The first two Diablo games have a show-don't-tell attitude, where most of the lore is hidden behind passing mentions or cryptic explanations. This opened up the series' lore for several interpretations. Then, Diablo 3 arrived and introduced a soft-reboot and tons of retcon to the lore, inadvertently changing its atmosphere from gothic horror to high fantasy.

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Thus, this also introduced many inconsistencies in the Diablo lore logic and continuity. There's many inconsistencies to be found in a plot that revolves around Heaven and Hell duking it out for a tiny speck of rock, but the Diablo series' change of direction has notably magnified its incongruities. With Diablo 2'sremaster keeping it as popular as ever, it highlights how some of the changes to the lore or even certain plot holes keep the games from having a cohesive story.

8 Why Does Diablo Even Need A Vessel?

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One of the reasons Diablo kept changing his appearances in all three current games is that his form is affected by his vessels. The first two were male while third one was female, hence the dramatic change. However, considering how easy it is for other demons to manifest in their true form in Sanctuary, shouldn't Diablo be able to bring his actual self without much effort?

Both Belial and Asmodan made it look easy. Meanwhile, Mephisto, Duriel, Lilith, and Andariel appear in their true demon forms. Diablo, being the most powerful of them all, needing a vessel before he can manifest in Sanctuary seems more like a plot device. It doesn't really make sense when one considers the power hierarchy.

7 Diablo Just Keeps Getting Revived

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To put forth another point against the Lord of Terror's activities, Diablo getting resurrected or brought back to Sanctuary, again and again, is a little too tiring and defeats the narrative purpose of the first two games. Back then, his coming back persistently was understandable. Twice was tolerable, because the second return was unprecedented.

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The third return really should have been anticipated more, especially by Tyrael. Someone as powerful as him could have imprisoned Diablo in the Void as Inarius did with Lilith. In fact, Heaven's forces could have done that, as Diablo or his two brothers were reeling from their defeat in Sanctuary.

6 The Nephalems' Purpose

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A rather drastic lore change that the Sin War books and the third game introduced was the Nephalem, or Sanctuary's, purpose. In Diablo 2 or even the first one, Sanctuary and its Nephalem descendants / inhabitants were dwarfed by Heaven and Hell. That notably made the atmosphere more gloomy and hopeless.

Diablo 3 reinvented it so that the destruction of the Worldstone removed the Nephalem's power dampener, giving the human inhabitants of Sanctuary an opportunity to become demigods and challenge Heaven and Hell's powers. Meanwhile, what changes the Worldstone's destruction would have wrought was never really set in stoney. In fact, its effects were rather vague and not something humans would benefit from, at least not explicitly. This made Heaven or Hell cheap factions that are easily overpowered.

5 The Worldstone's Powers

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The Worldstone is no stranger to powers that come out of nowhere,. Diablo 2 never really expounded further what the Worldstone was for, even when Tyrael destroyed it. It was best understood as Sanctuary's barrier between Heaven and Hell, something that keeps it safe. Since Tyrael destroyed it, the implications are unfathomable but far-reaching. It's usually up to the players' imaginations regarding which details to fill in.

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Then suddenly, courtesy of Diabo 3's retcon, the Worldstone turned out to be a power limiter (at most). It inhibited the Nephalem superpowers among human descendants in Sanctuary, because both Heaven and Hell feared what they could become. Furthermore, it was also a tool that allows the creation of worlds, which is why Heaven and Hell both sought it. Consequently, a new lore rule was introduced dictating that whichever side controlled the stone would do so for a millennium, which meant that Baal didn't even need to corrupt the stone.

4 Discrepancies In The Nephalem Hero's Power

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With all the changes to the Nephalem, one would think that they were weaker before the Worldstone exploded. That's not really the case, especially in the first two Diablo games. The Nephalem there didn't even need to break free from the Worldstone's proverbial chains in order to defeat the three Prime Evils.

That kind of achievement somewhat invalidates the newfound strength of the Nephalems in Diablo 3's timeline. If their hobbled predecessors could do it, then the Worldstone's destruction doesn't really matter much. That only further reveals holes in Heaven and Hell's reasoning for trying to let Sanctuary be.

3 Why Demons & Angels Fought

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On the topic of the eternal Heaven and Hell war, their original motivations became even more convoluted or senseless as more retcons about the Diablo lore were introduced. Initially, the setup was simple: Hell and its demons were bad, which is why they're trashing Sanctuary.

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Now, there's politics involved, and Heaven is looking less reliable or competent than it really is. The same goes for Hell. It's difficult to feel any respect or awe from these two factions who used to be unfathomably transcendent. With how the Worldstone was modified by retcons, their war doesn't really even need to be eternal as logic dictates.

2 Lilith Reviving The Prime Evils Is Counterproductive To Her Plan

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Turns out Diablo 2 wasn't exempted from its own lore transgressions. It did commit some narrative sins during one of its multiplayer events called the Pandemonium Event. In it, Lilith was mostly responsible for bringing back the Prime Evils along with their Hell lieutenants.

Given Lilith's personality and lore as explained in the retconned timeline, this action didn't make much sense. Lilith was against the Eternal War and wanted to put an end to it; thus, helping the three Prime Evils doesn't exactly further her goals. Moreover, the Pandemonium Event only put Sanctuary in danger — an action she wouldn't appreciate since she considers the Nephalem and their human descendants as her children.

1 Tyrael's Rules Are Confusing

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Tyrael, Heaven's most present agent in the Diablo games, was also guilty of being a headscratcher. In Diablo 2 especially, he walks the line between direct intervention and hands-free aid. This becomes most apparent during Baal's ascent to Mount Arreat.

Tyrael practically sat by and watched Baal corrupt the Worldstone, only for the angel to destroy the Worldstone later. He could have destroyed it earlier and even halted Baal; he was likely allowed to do that seeing as he also fought Diablo in Tal Rasha's tomb. Even checking up on Marius' progress regarding Baal's soulstone would have sufficed. Tyrael's getting either sloppy or lazy.

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