Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred: Who is Mephisto?

Mephisto is being positioned as the next big bad of Diablo 4 after Lilith, but just who is the Lord of Hatred and why is he such a threat to Sanctuary? Spoilers for the ending of Diablo 4 below.

A Prime Evil and one of the three Lords of Hell, Mephisto is a demon king whose only equals are Diablo and Baal, his brothers and fellow Prime Evils with whom he has an on-and-off alliance.

Long-time fans of the Diablo series (or those who know the lore) will know that Mephisto is the manifestation of hate itself and cannot be killed, only ever banished back to Hell. He is also considered the weakest but most pragmatic of the Prime Evils, valuing his autonomy and freedom over conquest and power.

The Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred expansion looks set to shine the spotlight on Mephisto, making him the main villain of the story for the first time in Diablo history. Mephisto was the only Prime Evil to show up in Diablo 4 – at least so far – with his wolf aspect serving as a guide to the player character at times in their quest against Lilith, but ultimately trying to manipulate them for his own schemes.

This is because Lilith was targeting Mephisto in Diablo 4, needing his soul to grant her the power of a Prime Evil. She was also his daughter.

Mepisto’s origins in Diablo

As a Prime Evil, Mephisto and his brothers have existed since the dawn of time, leading the armies of the Burning Hells against the angelic forces of the High Heavens in the Eternal Conflict which often resulted in stalemate.

Mephisto would feud with Diablo and Baal for dominance in Hell and would also need to fend off rebellions from his own minions and the scheming Lesser Evils who resented the Primes and coveted their power.

Mephisto’s first major test would come when his daughter Lilith betrayed Hell and joined forces with the Angel Inarius to create a new world. A Sanctuary that would be free from the Eternal Conflict. A place where angels and demons could live in peace without fear of the Prime Evils and the militaristic Aegis Council. After Lilith and Inarius had children called the Nephalem, who were potentially more powerful than angels and demons combined, Mephisto joined his brothers in trying to eradicate them.

However, both the armies of Heaven and Hell were beaten back by Lilith’s forces, and she soon threatened existence itself, planning on using her Nephalem children to conquer both enemies. Inarius would turn on Lilith, casting her into oblivion where she was no longer a threat, and the Nephalem would eventually evolve into humans, remaining in Sanctuary, their destructive powers latent.

Mephisto and his brothers would then go back to fighting Heaven, but would soon face another rebellion at the hands of the Lesser Evils.

Mephisto in Diablo 1, 2 & 3

The Lesser Evils would seize control of Hell from Mephisto, Diablo, and Ball and would banish the Prime Evils to Sanctuary. However, this was part of a plot by the Primes to corrupt and conquer the realm from the inside, expanding their influence to give them an edge in the Eternal Conflict. Humanity would create an order known as the Horadrim to battle the Lords of Hell and they would eventually succeed in imprisoning the Prime Evils in Soulstones.

Mephisto’s stone would be held in Kurast below a temple, however, Mephisto was able to corrupt the priests guarding it, allowing his demons to spew forth and take over the region. He’d eventually be freed by Diablo and Baal in Diablo 2, choosing to remain behind to slay the band of heroes that were pursuing him and his brothers, intent on destroying their Soulstones to banish the three back to Hell.

The heroes (the player characters) were able to defeat Mephisto, and seal him back in his stone before destroying it at the Hellforge, casting Mephisto back to Hell. Diablo and Baal would also meet a similar fate. However, Diablo had his minion Adria the Witch bear him a child while in human form and was able to trap Mephisto and Baal’s souls in the Black Soulstone.

After the Lesser Evils failed to conquer Sanctuary in Diablo 3, their souls were also trapped in the Black Soulstone and Adria manipulated the Nephalem heroes into gathering these souls which she then used to turn her daughter into a new vessel for Diablo.

Empowered by the souls of his brothers and other Lords of Hell, Diablo became “The Prime Evil.” Mephisto was trapped inside Diablo at this point, unwillingly being used to power him up while he invaded Heaven.

Eventually, Diablo would be defeated by the alliance of Sanctuary, Heaven, and the Nephalem heroes and he too would be trapped in his Black Soulstone. The stone would then be stolen by Malthael, the Angel of Death, and destroyed, freeing Mephisto and the other Lords, but banishing them all back to Hell.

Mephisto in Diablo 4

In Diablo 4, Mephisto is stuck in Hell but has managed to reclaim his kingdom and appears not to be on speaking terms with his brothers after Diablo’s treachery in Diablo 3. With his daughter Lilith returned to Sanctuary, Mephisto is afraid that she will pick up where she left off, using her forces to subjugate all three realms. With Heaven still recovering from Diablo’s assault in Diablo 3, Lilith allies with some of the Lesser Evils and targets Sanctuary and Hell, specifically Mephisto.

Seeing the heroes battle her, Mephisto helps them on several occasions, knowing that Lilith’s victory could lead to his doom and her becoming the Prime Evil, as Diablo did. While the heroes rightly mistrust Mephisto, they accept his help on multiple occasions. However, at the climax of the game, while in Hell the heroes choose to trap Mephisto in a Soulstone instead of Lilith, seeing him as the bigger threat and denying Lilth the opportunity to consume his soul. They then battle and seemingly destroy the vengeful Lilith, ending her rampage.

Vessel of Hatred

The character Neyrelle then steals Mephisto’s Soulstone once back in Sanctuary and appears to be taking it back to Kurast with a plan to rid the world of the Prime Evils forever. However, this was all part of Mephisto’s plan to escape Hell and return to Sanctuary, where he can infect his ‘Vessel of Hatred’, likely to be Neyrelle, and finally make his own conquest of Sanctuary – free of his brothers and Lilith.

While Mephisto’s priority was his own survival throughout Diablo 4, the Prime Evil also plotted his return and will need to be stopped when the DLC rolls around in late 2024.