Diablo's Soulstone?

[mjharper]

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere ;-)

I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering what happened to Diablo's Soulstone. Mephisto we know about—we destroyed that in the Forge in Hell. And Baal's was used to corrupt the Worldstone, so it's a fair bet that it too was destroyed, along with the Worldstone, at the end of D2 (although Blizzard have room to manoeuvre there). But what about Diablo's?

I know we're told in the Epilogue that both Mephisto's and Diablo's Soulstones were destroyed but that doesn't count for much. Marius says that he heard they were both destroyed, and we're shown what that would have looked like. But those images aren't flash-backs, because Marius wasn't there. It's no more than hearsay.

So, we killed Mephisto, and he dropped his Soulstone. Doesn't anyone remember being surprised when Diablo didn't drop his Soulstone? I know I was. And I know this for a fact: I did not return to the Forge and destroy Diablo's Soulstone, no matter what Marius heard.

And then I remembered original trailer for Diablo II, which I have on my Brood Ward CD and also on the Special Edition DVD, where it can be found under Trailers as Diablo IIA. There's also a (poor) copy of it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmbIvB_I5sM).

The trailer is shown from the perspective of the Wanderer, and concludes with him saying that he knew that he would leave the better part of his soul behind, as we watch the wagon he's in disappear into the distance and pan down... to Diablo's Soulstone, lying discarded in the street.

http://mjharper.macbay.de/diablo2.jpg

I wondered about that trailer years ago. Is it metaphorical? Did Diablo foresee his eventual defeat and make contingency plans? Is it merely a trailer, and so non-canonical?

Were we seeing the set up for Diablo III before Diablo II had even been released?

[yukisho]

Diablo's souldstone was destroyed as well. Watch the Epilogue video I believe. Or just go through and watch the video's in Cain's journal. It shows Mephisto's being destroyed, then shows Diablo's being destroyed.

After reading your second paragraph which I somehow skipped, Yes marius 'heard' they were destroyed. But it shows us that Yes they were destroyed. Not everything has to be a flashback, some of it can be thrown in there to make the player(you) understand it and not be left confused.

[mjharper]

As I said earlier, that doesn't count–it's just hearsay. Your character never destroys the Soulstone, as s/he does with Mephisto's.

[yukisho]

Which is more dramatic while playing, Going and beating the hell out of diablo then advancing.
Or beating the hell out of him then having to run all the way back to the forge and destroy his soul stone? I'll choose option A, based on the fact that Blizzard decides what does and does not happen.

[mjharper]

After reading your second paragraph which I somehow skipped, Yes marius 'heard' they were destroyed. But it shows us that Yes they were destroyed. Not everything has to be a flashback, some of it can be thrown in there to make the player(you) understand it and not be left confused.
If that's the case, it's unbelievably poor writing from Blizzard. After all, we get hold of Mephisto's Soulstone, make a big deal about carrying it to the Forge and destroying it. But we are then meant to just accept that although there was no Soulstone to be seen when we killed Diablo, there really was one there, and although we never go to the Forge to destroy it, we actually did. And we're supposed to believe this on because someone who wasn't even there tells us that he heard it happened?

Also, how difficult would it have been to create a small red version of Mephisto's Soulstone, and have the player carry it to the Forge? Even if such a horrendous continuity failure somehow slipped through into the game, it should have been easy to correct.

No, my view is that Marius's story—throughout the entire video series—is meant to sit uncomfortably with the player. He consistently shows himself to be weak, deluded, and unreliable. If it was Tyreal who told us about the destruction of Diablo's Soulstone, it would merely be poor writing, but at least it would be from a reliable source. I wouldn't trust Marius as far as my baby sister could throw him.

[mjharper]

Which is more dramatic while playing, Going and beating the hell out of diablo then advancing.
Or beating the hell out of him then having to run all the way back to the forge and destroy his soul stone? I'll choose option A, based on the fact that Blizzard decides what does and does not happen.

Kill Diablo.
Pick up Soulstone
Return to Tyreal
He opens a portal to the Forge
Step through
Place Soulstone on Forge
Destroy it
Return to Tyreal via portal

'Advancing' can't be used as an excuse for such poor writing (if that's what it is), especially when it would be so easy to solve the problem.

[Dark_Times]

I think it was destroyed.
It doesn't really matter, since Diablo was just sent back to hell (not killed), and with the worldstone destroyed, the gates to hell are open! :o

That's how I understand it all.

[yukisho]

Exactly. Whether or not his soulstone was destroyed, he was sent back to hell. And since hell is now open, it doesn't matter anymore. He doesn't need a soulstone now. And if your so god damn worried about it, go to Blizzard and get a job. Then start writing lore for yourself. Maybe then it can be done your way. Remember though, it was written for the general populous. Not just one person. So shut up, sit down, and play the damn game.

[mjharper]

I think it does matter, because if it got left behind it could have major consequences for the plot. (thread I started here (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?p=6575696), because the point was different to this one)

Also, if the Soulstone was destroyed, Blizzard will have to find a really good explanation for why Diablo can still come back. And if Diablo can come back, so can Mephisto and Baal, and everything that was achieved in Diablo II was a waste of time.

[mjharper]

Exactly. Whether or not his soulstone was destroyed, he was sent back to hell. And since hell is now open, it doesn't matter anymore. He doesn't need a soulstone now. And if your so god damn worried about it, go to Blizzard and get a job. Then start writing lore for yourself. Maybe then it can be done your way. Remember though, it was written for the general populous. Not just one person. So shut up, sit down, and play the damn game.
I'm sorry, but that's uncalled for.

[yukisho]

Look, I am tired of you trying to get it your way. It's not your way. It is Blizzard's way. If they want to say some evil aliens from outerspace came in and genetically manufactured a new soulstone, then Blizzard can do that. It's their story. Not yours.

Edit: And double posting is dumb.

[The Italian Oak]

Maybe they had a sister or another brother?!?!?

[Gorny]

People, please keep it civil. Or else.

[mjharper]

I'd still like to know what people make of that Diablo II trailer, and how it relates to both Diablo II and III.

[ThulRasha]

... And Baal's was used to corrupt the Worldstone ...

Baal was free from his stone either way. Since it was fragmented, it could not hold his pressence fully anyway, that is why that mage offered to contain the demon together with the fragmented stone. Now that the mage is fully corrupted, the stone has little use anymore.

Besides, It's only soul stones. Not having their soul stored anymore only means that the 3 evils have to do a longer corpse run before they can terrorize us again :p

[Reanimator]

First can I say I'm a bit disappointed at the immaturity being shown by some of the people on this thread...but moving swiftly on:

Having read some of the other threads here I think the general suggestion is that Tyreal is in fact going to be corrupted by Diablo. That said, I too saw the trailer mjharper is talking about and it is quite interesting. I don't know if it has actually got anything to do with the new game...mind you, think of the amazing foresight of the Blizzard writers if they were thinking that far head of time!

As for whether or not the soulstones were destroyed in Diablo 2: I know I didn't do it! And I don't remember picking it up either which always seemed strange to me. I don't think Marius can really be considered the most reliable source but Deckard refers to the destruction of the soulstone in his journal on the official site so that's probably more reliable!

[Gorny]

Regarding the immaturity of some people in this thread, and especially the personal attacks on others:


It stops now, consider yourselves warned. These are not the Battle.net Forums.

[Thyiad]

In addition to Gorny's point: I'm receiving multiple post reports about the same post from the same person.

If you make one post report, it will be dealt with. That maybe PM, a private warning, a private infraction or a public post or ban.

*ALL* reports are dealt with.

Just because you don't see that, it doesn't mean your report is ignored. If I continue to receive multiple reports from about the same post from the same person, I will chastise the person SENDING those reports.

You are encouraged to report bad posts. Once. If you spam the post report feature, you are no better than the person you are reporting.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[ThulRasha]

Perhaps this topic can be locked? There is now more talk about post reports and bad behaviour than what the topic starter intended it to be about. And he also posted his theory in a seperate topic already.

[mjharper]

Perhaps this topic can be locked? There is now more talk about post reports and bad behaviour than what the topic starter intended it to be about. And he also posted his theory in a seperate topic already.
Unfortunately, I'd have to agree. I did want to have a discussion about that trailer—which is a different topic to the other thread I started—but it hasn't happened. Maybe locking would be good, and if I still feel like it later I try a new thread about the trailer. Or something.