When a rebellious woman and a frustrated man (or vice versa), commit to a relationship just to spite their strict families, the consequences are usually disastrous, as was implied by Romeo and Juliet. But theDiabloseries isn’t like Romeo and Juliet at all. Instead of just resulting in deaths, the said forbidden union also created an apocalypse and literal superheroes.
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Those superheroes would come to be called the nephalem, an unholy union between a demon mommy and an angel daddy. They are the protagonists of the franchise. Due to the most dramatic events inDiablo, however, the nephalem have become more powerful than both Heaven and Hell and these following nephalem figures solidify the status of these rebellious lovechildren.
8Guardians Of Mount Arreat (Korlic, Madawc, & Talic)
The statues that come to life on Mount Arreat once players step near the entrance to the Worldstone temple are some of the first nephalem to exist in Sanctuary. These Ancients, Korlic, Madawc, and Talic are so epic and formidable, that even Baal didn’t want to fight them and instead looked for a way around them (figuratively).
The only reason why they’re ranked last here is that they’re quite bad at their job. They couldn’t guard Mount Arreat even against their own people. Moreover, a younger and weaker generation of nephalem defeated them single-handedly (unless multiplayer counts). It’s clear that the Guardians of Mount Arreat were well past their prime even though nephalem are supposedly immortal.
7Diablo 1 Warrior
AllDiablo 1protagonists are nephalem capable of saving the world, but canonically, it was the Warrior who received the most credit for defeating Diablo’s shell in Sanctuary and safeguarding the demon’s soulstone. The Warrior even thought he was powerful and adamant enough to keep the soulstone.
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Sadly, he wasn’t, otherwise, there wouldn’t have been aDiablo 2. Diablo corrupted the Warrior through the soulstone, someone who’s considered the most capable of the three playable characters. A domino effect ensued, causing Hell to also navigate its clutches on the minds and sanity of the Sorcerer and the Rogue. Eventually, the nephalem hero became Diablo himself.
6Fiacla-Géar / Vasily
Fiacla-Géar, otherwise known as Vasily, is another first-generation nephalem like the Guardians of Mount Arreat and he’s more popularly known as the progenitor of the druids in theDiablolore. To that end, one can consider him the first druid who went on to form a movement based on nature magic.
His feats pale in comparison to a more prominent nephalem confidant (more on that later), but Vasily’s contributions to Sanctuary as well as his founding of a new form of magic make him one of the most successful nephalem in existence. Besides, he would eventually be responsible for the druids who would kill the Prime Evils repeatedly.
5Bul-Kathos, The Immortal King
As for Vasily’s more prominent confidant, that would be none other than the Immortal King himself, Bul-Kathos. Also a first-generation nephalem, Bul-Kathos was a legend among barbarians of Mount Arreat. He preferred martial strength and straightforward combat as a way of safeguarding the mountain and the Worldstone.
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While he might have died or entirely disappeared, Bul-Kathos lived for more than a thousand years and fought in many legendary battles, one that even included a direct war between Heaven and Hell. More than anything, he was the patron saint of barbarians, and the whole armor set made in his name was a testament to his contribution and strength as a nephalem.
4Rathma
Just as Bul-Kathos and Vasily were the progenitors of Barbarians and Druids, respectively, there too was a grandfather forNecromancers inDiablo’slore. That would be Rathma, another first-generation nephalem and the direct descendant of both Lilith and Inarius, even being raised by the two opposing parents.
It can be surmised that due to his lineage directly tracing him back to Mephisto, he already had the overflowing potential for manipulating the undead, just as how his grandfather’s domain was necromancy. Rathma’s whereabouts and health are unclear, but his followers have recently started wreaking havoc by summoninghis mother, Lilith.
3Diablo 2 Player Character
Diablo 2’s main character wasn’t too far off compared to the first three heroes of the series. Whomever the players pick, their character will still be a younger and thus, weaker generation of nephalem. But one has to give them credit despite that handicap; they still canonically managed to defeat the Guardians of Mount Arreat.
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Moreover, the player character also defeated Diablo’s second form and moved on to Baal afterward. Before that, theDiablo 2protagonist also defeated Mephisto. That’s quite a decorated nephalem run, defeating all three Prime Evils in a short span while being weakened speaks much to the skill and power of the nephalem.
2Uldyssian ul-Diomed
Throughout Sanctuary’s history, only a couple of nephalem were actually considered the most powerful by Heaven’s angels. One of them was the mythical Uldyssian. Once a farmer, he discovered that he had literal superpowers ranging from the usual first-generation nephalem physicality to something more busted such as being able to bend reality to his will.
He even willed Mephisto’s son, Lucion, out of existence through sheer determination. Had he lived, he would have easily ruled both Heaven and Hell but sadly, he had to sacrifice himself in order to safeguard Sanctuary and ensure that future generations of his kind would survive, practically making him an allegory forChrist inDiablolore.
1Diablo 3 Player Character
From Tyrael’s mouth himself came a praise likening theDiablo 3protagonist’s strength to that of Uldyssian. Given the player character’s accomplishments inDiablo 3, one can safely say that they’re on their way to surpassing Uldyssian himself. Because by the end of theDiablo 3storyline, the player characters have become gods.
So at the moment, the most powerful nephalem is the one fromDiablo 3, which is up to the player’s whims. Granted, players are handed an advantage on a silver platter in the form of the Worldstone’s shattering. It acted as a dampener that reduced the nephalem’s power. But now that the floodgates were released, the nephalem are back to being superheroes.
