Diablo

From Diablo Wiki

This is about the Prime Evil. For the game, see Diablo (game)

Diablo is the main antagonist of the Diablo (game) game series. In both the original game and in Diablo II players set out to hunt down the Lord of Terror, and both games concluded with a showdown between the player and the Prime Evil (until Diablo II: Lord of Destruction was released in which players face off against Baal). Diablo must be killed in order to complete the Terror's End quest in Act IV.

In a PC World article. Diablo was voted as #14 of the top 47 "most diabolical videogame villains of all time."

[edit] Background

Diablo spent two centuries slowly corrupting the Soulstone that imprisoned him. In time, he was able to extend his influence into the surrounding area and possess both King Leoric and his archbishop, Lazarus. The King proved too strong to fully possess, so the Demon took his son, Prince Albrecht. Diablo then began to shape an outpost of Hell within the catacombs that ran beneath the town of Tristram. By spreading terror into the surrounding countryside, the Demon was able to attract many heroes who came to cleanse the land of evil. By the time the strongest of these heroes reached this goal, though, he had become fully influenced by the power of Diablo. In his twisted state, this adventurer believed that the only way to fully control the Demon was to plunge Diablo's Soulstone into his own head. This, of course, was exactly what Diablo had planned as the Demon now had an even stronger body to use to find his brothers and complete his ultimate plan...

Diablo eventually possessed the adventurer and went to free his two brothers, Mephisto and Baal. Eventually, a second party of adventurers (or one, depending if it is online or offline, if was a group or one is ambiguous), confronted Diablo and killed him. This time however, his Soulstone was destroyed in the Hellforge, putting an end to his evil permanently.

[edit] Further Information and Tips

Diablo appears in his Chaos Sanctuary after all monsters inside have been defeated and all five seals have been opened. Note that three of those seals contain a Unique boss with a pack of minions; those have to be defeated as well. In one of the left-hand seals the Unique boss Grand Vizier of Chaos (Finger Mage) is hidden, in the upper seal lurks Lord De Seis (Oblivion Knight) and on the right-hand side awaits the Infector of Souls (Megademon). When all seals have been opened and all bosses and minions defeated (note that if the last seal you open is a seal containing a miniboss, killing the 'leader of the pack' will also destroy his minions) the Chaos Sanctuary should suddenly start 'brightening up'. After that a violent tremor quakes through the Sanctuary, and a demonic voice can be heard saying: "Not even Death can save you from me!". Diablo awaits near the inner seal...

Diablo has a range of powerful spells and abilities of which many are Fire based such as Fire Nova, Fire Wall and Firestorm, so having full Fire Resistance and some Fire Absorb will help greatly. Diablo also has a nasty Cold Touch ability (as can be seen in the animation above) that slows players down. The real killer Diablo uses against you, however, is his Red Lightning Hose attack which does massive damage. The damage done by this attack is partly Lightning (Damage) based; the other part is said to be Physical Damage. Max. Lightning Resistance and Damage Reduction (for players using shields: a high Blockrate helps) might allow you to survive this attack, still its wise just to run away when you see Diablo preparing to cast it. Diablo also charges players out of melee range. His melee damage is also considerable; yet another reason to bring some Damage reduction with you.

It is recommended to at least max out Fire Resistance, if possible Lightning Resistance as well. Ranged attackers have less problems evading the Fire and Lightning Hose spells but have to make sure they don't get charged by Diablo. Melee attackers will just have to endure Diablo's melee hits: this is a Healing Potion intensive fight. Keep hitting the Lord of Terror as much as possible; if you have full Fire Resistance and/or some Fire Absorption, you should be able to survive the Firestorm spell with relative ease. Only run away from the Red Lightning Hose spell; it deals horrible damage and will kill you if you don't move out in time. It's also important to fight Diablo at a place where you have enough space to run away. When dodging the Lightning Hose attack its best to run around Diablo in circles so you don't get hit. Just before Diablo starts casting his Lightning Hose attack, you can see him put his hands together and hear a charging sound: this gives you a split second the chance to react before it hits you. A combination of his Cold Touch followed up with the Lightning Hose is very deadly and sadly there's little to counter it.

You most likely have to retreat to the Pandemonium Fortress a few times in order to refill your supply of Healing Potions. When you open a Town Portal be sure to do it somewhere out of sight where Diablo can't reach you as he tends to cast Bone Prison around Town Portals. When you return to the Chaos Sanctuary and find you're trapped within a prison, Diablo has several seconds to kill you while you're defenseless.

Keep battering the Lord of Terror until he finally falls. Watch a spectacular death animation, grab the loot and head back to the Pandemonium Fortress before you either continue to Harrogath or sit back to enjoy the Epilogue.

Prime Evils and Lesser Evils
Prime Evils — Diablo • Mephisto • Baal Lesser Evils — Duriel • Andariel • Azmodan • Belial • Lilith