Who is Lilith in Diablo 4? Story explained

Diablo 4 is back after a decade since the third title, and Lilith is a character featured prominently in the game. If you’re new to the franchise or just need a refresh, here’s a quick guide to explain who she is and how she fits into the overarching nature of the Diablo franchise.

Diablo 4 is one of 2023’s biggest games, as the series continues to be unbelievably popular. Lauded as the unholy Lord of hack-and-slash looters, Diablo 4 has now sold millions of copies worldwide and is one of Blizzard’s top franchises.

Long-time fans have become familiar with the game’s story, characters, and general lore. The character Lilith is a key figure in the origin of humanity throughout the series and becomes the main villain in Diablo 4.

To explain her role in the story leading up to Diablo 4, we’ve put together a helpful explainer to bring you up to speed with her character arc so far.

Contents

• Which Diablo games has Lilith featured in?
• Who is Lilith related to in Diablo?
• Lilith’s story in Diablo 4
• How does Lilith tie into Diablo 4?

Which Diablo games has Lilith featured in?

Lilith makes her debut in Diablo 4 as the main antagonist. However, a character model for the Andariel boss in Diablo 2 used her name as an easter egg for fans. This is not considered a canonical appearance though, as the real Lilith was still slumbering at this point in the story.

Who is Lilith related to in Diablo?

In Diablo lore, Lilith is the daughter of one of the universe’s most powerful entities – Mephisto, Lord of Hatred – and in some circles is considered to possibly be the daughter of Auriel, Sister of Lucion. Lilith has also been strongly aligned and romantically linked to Inarius – a former Archangel, a relationship that would lead to the creation of humanity and the Nephalem.

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Lilith’s story in Diablo

Diablo’s Lilith, known more commonly as The Queen of the Succubi, is at heart, a demon who is caught in the endless war between the Burning Hells and High Heavens, Lilith sought to forge a new realm between the two that would provide an escape from the toils of ceaseless war – a sanctuary, if you will.

Lilith fell in love with the Archangel Inarius and together, they created the human world of Sanctuary as a place for their offspring to live in peace without the interference of Angels or Demons. As their offspring were half Demon and Angels, they became a new race known as the Nephalem. However, their union and the creation of this new race was seen as an abomination in both Hell and Heaven.

The Nephalem race started to become powerful, so powerful in fact, that their existence was seen as a threat by their respective former allies. This led to both the forces of the High Heavens and the Burning Hells turning their attention to Sanctuary, invading and slaughtering many of the Nephalem before they could grow too strong.

In her despair, Lilith went mad and became a malevolent force who went far beyond simply protecting her family, deciding that the only way to live in peace was to conquer or destroy Heaven and Hell, and waged war on both. Seeing no other choice, Inarius then exiled the now tyrannical Lilith to the Void – as he couldn’t bring himself to kill her.

The Nephalem eventually evolved into what we know as humanity and became so plentiful that identifying who was human and who was Nephalem became near impossible. The events between Diablo 3 and 4 see Lilith return. As we saw in the Diablo 4 trailer, there is a cult on Sanctuary dedicated to her, and it looks as though they’ve been able to restore her now that the Prime Evils and Aegis Council have been decimated by the events of Diablo 3.

How does Lilith tie into Diablo 4?

Lilith is a central character in Diablo 4, as she has been summoned with Sanctuary being mostly rid of Angels and Demons and an opening available to build a new army. You have Lilith in your sights as the game’s main antagonist.

Lilith may try to recruit the player characters to her cause, as they are likely to be Nephalem themselves. While Lilith is certainly a more sympathetic villain than Diablo, will her plans be too ruinous to justify?

That wraps up everything we know about Lilith and her past and present in the Diablo franchise. For more handy guides for the game, check out these articles:

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