A newly revealed cinematic for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred shows Lilith’s return following her defeat in the base game, and while she looks the same, she also seems noticeably less evil than the first time around.
The cinematic comes from IGN as part of its IGN First Lord of Hatred cover story, revealing new details about Diablo 4’s second expansion ahead of its release on April 28. While we knew from earlier interviews that players would be teaming back up with the mother of Sanctuary in some form, the cinematic shows what looks to be a dramatic reunion.
In the cinematic, the player-character (in this case a Paladin, one of the expansion’s two new classes), is shown falling down a dark, seemingly bottomless pit. As they fall, Lilith’s voice can be heard amidst flashes of Diablo 4’s current new big bad, Mephisto.
“I gave my children a world, and the strength to make it their own” Lilith says in the cinematic. “And all I have to show for it, is you.”
She then swoops down, embraces the Paladin in her wings, and takes them by the hand, seemingly saving them. She then utters a single word: “Fight.”
In Diablo 4, players teamed up with Mephisto to stop Lilith from conquering all of Sanctuary. This time around, the roles look to be reversed. Mephisto is back to nearly full strength and using his cunning to manipulate an entire religion in his quest for demonic dominance, and it will be up to players and Lilith to bring down the Lord of Hatred.
As pointed out in an interview with Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred narrative designers Matt Burns and Eleni Rivera shortly after the expansion’s reveal, Lilith may have been defeated in the base game, but she’s always been a part of players after they consumed some of her blood petals.
“She’s been a part of us this whole time,” Burns said. “And though we defeated her in Hell, something of her has lived on in us. There’s a presence inside of us that is slumbering basically. And now that we’re going after Mephisto and the stakes are high and the fate of the world hangs in the balance, her presence within us really becomes a key to figuring out how to stop Mephisto.”
Lilith may be domineering, but at the end of the day she does care for Sanctuary, her creation. That means she’s willing to put aside past differences and team up with players for the good of the world, though Rivera did make clear she’s still a demon with her own goals and motivations.
Burns additionally confirmed players will be able to select between different dialogue options when speaking with Lilith, giving players more agency to express their feelings about the surprisingly nuanced villain.
When Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred arrives, it will introduce two new classes in the form of Paladin and Warlock, as well as rework much of the game’s existing structure. Class skill trees are being completely reworked to remove passive skills, and Lord of Hatred will feature 12 Torment difficulties for players to battle through. It will also introduce multiple new mechanics, like the return of the Horadric Cube from previous games and a new War Plans endgame system.
To get in the mood for the expansion’s launch, you can read this excerpt from the expansion’s prequel novel, Diablo 4: The Lost Horadrim, to set the stage.
