With Diablo 4 continuing the saga and the epic war between Heaven and Hell, with Sanctuary as the battleground, a lot of newcomers to the series might be confused. After four games, why is the titular demon lord still coming back to enforce his namesake?

Diablo himself doesn't appear in Diablo 4, which is just as well since the main plot evolves around a family squabble involving certain members of his extended family. His influence is still significant, it's just a question of branding at this point.

Updated November 4, 2023, by Kristy Ambrose: The Season of Blood has descended upon Sanctuary, bringing vampires and their powers into the game. Players are finally experiencing the full, unspeakable horror of Diablo 4, not only when it comes to their slaying abilities but also the variety of new weapons, armor, and mounts that are available. Most players have finished the campaign by now, or at least know the basic storyline and the major characters in the plot have revealed themselves. This includes the demons, the angels, and the adventurers that are caught between them.

15 Astrogha

The Spider Demon

Astrogha might be considered a pet by Diablo, but he's also a cunning demon and among the most powerful beings in the lore of Diablo 4. Lucion, a powerful demon who has a place among the Prime Evils, summoned the spider demon to Sanctuary to aid in his fight against Lilith.

This fearsome being isn't just a giant spider, but a gruesome mix of spider and human, equipped with several hand-like limbs on his torso and upper body. When he's not acting as a battle pet for the most powerful demons in the Hells, Astrogha can be found in the Temple of the Triune, where he can be easily found should his master call for him.

14 Rathma

First-Generation Nephalem

A first-generation Nephalem, Rathma had the powers of both demons and angels. The Cult he started in Sanctuary bore his name, the Priests of Rathma, and he participated in the infamous Sin War. Those who saw the Diablo 4 trailer, which showed him bringing his mother Lilith into the world of Sanctuary via a wall of sanctified flesh, wouldn't hesitate to call him a monster from Hell.

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Rathma led the gruesome ritual that brought his mother back from the void where Inarius had imprisoned her and unleashed her on Sanctuary. By doing so, Rathma earned the anger of his father Inarius, who killed him not only for releasing Lilith but for refusing to relinquish the key to the Gates of Hell.

13 Lucion

Primus Of The Triune

Lucion is Mephisto's son, one of the Prime Evils in Diablo. Based on his heritage alone, one would expect him to be a powerful creature. However, he was one of the first few demons who failed to take over Sanctuary.

The demon spawn's plans were cut short after a demon-angel hybrid called a Nephalem defeated him in a rather humiliating struggle which ended in Lucion's powers and capabilities being willed out of existence. Other demons were seemingly more resistant to such forms of defeat.

12 Andariel

The Maiden Of Anguish

The only female Prime Evil, Andariel first appeared in Diablo 2, serving as the overall boss for Act 1. This is a time when players are still not at their peak and are just starting in their adventure to chase down Diablo's next incarnation.

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Andariel helped the other three Lesser Evils overtake Hell by exiling the three Prime Evils to Sanctuary. Andariel resurfaces in the lore after siding with Diablo again, anticipating his eventual return to Hell and also wanting to reduce her inevitable punishment. She's a boss in the Diablo 4 campaign as the demon who attempts to possess Taissa, a Witch of the Swamp.

11 Rakanoth

The Lord of Despair

The demon Rakanoth looks like a shark covered in cutting scales, and anyone can tell you that all it takes is a touch from such an animal to tear the skin off a human's bones. Of course, his master in the lore of Diablo is none other than Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish, and Rakanoth delighted in his service.

Formerly the jailor of the fallen angel Izual, Rakanoth ruled and inhabited the Plains of Despair, and was powerful enough to survive a battle with the Angel Tyrael. He met his end at the hands of the Nephalem that were determined to rescue archangel Auriel, whom he was holding captive in the Library of Fate.

10 Duriel

The Lord Of Pain

Duriel also faded into obscurity shortly after the four Lesser Evils took over Hell in the Dark Exile coup. He promptly re-appeared in Diablo 2 after being summoned by both Diablo and Baal to guard the Archangel Tyrael after the two of the Prime Evils imprisoned the latter in Tal Rasha's Tomb.

It's reasonable to assume that Duriel also quickly changed sides as soon as it appeared that the Prime Evils were gaining traction once more. He has a higher spot here as a powerful demon because of being an Act 2 boss.

9 Belial

The Lord Of Lies

Belial is one of the four Lesser Evils and was among the chief conspirators of the Dark Exile coup mentioned above. Despite his participation in the Hell coup and civil war, he remained one of the most elusive out of the seven Evils of Hell in the Diablo lore.

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After the four Lesser Evils took over, Belial eventually waged yet another civil war against Azmodan, one of the four. However, he quickly lost this war in a relatively short time, meaning he was not much more powerful than Andariel and certainly weaker than Azmodan.

8 Hephasto

The Demonic Armorer

Given the name and title, this powerful demon was inspired by the Greek god Hephestos, also known by his Roman name, Vulcan. This god worked his magical forge in a deep volcano and was so hideously ugly that the goddess Aphrodite was forced to marry him as punishment.

Haphasto appears as a boss in Diablo 2 and takes prominent roles in other games and media even if he's only mentioned in expository dialogue or a flashback. He was one of Baal's most trusted and brutal minions and was a guiding force in the destruction of Mephisto's temple during the Sin War.

7 Azmodan

The Lord Of Sin

As the most competent out of all the four Lesser Evils, Azmodan had big shoes to fill after his smaller circle of big demons took over hell from Diablo's claws. As soon as they snatched the thrones of Hell, Belial challenged Azmodan in another aforementioned civil war over who gets to be the overall ruler of the realm.

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Azmodan decisively won. Both Azmodan and Belial's courage and capacity to rebel against the Prime Evils earned them a higher spot in the ranking. Apart from defeating Belial, Azmodan remained unchallenged in Hell for 300 years after the exile of the Prime Evils.

6 Astaroth

The Charred Duke

One of Mephisto's first lieutenants, Astaroth was the demon responsible for maintaining the fiery moat that surrounded the Cathedral of Hatred, his master's seat in hell. He was sealed in a soulstone and was recruited by Lilith to help her pass from the Void to Sanctuary. His price was to be freed from the soulstone and given a host, and Lilith complied by giving him Yorin, Donan's son.

Part of the campaign in Diablo IV is defeating Astaroth, who has possessed Yorin. He brutally mocks the stricken father and revels in his obvious pain. Defeat can't save the boy Yorin, but only give him a less painless demise.

5 Lilith

Daughter Of Hatred

Lilith is in the same boat as Lucion. She's one of Mephisto's children, except she has a bigger role to play and arguably achieved a lot more than her brother ever did. Lilith was one of the demons in Hell whose union with an angel of Heaven gave birth to the Nephalem. She's practically responsible for the existence of the players in the Diablo games.

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Now, Lilith is back in Diablo 4 after being banished due to her union with her ex-lover, Inarius, the rogue angel. Lilith isn't on Hell's side, however, and is now leading the very war she sought to escape with her true motive a personal score to settle.

4 Mephisto

The Lord Of Hatred

Moving on to the actual Prime Evils, Mephisto is the eldest of the three. While his presence is not as huge compared to Baal or Diablo himself, Mephisto is supposedly the most intelligent out of all the Prime Evils, often crafting schemes and cunning plans to take over and win without much incident.

Mephisto as a demon is more insidious compared to other more straightforward brutes. He relished turning friends and allies against one another, making them "hate" irrationally, true enough to his name. Apart from that domain, Mephisto controls most of the undead in the Diablo lore, making up a huge chunk of the player's enemies.

3 Baal

The Lord Of Destruction

While Diablo is considered the most powerful and most persistent among the Prime Evils, it was Baal who broke the stalemate and shook the very foundations of the world by achieving what his brothers couldn't. He corrupted the Worldstone, which led to its destruction.

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Baal hoped to poison everyone and everything with his tampering with the Worldstone. Since it was destroyed, his plan didn't fully bear fruit, but it's still a win for Hell since the Worldstone had the power to shape reality and create worlds.

2 Diablo

The Lord Of Terror

Despite being the youngest of the Prime Evils, Diablo was considered by many to be the most dangerous because he feared nothing, and he was the most savage. In terms of strength, he was also the most powerful and even in his depleted human form in Diablo 2, he was able to fight an angel to a stalemate.

He's not all brawn either. Diablo was also the most resourceful out of all the Prime Evils seeing as how he has possessed numerous mortals and came back in some rather creative ways after his physical form was defeated many times over in Sanctuary.

1 Tathamet

The Sum Of All Seven Evils

Long before the Sin War and the creation of Sanctuary, all the seven evils both Prime and Lesser were merely the heads of a grand and overarching demon, Tathatmet, the sum of all the evils. He was the other darker half of the primordial force that created the universe, along with Anu, the first being ever created.

Anu defeated and killed Tathamet, and he was also killed in the process. In Tathamet's death, however, his seven severed heads were borne into their own beings, the most powerful three growing into the Prime Evils, and the other four into the Lesser Evils, each representing a dark aspect of the universe. It's about time they bring him back, the Nephalem are growing too powerful now.

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