Hopefully this will not be another "Omg I found something !!!" that was already known for a few hours...

Here's a screenshot of the D3 trailer showing Diablo :

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/6890/diablo3bj9.jpg

If it still isn't obvious, here's a little hint : think hydra.

I don't get what you are talking about... could you state the obvious please? :)

Edit: Oh, I thought the 3 mouths were too obvious.. guess I was looking too hard

Well, 3 mouths. That's actually been noticed like 8 hours ago.

Diablo has more than one head. If it is Diablo that is.

What I find surprising though, is this:

All those hours of knowing Diablo 3 is coming and...
no jig yet on this subforum?

Here we go: :jig::jig::jig:

That was a good jig mate :yes:

I noticed the 3 mouths but I never really put it together with the projects name at the time.

I noticed the mouths and the project thingy too. The two mouths on the side look like "lesser" mouths. The one in the center is the main thing. Diablo looks kinda badass.

That's not Diablo, it's a Balrog.

Hydra is a different project Blizzard is working on, it's an MMO, that will follow up to the story of Starcraft II.

Opps, now I went and said too much.

That's not Diablo, it's a Balrog.

Care to back that up with something other than a bold assertion? Balrogs have never once looked like that.

Care to back that up with something other than a bold assertion? Balrogs have never once looked like that.

Just ask Gandalf, he'll tell you all about it.

not having read the rest of the posts, I'll say this.

3 prime evils = 3 heads = one badass mutha

Yeah, that Diablo has some serious Balrog envy.

The mouths on the shoulder are an interesting addition, though, I must say.

in dante's inferno satan has three heads.

I thought that was probably not even diablo just because three heads on diablo seems odd. It is probably some sort of boss demon but not diablo but hey it's just speculation I could be wrong. It does look very cool.

I wasn't surprised that Diablo looked like a Balrog from LotR given that there's a city earlier in the trailer that is obviously based on Minas Tirith and another scene that looks very much like the start of the Battle of Helms Deep.

Actually the mouths are on his shoulders. But thanks that gave me an idea. I'll go ahead and post it here before I post it in my topic. In my topic I said that Baal was the only one whos soulstone wasn't destroyed. and that perhaps Baal absorbed the essences of his two brothers and they became one. maybe even Diablo became dominant among the three and thats why it's looks more like diablo then Baal.

I was thinking too that it might not be Diablo but a lesser demon, even though he looks cool and evil enough to be Diablo.

Why not Diablo?
1) Always save the best for the big finale, not the first trailer.
2) I'm sure Blizzard have been brainstorming hard to come up with fresh twists to the story. This is a bit too obvious.
3) That demon in the trailer looks like a very healthy demon, bearing no signs of being utterly defeated two times already. Then again I'm sure Diablo will be back to his full power during the course of the game.

Hmm... I do think thats the "updated diablo". If its not him its either Belial or Azmodan. Which would be dissapointing imo because I expected very diferent and cool designs for them.

But I do think thats Diablo that we are getting there.

Hydra = a diablo-like creature with three heads. Could it be that the prime evils have merged as one? I always thought D2 classic was better, when the ultimate evil was the last one. Baal never felt like the climax for me. Three-headed Diablo-prime-evil-merge would feel like a fitting ending to Diablo 3. What do you think? Or is it just a random monster? Then why "project hydra" and a spot in cinematics?

Then why "project hydra" and a spot in cinematics?

In most mythology, Hydras have anywhere between 5 and 100+ heads. The Hydra that Hercules killed had 9.

Giving the codename of Hydra could mean very little.

That's not Diablo because, well, it doesn't look anything like Diablo from any of the other games. He's orange instead of red. Where are the curved horns we've come to love? The spines? Plus why would they show the main boss in the first trailer?

have any of you noticed on main blizzard page? there is a diablo swf file which named Hydra_Blizz_EN.swf, i saw it on page info in firefox. So is Diablo 3 that famous Project Hydra??

for all of you guys saying "that's not Diablo why would they show him in the first trailer?"

I ask you to look back at the intro cinema to the original Diablo and who is in the trailer? yeah, exactly

and for those of you not thorough enough, check out the art section to see Tyrael's transformation into the new Diablo

oh, what's that? you didn't realize that Tyrael WAS the new Diablo?

hrmm, lemme see,

first Diablo, who is on the cover? yep, Diablo

Diablo 2, who is on the cover? ah, right, Diablo (aka the Dark Wanderer, the hero from the first game)

LOD expansion, who is on the cover? oh yeah, the final badguy, Baal (aka Tal Rasha, possessed by the lord of destruction)

Diablo 3, who is the main figure on the website? Tyrael, enough said (all other evidence points to this anyways if you're really thorough)

Tyrael is heavens badboy, he's been screwing in mortal affairs for too long and this time he screwed up bigtime, heaven is finally pissed enough to kick him out (ie crashing to earth), Tyrael is now a disgraced and fallen angel, this leads him to being corrupted (if he hasn't been already from the worldstone)

ala Diablo 3

just another reason to play a barb really, to go kick his @$&% for vengeance against the destruction of everything they held sacred

holy **** ^^ if you are right i will marry you xD

That was actually really good deductive reasoning cyberpunk... and one that would shock the <edit> out of many people...

Indeed cyberpunk, if that were true then I would be most impressed that you got it so early. I hadn't got that far I'll admit!

really two things gave it away for me

tyrael is on the frontpage, and then the art section with his transformation (IMO they really shouldnt have put that there, it's WAY too obvious)

but then again, for everyone who doesn't read this thread and/or see the art section or put 2 and 2 together, yay, they get to be surprised =P

but like I said, yeah I figure that's my best guess (and I'm pretty sure on it) but I still don't know how it's all gonna play out, we'll all hafta wait till it releases and play it to find out

i find all the different theories about the plot of the game and who is what and who we will see very interesting. i cant wait for more info to come out so we can start proving or disproving them. just a note, this one by cyberpunk has been one of the better ones so far

someone else in a different thread also mentioned the three figures all huddled together on the page about the world (with the map), and I though that was rather interesting, coincidence "maybe" but blizzard is pretty sharp about such things, and I highly doubt they would make such an "accident"

Actually, in light of this idea, have a look at the logo (I was just looking at the wallpaper version).

Above the title it is all white(ish), and below it is all red. One being the colours of Tyrael and the other being the colours of Diablo. The top of the III is the exact same colour as Tyrael's wings. The lights make the entire logo look like a stylized bird - or a very stylized angel (one could also argue, perhaps, that it is an extremely stylized portrait of Diablo himself).

Eeehhh... What is 'codename hydra', or prject hydra, or anything? >_>

Besides that, I thought 'cerberus', not 'hydra'.


someone else in a different thread also mentioned the three figures all huddled together on the page about the world (with the map), and I though that was rather interesting, coincidence "maybe" but blizzard is pretty sharp about such things, and I highly doubt they would make such an "accident"

The figure to the right does look like a D2-style angel, but neither of the other ones look like Mephisto or Baal to me. :/

well if anything they wouldn't be Meph or Baal as they were destroyed in D2

more than likely they represent Azmodan and Belial

I believe @Sectoid posted the reference to the threesome

Above the title it is all white(ish), and below it is all red. One being the colours of Tyrael and the other being the colours of Diablo. The top of the III is the exact same colour as Tyrael's wings.

By god man, you're right! If there is a WHITE LIGHT, it can't be a vague reference to heaven or the Light or good at all - it has to be specifically Tyrael? Because TYRAEL HAS WHITE WINGS.

Wait... hold on a second... so does Hadriel.
http://www.guerillagastronom.de/content/binary/tyranna.jpg
What's that? It actually turns out that Hadriel is the bad guy? Because he has white wings? The logic is undeniable!


tyrael is on the frontpage, and then the art section with his transformation (IMO they really shouldnt have put that there, it's WAY too obvious)
Tyrael on the frontpage to me means "Tyrael is a cool looking character". I mean, Starcraft 2 frontpage just has some normal marine standing there. That doesn't mean it turns out a marine is the bad guy. It's just good art work to get you excited. I mean what - are they gonna put Deckard Cain there?
As for the 'transformation' - if you're referring to what I think you're referring to; I don't see anything evil or transformy in that at all. It actually all looks very good and righteous to me. A big explosion of golden rays of light. Maybe I'm missing something.


Sorry guys - I don't buy it.

As for the 'transformation' - if you're referring to what I think you're referring to; I don't see anything evil or transformy in that at all. It actually all looks very good and righteous to me. A big explosion of golden rays of light. Maybe I'm missing something.


Sorry guys - I don't buy it.


I assume it's about this image:
http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/_images/artwork/ss35-hires.jpg

The shape of the wings (pointing upwards instead of downwards, like ALL the wings of angels in D2), the fact that they consist of flames instead of white light, the 'horns' on the character's head, the way he holds his hands... Doesn't look very good and righteous to me. :/

They don't look like horns to me. They look kind of like one of those winged helmets:
http://www.worldofwconline.com/images/icons/INV_Helmet_19.gif

You'll also notice that wings, being wings, can move, and I see no reason to suggest why they can't point upwards in the first two frames as the guy floats into the air, and then point down when you get this big explosion of light. I mean you watch the final cinematic for D2, and the wings spread out really far to the sides - neither pointing up nor down.

I'll give you the fire though for those first two frames. But the last three frames don't look like the wings consist of flames - they just look golden and glowy. So if it's not consistently fiery, what other explanation could there be other than 'Tyrael is teh evilz!'

Considering that Sanctuary is now exposed, expect to see a lot more heaven and a lot more hell.

Heaven, in the Diablo universe, is not "good"; just another extreme. Tyriel is a rogue angel that actually tries to set the human race free. The corrupted Worldstone means that Hell was about to take over so he destroys it knowing well that Sanctuary is going to be just another battleground for Heaven and Hell.

As far as I can tell, Hadriel can simply be a reluctant roommate of Tyriel who got involved with the Humans just by being with his buddy. Or whatever.

Remember, the angels in Sanctuary teamed up with the Prime Evils (amongst other demons) to create Sanctuary in the first place... They (as well as the demons) are hiding from the never-ending war. Someone had to try to take control over it and screws up everything.

Something tells me that Tyriel is going to get court-martialed.

Whoever the badguys are, I doubt it is any of our acquaintances. In fact, teaming up with Diablo is a better alternative :P Which might fit nicely with the whole concept of "joining factions" that a lot of people have been speculating about. Join Tyriel and his band of misfits, or join Diablo.

What say you?

I'm going to join in on this speculative thread.
intro to the story says "The comet carries a dark omen in its fiery being and it calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells – and even the failing luminaries of the High Heavens itself."

another thing, if you look through the concept art there's a picture of tyrael which is akin pictures of monsters, it points to his pieces of armor. There are other pictures of tyrael there...

OK, my two cents.

CYBERPUNK's theory is really interesting. It would be wicked twist if Tyrael had been exiled from High Heavens, got corrupted (maybe he was nicked by the shard of the destroyed worldstone) and became a new vessel for Diablo (providing our beloved demon still exist in some form ;) ).
It is so in Blizzard's style.
It would be excellent story but personally I hope it will turn out differently. I simply like the guy too much to see him fall :)

OK. Theory is sound but the evidence are a little stretched to fit it.

First: Covers.
True, all of them show main antagonist of the game (short of Hellfire which is not by Blizzard anyway). But we haven't even seen a cover project yet. Tsumaru pointed out that Tyrael makes cool "eyecandy" on the frontpage but I think it goes further than that. Tyrael will definitely play a major role in the Diablo III story (one way or another) so his a logic choice for a main page.

Second: Transformation art here. (http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/_images/artwork/ss35-hires.jpg)
As far as I can tell there is no transformation shown. I'm maybe not very observant but if I'm pointed to something I can look very closely. I'm skipping pencil sketch for now.
First two and following three frames are two different static pictures. In both cases there was just play with the light and colors (if you look closely every ray or speck of light and even every flare is in the same exact place).
On the first glance it looks like an animation frames but even if they were, they are not in sequence. First we have something "demonic" (it doesn't look demonic to me, foreboding perhaps but not demonic) and then something more like the Tyrael we know. The first one looks like another angel to me. Very nasty and powerfull but angel nonetheless.
And now I'll return to the pencil sketch on the top. It actually shows two individuals. Now I'm just speculating. It looks like they are engaged in some conflict - possibly (Tyrael being any of the two). Maybe that really is another angel confronting Tyrael?

Then again. This is just concept art. What's more these images might have been put in the wrong order deliberately. I would half-expect Blizzard to deceive us like this ;)

Oh man! My train of thoughts went runaway again. Sorry for rambling.

Three-headed Diablo-prime-evil-merge would feel like a fitting ending to Diablo 3.

Diablo is not gonna end, ever, look at the sales!

Maybe that really is another angel confronting Tyrael?

This. :yes:

It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to think that Tyrael isn't a bad guy and is fighting a corrupted angel. :cloud9:

Have any of you seen http://www.sc2armory.com/forums/topic/2843/ ? It's a really well thought out article, and it has a multitude of facts that suggest that the 'transformation picture' is actually Imperius and not Tyreal.

Wow, spent a while getting that article down. Thanks for the link iroll.

I'm for the idea the three 'headed' demon is in fact a lesser evil and not Diablo and that the battle for Sanctuary has only just begun. The idea that the Prime Evils just wanted to get their hands on the soulstone and weren't too bothered about dying bothers me as Baal says "My brothers will not have died in vein" but it could also imply that he's accomplished his task and that Mephisto and Diablo were not an essential part of their plan.

If the prime Evils had wanted to lead the armies of hell, Baal probably wouldn't have corrupted the world stone to let the lesser demons lead the armies of Hell into Sanctuary after Mephisto and Diablo were sent into the dark abyss.

The Prime Evils had to fight their way to the top I assume and, facing death and/or failure they wouldn't give anyone else a boost of power for nothing, even to seen the Heavens hurt a bit.

Just some more thoughts.

That's not Diablo, it's a Balrog.

it definetly looks like the Balrog 'Shadow and Flame'!

Well Sanctuary is kinda the 'middle' earth in this war.