Blizzard is a long-standing gaming company and has made some of the very best games in history over their tenure. From the early days when they produced DC Comics side-scrolling games and Warcraft RTS games, Blizzard has been a worldwide brand.
Their most famous accomplishments in more recent years include franchises like Diablo, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Hearthstone. While Blizzard has changed over time, their penchant for creating great villainous characters for its games has remained the same as they continuously strive for better-designed and written characters in all of their games.
7 Illidan Stormrage (World of Warcraft)
One of the best villainous characters in the history of World of Warcraft, Illidan Stormrage committed heinous acts against his own people on his way to becoming the first-ever Demon Hunter. Illidan betrayed his people during the War of the Ancients by defecting to the Demonic Burning Legion.
Appearing first in Warcraft III and the sequel The Frozen Throne, Illidan has appeared as a major enemy in the first expansion for World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade. Since then, he has at times sided with the heroes of Azeroth in an anti-heroic role, but the terror of his past crimes and deeds will never be forgotten by WoW players.
6 Ramattra (Overwatch 2)
Ramattra may be a playable character in Overwatch 2, but he was a villainous part of the franchise and a terrifying one at that in the first game. Ramattra was a Shambali monk of the Omnics who eventually became hell-bent on destroying all of humanity so that the world would be safer for the Omnics.
Overwatch is known for many fun characters, but there aren’t too many great villainous characters in the franchise. Ramattra’s backstory and acts have placed him among the evilest villains in the franchise. Ramattra, like several major Overwatch antagonists, has come around somewhat by the time of Overwatch 2 and is now playable.
5 Malthael (Diablo 3)
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls was one of the best DLCs the franchise has seen. This is because of the great story surrounding Malthael, the prime villain of the DLC. Malthael was once the Archangel of Wisdom and the leader of the Angiris Council. However, by the events of Reaper of Souls, he has taken to calling himself the Angel of Death.
His arrival in Diablo 3 involves him killing all but one of the group of Horadrim, leaving Tyrael incapacitated. Everything about this character, from history in the franchise and backstory to design and boss fight difficulty, made him one of the best creations in the entire Diablo franchise.
4 Deathwing (World of Warcraft)
One of the most enduring and beautifully designed creatures in World of Warcraft, Deathwing was one of the five Dragon Aspects and leader of the Black Dragonflight. Once empowered to watch over Azeroth with the dominion of the Earth, Deathwing was corrupted by the Old Gods and became a force of darkness.
His return in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm was responsible for the major event “The Shattering” and he was the primary villain of that expansion. But Deathwing has appeared many times since, providing a constant thorn in the side for WoW players. While the gameplay around Deathwing has been debated, his story and villainous hatred of all mortals help make him an enduringly great villainous character.
3 Arcturus Mengsk (Starcraft)
There are a lot of great villainous characters created by Blizzard in Starcraft. A human character who led the Sons of Korhal and was responsible for the downfall of the Terran Confederacy in the Great War, Mengsk ruled as Emperor of the Terran Dominion until the Second Great War.
One of the most victorious villains in gaming history, Mengsk’s backstory is surprisingly easy to sympathize with. His family was killed by the Terran Confederacy and his planet was destroyed, leading to his hateful actions. His vengeance for the death of his father against Sarah Kerrigan was a defining moment for the Starcraft franchise, which was one of the best gaming space operas ever.
2 Diablo (Diablo)
A demonic force that never really seems to die, Diablo is a hugely successful villain who manages to achieve a feat few villains have, namely having an entire franchise named after him. Diablo managed to survive his first defeat, taking over and corrupting the hero of the first game completely.
Diablo is a scheming demon who usually only reveals himself as the main force of evil later in the games. His scheming, manipulations and the terrible difficulty associated with killing him any of the times it has seemingly happened make him one of the most memorable villains in Blizzard's history.
1 The Lich King (World of Warcraft)
World of Warcraft has had many villains over the last twenty years. Really, a huge volume of villainous characters. But none surpass The Lich King. Wrath of the Lich King was a defining expansion for World of Warcraft, it led to the game becoming the force that it is known worldwide today.
The Lich King, also known as Arthas Menethil, was an incredible villain dating back to the early days of the Warcraft RTS games. His return and the story, lore, and world-building around this expansion, solidified World of Warcraft in the eyes of many fantasy fans as one of the greatest games of all time. The plague of Undeath unleashed by the Lich King was so devastating that stopping it and defeating him required players to throw everything possible at him. The design of the Lich King and this expansion, as well as the incredible writing of the dialogue, made this spine-chilling adventure one of the greatest gaming moments there has ever been.