4–6 minutes
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve taken you through the world of Sanctuary. From the rogue’s camp to the Sisters’ monastery in Act I, through the dry and hot lands surrounding Lut Gholein in Act II, and onward to the dense jungles of Kurast in Act III, we’ve seen sights both wondrous and horrifying.
Yet it was all eclipsed by the sheer strangeness of Act IV. Upon entering the Burning Hells, I found myself in the only safe area, known as the Pandemonium Fortress. The Archangel Tyrael was there, greeting me like an old friend and thanking me for my help in Act II before assigning me my first task – to track down and defeat his old lieutenant, the angel Izual.
So off I went to track down this fallen angel, only to find myself in a place twisted and full of torment and pain.
Through an area dotted with the remnants of ruined structures and fissures shooting fire, I headed, killing whatever stood in my way. Before long, I found myself within the Plains of Despair, the area where Izual had been imprisoned after a foolish attempt to assault the Hellforge. It wasn’t hard to locate the fallen angel, who had long since been shackled within a horrendous demonic form.
He was quite challenging to beat, as his cold attacks did quite a bit of damage and I had foolishly swapped out for items more suitable to fire resistance. I died. My hired companion died more than once. Yet, after digging through my inventory for something that would provide me with defenses against cold damage, I was finally able to withstand his assaults and defeat him.
Freed from the twisted body he’d been imprisoned in, surely he would have thanked us for our help? Instead, he tells us that it was he who’d told Diablo about the soulstones and how to corrupt them and that humanity was doomed. Well then, you’re welcome.
One task down, two to go.
Next up was to find the Hellforge and destroy Mephisto’s soulstone. This required a trip through one of the most disturbing areas of Hell – the City of the Damned. Once a city, the effects of hell are quite clearly on display: ruined buildings fallen to rubble, pavement smashed and uneven, leaving gaps in the ground where the River of Flame could be seen.
Yet it was the tormented souls that made the area so unsettling. Some were partially engulfed in the ground, some were chained, most were missing limbs or other body parts. All of them emitted despair as they were punished for all eternity for whatever sins they’d committed to earn their spot. Even the various mobs I fought were tame compared to those souls that would never again know peace.
After fighting my way through, finding the waypoint and the entrance to the next area, I was more than ready to leave the damned behind. I could do nothing for them, though I harbored a small hope that defeating Diablo might free them of their torment.
Still, I was now at the River of Flame and the Hellforge was surely close by. Mephisto’s end was close. There was the matter of defeating the guardian of the forge – a demon named Hephasto. This one was an interesting fight but, more so, an interesting character.
Having once been a weaponsmith to Inarius, Hephasto was corrupted by Mephisto. He rose through Mephisto’s ranks becoming his top armorer and manning the Hellforge. And while other Overlords were jealous of his place at the forge, none dared challenge him else they’d face his wrath and probably be used in whatever creations he was forging.
Once again he was a challenge to defeat, but defeat him I did and, claiming his forge hammer, I made quick work of destroying Mephisto’s soulstone. Perhaps, in some small way, I avenged Hephasto of Mephisto’s corruption in the process. Who knows? They were both gone.
One Prime Evil down, another to go. It was time to face Diablo.
The River of Flame seemed to go on forever before I finally reached my destination – the Chaos Sanctuary. With my waypoint lying back in the River, I forged ever forward … after making certain I had plenty of town portal scrolls, should I need them. Spoiler: I did.
Once within the Sanctuary, I faced numerous demons, strong and fast for they were Diablo’s elite force. Slowly I made my way through them to my goal – the inner sanctum and Diablo himself.
He was a fight! I had maxed out my fire resistance, yet my other resistances not so much. It would prove to make the battle much more challenging as the Lord of Terror came with an arsenal of attacks. Many were fire based but he also had lightning attacks and at least one cold attack. Good thing I’d had to fight Izual earlier for I was somewhat prepared for that! The lightning, however, would be my downfall multiple times before I found an item that boosted my resistance enough to withstand the battle.
I definitely made use of those town portal scrolls, but at last, Diablo was defeated. It was over.
And then the epilogue played. We were back with the old man, Marius, who believing he spoke with Tyrael, gave him the final soulstone, that of Baal. Only then do we discover that the hooded figure is indeed Baal himself, who proceeds to kill Marius. The sight of the Prime Evil leaving, trailing fire behind him was chilling, and rivaled the ending of the first game.
It is here we end our tale as, despite owning the expansion, I’ve never played it. An oversight I believe it’s time to address. After all, can I truly say I’ve beaten the game with Baal still out there? I think not.
However, having looked back on the game, I am reminded of why Diablo II was, and probably still is, my favorite aRPG of all time. The people working at Blizzard North were genuinely passionate about the game and it showed.
Until next time, bye for now!
Ms. Bella's World 