So we've all bitched and bitched about the story, plot and characters. So let's be a little more constructive and see what we can do, eh?
What, specifically, would you change about the story, and how? What is your solution to those pressing storyline problems? Would you rewrite one character or scene? Or scrap everything and work from the ground up?
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Be it through hallowed grounds or lands of sorrow
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow
Is the residuum worth the cost of destruction and maiming;
Or is the shaping a culling and exercise in taming?
The road's goal is the dark Origin of Being
But be wary through what thickets it winds.
-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
Obviously, these are my opinions of the biggest issues that are the most easy to change.
The biggest thing is cut out the monologuing. It didn't add anything to have Azmodan on Diablo constantly taunt us.
The next biggest flaw is to rewrite Belial/Hekan to make it less obvious that Hekan is Belial. I'm not sure how we could do that, though.
Finally, I think it would be better if we could give Cain's death more impact. All it does is give us another reason to chase Maghda into Act 2, as Leah immediately accepts Cain's prophecies as soon as Tyreal shows her that Angels do exist. I mean, we would have chased Maghda into Act 2 anyway, given what she did to Wistram, and what she wanted to do to Tyreal. It is necessary, given that the Book of Tyreal shows us that Cain knew Adria was once the co-leader of the Coven, so we either change that part (but then you still have to deal with him being more likely to spot Adria's evil then anyone else), or come up with another way to kill him. While I don't have a problem with his death, I just think it didn't improve the story.
1) As was pointed out before, no more monologues. Why was it necessary to have them constantly taunting us and screaming at us? The constant contact between the player and the villain cheapened the final encounters, since we'd already talked to them on the telephone for a solid 2 hours. Diablo 2 never showed us the enemy until we were thrown into the final encounter with them, and it felt quite climactic. In D3, they pestered us every step of the way.
2) WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT POINT, they felt like villains straight out of saturday morning cartoons. How many times was a line similar to "OH I ACTUALLY DIDN'T NEED THAT PART OF MY PLAN WHICH YOU JUST DESTROYED, HERE IS WHAT I WILL DO NEXT BRO!" uttered? Always telling us plans, always taunting us when we defeated said plans.
3) Cain just kinda expired. No big sad death scene, he just croaked in a shitty old wooden shed. That was not a death scene befitting one of (if not the) most important characters in the entire series.
4) Act 2, oh lawd, act 2. They tried to keep the villain secret, but failed quite horribly. And don't even get me started on Zoltun. Laughing maniacally every time he disappeared, who would have ever assumed he was going to betray us? Why did Blizzard make a character who was supposed to be helping us insanely laugh whenever he disappeared in a puff of smoke?
I'm sure I'll think of more complaints....
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"One in every 10 million people can potentially have a headache from this pill." God forbid she is the 0.000000001% of having a headache.
So we've all bitched and bitched about the story, plot and characters. So let's be a little more constructive and see what we can do, eh?
What, specifically, would you change about the story, and how? What is your solution to those pressing storyline problems? Would you rewrite one character or scene? Or scrap everything and work from the ground up?
I would bring back Deckard Cain after we defeat Maltheal.
Cain would be reborn out of the Crystal Arch as the new Angel of Wisdom.
The next biggest flaw is to rewrite Belial/Hekan to make it less obvious that Hekan is Belial. I'm not sure how we could do that, though.
Decoy characters. The problem is that there were only a couple of prominent NPCs in Act II (Hekan and Asheara). Doesn't take long to figure out who's probably pulling the strings.
The story of D2 was awesome, but my experience of the story was much less clear while I was playing the game. I actually went to the Diablo wiki and filled myself in to really appreciate the story. The clues are there for you to pick up if you are attentive while playing the game, but I really didn't understand the the story very well until my hell playthrough. In D3, I felt I had a very good handle on what the story of the game was, but the story itself, especially act 3 and 4 left something to be desired. It just wasn't that compelling.
I was left wanting something from Mephisto and Baal. If you didn't play D2, you wouldn't really know who they were unless you listened carefully to the writings on the lords of hell by Cain in act 2. They are supposed to be equal to Diablo in their power and evil...and yet nothing about them or influence from them.
Cains death...
The butcher could have used some hyping up in the buildup to the final boss of act 1. In all the other acts, you knew who you were gunning for, but the Butcher kinda comes out of nowhere with a pitiful introduction from Mahgda. How did the butcher come back after he was defeated in Diablo 1? I wanna know. Dont need anything super detailed, but at least some mention of it would be cool.
Azmodan, greatest battle commander in the burning hells...reveals all his plans to the hero and how to stop him. Not much of a tactician. Other people have touched on this, and I just wanted to add my tally to that vote.
Leah becomes Diablo...I kinda felt the same way about her "death" as I did Cain's. It needed something more.
In D2 act 4, you defeat Izual and supposedly free his soul from its corrupted demon form, and even have a conversation with the angel, who spurs the hero on to face diablo...and then all of a sudden he's a demon again under Diablo's command. Why? I need some story here behind that.
I'm hoping Pindle comes back as a miniboss in act 5, or at least a rare spawn...it seems like it would be a good fit with the whole army of the dead theme that act 5 looks like it will be following. Just for a bit of D2 nostalgia.
The story of D2 was awesome, but my experience of the story was much less clear while I was playing the game. I actually went to the Diablo wiki and filled myself in to really appreciate the story. The clues are there for you to pick up if you are attentive while playing the game, but I really didn't understand the the story very well until my hell playthrough.
Haha, a big part of that comes from the fact that a lot of the story wasn't actually filled out until later, when Blizzard realized they had a hit and would need a coherent story to keep it going. I was just browsing through the wiki a few minutes ago and kept thinking, "Jesus, I don't remember any of this -" and then you read the footnotes and it's all stuff that got fleshed out in the books and conference panels subsequent to the actual game.
The worst part is how we can easily point out the parts in D3's unfolding story where they went wrong. It's not one of those "I can't quite put my finger on it, it's just plain bad" cases, this is a matter of us knowing exactly where they got it wrong. What makes it bad is the fact that they could have easily avoided it, had they paid closer attention.
Anyways, here's my main gripe:
The villains
As others have pointed out, the whole 'twisting of the mustache while divulging the evil plot, then the whole shacking of fist because they could have gotten away with it if your Scooby gang hadn't interfered' schtick is just terrible writing. Remember in D2 when we were on the trail of the Wandered, and as we were preparing to face Baal Duriel popped out. Now that was a an epic twist. And I remember when I first got to Mephisto, I crapped myself because his reputation preceded him, his presence was felt all throughout the act without him constantly trying to convince me how bad ass he is.
The point was for Blizzard to let you feel the strength of the bosses. As they say in literature: show, don't tell. D3 was an excruciating exercise in telling.
The Butcher was fine, but from there it fell apart.
Belial is supposed to be a liar and manipulator, but his entire act was paper thin. I don't know if Blizzard imagines that they're making games for kids who'll be put off by complex plots, or if they just think we are dumb, but come on. If your hero couldn't point at Prince Hakan by the time you went into the sewers, then Sanctuary must be filled with gullible idiots if this eluded them. Act 2 should have been a complex "whodunit" story, where you couldn't trust anyone, and even started suspecting your own allies.
Azmodan, as everyone else point out by now, must be hell's most incompetent general. His best strategy seems to be a zerg rush, throw as many demons at said keep and look on in dumbfounded idiocy as you hope the walls crumble under the sheer weight of the army's numbers and the weight of his own stupidity. Act 3 should have been about tactics and trying to outsmart him, but failing, not you having to mop up wherever you're needed. No, it should have been you fighting the best way you can, but Azmodan always being a step ahead. By the end of the act you should have been Bastion Keep at the end of its ropes. Then you make a mad dash towards Azmodan, hoping to sever the head off the beast because you realize you can't outmaneuver Azmodan and as such only a mad, all-out rush is the only way to win.
Diablo, proved so sad in the end, it just mad heaven look pathetic. Iskatu, Rakanoth, Izual, these were the guys responsible for bringing the angelic host to its knees. Now I know the PC is a Nephalem, but come on. You single-handedly take out the force that beat the angels? How did the High Heavens wage the eternal war, exactly? There should have been more camaraderie between you and the sympathizing angels. Why didn't Act 4 get its own town? That was just lazy, real lazy, Blizzard. How about a High Heaven outpost where they could have clued you in and created a sense of resistance to the player. Iskatu, Rakanoth and Izual should also have been given a bit more of a presence, make them "worthy" of being hell's champions berating Heaven's best. And Diablo was just ... meh. The breaking the seals part in D2 had a great impact in setting up the magnitude of Diablo. In D3 they should have had a similar opening. Many you having to activate angelic braziers that would have blocked some of Diablo's influence in Heaven, which in turn anger him enough to turn his ire onto you. And less talking! Why pause mid fight to give an speech about his feelings and explain how angry he is. Again, show, don't tell.
Now as for the minor players that annoyed me:
Zoltan Kulle did not phase me the first play through. However, after consecutive play throughs it saddened me more and more just how they missed a great opportunity here. The idea was simple, take a character with a sense of purpose, who knows his Nephalem heritage and wants to claim his right. He basically mirrors the PC in a startling way, which is supposed to let the players reflect on their own choices and what defines them and makes them worthy heroes. Instead we get a guy who is just an a-hole with a maniacal laugh, you can practically envision Kulle rubbing his hands together with an evil Jafar grin. It seems that Blizzard wanted a deep character to show how Nephalem power can lure you, but instead they just gave us a corny loon.
Maghda is just perplexing, she doesn't even feel like a natural fit in a Daiblo game. The insect concept could have worked, but the moth headress and wings was just an odd design. What feel were they going for? Was she supposed to look timid, thereby giving you a false sense of security? When she killed Cain it just felt desperate. They had one of the most rediculous characters kill the cornerstone character of the Diablo series, probably in a bid to convince the player that she may look silly, but actually she is vicious. And when players lashed out they were probably confused. No, she just doesn't make sense, and it made Cain's death feel invalidated and unworthy. If they wanted Cain to have impact, then the killer should have been a force to be reckoned with. And when Maghda was supposed to have an insect design, they should have chosen more threatening qualities and made her feel like more of a threat than an annoyance.
The butcher could have used some hyping up in the buildup to the final boss of act 1. In all the other acts, you knew who you were gunning for, but the Butcher kinda comes out of nowhere with a pitiful introduction from Mahgda. How did the butcher come back after he was defeated in Diablo 1? I wanna know. Dont need anything super detailed, but at least some mention of it would be cool.
As has been mentioned, "The Butcher" is apparently a type of demon. Like, if their was a boss called "the succubus."
As for giving the Butcher some hype, I just thought of an idea. It would make the Butcher better, and maybe make Cain's death better.
So, after you get the third sword piece, you head back to town, and you find the Butcher rampaging through it. He popped up out of nowhere, took down Tyreal in a single hit (without his sword or memories, he's not a great fighter), but before he could kill him, Cain and Leah fend off the Butcher, who runs off with Tyreal. Cain was mortaling wounded, and the last of his strength is used to repair the sword.
Belial is supposed to be a liar and manipulator, but his entire act was paper thin. I don't know if Blizzard imagines that they're making games for kids who'll be put off by complex plots, or if they just think we are dumb, but come on. If your hero couldn't point at Prince Hakan by the time you went into the sewers, then Sanctuary must be filled with gullible idiots if this eluded them. Act 2 should have been a complex "whodunit" story, where you couldn't trust anyone, and even started suspecting your own allies.
Agreed. I think all they really needed is an "evil" vizier to be the blind. That would at least throw the scent off of Hakan. As for making it a complex whodunit, they would have had to have more conversation with more NPCs. Yeah, they had Leah, Adria, Tyreal, Hakan, and Kulle who interact with you on a somewhat regular basis, but you knew Leah and Tyreal weren't it, and Kulle most likely wasn't either. That left Adria and Hakan, but only Hakan was in a position to actually do something. There are enough named NPCs, but their interactions are not mandatory, which would be needed to make it work.
Diablo, proved so sad in the end, it just mad heaven look pathetic. Iskatu, Rakanoth, Izual, these were the guys responsible for bringing the angelic host to its knees. Now I know the PC is a Nephalem, but come on. You single-handedly take out the force that beat the angels? How did the High Heavens wage the eternal war, exactly? There should have been more camaraderie between you and the sympathizing angels. Why didn't Act 4 get its own town? That was just lazy, real lazy, Blizzard. How about a High Heaven outpost where they could have clued you in and created a sense of resistance to the player. Iskatu, Rakanoth and Izual should also have been given a bit more of a presence, make them "worthy" of being hell's champions berating Heaven's best. And Diablo was just ... meh. The breaking the seals part in D2 had a great impact in setting up the magnitude of Diablo. In D3 they should have had a similar opening. Many you having to activate angelic braziers that would have blocked some of Diablo's influence in Heaven, which in turn anger him enough to turn his ire onto you. And less talking! Why pause mid fight to give an speech about his feelings and explain how angry he is. Again, show, don't tell.
Well, really, Diablo was only strong enough to take down the gate and beat Imperius. He took down the Angels with use of a united Burning Hells. I believe it has been mentioned that one of the reasons why the angels have lasted this long is that the Hells tend to fight amongst themselves. In this case, they didn't.
Plus, the High Heavens were already weak. They were missing two Council members from the get go, and with Imperius's wounds, they were down another. Then you had the demon army distract the angel army, and Diablo just wanders around, with no one even close to strong enough to stop him. Personally, I thought it made sense that the Heavens fell. Course, it could have been better done, but overall, I thought it worked (aside from the constant video chat).
The treatment of Deckard Cain was so bad that one of my friends whose first Diablo game was 3 was even dumbfounded about how 'one of the most beloved characters in the universe' went down.
Leah should have been handled differently as well I think. You watch the Behind the Scenes thing (made before the game was out) and they all seem really proud of the character they created, and the betrayal of Adria was supposed to be one of the most evil things they could think of and you were supposed to be devastated about it, but it seems a lot of people didn't even care at all about her.
Definitely could have been a lot cooler; she's the daughter of Prince Aidan, a witch, and the Lord of Terror himself. Could have covered her learning that her father was the Warrior, and that she might be heiress to the bloodied throne of Khanduras.
RoS SPOILERS?:
They also hinted that rescuing her soul would be something they would pursue in the future (and the fact her soul is still out there is mentioned in-game by at least Covetous Shen), but I've glanced at the RoS spoilers and didn't see anything related to her (although it could be there and I missed it). Makes you wonder if they ditched that idea after seeing the reception she got, as the 'Reaper of Souls' expansion sure seemed like the place to deal with that issue.
Not to mention she was supposed to take over the 'Deckard Cain' role according to that Behind the Scenes thing as well.
Tyrael becoming 'black'/'Tyrone' is also one of the more bizarre ideas they came up with (Was there ever anything in the lore suggesting an angel or demon could strip away their own immortality? How is that even a thing?), and even worse that he then decided to take over Wisdom and remain mortal at the end.
After giving it some thought, I'd probably restructure the majority of the game in its entirety. The end result might look something like this:
Act I:
After saving Cain from the Skeleton King, Cain reveals that the knowledge necessary to comprehend the falling star is beyond his ken. However, the rogue Horadrim Zoltan Kulle may still have references to it in his library. Cain sends the hero to track down the location of Kulle's library, only to stumble upon Kulle's soul itself, linked to a replica soulstone that Kulle himself made. This would give Kulle the chance to interact with Cain and perhaps be viewed as a more tragic, potentially repentant figure rather than a mustache-twirling villain. Plus, it makes Cain's death that much more tragic if we see him forgiving Kulle through Act I.
The quest for Kulle's library is moved from Act II to Act I, with the desert tunnels replaced by ancient crypts and the library actually *looking* like a library, rather than an arcane mess. There, the hero learns that the falling star was actually a shard of the crystal arch falling. Dissension amongst heaven's ranks--foreshadowing Maltheal's betrayal in RoS and the Angel of Wisdom's disappearance--has allowed the remaining Evils to enter Sanctuary and, through Sanctuary, the Heavens.
Act I ends with the hero seeking Kulle's black soulstone, which was taken as a relic by Archbishop Lazarus (last seen in D1) and hidden beneath Leoric's manor. The act ends with the hero finding Tyrael locked in combat with The Butcher and Lazarus himself, newly risen as a part-human, part-demonic horror. Tyrael tries and fails to keep the black soulstone from their hands, as Lazarus escapes with the stone, though the Hero defeats The Butcher.
Act II:
The hero, Kulle, Cain, Leah, and Tyrael travel to broken remains of Worldstone Keep (the site of Bastion Keep) to investigate the fallen heavenly arch and the devastation it has wrought. In traveling to Worldstone, cultist followers of Lazarus constantly harass the hero's party, seeking to take them out before they can arrive. In doing so, they learn that Lazarus is attempting to use the ambient arcane energy of the shattered Worldstone to open a gate to the Burning Hells.
The hero pursues Lazarus into shattered keep--yes, this is where we get the crazy "Arcane Sanctuary" dungeon--just as Lazarus completes his ritual. Casting the Black Soulstone down into the crater, a gate to Burning Hells appears, with hellish legions pouring forth and spreading over the globe. After defeating Lazarus and claiming the Black Soulstone, the hero finds finds Bastion Keep under siege by Azmodan's forces. Attacking from the rear, the Hero must fight his way back into the keep where Azmodan and his lieutenants have overtaken Cain, Leah, and Tyrael. The hero must confront Azmodan in amongst the shattered, shuddering ruins of the keep. Unfortunately, Cain has died from his wounds in the siege. This comes with further bad news: Tyrael reveals that Belial, Lord of Lies has made it through the portal, heading for Caldeum.
Act III:
The heroes arrive to find Caldeum in utter chaos. Cultists roam the streets, preaching apocalypse. Emperor Hakan's guards struggle to keep peace against citizens desperate for food and security from insidious serpentine demons. The hero works towards saving the populace, entering the sewers to face down the sibilant Iskatu, a serpentine minor demon lord who serves Belial. Meanwhile, Kulle begins coaching Leah in the arcane arts, as his intangible form cannot manipulate the energies of the Black Soulstone. While hesitant, Tyrael agrees to trust Kulle for the time being, so that Belial's soul can be trapped and shattered on the Hellforge. However, Leah begins having visions of her mother, Adria, communicating with her through the Black Soulstone. Foreshadowing ensues--there should be a number of these through Act III, to say nothing of actual lore found in Act I--geneology entries would make a ton of sense in Leoric's manor.
Tyrael, meanwhile, begins accompanying the hero through Caldeum, in the hopes to actually sniff out Belial. Doing so includes excavating several Horadric repositories, now overrun with demons of greed and avarice. Dialogue with various NPCs through this section should indicate four primary suspects: Ashaera (yes, the Iron Wolf Captain), Guard Captain Jim Bob, Merchant Gary, and Vizier Seems-Like-An-Evil-Guy. In a not-quite twist, Tyrael accuses the Vizier, only for the hero to find that they've just placed an innocent man in the hands of Belial's mortal form: the Guard Captain. The Hero must race down through the dungeons beneath Caldeum to stop Belial from sacrificing the Vizier to open a Hell Rift in the depths. He does so and Leah traps Belial's soul within the Soulstone.
Act IV:
Arriving at Pandemonium Fortress, the hero, Tyrael, Kulle, and Leah set out through the Fields of Despair to the Hellforge, in preparation to shatter Belial's soul. Entering the City of Dis--Hell's great foundary--the hero faces legions of demons (like, perhaps, those big hammer guys from actual Act IV!) en route to the Hellforge, which is defended by Dispater, Hell's new forgemaster. After dispatching Dispater, the Hero's all set to have Leah destroy the Black Soulstone....only for Adria to reach through and give Leah her one last vision: her true parentage.
Activating the Black Soulstone through her daughter, Adria corrupts Leah, transforming her into a new Lord of Terror: Diablo remade. Taking the Black Soulstone, Diablo makes for the partially-shattered Crystal Arch of Heaven. The hero must then fight through the demonic invasion to defeat Diablo, defeat rogue Angels of Wrath who believe the Hero's very presence defiles Heaven, reclaim and shatter the Black Soulstone, and end the demonic threat for the moment.
That leaves us set up for Adria as a big bad in Act V as well as Malthael's defection from the ranks of the archangels.
Coupled with all this, I'd actually change the followers:
Act I: Tyrael, Fallen Angel. Give him abilities similar to that of the Templar--lots of melee and defense.
Act II: George, archer/defender of Bastion/Worldstone Keep--abilities similar to the Scoundrel, with ranged attacks, increased attack speed, and the like.
Act III: Ashaera (only after discovering that she's not Belial--Iron Wolf mage, with abilities similar to the Enchantress focusing on spells, crowd-control, and status effects (maybe even a "Dispel Magic" ability that could get rid of Walls/Plague pools/Desecration pools/etc.)
I was thinking about this earlier today to pass the time, what could have been different/what I would have done.
How could they have brought Diablo back without using the Black Soulstone route? If the Prince Aidan/Dark Wanderer x Adria angle is retained, I thought of this cinematic from E3 1998 and how he leaves a chunk of the soulstone behind. If Diablo/Aidan had left part of his soulstone with Adria (or just let it drop in some random town I guess) that could be used to explain the whole 'How can he be back if we smashed it on the Hellforge?' bit a little better than 'Adria marked all their souls for the Black Soulstone, suck to be you.' Mephisto would be the only one 'KIA' since his soulstone did get smashed in full, but I would probably have Belial/Azmodan find a way to steal his essence to further their goals/go towards becoming the Prime.
Tyrael would definitely not have made himself mortal. It's just silly, and I don't think there is any example of that ever occurring throughout the Eternal Conflict. If he has to fall from grace, I would make it similar to the Dark Exile where he willingly banished himself in spirit form to Sanctuary, where he then could possess a willing host. At the end of the game the Crystal Arch could still offer him Wisdom instead of Justice, but he wouldn't be an idiot and think Justice was 'met' by disintegrating Diablo and just having him trapped in the Black Soulstone. (Auriel wouldn't think that 'all evil' was vanquished by defeating Diablo then, either)
Deckard Cain would either not die, or do so in a way that didn't upset fans nearly as much. There's all these prophecies about the final battle between demons and man, the end of all things, the end of days (Besides a reference in the promo materiel for RoS, was this even mentioned at all in Act V? It's like they just completely forgot about all of this in-game), and they kill off the one guy that had dedicated his life to them in the first Act. According to the Behind the Scenes, Leah was supposed to become 'the new Cain' for us. Perhaps if Deckard was willing to be Tyrael's host, that makes him a target for Belial/Azmodan and he is killed for that reason, by a major Evil and not some dragonfly witch. Leah would also actually believe in the 'stories' Deckard was trying to teach her, and not be trying to burn the Book of Cain after he died, and actually become that 'new Cain' that they wanted her to be until Adria's betrayal.
The Belial 'deception' needs a lot of work. Make there be an 'evil' vizier that gets all the blame or something, making everyone think he is that guy while secretly being the innocent character all along. Have him flee into his Realm of Lies where it is said nothing is as it seems, and what first appears to be a paradise of beautiful growth and pleasure is revealed to be full of torturous traps, illusions, mazes, a realm where a maggot-ridden piece of food may be the most nutritious around, and every time an unlucky soul falls into a trap, Belial's laughter would echo.
The original Horadrim had to dismantle Zoltun Kulle's body and magically imprison the pieces to keep him 'dead.' We did nothing of the sort. This bit is kind of messy, I think at least having Adria be with us and she being the one to initiate the attack might make more sense. She attacks him to stop him from revealing what she had done to his work, Leah goes to save her mom, we attack to save Leah. He would, and maybe will, come back later on now that Malthael has proven to The Nephalem that the angels aren't really on our side and the only way out is to rise against both order and chaos.
Not sure what to do with Black Soulstone. Was kind of lame that they had Tyrael telling us we had to smash it, then it ends up being 'Oh, uh, we didn't know if smashing it would be okay' in RoS. It was also explicitly said to be able to hold the souls of demons and angels, and that apparently never happened since it just got destroyed already, so that seems kind of weird.
Take away the minutes on Azmodan's holophone and his Act would be pretty good. Instead of him telling us his plans, have it revealed by the panicked defenders of Bastion's Keep. Make all 7 of his SIn Lieutenants show up as bosses.
Act IV - No taunts over holophone from Diablo. Izual wouldn't be threatening us with the 'chill of Hell.' The lighting would get darker and darker as you progressed, signifying Diablo's corruption of the heavens. Nephalem wouldn't just randomly pitch him over the edge, either. Body dissolving into the soulstone and having the angels gather around it, uncertain of what to do, would probably work better, especially since a lot of people thought the Black Soulstone was destroyed at the end.
Act V - I kind of knew Malthael was coming back as Death, and figured his plan would be to kill all demons, so I liked where that went. No more telephoning in over the Black Soulstone to mutter 'Nephalem...' Their original plan was for Imperius to be the bad guy here and kill/gravely injure Tyrael, that makes a lot of sense and probably was what the End of Days was supposed to head towards since it began with the 'loss' of Wisdom, which the mortal Tyrael had become (which could be why the End of Days may not be referenced in Act V). Imperius, who voted to destroy humanity, working with Malthael, who wants to kill them for being part demon, makes a lot more sense than Imperius reluctantly helping us because Malthael for some reason decided to attack the Heavens.
Malthael definitely would not have shattered the Black Soulstone. He despised demons, so much that he was going to just straight up murder them all, even the innocent nephalem. The next expansion would still be able to continue with Diablo escaping anyway since we were told by Tyrael that the Black Soulstone was flawed and wouldn't be able to hold all the Evils for long, so they could have easily escaped without something facepalm worthy happening in the final boss fight.
Would the 2nd expansion be the final one? I don't know, but I would have it eventually come down to the demons and Man waging their final battle as foreseen by the Druids, probably with some incarnation of Tathamet as the final boss.
May be some other things I'm forgetting, but I think it definitely could have been more enjoyable if they tweaked how some of the events played out.
While Act I and II had their flaws, Act III and IV were just absolutely atrocities. The two main reasons being Azmodan and Diablo.
"I don't neeeeed my siegeweapons to destroooooy youuuuuu"
"Oh you destroyed my Heeeellrift, but it doesn't matter, because I have another Heeeeeeeeeeellriiiiift"
Saturday morning cartoonvillains is not good writing... Really, just stop them from talking and taunting you constantly. Also, Diablo with boobs was still fucking stupid.
What, specifically, would you change about the story, and how? What is your solution to those pressing storyline problems? Would you rewrite one character or scene? Or scrap everything and work from the ground up?
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
The biggest thing is cut out the monologuing. It didn't add anything to have Azmodan on Diablo constantly taunt us.
The next biggest flaw is to rewrite Belial/Hekan to make it less obvious that Hekan is Belial. I'm not sure how we could do that, though.
Finally, I think it would be better if we could give Cain's death more impact. All it does is give us another reason to chase Maghda into Act 2, as Leah immediately accepts Cain's prophecies as soon as Tyreal shows her that Angels do exist. I mean, we would have chased Maghda into Act 2 anyway, given what she did to Wistram, and what she wanted to do to Tyreal. It is necessary, given that the Book of Tyreal shows us that Cain knew Adria was once the co-leader of the Coven, so we either change that part (but then you still have to deal with him being more likely to spot Adria's evil then anyone else), or come up with another way to kill him. While I don't have a problem with his death, I just think it didn't improve the story.
2) WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT POINT, they felt like villains straight out of saturday morning cartoons. How many times was a line similar to "OH I ACTUALLY DIDN'T NEED THAT PART OF MY PLAN WHICH YOU JUST DESTROYED, HERE IS WHAT I WILL DO NEXT BRO!" uttered? Always telling us plans, always taunting us when we defeated said plans.
3) Cain just kinda expired. No big sad death scene, he just croaked in a shitty old wooden shed. That was not a death scene befitting one of (if not the) most important characters in the entire series.
4) Act 2, oh lawd, act 2. They tried to keep the villain secret, but failed quite horribly. And don't even get me started on Zoltun. Laughing maniacally every time he disappeared, who would have ever assumed he was going to betray us? Why did Blizzard make a character who was supposed to be helping us insanely laugh whenever he disappeared in a puff of smoke?
I'm sure I'll think of more complaints....
I would bring back Deckard Cain after we defeat Maltheal.
Cain would be reborn out of the Crystal Arch as the new Angel of Wisdom.
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Wise ElderYeah, the silent demon lord I think is much more menacing and threatening than one that's constantly in your face.
Decoy characters. The problem is that there were only a couple of prominent NPCs in Act II (Hekan and Asheara). Doesn't take long to figure out who's probably pulling the strings.
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I was left wanting something from Mephisto and Baal. If you didn't play D2, you wouldn't really know who they were unless you listened carefully to the writings on the lords of hell by Cain in act 2. They are supposed to be equal to Diablo in their power and evil...and yet nothing about them or influence from them.
Cains death...
The butcher could have used some hyping up in the buildup to the final boss of act 1. In all the other acts, you knew who you were gunning for, but the Butcher kinda comes out of nowhere with a pitiful introduction from Mahgda. How did the butcher come back after he was defeated in Diablo 1? I wanna know. Dont need anything super detailed, but at least some mention of it would be cool.
Azmodan, greatest battle commander in the burning hells...reveals all his plans to the hero and how to stop him. Not much of a tactician. Other people have touched on this, and I just wanted to add my tally to that vote.
Leah becomes Diablo...I kinda felt the same way about her "death" as I did Cain's. It needed something more.
In D2 act 4, you defeat Izual and supposedly free his soul from its corrupted demon form, and even have a conversation with the angel, who spurs the hero on to face diablo...and then all of a sudden he's a demon again under Diablo's command. Why? I need some story here behind that.
I'm hoping Pindle comes back as a miniboss in act 5, or at least a rare spawn...it seems like it would be a good fit with the whole army of the dead theme that act 5 looks like it will be following. Just for a bit of D2 nostalgia.
Haha, a big part of that comes from the fact that a lot of the story wasn't actually filled out until later, when Blizzard realized they had a hit and would need a coherent story to keep it going. I was just browsing through the wiki a few minutes ago and kept thinking, "Jesus, I don't remember any of this -" and then you read the footnotes and it's all stuff that got fleshed out in the books and conference panels subsequent to the actual game.
Anyways, here's my main gripe:
The villains
As others have pointed out, the whole 'twisting of the mustache while divulging the evil plot, then the whole shacking of fist because they could have gotten away with it if your Scooby gang hadn't interfered' schtick is just terrible writing. Remember in D2 when we were on the trail of the Wandered, and as we were preparing to face Baal Duriel popped out. Now that was a an epic twist. And I remember when I first got to Mephisto, I crapped myself because his reputation preceded him, his presence was felt all throughout the act without him constantly trying to convince me how bad ass he is.
The point was for Blizzard to let you feel the strength of the bosses. As they say in literature: show, don't tell. D3 was an excruciating exercise in telling.
The Butcher was fine, but from there it fell apart.
Belial is supposed to be a liar and manipulator, but his entire act was paper thin. I don't know if Blizzard imagines that they're making games for kids who'll be put off by complex plots, or if they just think we are dumb, but come on. If your hero couldn't point at Prince Hakan by the time you went into the sewers, then Sanctuary must be filled with gullible idiots if this eluded them. Act 2 should have been a complex "whodunit" story, where you couldn't trust anyone, and even started suspecting your own allies.
Azmodan, as everyone else point out by now, must be hell's most incompetent general. His best strategy seems to be a zerg rush, throw as many demons at said keep and look on in dumbfounded idiocy as you hope the walls crumble under the sheer weight of the army's numbers and the weight of his own stupidity. Act 3 should have been about tactics and trying to outsmart him, but failing, not you having to mop up wherever you're needed. No, it should have been you fighting the best way you can, but Azmodan always being a step ahead. By the end of the act you should have been Bastion Keep at the end of its ropes. Then you make a mad dash towards Azmodan, hoping to sever the head off the beast because you realize you can't outmaneuver Azmodan and as such only a mad, all-out rush is the only way to win.
Diablo, proved so sad in the end, it just mad heaven look pathetic. Iskatu, Rakanoth, Izual, these were the guys responsible for bringing the angelic host to its knees. Now I know the PC is a Nephalem, but come on. You single-handedly take out the force that beat the angels? How did the High Heavens wage the eternal war, exactly? There should have been more camaraderie between you and the sympathizing angels. Why didn't Act 4 get its own town? That was just lazy, real lazy, Blizzard. How about a High Heaven outpost where they could have clued you in and created a sense of resistance to the player. Iskatu, Rakanoth and Izual should also have been given a bit more of a presence, make them "worthy" of being hell's champions berating Heaven's best. And Diablo was just ... meh. The breaking the seals part in D2 had a great impact in setting up the magnitude of Diablo. In D3 they should have had a similar opening. Many you having to activate angelic braziers that would have blocked some of Diablo's influence in Heaven, which in turn anger him enough to turn his ire onto you. And less talking! Why pause mid fight to give an speech about his feelings and explain how angry he is. Again, show, don't tell.
Now as for the minor players that annoyed me:
Zoltan Kulle did not phase me the first play through. However, after consecutive play throughs it saddened me more and more just how they missed a great opportunity here. The idea was simple, take a character with a sense of purpose, who knows his Nephalem heritage and wants to claim his right. He basically mirrors the PC in a startling way, which is supposed to let the players reflect on their own choices and what defines them and makes them worthy heroes. Instead we get a guy who is just an a-hole with a maniacal laugh, you can practically envision Kulle rubbing his hands together with an evil Jafar grin. It seems that Blizzard wanted a deep character to show how Nephalem power can lure you, but instead they just gave us a corny loon.
Maghda is just perplexing, she doesn't even feel like a natural fit in a Daiblo game. The insect concept could have worked, but the moth headress and wings was just an odd design. What feel were they going for? Was she supposed to look timid, thereby giving you a false sense of security? When she killed Cain it just felt desperate. They had one of the most rediculous characters kill the cornerstone character of the Diablo series, probably in a bid to convince the player that she may look silly, but actually she is vicious. And when players lashed out they were probably confused. No, she just doesn't make sense, and it made Cain's death feel invalidated and unworthy. If they wanted Cain to have impact, then the killer should have been a force to be reckoned with. And when Maghda was supposed to have an insect design, they should have chosen more threatening qualities and made her feel like more of a threat than an annoyance.
As has been mentioned, "The Butcher" is apparently a type of demon. Like, if their was a boss called "the succubus."
As for giving the Butcher some hype, I just thought of an idea. It would make the Butcher better, and maybe make Cain's death better.
So, after you get the third sword piece, you head back to town, and you find the Butcher rampaging through it. He popped up out of nowhere, took down Tyreal in a single hit (without his sword or memories, he's not a great fighter), but before he could kill him, Cain and Leah fend off the Butcher, who runs off with Tyreal. Cain was mortaling wounded, and the last of his strength is used to repair the sword.
Agreed. I think all they really needed is an "evil" vizier to be the blind. That would at least throw the scent off of Hakan. As for making it a complex whodunit, they would have had to have more conversation with more NPCs. Yeah, they had Leah, Adria, Tyreal, Hakan, and Kulle who interact with you on a somewhat regular basis, but you knew Leah and Tyreal weren't it, and Kulle most likely wasn't either. That left Adria and Hakan, but only Hakan was in a position to actually do something. There are enough named NPCs, but their interactions are not mandatory, which would be needed to make it work.
Well, really, Diablo was only strong enough to take down the gate and beat Imperius. He took down the Angels with use of a united Burning Hells. I believe it has been mentioned that one of the reasons why the angels have lasted this long is that the Hells tend to fight amongst themselves. In this case, they didn't.
Plus, the High Heavens were already weak. They were missing two Council members from the get go, and with Imperius's wounds, they were down another. Then you had the demon army distract the angel army, and Diablo just wanders around, with no one even close to strong enough to stop him. Personally, I thought it made sense that the Heavens fell. Course, it could have been better done, but overall, I thought it worked (aside from the constant video chat).
Leah should have been handled differently as well I think. You watch the Behind the Scenes thing (made before the game was out) and they all seem really proud of the character they created, and the betrayal of Adria was supposed to be one of the most evil things they could think of and you were supposed to be devastated about it, but it seems a lot of people didn't even care at all about her.
Definitely could have been a lot cooler; she's the daughter of Prince Aidan, a witch, and the Lord of Terror himself. Could have covered her learning that her father was the Warrior, and that she might be heiress to the bloodied throne of Khanduras.
RoS SPOILERS?:
Not to mention she was supposed to take over the 'Deckard Cain' role according to that Behind the Scenes thing as well.
Tyrael becoming 'black'/'Tyrone' is also one of the more bizarre ideas they came up with (Was there ever anything in the lore suggesting an angel or demon could strip away their own immortality? How is that even a thing?), and even worse that he then decided to take over Wisdom and remain mortal at the end.
Act I:
After saving Cain from the Skeleton King, Cain reveals that the knowledge necessary to comprehend the falling star is beyond his ken. However, the rogue Horadrim Zoltan Kulle may still have references to it in his library. Cain sends the hero to track down the location of Kulle's library, only to stumble upon Kulle's soul itself, linked to a replica soulstone that Kulle himself made. This would give Kulle the chance to interact with Cain and perhaps be viewed as a more tragic, potentially repentant figure rather than a mustache-twirling villain. Plus, it makes Cain's death that much more tragic if we see him forgiving Kulle through Act I.
The quest for Kulle's library is moved from Act II to Act I, with the desert tunnels replaced by ancient crypts and the library actually *looking* like a library, rather than an arcane mess. There, the hero learns that the falling star was actually a shard of the crystal arch falling. Dissension amongst heaven's ranks--foreshadowing Maltheal's betrayal in RoS and the Angel of Wisdom's disappearance--has allowed the remaining Evils to enter Sanctuary and, through Sanctuary, the Heavens.
Act I ends with the hero seeking Kulle's black soulstone, which was taken as a relic by Archbishop Lazarus (last seen in D1) and hidden beneath Leoric's manor. The act ends with the hero finding Tyrael locked in combat with The Butcher and Lazarus himself, newly risen as a part-human, part-demonic horror. Tyrael tries and fails to keep the black soulstone from their hands, as Lazarus escapes with the stone, though the Hero defeats The Butcher.
Act II:
The hero, Kulle, Cain, Leah, and Tyrael travel to broken remains of Worldstone Keep (the site of Bastion Keep) to investigate the fallen heavenly arch and the devastation it has wrought. In traveling to Worldstone, cultist followers of Lazarus constantly harass the hero's party, seeking to take them out before they can arrive. In doing so, they learn that Lazarus is attempting to use the ambient arcane energy of the shattered Worldstone to open a gate to the Burning Hells.
The hero pursues Lazarus into shattered keep--yes, this is where we get the crazy "Arcane Sanctuary" dungeon--just as Lazarus completes his ritual. Casting the Black Soulstone down into the crater, a gate to Burning Hells appears, with hellish legions pouring forth and spreading over the globe. After defeating Lazarus and claiming the Black Soulstone, the hero finds finds Bastion Keep under siege by Azmodan's forces. Attacking from the rear, the Hero must fight his way back into the keep where Azmodan and his lieutenants have overtaken Cain, Leah, and Tyrael. The hero must confront Azmodan in amongst the shattered, shuddering ruins of the keep. Unfortunately, Cain has died from his wounds in the siege. This comes with further bad news: Tyrael reveals that Belial, Lord of Lies has made it through the portal, heading for Caldeum.
Act III:
The heroes arrive to find Caldeum in utter chaos. Cultists roam the streets, preaching apocalypse. Emperor Hakan's guards struggle to keep peace against citizens desperate for food and security from insidious serpentine demons. The hero works towards saving the populace, entering the sewers to face down the sibilant Iskatu, a serpentine minor demon lord who serves Belial. Meanwhile, Kulle begins coaching Leah in the arcane arts, as his intangible form cannot manipulate the energies of the Black Soulstone. While hesitant, Tyrael agrees to trust Kulle for the time being, so that Belial's soul can be trapped and shattered on the Hellforge. However, Leah begins having visions of her mother, Adria, communicating with her through the Black Soulstone. Foreshadowing ensues--there should be a number of these through Act III, to say nothing of actual lore found in Act I--geneology entries would make a ton of sense in Leoric's manor.
Tyrael, meanwhile, begins accompanying the hero through Caldeum, in the hopes to actually sniff out Belial. Doing so includes excavating several Horadric repositories, now overrun with demons of greed and avarice. Dialogue with various NPCs through this section should indicate four primary suspects: Ashaera (yes, the Iron Wolf Captain), Guard Captain Jim Bob, Merchant Gary, and Vizier Seems-Like-An-Evil-Guy. In a not-quite twist, Tyrael accuses the Vizier, only for the hero to find that they've just placed an innocent man in the hands of Belial's mortal form: the Guard Captain. The Hero must race down through the dungeons beneath Caldeum to stop Belial from sacrificing the Vizier to open a Hell Rift in the depths. He does so and Leah traps Belial's soul within the Soulstone.
Act IV:
Arriving at Pandemonium Fortress, the hero, Tyrael, Kulle, and Leah set out through the Fields of Despair to the Hellforge, in preparation to shatter Belial's soul. Entering the City of Dis--Hell's great foundary--the hero faces legions of demons (like, perhaps, those big hammer guys from actual Act IV!) en route to the Hellforge, which is defended by Dispater, Hell's new forgemaster. After dispatching Dispater, the Hero's all set to have Leah destroy the Black Soulstone....only for Adria to reach through and give Leah her one last vision: her true parentage.
Activating the Black Soulstone through her daughter, Adria corrupts Leah, transforming her into a new Lord of Terror: Diablo remade. Taking the Black Soulstone, Diablo makes for the partially-shattered Crystal Arch of Heaven. The hero must then fight through the demonic invasion to defeat Diablo, defeat rogue Angels of Wrath who believe the Hero's very presence defiles Heaven, reclaim and shatter the Black Soulstone, and end the demonic threat for the moment.
That leaves us set up for Adria as a big bad in Act V as well as Malthael's defection from the ranks of the archangels.
Coupled with all this, I'd actually change the followers:
Act I: Tyrael, Fallen Angel. Give him abilities similar to that of the Templar--lots of melee and defense.
Act II: George, archer/defender of Bastion/Worldstone Keep--abilities similar to the Scoundrel, with ranged attacks, increased attack speed, and the like.
Act III: Ashaera (only after discovering that she's not Belial--Iron Wolf mage, with abilities similar to the Enchantress focusing on spells, crowd-control, and status effects (maybe even a "Dispel Magic" ability that could get rid of Walls/Plague pools/Desecration pools/etc.)
Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Other ideas?
- How could they have brought Diablo back without using the Black Soulstone route? If the Prince Aidan/Dark Wanderer x Adria angle is retained, I thought of this cinematic from E3 1998 and how he leaves a chunk of the soulstone behind. If Diablo/Aidan had left part of his soulstone with Adria (or just let it drop in some random town I guess) that could be used to explain the whole 'How can he be back if we smashed it on the Hellforge?' bit a little better than 'Adria marked all their souls for the Black Soulstone, suck to be you.' Mephisto would be the only one 'KIA' since his soulstone did get smashed in full, but I would probably have Belial/Azmodan find a way to steal his essence to further their goals/go towards becoming the Prime.
- Tyrael would definitely not have made himself mortal. It's just silly, and I don't think there is any example of that ever occurring throughout the Eternal Conflict. If he has to fall from grace, I would make it similar to the Dark Exile where he willingly banished himself in spirit form to Sanctuary, where he then could possess a willing host. At the end of the game the Crystal Arch could still offer him Wisdom instead of Justice, but he wouldn't be an idiot and think Justice was 'met' by disintegrating Diablo and just having him trapped in the Black Soulstone. (Auriel wouldn't think that 'all evil' was vanquished by defeating Diablo then, either)
- Deckard Cain would either not die, or do so in a way that didn't upset fans nearly as much. There's all these prophecies about the final battle between demons and man, the end of all things, the end of days (Besides a reference in the promo materiel for RoS, was this even mentioned at all in Act V? It's like they just completely forgot about all of this in-game), and they kill off the one guy that had dedicated his life to them in the first Act. According to the Behind the Scenes, Leah was supposed to become 'the new Cain' for us. Perhaps if Deckard was willing to be Tyrael's host, that makes him a target for Belial/Azmodan and he is killed for that reason, by a major Evil and not some dragonfly witch. Leah would also actually believe in the 'stories' Deckard was trying to teach her, and not be trying to burn the Book of Cain after he died, and actually become that 'new Cain' that they wanted her to be until Adria's betrayal.
- The Belial 'deception' needs a lot of work. Make there be an 'evil' vizier that gets all the blame or something, making everyone think he is that guy while secretly being the innocent character all along. Have him flee into his Realm of Lies where it is said nothing is as it seems, and what first appears to be a paradise of beautiful growth and pleasure is revealed to be full of torturous traps, illusions, mazes, a realm where a maggot-ridden piece of food may be the most nutritious around, and every time an unlucky soul falls into a trap, Belial's laughter would echo.
- The original Horadrim had to dismantle Zoltun Kulle's body and magically imprison the pieces to keep him 'dead.' We did nothing of the sort. This bit is kind of messy, I think at least having Adria be with us and she being the one to initiate the attack might make more sense. She attacks him to stop him from revealing what she had done to his work, Leah goes to save her mom, we attack to save Leah. He would, and maybe will, come back later on now that Malthael has proven to The Nephalem that the angels aren't really on our side and the only way out is to rise against both order and chaos.
- Not sure what to do with Black Soulstone. Was kind of lame that they had Tyrael telling us we had to smash it, then it ends up being 'Oh, uh, we didn't know if smashing it would be okay' in RoS. It was also explicitly said to be able to hold the souls of demons and angels, and that apparently never happened since it just got destroyed already, so that seems kind of weird.
- Take away the minutes on Azmodan's holophone and his Act would be pretty good. Instead of him telling us his plans, have it revealed by the panicked defenders of Bastion's Keep. Make all 7 of his SIn Lieutenants show up as bosses.
- Act IV - No taunts over holophone from Diablo. Izual wouldn't be threatening us with the 'chill of Hell.' The lighting would get darker and darker as you progressed, signifying Diablo's corruption of the heavens. Nephalem wouldn't just randomly pitch him over the edge, either. Body dissolving into the soulstone and having the angels gather around it, uncertain of what to do, would probably work better, especially since a lot of people thought the Black Soulstone was destroyed at the end.
- Act V - I kind of knew Malthael was coming back as Death, and figured his plan would be to kill all demons, so I liked where that went. No more telephoning in over the Black Soulstone to mutter 'Nephalem...' Their original plan was for Imperius to be the bad guy here and kill/gravely injure Tyrael, that makes a lot of sense and probably was what the End of Days was supposed to head towards since it began with the 'loss' of Wisdom, which the mortal Tyrael had become (which could be why the End of Days may not be referenced in Act V). Imperius, who voted to destroy humanity, working with Malthael, who wants to kill them for being part demon, makes a lot more sense than Imperius reluctantly helping us because Malthael for some reason decided to attack the Heavens.
- Malthael definitely would not have shattered the Black Soulstone. He despised demons, so much that he was going to just straight up murder them all, even the innocent nephalem. The next expansion would still be able to continue with Diablo escaping anyway since we were told by Tyrael that the Black Soulstone was flawed and wouldn't be able to hold all the Evils for long, so they could have easily escaped without something facepalm worthy happening in the final boss fight.
- Would the 2nd expansion be the final one? I don't know, but I would have it eventually come down to the demons and Man waging their final battle as foreseen by the Druids, probably with some incarnation of Tathamet as the final boss.
May be some other things I'm forgetting, but I think it definitely could have been more enjoyable if they tweaked how some of the events played out.While Act I and II had their flaws, Act III and IV were just absolutely atrocities. The two main reasons being Azmodan and Diablo.
"I don't neeeeed my siegeweapons to destroooooy youuuuuu"
"Oh you destroyed my Heeeellrift, but it doesn't matter, because I have another Heeeeeeeeeeellriiiiift"
Saturday morning cartoonvillains is not good writing... Really, just stop them from talking and taunting you constantly. Also, Diablo with boobs was still fucking stupid.