By giving out a conspicuous hint, Blizzard seems to be inducing further insanity in the players regarding the next season of Diablo IV. Some tweets at its official Diablo Twitter account reveal an upcoming Developer Update informing what is coming next, and it does bear the inscription of the Lord of Lies himself returning. The update goes live on April 24 at 11 AM PT, and the hype train is on the roll.
The tweet is quite small, but the suspense is lingering. “To prepare for Belial’s Return, you’ll need all the help you can get,” is what it says, with a devil emoji tacked on at the end for good measure and reason. Nothing else was revealed, though raising the mention of Belial, one of Diablo’s Prime Evils, is bound to send players flying. Is he the next season’s prime antagonist? Is this going to be connected to some real grand story patch, or is this all a joke by Blizzard (which they love to do; I dare say)? What unique twist in this infamous realm will Belial add to the game?
It’s spooky that there aren’t any replies to the tweet. Blasting-off flood memes, theories flood acute these first minutes right after any Diablo announcement. But presently? Crickets. Either fans right now are busy preparing their builds, or they are left dumb-founded by this Belial tease. Either way, this unsettling darkness spells disaster for the impeding doom!
For those needing a bit of refresher, the last time Belial was pulled out of the storyline was in Diablo III when he was made the game’s main antagonist during Act II, where he pulled the strings of events in shadowy fashion before revealing his true self in what is an unforgiving boss fight. His re-emergence in Diablo IV might, however, provide more experience with his deception-like mechanics, a different type of dungeon, or even a new end-game activity; this could just be their biggest swing so far given the kind of honing the devs have been putting in the seasonal content from the day of launch.
The Developer Update, then, is just around the corner; the wait should not be long before players find their answers. Till then, theory crafting will go into overdrive. World events now? Loot revamps? Maybe, just maybe, long-awaited class reveals? (Cough, Paladin, cough.)
Indeed, April 24 is going to be rather enormous for all Diablo fans—as whoever plays it Horde, or hey, Galasso-when to come months will dictate the future of Sanctuary. Mark it down on calendar weapons will be sharpened, and pray you’re ready to face what lies ahead in front of Blizzard.
And if Belial is really back…then don’t believe your eyes in that dev stream. Just saying.
