follows the nameless Adventurer, who is on the trail of Aiden, now called the Dark Wanderer, who spreads demons wherever he goes. The narrator Marius follows the Dark Wanderer as his accomplice.

Defeat of Mephisto and Diablo

Throughout the course of the game, The Adventurer now not only has to contend with Diablo, who has taken over the Dark Wanderer, but also has to face the other great evils. Soon, the Adventurer enters Hell and defeats Mephisto, and then finally, Diablo, and destroys their soulstones on the Hellforge.

Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction Expansion

Shattering of the Worldstone

Baal was able to regain his true form and threatened to corrupt the Worldstone and break the boundary between Sanctuary and the Burning Hells, allowing demons to invade. Tyrael was able to stop this by hurling his sword into the Worldstone thus shattering it, unknowing of the consequences it would bring.

Diablo Immortal

Story Premise

The story of Diablo Immortal begins 5 years after the shattering of the Worldstone in Lord of Destruction. Here, the player character assists Deckard Cain in collecting and destroying the shards of the Worldstone from all over Sanctuary before Diablo's former lieutenant, the Lord of Damnation, Skarn, gets a hold of them all.

Zultun Kulle's memories explain that only an archangel weapon could destroy the Worldstone shards. only two of these exist in Sanctuary: Tyrael's sword El'Druin, and Yl'Nira, hidden from the world in Bilefen.

Defeating Skarn and Releasing Diablo

The player finds Yl'Nira and is able to destroy three shards of the Worldstone, but in doing so, corrupts the sword. This enables Skarn to wield it and summon a giant worm that can bring the legions of the Burning Hells into Sanctuary.

Skarn is eventually stopped and the last Worldstone shard shattered, but in the process, releases Diablo's spirit.
Diablo Immortal Walkthrough Wiki

Diablo 3

Story Premise

Diablo 3 takes place 20 years after the events of Diablo 2. In the early parts of the game, it is revealed that Tyrael renounced his angelic nature and became a mortal, the Aspect of Justice, to warn humanity about the arrival of the demon lords Belial and Azmodan.

Finding the Black Soulstone

The player character is the Nephalem, who, by traveling with Leah and Tyrael, learns that the only way to stop the legions of the Burning Hells is to obtain the Black Soulstone, crafted by Zoltan Kulle.

The Nephalem then finds the Black Soulstone, and defeats Belial and then Azmodan, as Leah traps both their souls in it. They were tricked, however, by the Witch Adria, who uses the Black Soulstone to resurrect Diablo and turn Leah into his vessel.

Defeating Prime Evil Diablo

Possessing all the souls of lords, Diablo becomes the Prime Evil and attacks the High Heavens, threatening to corrupt the Crystal Arch, the source of the power of all angels. Diablo is then defeated by the Nephalem, the Black Soulstone falls from the High Heavens, and Tyrael returns to the High Heavens to build an alliance between humanity and the angels.

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Expansion

Story Premise

In the Reaper of Souls Expansion, Malthael, the former Archangel of Wisdom, now the Angel of Death, stole the Black Soulstone. Tyrael explains to the Nephalem that now that Diablo has perished, Malthael now sees humanity as the next race to eliminate, due to their demonic ancestry, and by doing so, will end the Eternal Conflict.

Malthael's Defeat and The Return of the Seven Evils

Malthael, upon reaching Pandemonium, attempts to use the Black Soulstone to absorb all demonic essence throughout all of Sanctuary, leading to the extinction of humanity.

The Nephalem was able to defeat Malthael, but due to their battle, the Black Soulstone was shattered and the Seven Evils were released into the world once more.

Diablo 4 Timeline

Takes Place Decades After Reaper of Souls

Diablo 4 takes place some decades after the events of Diablo 3's Reaper of Souls Expansion Pack. While Malthael was successfully defeated, the devastating toll he had on humanity caused great suffering in Sanctuary.

Populations were decimated, entire cities were ravaged, and the High Heavens even closed its gates due to the losses they've suffered.

A Familiar Evil's Return

Amidst all the despair happening across all of Sanctuary, a pale man by the name of Elias summons Lilith, the Daughter of Mephisto. Lilith, along with the angel Inarius, initially created Sanctury as a place of refuge from the war between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells but eventually just became another extension for the war.

Who is Lilith and What is Her Role in the Story?

The Battle of Inarius and Lilith

As seen from the game's Official Release Date Trailer, Inarius is set on a warpath to make sure Lilith is defeated. It is around this time that the player-character's story also begins.

As a hero of Sanctuary, you will be right in the middle of this battle where you will have to do your part against all the darkness and evil abound in Sanctuary.

Do You Need to Play Diablo 3 First?

Not Required to Enjoy the Game

While Diablo 4 features a few returning characters and references to the older games, playing through Diablo 3 or any previous Diablo game is not necessary to enjoy Diablo 4.

The player character is unique to Diablo 4's main storyline, and no prior knowledge of the earlier games is required to understand and appreciate the game.

Do You Need to Play Diablo 3 First?

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