Diablo 4 Season 15 continues to surprise and impress as players dig up even more secrets buried in Blizzard’s new update. While the launch hasn’t been flawless – we’re still waiting on the Solo Self-Found mode to be reactivated after it was turned off on day one due to bugs – there have been some really cool throwbacks to Diablo games of the past. That started with the discovery of Diablo 2-style Runeword crafting, but that’s now been topped with a hidden questline that goes back to where it all began, and will almost certainly make your build stronger for your trouble.
This is your fair warning that this is an intricate, secret questline with some big surprises, so if you would rather explore the new Diablo 4 season and uncover its hidden treasures for yourself then look away now. If you’re okay with spoilers, I’ll continue. Our journey starts with the three Prime Evils, who have all shown up at once in D4 now that Blizzard has decided it’s ready to move on to Diablo 5 in 2029. Defeating each of these can drop their respective Splinters (Terror for Diablo, Destruction for Baal, and Hatred for Mephisto).
Once you have all three Splinters, take them to the Horadric Cube and pop them in alongside one another to uncover a secret recipe, creating Wirt’s Lucky Coins. This reads, “Sometimes, only you will be able to find a purpose for some things,” a quote from Wirt the Peg-Legged Boy. This recurring youth dates back to the original Diablo, where he appeared as an NPC, and items relating to him have been involved in accessing the Secret Cow Level in Diablo 2, and Whimsyshire in Diablo 3.
Your next job requires going outside the bounds of the RPG’s quest log and seeking out ten of Deckard Cain’s Journals, which can be found dotted across Tristram. The locations of these have been collated by Auscraft, and are shown in the video above by Diablo streamer ‘MacroBioBoi.’ Once you’ve found them all, speak with Deckard and he’ll open up a portal diving into his memories, which transports you back to the Tristram of Diablo 1.
Head to the south-east side of town, and you’ll find an innocuous fountain – toss your coins in there and an ominous red portal will appear before you. Entering here takes you to the Echo of Tristram, where you’ll face the trio of Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto all at once. Manage to defeat them, and you can get your hands on a hefty pile of rare loot, including Abyssal Splinters, the Standard of Heroes quest item, and the Hellfire Torch mythic charm.
The Hellfire Torch is a throwback to a Diablo 2 unique charm, and its D4 incarnation is so powerful that you’ll almost certainly want to find a spot to use it, regardless of your chosen build. It boasts between a 10% and 20% boost to all stats, a 10% to 20% increase to all elemental resistances, 1-4 points for all skills, and the ability to equip an additional unique charm alongside it. It also counts towards the Rite of the Nameless set.
And there you have it – for now, at least. A journey worthy of Diablo’s 30th anniversary, and a prize that’s certainly more than acceptable payout for your time and effort. Fighting all three Prime Evils in one go is certainly no joke, but if you manage to pull it off you’ll be well rewarded. As for that Standard of Heroes (another Diablo 2 throwback that fans have wanted to have an actual use for years), I’m almost certain it leads to yet more surprises. Time to head back to town and start experimenting.