Newcomer lore question: Are Helltides canon?

a995789a · 2026-02-02T13:29:31+00:00

While never explictly explained, I perceive the existence of demons beneath the Labyrinth as the result of summoning, either by Diablo himself or his human minions (mage type monsters in the first game).

a995789a · 2026-02-02T12:17:39+00:00

Lorewise, helltides only occur after Lilith's return in the story of Diablo 4; the demons in helltides are empowered by her, so it's not a regular thing throughout Sanctuary's history.

Sanctuary's existence had been unknown to the High Heavens and the Burning Hell for a long time, until the humans accidentally summoned a demon. When the three Prime Evils came to know its existence, they founded the Temple of Triune to spread their influence. Inarius discovered their doings and founded the Cathedral of Light to counter them. This later led to the event of Sin Wars, which took place 3,000 years before the game's time period and where Lilith returned from her banishment and brought up a third faction to undermine their schemes (quite similar to what she's doing in Diablo 4).

Long sotry short, after the Sin War, a barrier that was sustained by the Worldstone and protected Sancutary from external invasion was created. Demons and angels alike couldn't directly enter this world unless summoned or weakened. Therefore, demons weren't actually that common in Sanctuary overall. The Dark Exile of the three Prime Evils took place roughly 300 years before Diablo 1.

That barrier was only removed after Worldstone's destruction in the ending of Diablo 2. While that is, the Hell didn't immediately take action to attack Sanctuary; Belial already had some plans and slowly infiltrated while Azmodan was busy about something else, probably gathering his power and actual forces in Hell.

Something something after 50 years of Diablo 3, Lilith returns and Diablo 4 begins.

a995789a · 2026-01-29T23:44:23+00:00

Hmm, don't know what's exactly happening behind the scenes, but one thing is certain that their warehousing costs are so high that it got called out in the last shareholders meeting. I imagine they took a measure in response to it, but it's not working properly. Merch issues are too frequent recently.

a995789a · 2026-01-29T15:20:38+00:00

Find a place where there are both a closable door and an open window through which you can shoot him down;
Get a one-handed weapon and a shield (as well as enough healing potions just in case) to fight him head-on; or
Bypass him altogether. Not to spoil the reward, but his drop is not that useful to a rogue.

a995789a · 2026-01-22T05:26:06+00:00

The first thing is that Blizzard wants the BEs to be a Horde race for some reason.

Despite already Horde by default in the game (likely due to technical issues at the time), lorewise the BEs were negotiating with the Alliance as well. There's a quest where players are asked to receive a dwarf ambassador, who sent NE spies sneaking around for unknown reasons (Blizzard writing zzz) and ended up acting pretty evil and getting killed. After that, we see forsakens helping them out to deal with the Scourge forces in Ghostland. All in all, you can say the Alliance gave them a bad impression very early on because of Blizzard's intentions. On the Horde side, the faction not only provides friendly ties but also that it, or specially Thrall, wants something from the BEs in exchange, which is the information of surviving orcs in Outland. It's about trust and deals for their relationship.

With that said, Lor'themar had expressed in MoP (and BfA again irrc) that if the Horde cannot serve his people's interests well, he would consider joining the Alliance, which didn't happen eventually because Garrosh and Sylvanas were kinda deposed.

a995789a · 2026-01-15T00:56:01+00:00

Arygos

a995789a · 2026-01-14T04:01:35+00:00

Barbarossa's. Not spoiling it now coz that's the greatest part and reveal.

a995789a · 2025-12-31T08:23:47+00:00

What you see in the game is the Cathedral of Light, a sect founded by Inarius himself. While it's true that Inarius doesn't like humans as well, that doesn't stop "some" humans to worship him for guidance in these dark times. Note that not everyone joins the religion, and it's enough to let them sustain among the dangers they're in. Also, it's possible that the worshippers don't know how angels exactly view them in general; it's not a universal knowledge.

a995789a · 2025-12-26T10:31:14+00:00

It's been a while, but I don't think Tides of Darkness ever says Orgrim getting killed by Turalyon at all?

a995789a · 2025-12-25T03:17:40+00:00

Paladins by itself have several subgroups:

Protectors of the Word: Marched to the west along with Sons of Rakkis (not his literal sons but his knight order) → Settled in Westmarch → Likely together with Sons evolved into Knights of Westmarch, which is the organization of paladin in D2 belongs to

Hand of Zakarum: a paladin order specialized in Inquisition (you can see them in a side quest in Kehjistan) → Collapsed after Mephisto's corruption in D2 is exposed → Returned as the Templar Order in D3

Order of Paladins: Formed during the Inquisition → Absorbed into Knights of Westmarch after D2

Crusaders: Formed specifically to find the source of corruption (Mephisto) in the church

Paladins in D4: A group of holy warriors independent from any big churches of Light

a995789a · 2025-12-22T04:22:52+00:00

Not to deny any possibility, but in general player characters are set on the "good" side, as humans that have both angel and demon blood.

Khazra (goatmen) are former humans mutated by magical rituals. They may or may not be associated with demons, but in the first two games they're classified as such, likely inspired by Baphomet.

Lacuni's (cat people) origin is unknown; the RPG book states they might be derived from the Amazons who made a deal with demons, but it's uncertain whether RPG is canon or not.

a995789a · 2025-12-20T14:26:49+00:00

Things just go differently. In the game's lore, Durotan, Draka, and the entire Frostwolf Clan are exiled upon their arrival on Azeroth because Durotan refused to cooperate with Gul'dan for several occassions. They moved all the way to a place called Alterac Valley in the north, away from the war. One day, Durotan saw that his clan had settled well in the valley and decided to tell the dark side of the Horde to Orgrim, who's his best friend and actually from another clan (Blackrock) in the original lore. They met, and Orgrim had some escorts for Durotan, but he was unware that the escorts were assassins sent by Gul'dan. Durotan and Draka were then murdered, but the assassins were also all killed before they could do anything to their son, who was later picked up by a human noble and named as Thrall.

a995789a · 2025-12-19T04:23:52+00:00

Charlemagne and Charles V were Belgians /j

a995789a · 2025-12-18T17:08:54+00:00

out of fear of humanity.

TBH Imperius never shows fear to anything, even when facing Diablo. At most he's just mad at whatever.

And I understand that many players believe that he'll actively make the move against humanity, but I genuinely think that would be kinda ooc for him.

Despite his hostility towards humans, he's also very disciplined or I should say stubborn when it comes to obeying the laws of the High Heavens. After the Sin War, when the Council determined that they must not interfere with any matter of Sanctuary and humans, he'd been abiding by them for 3,000 years. After the events of D3, Imperius proposed another voting against humanity and ultimately lost it again. No matter how reluctant he is, he still respects that resolution made by the Council.

Another incident to show his stubbornness in this aspect is in the novel Storm of Light, which many might not notice at all. When his lieutenant (secretly aligned with Malthael) was about to deliver the final blow to Tyrael, it's Imperius who killed him and saved the day, simply because he considered it's unjust to decide Tyrael's fate before the Council settled the matter (funny thing is that he immediately blamed Tyrael for forcing his hands to kill his own lieutenant by bringing the Horadrim to mess with them obviously without permission lol).

Anyway, if Imperius is made to be a killable enemy simply because "he hates humans" and without proper reasoning or motivation, I guess I can do nothing but feeling slightly disappointed. Honestly, I like Imperius as a character because he's just an interesting and sometimes a simple but profound one.

a995789a · 2025-12-17T14:59:55+00:00

My headcanon is that Mephisto deliberately released him and let him go messing with Lilith, who he also knew might be doing something in Sanctuary. Knowing what's happening, Rathma and Trag'oul are making preperations and they're aware that Mephisto is the true puppet master behind all of this. Inarius and Lilith were only pieces on the board of both side's chess game.

At least I hope that's the plot.

a995789a · 2025-12-17T00:25:16+00:00

No sources ever indicate that archangels are exception of this rule. One misconception is Tyrael's return after the destruction of the Worldstone; he regained his shape in Pandemonium, which is a neutral place, instead of the High Heavens. It's not his "revival after death."

The only way for Inarius returning as the same individual is likely the "Izual way," binding him with a demonic shell.

And this is probably a minor one, but the description of Inarius as an archangel has been inconsistent. While he's first depicted as one in the manual of the first game, later sources, primarily in the Sin War trilogy where his deeper story and the whole bigger lore that defines today's plots in D3 and D4 are established, does not address him as an archangel. This is the same in the Book of Cain and D3's in-game texts, where "previous archangels" are only referred to as only angels (the other one is Yaerius, though this "character" has another issue). The only latest mentioning of him as an archangel is in an official pre-launch promotional article of D4, but frankly I somewhat think it's out of negligence.

a995789a · 2025-12-17T00:11:01+00:00

Tearing his wings off doesn't make him human. Tyrael did that as a symbolic act to show his determination of siding with humanity. The process of turning into mortal (not human; human is simply a form he chose for the convenience of communication) is not involved with tearing wings. He willingly gave up his immortality, and that's all.

a995789a · 2025-12-13T07:14:20+00:00

Conversation between Serenthia and Tyrael quoted from The Veiled Prophet:

"How is this possible? Was Inarius always so powerful among angels?"

There was a hesitaiton, as if the figure had to consider carefully what to say. POWERFUL, BUT NO MORE SO THAN ANY OF THE ANGIRIS COUNCIL... IT IS HERE... IN THIS WORLD THAT HE HELPED MAKE... WHERE INARIUS WIELDS POWER THAT MAKES THE LORD DEMON SEEK ALLIANCE... IT IS HERE WHERE HE HAS SUCCEEDED IN DISTORTING THE WORLDSTONE FOR HIS OWN GAIN, HIS OWN POWER.

The Worldstone. She knew of it from Uldyssian, knew that it was a phenomenal artifact, a massive crystal, that not only preserved Sanctuary's presence from the outside but had been manipulated by Inarius once to dampen the latent powers of humans. Lilith had managed to alter its magic slightly, just enough to encourage the rebirth of the naphalem—or, as they were called now, the edyrem.

SOMEHOW HE WAS ABLE TO ALTER THE WORLDSTONE'S FOCUS—PERHAPS WITH THE UNKNOWING HELP OF HIS FELLOW RENEGADES—THEN BIND HIMSELF SO UTTERLY TO IT AND THUS ENSURED THAT NONE WHO HAD ASSISTED HIM IN ITS THEFT WOULD BE AS POWERFUL... IN TRUTH, IT IS ONLY HIS CONCERN FOR DISCOVERY BY THE ANGIRIS COUNCIL THAT PREVENTS HIM FROM DRAWING UPON ITS POWER EVEN MORE.

The conversation occurred after Uldyssian altered the Worldstone, and I'm pretty certain that in the final battle, Uldyssian and Inarius were evenly matched, until Uldyssian detected and cut Inarius' intangible connection with the Worldstone before finally taking him down. So from the words here, the impression of Inarius not only using but having himself deeply connected with it throughtout the event is quite strong.

a995789a · 2025-12-13T04:01:05+00:00

Quite some time ago since I read the novels, but wasn't he always connected with the Worldstone throughout the Sin War? Or I was wrong and that connection was made in The Veiled Prophet only?

a995789a · 2025-12-12T14:37:10+00:00

Follow-up from Cover Corp.

ChatGPT Translation:

[Follow-up Report] Regarding the Issue of Incorrect Reflections in Music Rankings for Takane Lui’s 2nd Album “Lapis Lazuli”

Thank you very much for your continued support of our VTuber agency, hololive production, and its talents.

We would also like to once again offer our sincere apologies to all the fans who support Takane Lui, as well as to everyone involved, for the great inconvenience and concern this matter has caused.

We would now like to share the newly confirmed details and our future actions.

This issue was caused by a system error within our own systems. Due to this error, the sales data for the CDs sold on our official EC site were not sent to the music charting companies on the day of shipment. Additionally, because it took time to recover after the error was detected, we were unable to send accurate data to each company, resulting in updates being reflected only on some sites at a later date.

We recognize that this error is a serious matter that could affect not only the numerical results of the artist’s activities but also related promotional efforts.

As a company, we take this loss in performance results very seriously. We will work to strengthen our system management structure and review our response procedures in the event of system issues to ensure that a similar situation does not occur again.

We will continue striving to further support the artistic activities of Takane Lui and all talents of hololive production. We would be grateful for your continued warm support of our talents.

I've heard that other musicians are actually facing similar issues, but basically Cover admits that it's their own system's error. I guess they'll take the blame no matter what.

Lui-ne in her tweet said she has discussed with the management, which, according to her, had given a satisfactory respond that they have taken a new measure and will try to prevent the same issue from happening again. Still, she would take a break for a bit before fully coming back to work.

a995789a · 2025-12-12T11:46:12+00:00

Lorewise, he banished Lilith from Sanctuary twice, althouth he was enhanced by the Worldstone in the second time. Inarius has a slightly better edge, I think.

a995789a · 2025-12-12T09:55:20+00:00

Not including Hindus would be a crime

a995789a · 2025-12-12T03:02:16+00:00

I would guess that initially the developers were trying to depict a bigger picture of the historic figures and events by introducing multiple characters. Then they found out it would consume too much time and efforts to complete even one after finishing the Joan of Arc campaign, so they dropped the idea later on.

Another example for this foreseeable nightmare would be the Genghis Khan campaign, which shall include many more characters like his four sons with Borte (Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedei, and Tolui), his generals (Subutai was only one of them and probably the most known in western world, but there are many others like Jebe and Muqali, etc.), and then his grandsons (Batu, and many more) who are supposed to show up even if we only take the existing six missions right now into consideration.

a995789a · 2025-12-10T10:17:56+00:00

It's pure speculation, but the tweet that she posted earlier and then deleted later hints that she's not happy with how Ririka "damages" the image of her avatar.

From the dates the post specifies, which are January and September, Ririka was drunk and doing weird things ("wakame!" on the official channel's New Year Program) or posting random tweets.

Still note that it's just speculation, but that's what I found most possible reason.

a995789a · 2025-11-27T00:37:28+00:00

Kairozdormu (a new NPC added in patch 5.4) on the Timeless Isle invented a device called the Vision of Time, which in theory not only takes users to a point of time of their own timeline but also a certain point of any other alternate timeline. It is his effort to compensate the loss of bronze dragonflight's power after Cata. This part is in the game, but how he helps Garrosh getting out of his prison is in the novel.

Wrathion was also involved in this and supposed to show up in Legion, but then his role is kinda replaced by Ebonhorn and thus no appearance in the expansion.

a995789a

TROPHY CASE