I'd like him as a boss but not a full blown villain, like you fight him, he asks for you to finish him, you character spouts words of wisdom, he can't understand why you speared him and just leave him behind
If anyone is coming back in D4 for vengeance, it will be Inarius, he has a lot of bones to pick with the council, and with Lillith coming back, he has even more reason to come back.
I'm actually happy that they dropped this idea. Not all angels have to be good and nice in order to be considered "good". Imperius is impulsive, angry but righteous; he was made to fight. an asshole through the game and that's fine, not all characters need to be likeable.
Pure angels in general make for very interesting antagonists without the need for demonization. Angelic duty, a devotion to order, can be as dangerous to humans as demonic chaos. Since humans are of demonic descent, Imperius and Malthael would understandably treat us as we would treat a Fallen Imp. If they ever go that route, maybe we could get more biblical imagery with creatures like weeping angel-esque statues made of salt, those virgin mary statues that cry blood, weird seraphim/cherubim multiheaded beasts, battling in blood red rivers of communion wine. I dunno, just brainstorming, but in general there are ways they can still fit the gothic horror aesthetic and not be an analog of the Protoss
Really not seeing why people think Imperious being the main villain or involved in the RoS plot at all would be better. The black soulstone isn't something Imperious would want to use in any way. You'd basically have to have Malthael lying to him about trying to find a way to destroy it and Imperious being a dupe the whole time. And considering people already complain about the writing of D3, why one Earth would you want them to write Imperious involved in a plot he would not be okay with? Like that would be objectively worse writing than what we got.
I disagree. The Nephalem, the most powerful entities in the diablo universe, were created by the union of the demonic and the angelic. Imperius, with this idea in mind, trying to achieve a greater power to destroy the demons by using the black soulstone is a very plausible idea, imo. After being absolutely pummeled by Diablo, having his honor cracked as the archangel of Valor, he develops a deep grudge against the Nephalem, because they did what he could not: kill diablo. He vows to defeat the forces of evil once and for all and prove himself worthy again. His conviction grows into an obsession and ultimately into madness, leading him to believe that mankind also has to die, with the same reasoning Malthael had in the expansion: they are part demon. You could argue that it's paradoxal for him to try and use demonic power and kill mankind because they are part demon, but his goal would be to merely use the demonic power to enhance his own, not turn into one. This idea obviously backfires and Imperius turns into a botched Angel-Demon hybrid, like shown in the video @9:44 This is an idea that i would've liked FAR better than Blizzard just pulling a villain out of their ass... Imperius becoming the villain of an expansion or even D4 was very much foreshadowed in D3, imo... In the memory Tyrael shows to Lea, his utter disregard for the mortal world and his intention to even kill Tyrael for sticking up for them, allready paints him as a danger to mankind. I wanted to kill this bastard so bad...
@@sander8622 Valor isn’t about winning all the fights, valor is about always fiercely fighting for the goal no matter the odds. I don’t think Imperius really care that much about winning or losing to a demon - at least he would consider them equal rivalries - not to say being driven crazy about losing to the prime evil.
TL;DW: "We spent like half of Diablo 3's shitty, meandering plot setting up Imperius as the expansion's main villain, and then dropped him entirely because Malthael looks cooler."
Nah. I'd argue Imperious wanting to use anything remotely demonic in his plans yet alone the crystal that contains all of the evils would have been stupidly out of character for him.
"Also, we're incapabable of coming up with a way to have Tyrael survive the encounter with Imperius. So we just pulled a villain out of ass. Seemed much better"
There were so many better stories that the D3 expansion could have focused on: the side plots of the three companions, Shen's mysterious past (in which he is most likely some sort of very old god or demi-god), and of course the possibility of recovering Leah's soul. Pulling the Mathael story out of nowhere was the least interesting thing they could have done. I think they felt like they needed to one-up Diablo with an even bigger bad instead of just going with one or more character arcs that may have been smaller in scale but with more depth.
Revisiting old lands that were supposedly cleaned of the chaos, showing how time has past to the old areas. The remains of Kurast, the rogue temple flourishing, the encampment abandoned in favor of the monastery,
I would also prefer having Imperious as the final boss of RoS (saving Malthael for a second D3 expansion, or D4), just because of the personal history that just so happens involves the entire world. Malthael feels so disconnected, and he's just there all of a sudden without much setup. If memory serves, he used to be in favor of Sanctuary during their vote, so to have him become a villain after being gone for so long feels weird. At least give him a foreshadowing after Imperious' defeat, and have it be his impetus for going against Sanctuary. Also, in my opinion, for videos like these that have no natural outro from you, I feel that it would be better to add like 10-15 seconds of blank screen or (Patreon) credits to place the related stuff in, so as not to distract from the ongoing message.
agreed dont feel anything towards Malthael. I wish they allowed us to see the strife within the Angiris Council and made it a fight between humans vs angels --only for diablo to come at the very end and win with the black soulstone LOL. Then a new expansion and we fight him as Tathamet.
it is unknown if imperius becomes corrupted and becomes aspect of wrath just like neltharion becomes corrupted by n'zoth and becomes deathwing aspect of death.
I really preferred that they separated the cinematic from Imperius and Malthael. Really let them shine as characters on their own, and between Storm of Light and subtextualization we get this potential, looming threat that has just always been within Imperius since The Sin War.
I'm very glad that they discarded that idea. Imperius as a boss is fine and actually quite hinted, but as a DEMONIC VILLAIN is just so very dumb. Imperius hate demonic powers so much that he wants to wipe out whole human race which only contains half of it. And he's the one cling on the law so much that he condemn Tyrael for breaking it, even though Tyrael has very good reason for that. I can't imagine Imperius of all angels choose to embrace demonic power to do anything, that's just so out of his character. People might say that there could be some dramatic process that he became what he hate the most, but still, that's totally not his style. The current way of doing it is actually much better, at least for the part of Imperius.
I mean Tyreal had a falling out, He forsook his title and chose to be mortal, why cant imperius in the same way driven by revenge? like he goes the opposite direction...theres that whole rhyme and parallel between Tyreal and Imperius that i think is perfect.. and with the way he ties into the story, theres real emotional weight behind his character, as opposed to Malthael who shows up out of nowhere that nobody is familiar with,.
@@JesseOsborn-yd9kc Even if imperius falls he would never fall in this way. If he doesn't hate demonic aspects so much he won't be hostile toward mankind in the first place. The most impossible action for Imperius is to take the black souls stone and absorb its power.
@@Templerlord ur essentially saying Angel's can't fall from grace, I mean look at Lucifer, who was an angel of light this game is based on biblical themes. Of course it could happen. It's fictional writing, they can do whatever they want.
@@JesseOsborn-yd9kc Yeah, they won't do it because they actually don't want to do it after a closer look. It's fictional, yes, but still they need to respect the character they built so far. Also, I said nothing like "angels can't fall from grace", I'm saying Imperius won't do that because that is against his character personality, his agenda, and his motivation. Make him doing such will turn him to another character. Like, it's okay to let Lucifer to become a fallen angel, but if you make Michael do so then it just doesn't feel like the Michael we know anymore. That is called "out of character".
I don't think Imperius + black soulstone adds up well. I mean, it would be an insult to him to use the power of his nemesis to destroy someone. Beside, isn't he the Angel of Valor? It would be another insult for him if he let himself succumb to demonic influences.
That is very dark, and cruel of Malthael, and Imperius. We already know about Malthael's descent to madness as an angel of death. But imperius? Well, it's almost like he never wanted anyone stealing his victories. Shame he didn't really turn himself into the demon the devs would add in. But still, Karma is a pain to those who do bad things as they say.
I hope Imperius will still turn from valor into wrath in D4 either in the base game or through an expansion, because it would be a real shame to just throw it away. It was one of the things I liked in the story of D3 and not doing anything with Imperius would be a terrible waste. Also, imagine if in addition to turning into wrath, Imperius gets turned into a demon like Izual. It would be kind of ironic if he was turned into the one thing he hates the most.
Would've really enjoyed that much more than the actual expansion.. But I guess it was the best, can't imagine an actual good plot so shadowed by a bad game imo.. Kinda want them to keep this idea for another title
Eh I just don't see Imperious being okay with playing around with the black soulstone no matter how angry he gets. The only thing he hates more than humans is demons. I'm glad they didn't have him in that plot, they can use him elsewhere in a story that would make more sense for his character.
I came to think of the spirit character Justice in Dragon Age and how he by possessing a the Mage Anders was corrupted by Anders feelings and over time became Vengeance. This is an example of a duality of what can happen, how a good cause can be corrupted. Also in this case even villians can be valours. And we have examples of angels doing evil things including having a vote on if they should exterminate humanity! I judge actions. You isn't "good" just because you say that you are. The Diablo settings angles are NOT a faction of good. They are generally good but primarily a faction of LAW, of Order. The Demons are typically evil but primarily a faction of Chaos.
they are going to adapt this idea of the storyline in a hybrid form for diablo 4 , since lore wise , heaven has closed its gates , i am sure they are going for that , only difference is 2 new angels will jump out of the crystal arch and perhaps be imperius fanboys/girls , and auriel and itherael will be the only ones who oppose imperius new stance of attacking the humans after lilith has finished up her rock and roll party
Imperius could have been a better antagonist in D3, in the way that it IS a better build up that he has been against humanity since forever, was antagonistic to Tyrael and the player character since the start of D3, and the pay off for this build up is he becoming a boss in D3 xpac that we must kill. Malthael was just pushed into the villain role in RoS for whatever reason - his villainy makes so little sense. Imperius becoming a boss makes more sense than Malthael being a boss - a character who was missing then comes back as a villain. *Spoilers for Starcraft 2* Yeah it's a game that is over 10 years old, but. It's like how Mengsk must die in SC2 for all the crap that he did in SC and BW. He is one of the biggest a-holes in the story, and it's just good writing that he must die sometime soon. Mengsk must die isn't just for the Xel Naga Keystone, but also for the sake of carthasis.
i hate how tyreal was treated after act 1. he just felt so underwhelming and useless the entire time after the whole reclaiming his sword and making him return to who he truly is. like if he dealt a massive mound on Belial or azmodan before we fought him and then had to hold off a massive amount of demons so we the players go and kill them that then would make him a lot stronger power wise as a character. but just seeing tyreal being just ragged dolled around in these cinematics just reminds me how pointless he truly feels.
you can do so so much more. Imagine storyline with 2 angels trying to compete with each other over the black soul stone, possibly corrupting other angles, thanks to multiple Evils hidden in Black soul stone, transforming them. So many possibilities.
They talk about how important of a character Tyrael is in the Diablo world and how they can’t kill him off but they kill Deckard Cain off with a butterfly mini boss … would have liked for Cain and Tyrael to go on one last save the world adventure before at least getting killed off by a real enemy or not getting killed off at all.
Oh come on, Maghda might have put him in that situation but she didn't kill him. Cain chose to sacrifice himself to reforge the blade to save Tyrael I can't think of any more fitting thing for Cain to have done as his last act then to restore an artifact and in so doing save an angel of the high heavens. Its frankly a more fitting and meaningful death than any other character in the series has gotten. Everyone else gets to die unceremoniously and typically having ultimately failed to do what they were trying to do.
@@shadenox8164 Also Deckard Cain was old anyway. He would have died in the time between the story of D3 and D4 anyway, as D4 plays many years after D3. So better give him a on screen death with a sacrifice for the greater good instead of letting him die off screen because of natural causes
@@shadenox8164 While I disagree with Maghda not killing Cain, I agree that restoring the Arch Angel of Justice is a fitting and meaningful death. I just would have liked for him to have died to a better character/boss and possibly be a significant character in Diablo 3. Maybe Cain was severely weakened restoring Tyrael's sword and had to stay in New Tristram, so Leah travelled with the player. Later, when Leah is possessed by Diablo, Cain shows up and dies trying to save Leah. In my opinion, having the all-knowing Deckard Cain, who has guided players through Diablo 1, 2, and part of 3 to just die like that annoyed me to no end :(
On the one hand this was really built up through the story, but on the other hand Malthael honestly made a more thematic villain and a more shocking fall. For even the Archangel of Wisdom and their former leader to turn on humanity must have sent a shockwave through both angels and men after their united defeat of Diablo. And honestly it would have been weird for Malthael, the former leader, to turn up out of nowhere as Imperious' lackey now. Though I do have to say, if we don't get a fallen Imperious in the future I think he'll either be slain or get some form of reformation and redemption.
You'd think he'd gain some humility after watching heaven fall. It's better they didn't have him fall. If I was imperious watching the nephilim defeat malfeal... I'd realize heaven needs a more active role in humanity for heavens protection.
They took the wrong decision, they could have had Imperius try to kill Tyrael and Malthael stopping him with just puttin his hand on Imperius's chest, like a brother or friend would do, making you doubt who is actually in charge, if it is Malthael kind of a counselor to a tyrant of war, or is it Imperius just Malthael's muscle. Wasted opportunity, thanks Blizzard
I love your content sir. This is one of developers and video game companies issues. they stopped involving fans in the game making process, fans no longer matter as they used to. Now they are just numbers and criticizers to the companies that have fallen. RIP to the golden age of videogames
We can't kill Tyrael ... Deckard Cain on the other hand, just fine.. No need to even include high rendered cutscene when his final moment is at hand, nope.. Noooo sir eeeee.
Imperius isn't a super villain. That was the likes of Izual & Malthael. Imperius was just maddened with revenge & wraith, and fighting the prime evils over and over eventually drove him insane. He is a bad guy but he isn't a cold-blooded killer, evil genius.
Never made sense to me that he was to become the villain or aspect of wrath etc. It's stupid. Imperius's wrath is righteous anger. He is in a world where even the angel of "justice" isn't exercising the justice of the light anymore but accepting and protecting evil. He is one of the few, if not the last remaining angel that stands against it completely. He is the greatest embodiment of good i.e of Anu that wanted to be pure by shedding away evil. Nothing wrong with righteous anger in the least.
I think Imperious's descent into Wrath will continue. I can't see them discarding the angels after Diablo 3. Especially since Tyrael was a focal point in tbe base story as the Fallen Star. He went from a side character that was sorta there in Diablo 2 to one of the core boon companions of the Nephealem.
Be pretty dope if an angel was a playable character. Like if Tyrael got some remanence of his old powers or something. Not sure it would work with story, but be fun nonetheless.
So they scrapped the whole setup for Imperius just so the cinematic would fit? What a damn shame, they could have easily just used whatever excuse so that Imperius could not be there at the time, he had to uphold his place in the council or something!
Imperius is my top 3 BEST & MOST BADASS BLIZZARD CHARACTER IN EVERY GAME that they have made. I hope he will show up in Diablo 4! I was so hyped he was released in Heroes of the Storm a few years back! Too bad they killed the game.... I want Baal to join Hots too! A full 5vs5 Angiris Council team vs. a full Greater Evils team!
Imperius would have made a better antagonist in my opinion. We grew to hate him in D3, and he could have tried to exact revenge on us players/ Tyreal. With Malthael secretly holding the strings. D4 would have had Malthael as a boss. That way we would have better introductions and more time to grow and hate the new enemies.
Would love to See Impirius Return, not as a "Final" boss, But something like Izual, Fallen angel near the end of the game (Perhaps Imperious would be the key to Diablos Return?). I could Picture Imperious (Now "Wrath") being mad that it was the Nephilim that defeated diablo, and not himself. I could see Wrath (Imperious) Bringing Diablo back to the world of the living just to try to prove a point and beat Diablo himself... I could also see him... failing? Falling Victim to Hubris? (OR, Perhaps the Player Defeats "Imperious" (completing his transition to wrath), and the Spirit of "Wrath" brings back Diablo as a form of revenge?).
Then again... This seems less like a Diablo 4 Idea, and more like an Idea for another Diablo 3 expansion, So... I'd love to see it happen, but not sure if Blizzard would really want to add to D3 while D4 is already on the way.
Glad it never happened. If we faced him he should not be Demonic unless forced down the line. Maybe a villain before he becomes fallen then does such a thing.
It's disheartening when they say: "we didn't have time" because this shouldn't be something you rush. Imperius as the villain for reaper of souls makes so much more sense that the actual game. Shame
PLOT TWIST:: What really happens is when Leah shows up and Imperius confirms that she has embodied the "prime" Maltheal, springs into action whilst she is still in "human" form and extracts the demonic presences all going into Imperius. The Diablo female we fought was nothing more than an amped up Succubus and now we must not only defeat Imperius prime, but rescue Leah. I would have had Imperious kill Tyreal but just as Maltheal would have gone to collect his "human soul" he recognizes it as Tyreal and revives him instead; shifting the balance back towards good.
I hope they write diablo III out of existence in diablo 4... The story flaws in diablo III are just way too out of hand but thats a far cry. And to everyone saying Imperius will be a boss in diablo 4. The nephalem in diablo 3 is gone in 4. If you look at demonology, Lilith is both Lock and Key. We kill lilith, every prime and lesser evil is free. Imperius making an appearance is very unlikely, its more likely that we will see Inarius. Imperius Locked heaven up and thats for a good reason, Tyreal likely understands that reason because hes either sitting and watching or hes dead. At some point you need to realize that by helping your enabling. Imperius likely wants to see if we are even worthy of protection.
I think it would've probably be better if they have gone with Imperius as a villain. Malthael coming out of nowhere to be the last boss was so bland (I think that even if Mephisto came back with any explanation it would have been better lol)... also the whole "Nephalem superhero" vibe that we got in d3 was a terrible choice. I'm glad that now even the developers agree with me and want to go in another direction in d4, even though I very much doubt they'll get even close to the dark atmoshere we had in d1...
As much as I'd love to have kicked Imperius' annoying whiney butt.... Malthael is so cool, so I'm glad they went with him. It filled a need for me at the time since there was not Necromancer class in the game at that point. Still find it a sin it's not as much a staple class as the Barb.
This original beat sounds more faithful. They were probably forced to switch it for wokeness or just to piss off the fans. We all know our suffering is food for the Gods of Chaos, and they clearly don't want us to be happy.
Making angelic counsel bad was the stupidest thing about diablo 3 lore. I also cringed very hard when they tried to interject philosophy on what is justice and totally missed the mark.
blizzard gone way too woke lately, they lost it after Diablo 2, Warcraft 3 was ok and WOW was lame, they're a completely different team, love your channel man, thanks for everything you do!
On one hand it makes sense that more than one archangel would have been involved in a civil war regarding the fate of humanity and the extremes they would go through to protect heaven from their own standpoint. But on the other hand, like they said in the interview, the idea of having them both in the spotlight ultimately lessens their impact and in a way, if they both turned antagonist they would be stealing each other's spotlight. Regardless how people feel of RoS, Blizzard did an outstanding job with Malthael as an antagonist. Fans love him and you can tell from all the fan art out there. HIs presence was felt everywhere in that expansion, and yet..............he barely spoke and showed up. A classic example of less is more. I still think and have always felt that they can still go the Wrath route for Imperius, but ultimately his impact and importance on the Diablo lore will be much more memorable if at the end of the day he stays true to his Angelic nature and redeems himself in the end, possibly dying in the process, but doing something very noble and self sacrificing that shows he had a change of heart. A big Grom Hellscream kind of moment if you will.
God damn you got a wizard a sorcer and maby a litch black soul stone .hmm black Onix ...I didn't get what u didn't get look ya got have a devil diablo means demon
So they decided to take one character they intended as a villain who had an Reasonable purpose and extensive relationships with most anyone in the series, and gave it to a guy who is a little darker looking, a.k.a. the fruity artwork they had, Who has the most aloof relationship with anything the main villain, it poses no threat other than the name death and the showy blackness. Diablo three design problem overall. Visually unappealing, nonsensical, contradictory, and tasteless
I think I would have preferred Imperious to have been the big bad. It just felt fake that all of a sudden an 'angel' we'd never met before waltzes in and becomes our focus instead of a character we already have history and beef with. It felt... cheap. The only reason we had to 'fear' Malthael was that he was the 'Angel of Death' # *insert spooky noise and manufactured feeling of foreboding!* # Nah, another Bliizzard missed opportunity.
while I'm sad that they dropped the idea of having Imperius fall in the Reaper of Souls expansion, maybe we'll get to see to Imperius fall from Valor to Wrath in Diablo 4. He'd certainly make for a good villain and would be a cool boss fight.
Having Imperius absorb the seven evils as the second to final boss before Diablo would have been genius. Picture this: It would have gotten rid of his stupid ass and added somewhat if a character arc, and it would've been a much better boss than Tyrael's old lutenate. Then, when we defeat Diablo, Tyrael could've become an angel again, taking up the role of leader of Heaven (because let's face it, him becoming the new angel of wisdom made no fucking sense). And having his time as a mortal would've made sense then because he could see that humanity is worth saving, having the angels unite with humans and work with them. This also would've made losing half of humanity in RoS much more tragic for Tyrael. I think that's the BIGGEST MISSED OPPORTUNITY IN THE WORLD. Who else agrees?
I'd like him as a boss but not a full blown villain, like you fight him, he asks for you to finish him, you character spouts words of wisdom, he can't understand why you speared him and just leave him behind
NGL, i'm lowkey hoping for imperius to return as the surprise final boss of D4
With Lillith returning I could see him finally having absolutely enough with humanity
If anyone is coming back in D4 for vengeance, it will be Inarius, he has a lot of bones to pick with the council, and with Lillith coming back, he has even more reason to come back.
As of now inarius is chained up in a dungeon somewhere in mephisto’s region of hell.
@@Mr_Edwards_1995 A custody battle of the ages between exes
@@Mr_Edwards_1995 allegedly, we do not know what happened to him after Mephisto "died" and Lillith took over his area for a time.
I'm actually happy that they dropped this idea. Not all angels have to be good and nice in order to be considered "good". Imperius is impulsive, angry but righteous; he was made to fight.
an asshole through the game and that's fine, not all characters need to be likeable.
Pure angels in general make for very interesting antagonists without the need for demonization. Angelic duty, a devotion to order, can be as dangerous to humans as demonic chaos. Since humans are of demonic descent, Imperius and Malthael would understandably treat us as we would treat a Fallen Imp.
If they ever go that route, maybe we could get more biblical imagery with creatures like weeping angel-esque statues made of salt, those virgin mary statues that cry blood, weird seraphim/cherubim multiheaded beasts, battling in blood red rivers of communion wine. I dunno, just brainstorming, but in general there are ways they can still fit the gothic horror aesthetic and not be an analog of the Protoss
Waaaaait! That's DOPE! Ok listen, you need to work on D4 story homie. Also art department's boss.
It would be very cool to wage war on both heaven and hell like in the sin war.
I also like the aesthetics you are going for in this idea
Can we also fight God as final boss? I mean the true God from Diablo who split himself in 2.
That would be amazing!
I figured the only way to end the Eternal Conflict is for neither Heaven nor Hell exist. No one to meddle in Sanctuary
I think they took a good decision to abandon it or postpone it. At the end of Reaper of Souls, even Tyrael seems to share the doubts of Imperius
Pretty sure most of them do but they just follow the whole "not my place/against our traditions" gimmick
Really not seeing why people think Imperious being the main villain or involved in the RoS plot at all would be better. The black soulstone isn't something Imperious would want to use in any way. You'd basically have to have Malthael lying to him about trying to find a way to destroy it and Imperious being a dupe the whole time. And considering people already complain about the writing of D3, why one Earth would you want them to write Imperious involved in a plot he would not be okay with? Like that would be objectively worse writing than what we got.
I disagree. The Nephalem, the most powerful entities in the diablo universe, were created by the union of the demonic and the angelic. Imperius, with this idea in mind, trying to achieve a greater power to destroy the demons by using the black soulstone is a very plausible idea, imo. After being absolutely pummeled by Diablo, having his honor cracked as the archangel of Valor, he develops a deep grudge against the Nephalem, because they did what he could not: kill diablo. He vows to defeat the forces of evil once and for all and prove himself worthy again. His conviction grows into an obsession and ultimately into madness, leading him to believe that mankind also has to die, with the same reasoning Malthael had in the expansion: they are part demon.
You could argue that it's paradoxal for him to try and use demonic power and kill mankind because they are part demon, but his goal would be to merely use the demonic power to enhance his own, not turn into one. This idea obviously backfires and Imperius turns into a botched Angel-Demon hybrid, like shown in the video @9:44
This is an idea that i would've liked FAR better than Blizzard just pulling a villain out of their ass... Imperius becoming the villain of an expansion or even D4 was very much foreshadowed in D3, imo... In the memory Tyrael shows to Lea, his utter disregard for the mortal world and his intention to even kill Tyrael for sticking up for them, allready paints him as a danger to mankind.
I wanted to kill this bastard so bad...
@@sander8622 Valor isn’t about winning all the fights, valor is about always fiercely fighting for the goal no matter the odds. I don’t think Imperius really care that much about winning or losing to a demon - at least he would consider them equal rivalries - not to say being driven crazy about losing to the prime evil.
TL;DW: "We spent like half of Diablo 3's shitty, meandering plot setting up Imperius as the expansion's main villain, and then dropped him entirely because Malthael looks cooler."
Nah. I'd argue Imperious wanting to use anything remotely demonic in his plans yet alone the crystal that contains all of the evils would have been stupidly out of character for him.
"Also, we're incapabable of coming up with a way to have Tyrael survive the encounter with Imperius. So we just pulled a villain out of ass. Seemed much better"
There were so many better stories that the D3 expansion could have focused on: the side plots of the three companions, Shen's mysterious past (in which he is most likely some sort of very old god or demi-god), and of course the possibility of recovering Leah's soul. Pulling the Mathael story out of nowhere was the least interesting thing they could have done. I think they felt like they needed to one-up Diablo with an even bigger bad instead of just going with one or more character arcs that may have been smaller in scale but with more depth.
Revisiting old lands that were supposedly cleaned of the chaos, showing how time has past to the old areas.
The remains of Kurast, the rogue temple flourishing, the encampment abandoned in favor of the monastery,
I would also prefer having Imperious as the final boss of RoS (saving Malthael for a second D3 expansion, or D4), just because of the personal history that just so happens involves the entire world. Malthael feels so disconnected, and he's just there all of a sudden without much setup. If memory serves, he used to be in favor of Sanctuary during their vote, so to have him become a villain after being gone for so long feels weird. At least give him a foreshadowing after Imperious' defeat, and have it be his impetus for going against Sanctuary.
Also, in my opinion, for videos like these that have no natural outro from you, I feel that it would be better to add like 10-15 seconds of blank screen or (Patreon) credits to place the related stuff in, so as not to distract from the ongoing message.
agreed dont feel anything towards Malthael. I wish they allowed us to see the strife within the Angiris Council and made it a fight between humans vs angels --only for diablo to come at the very end and win with the black soulstone LOL. Then a new expansion and we fight him as Tathamet.
looked like they invested so much in imperius villain that when they choose Malthael instead it was just a blank page.
it is unknown if imperius becomes corrupted and becomes aspect of wrath just like neltharion becomes corrupted by n'zoth and becomes deathwing aspect of death.
I really preferred that they separated the cinematic from Imperius and Malthael. Really let them shine as characters on their own, and between Storm of Light and subtextualization we get this potential, looming threat that has just always been within Imperius since The Sin War.
I'm very glad that they discarded that idea. Imperius as a boss is fine and actually quite hinted, but as a DEMONIC VILLAIN is just so very dumb. Imperius hate demonic powers so much that he wants to wipe out whole human race which only contains half of it. And he's the one cling on the law so much that he condemn Tyrael for breaking it, even though Tyrael has very good reason for that. I can't imagine Imperius of all angels choose to embrace demonic power to do anything, that's just so out of his character. People might say that there could be some dramatic process that he became what he hate the most, but still, that's totally not his style. The current way of doing it is actually much better, at least for the part of Imperius.
Yeah Imperius is arrogant but he would never side with the Demons
I mean Tyreal had a falling out, He forsook his title and chose to be mortal, why cant imperius in the same way driven by revenge? like he goes the opposite direction...theres that whole rhyme and parallel between Tyreal and Imperius that i think is perfect.. and with the way he ties into the story, theres real emotional weight behind his character, as opposed to Malthael who shows up out of nowhere that nobody is familiar with,.
@@JesseOsborn-yd9kc Even if imperius falls he would never fall in this way. If he doesn't hate demonic aspects so much he won't be hostile toward mankind in the first place. The most impossible action for Imperius is to take the black souls stone and absorb its power.
@@Templerlord ur essentially saying Angel's can't fall from grace, I mean look at Lucifer, who was an angel of light this game is based on biblical themes. Of course it could happen. It's fictional writing, they can do whatever they want.
@@JesseOsborn-yd9kc Yeah, they won't do it because they actually don't want to do it after a closer look. It's fictional, yes, but still they need to respect the character they built so far. Also, I said nothing like "angels can't fall from grace", I'm saying Imperius won't do that because that is against his character personality, his agenda, and his motivation. Make him doing such will turn him to another character.
Like, it's okay to let Lucifer to become a fallen angel, but if you make Michael do so then it just doesn't feel like the Michael we know anymore. That is called "out of character".
I don't think Imperius + black soulstone adds up well. I mean, it would be an insult to him to use the power of his nemesis to destroy someone. Beside, isn't he the Angel of Valor? It would be another insult for him if he let himself succumb to demonic influences.
That is very dark, and cruel of Malthael, and Imperius. We already know about Malthael's descent to madness as an angel of death. But imperius? Well, it's almost like he never wanted anyone stealing his victories. Shame he didn't really turn himself into the demon the devs would add in. But still, Karma is a pain to those who do bad things as they say.
I hope Imperius will still turn from valor into wrath in D4 either in the base game or through an expansion, because it would be a real shame to just throw it away. It was one of the things I liked in the story of D3 and not doing anything with Imperius would be a terrible waste. Also, imagine if in addition to turning into wrath, Imperius gets turned into a demon like Izual. It would be kind of ironic if he was turned into the one thing he hates the most.
Nah, too predictable. They should add more depth to Imp, currently he's too shallow. "Humans bad, i'm angry"
@@Armand358 "cleanse the unclean! They're not inherently evil, BUT I DON'T LIKE THEIR ANCESTORS!"
Would've really enjoyed that much more than the actual expansion.. But I guess it was the best, can't imagine an actual good plot so shadowed by a bad game imo.. Kinda want them to keep this idea for another title
Eh I just don't see Imperious being okay with playing around with the black soulstone no matter how angry he gets. The only thing he hates more than humans is demons. I'm glad they didn't have him in that plot, they can use him elsewhere in a story that would make more sense for his character.
Would be cool if Imperius was the vessel for the next Diablo
I came to think of the spirit character Justice in Dragon Age and how he by possessing a the Mage Anders was corrupted by Anders feelings and over time became Vengeance. This is an example of a duality of what can happen, how a good cause can be corrupted. Also in this case even villians can be valours. And we have examples of angels doing evil things including having a vote on if they should exterminate humanity! I judge actions. You isn't "good" just because you say that you are. The Diablo settings angles are NOT a faction of good. They are generally good but primarily a faction of LAW, of Order. The Demons are typically evil but primarily a faction of Chaos.
i swear this is the best diablo lore related channel on youtube.
I like the idea of Imperious being a wild card in the future. It was a good decision I think to not make him a villain.
they are going to adapt this idea of the storyline in a hybrid form for diablo 4 , since lore wise , heaven has closed its gates , i am sure they are going for that , only difference is 2 new angels will jump out of the crystal arch and perhaps be imperius fanboys/girls , and auriel and itherael will be the only ones who oppose imperius new stance of attacking the humans after lilith has finished up her rock and roll party
Imperius could have been a better antagonist in D3, in the way that it IS a better build up that he has been against humanity since forever, was antagonistic to Tyrael and the player character since the start of D3, and the pay off for this build up is he becoming a boss in D3 xpac that we must kill. Malthael was just pushed into the villain role in RoS for whatever reason - his villainy makes so little sense. Imperius becoming a boss makes more sense than Malthael being a boss - a character who was missing then comes back as a villain.
*Spoilers for Starcraft 2*
Yeah it's a game that is over 10 years old, but.
It's like how Mengsk must die in SC2 for all the crap that he did in SC and BW. He is one of the biggest a-holes in the story, and it's just good writing that he must die sometime soon. Mengsk must die isn't just for the Xel Naga Keystone, but also for the sake of carthasis.
i hate how tyreal was treated after act 1. he just felt so underwhelming and useless the entire time after the whole reclaiming his sword and making him return to who he truly is. like if he dealt a massive mound on Belial or azmodan before we fought him and then had to hold off a massive amount of demons so we the players go and kill them that then would make him a lot stronger power wise as a character.
but just seeing tyreal being just ragged dolled around in these cinematics just reminds me how pointless he truly feels.
The guy in the thumbnail kinda looks like Russell Crowe in Gladiator.
The guy being Chris Metzen?
@@St3C0n Chris Metzen looks like a guy from Gladiator...
At least people had Diablo vs imperius cutscene
When linked with my phone, my car displays Marilyn Manson as your video is playing. Now that's dark.
you can do so so much more. Imagine storyline with 2 angels trying to compete with each other over the black soul stone, possibly corrupting other angles, thanks to multiple Evils hidden in Black soul stone, transforming them. So many possibilities.
I remember watching this video the first time you posted it. It would be interesting see imperius as a villain
They talk about how important of a character Tyrael is in the Diablo world and how they can’t kill him off but they kill Deckard Cain off with a butterfly mini boss … would have liked for Cain and Tyrael to go on one last save the world adventure before at least getting killed off by a real enemy or not getting killed off at all.
Oh come on, Maghda might have put him in that situation but she didn't kill him. Cain chose to sacrifice himself to reforge the blade to save Tyrael I can't think of any more fitting thing for Cain to have done as his last act then to restore an artifact and in so doing save an angel of the high heavens. Its frankly a more fitting and meaningful death than any other character in the series has gotten. Everyone else gets to die unceremoniously and typically having ultimately failed to do what they were trying to do.
@@shadenox8164 Also Deckard Cain was old anyway. He would have died in the time between the story of D3 and D4 anyway, as D4 plays many years after D3. So better give him a on screen death with a sacrifice for the greater good instead of letting him die off screen because of natural causes
@@shadenox8164 While I disagree with Maghda not killing Cain, I agree that restoring the Arch Angel of Justice is a fitting and meaningful death. I just would have liked for him to have died to a better character/boss and possibly be a significant character in Diablo 3. Maybe Cain was severely weakened restoring Tyrael's sword and had to stay in New Tristram, so Leah travelled with the player. Later, when Leah is possessed by Diablo, Cain shows up and dies trying to save Leah. In my opinion, having the all-knowing Deckard Cain, who has guided players through Diablo 1, 2, and part of 3 to just die like that annoyed me to no end :(
On the one hand this was really built up through the story, but on the other hand Malthael honestly made a more thematic villain and a more shocking fall. For even the Archangel of Wisdom and their former leader to turn on humanity must have sent a shockwave through both angels and men after their united defeat of Diablo. And honestly it would have been weird for Malthael, the former leader, to turn up out of nowhere as Imperious' lackey now. Though I do have to say, if we don't get a fallen Imperious in the future I think he'll either be slain or get some form of reformation and redemption.
You'd think he'd gain some humility after watching heaven fall. It's better they didn't have him fall. If I was imperious watching the nephilim defeat malfeal... I'd realize heaven needs a more active role in humanity for heavens protection.
Would have been nice to see some good writing in d3
They took the wrong decision, they could have had Imperius try to kill Tyrael and Malthael stopping him with just puttin his hand on Imperius's chest, like a brother or friend would do, making you doubt who is actually in charge, if it is Malthael kind of a counselor to a tyrant of war, or is it Imperius just Malthael's muscle.
Wasted opportunity, thanks Blizzard
I love your content sir. This is one of developers and video game companies issues. they stopped involving fans in the game making process, fans no longer matter as they used to. Now they are just numbers and criticizers to the companies that have fallen. RIP to the golden age of videogames
We can't kill Tyrael ... Deckard Cain on the other hand, just fine.. No need to even include high rendered cutscene when his final moment is at hand, nope.. Noooo sir eeeee.
How did they manage to turn such great lore and ideas into a cartoon (D3) with none of that?? Truly mind boggling
Imperius isn't a super villain. That was the likes of Izual & Malthael. Imperius was just maddened with revenge & wraith, and fighting the prime evils over and over eventually drove him insane. He is a bad guy but he isn't a cold-blooded killer, evil genius.
Never made sense to me that he was to become the villain or aspect of wrath etc. It's stupid. Imperius's wrath is righteous anger. He is in a world where even the angel of "justice" isn't exercising the justice of the light anymore but accepting and protecting evil.
He is one of the few, if not the last remaining angel that stands against it completely. He is the greatest embodiment of good i.e of Anu that wanted to be pure by shedding away evil.
Nothing wrong with righteous anger in the least.
I think Imperious's descent into Wrath will continue. I can't see them discarding the angels after Diablo 3. Especially since Tyrael was a focal point in tbe base story as the Fallen Star. He went from a side character that was sorta there in Diablo 2 to one of the core boon companions of the Nephealem.
Be pretty dope if an angel was a playable character. Like if Tyrael got some remanence of his old powers or something. Not sure it would work with story, but be fun nonetheless.
Yes and what happened to the second idea of villain yes you lost the only chance to make diablo 3 a remembered (great) game again.
we need a netflix special on this.
So they scrapped the whole setup for Imperius just so the cinematic would fit? What a damn shame, they could have easily just used whatever excuse so that Imperius could not be there at the time, he had to uphold his place in the council or something!
Agree. They also didn't want to kill Tyrael & Malthael was an easy out
@@DarkLOREDash pretty lame that they can't think of a way for Tyrael to escape...
So interesting and the graphics are great thanks lore dash
Imperius is my top 3 BEST & MOST BADASS BLIZZARD CHARACTER IN EVERY GAME that they have made. I hope he will show up in Diablo 4! I was so hyped he was released in Heroes of the Storm a few years back! Too bad they killed the game.... I want Baal to join Hots too! A full 5vs5 Angiris Council team vs. a full Greater Evils team!
I mean it was so obvious. They even made a poem with it.
Would love to see you cover Darkest Dungeons lore.
Imperius would have made a better antagonist in my opinion.
We grew to hate him in D3, and he could have tried to exact revenge on us players/ Tyreal. With Malthael secretly holding the strings.
D4 would have had Malthael as a boss. That way we would have better introductions and more time to grow and hate the new enemies.
I always hated Diablo's last words "So much for your...unity. The trap, is sprung." Like jeez subtle much? Did the angels not hear him?
Would love to See Impirius Return, not as a "Final" boss, But something like Izual, Fallen angel near the end of the game (Perhaps Imperious would be the key to Diablos Return?).
I could Picture Imperious (Now "Wrath") being mad that it was the Nephilim that defeated diablo, and not himself. I could see Wrath (Imperious) Bringing Diablo back to the world of the living just to try to prove a point and beat Diablo himself... I could also see him... failing? Falling Victim to Hubris? (OR, Perhaps the Player Defeats "Imperious" (completing his transition to wrath), and the Spirit of "Wrath" brings back Diablo as a form of revenge?).
Then again... This seems less like a Diablo 4 Idea, and more like an Idea for another Diablo 3 expansion, So... I'd love to see it happen, but not sure if Blizzard would really want to add to D3 while D4 is already on the way.
I always thought Tyrael should have been turned evil after he lost against Baal and Diablo in Act 2 Diablo 2
There's a imperius skin in HOTS where he becomes a demon btw
Glad it never happened. If we faced him he should not be Demonic unless forced down the line. Maybe a villain before he becomes fallen then does such a thing.
Thanks lore dash
It's disheartening when they say: "we didn't have time" because this shouldn't be something you rush. Imperius as the villain for reaper of souls makes so much more sense that the actual game. Shame
Very cool 🤟
In the Sin Wars book, Imperius is depicted as the angel of war, just because he's hot headed they can butcher him as an antagonist.
More like the Angle of Anger
in end of the day Imperius can turn into dark its just a matter of time
How is imperius less of a character than a previously unknown maltheal?
PLOT TWIST:: What really happens is when Leah shows up and Imperius confirms that she has embodied the "prime" Maltheal, springs into action whilst she is still in "human" form and extracts the demonic presences all going into Imperius. The Diablo female we fought was nothing more than an amped up Succubus and now we must not only defeat Imperius prime, but rescue Leah. I would have had Imperious kill Tyreal but just as Maltheal would have gone to collect his "human soul" he recognizes it as Tyreal and revives him instead; shifting the balance back towards good.
good thing you don't write for blizzard
Better than diablo with heels...
2:30 LITERALLY go supernova? you do know what literally means right? did the nephalim implode and turn into a black hole???
I hope they write diablo III out of existence in diablo 4... The story flaws in diablo III are just way too out of hand but thats a far cry.
And to everyone saying Imperius will be a boss in diablo 4. The nephalem in diablo 3 is gone in 4.
If you look at demonology, Lilith is both Lock and Key. We kill lilith, every prime and lesser evil is free. Imperius making an appearance is very unlikely, its more likely that we will see Inarius.
Imperius Locked heaven up and thats for a good reason, Tyreal likely understands that reason because hes either sitting and watching or hes dead. At some point you need to realize that by helping your enabling. Imperius likely wants to see if we are even worthy of protection.
I think it would've probably be better if they have gone with Imperius as a villain. Malthael coming out of nowhere to be the last boss was so bland (I think that even if Mephisto came back with any explanation it would have been better lol)... also the whole "Nephalem superhero" vibe that we got in d3 was a terrible choice. I'm glad that now even the developers agree with me and want to go in another direction in d4, even though I very much doubt they'll get even close to the dark atmoshere we had in d1...
As much as I'd love to have kicked Imperius' annoying whiney butt.... Malthael is so cool, so I'm glad they went with him.
It filled a need for me at the time since there was not Necromancer class in the game at that point. Still find it a sin it's not as much a staple class as the Barb.
thanks Dash
Still glad Imperius didn’t join the villain punchbag club, i like the guy a lot
Imperius have the anti-hero kinda vibe lol
They should make imperius corrupted in D4
and boy was that a mistake
Wouldnt diablo need another host or b.c its in hell it doesnt matter
Instead they put their ideas of Demonic Imperius in Heroes of the Storm.
Chris is one of the last blizzard devs that gives a shit
Malthael was never established as a character, Imperious would make much more sense for the player. That was a bad choice
So he turns in D4?
Wow the blizzard staff is either over critical or just bad at thinking...imperious should have been the villain
isnt this kinda old news?
This original beat sounds more faithful. They were probably forced to switch it for wokeness or just to piss off the fans. We all know our suffering is food for the Gods of Chaos, and they clearly don't want us to be happy.
Making angelic counsel bad was the stupidest thing about diablo 3 lore. I also cringed very hard when they tried to interject philosophy on what is justice and totally missed the mark.
Imperius was wasted.
blizzard gone way too woke lately, they lost it after Diablo 2, Warcraft 3 was ok and WOW was lame, they're a completely different team, love your channel man, thanks for everything you do!
*ahem!* Diablo 4?
I get such a weird boss from the dude, he looks like someone that practices black magic or some shit
On one hand it makes sense that more than one archangel would have been involved in a civil war regarding the fate of humanity and the extremes they would go through to protect heaven from their own standpoint. But on the other hand, like they said in the interview, the idea of having them both in the spotlight ultimately lessens their impact and in a way, if they both turned antagonist they would be stealing each other's spotlight. Regardless how people feel of RoS, Blizzard did an outstanding job with Malthael as an antagonist. Fans love him and you can tell from all the fan art out there. HIs presence was felt everywhere in that expansion, and yet..............he barely spoke and showed up. A classic example of less is more.
I still think and have always felt that they can still go the Wrath route for Imperius, but ultimately his impact and importance on the Diablo lore will be much more memorable if at the end of the day he stays true to his Angelic nature and redeems himself in the end, possibly dying in the process, but doing something very noble and self sacrificing that shows he had a change of heart. A big Grom Hellscream kind of moment if you will.
God damn you got a wizard a sorcer and maby a litch black soul stone .hmm black Onix ...I didn't get what u didn't get look ya got have a devil diablo means demon
So they decided to take one character they intended as a villain who had an Reasonable purpose and extensive relationships with most anyone in the series, and gave it to a guy who is a little darker looking, a.k.a. the fruity artwork they had, Who has the most aloof relationship with anything the main villain, it poses no threat other than the name death and the showy blackness. Diablo three design problem overall. Visually unappealing, nonsensical, contradictory, and tasteless
That makes a LOT more sense. Diablo 3 was ruined by Blizzard's commie obsession with china.
I hate Blizzard
OMG imperious becoming the vessel for Diablo would have been such a better story than what we got.
I would love for Imperius to be the vessel for the next Diablo.
I think I would have preferred Imperious to have been the big bad. It just felt fake that all of a sudden an 'angel' we'd never met before waltzes in and becomes our focus instead of a character we already have history and beef with. It felt... cheap. The only reason we had to 'fear' Malthael was that he was the 'Angel of Death' # *insert spooky noise and manufactured feeling of foreboding!* #
Nah, another Bliizzard missed opportunity.
In my Opinion, it would be predictable. like, we all know how much of an ass he is.
"Im sorry for the subs" me as a Portuguese: 😁
while I'm sad that they dropped the idea of having Imperius fall in the Reaper of Souls expansion, maybe we'll get to see to Imperius fall from Valor to Wrath in Diablo 4. He'd certainly make for a good villain and would be a cool boss fight.
Bro, diablo3 is so cheese, omfg...
Having Imperius absorb the seven evils as the second to final boss before Diablo would have been genius.
Picture this: It would have gotten rid of his stupid ass and added somewhat if a character arc, and it would've been a much better boss than Tyrael's old lutenate. Then, when we defeat Diablo, Tyrael could've become an angel again, taking up the role of leader of Heaven (because let's face it, him becoming the new angel of wisdom made no fucking sense). And having his time as a mortal would've made sense then because he could see that humanity is worth saving, having the angels unite with humans and work with them. This also would've made losing half of humanity in RoS much more tragic for Tyrael. I think that's the BIGGEST MISSED OPPORTUNITY IN THE WORLD. Who else agrees?
Malthael was the best choice.
Let's be real, Imperius was too hot headed and dumb to be anything beyond a dumb villain.
What a horrible game D3 was and still is regarding the story.
They/them
Then where is Diablo? U can't replace Diablo haha
First? 😈