Diablo 4 quest designer explains uplifting message behind side mission about dealing with grief

With Diablo 4 having arrived earlier this month, those who approached it with the perfect build in mind and plenty of spare time have long buried the memories of any launch errors they encountered beneath a mountain of corpses.

While some have taken some time out from grinding to help one of the game’s voice actors find their lines or debate whether a few features from Diablo 3 should return, others have kept their pedal to the metal, already having reached the end-game loop and hit level 100, by carving through dungeons, bosses and helltides.

If, on the other hand, you’re the kind of player who’s been meandering through the game at your own pace, taking the time to play through and appreciate the subtle nuances of the side quests it has to offer, you might be interested in hearing the heart-warming message behind one of the tasks on offer in Hawezar.

Have you played through the ‘A Series of Steps’ side quest in Diablo 4 yet?

In response to a Reddit post about it, Blizzard Senior Quest Designer Harrison Pink has taken to Twitter to explain their intentions in putting together the mission ‘A Series of Steps’, which sees the player help a character called Taissa conduct a ritual that involves confronting the painful events of her past.

“I created this quest to be about overcoming grief and trauma, and how you cannot force healing, or always slay your demons,” said Pink of the quest’s message, continuing: “but, by accepting who you are now, you can continue to heal and move forward.”

The author of the post on the Diablo 4 subreddit, user Wholesome_Meow, picked out the in-game description of the sacred rare amulet ‘Mark of the Conclave’, which serves as the reward for completing the quest, as having helped to “really brighten up my day and [make] me more hopeful for the future”.

Pink added regarding the passage: “I wrote this flavour text for this person. I wrote it for me and I wrote it for you. I wrote it hoping against hope that it might help someone remember that things will get better.”

One comment on the Twitter post, from fellow game designer Alexander Brazie, led Pink to reveal that they’d also been behind the description for Ramaladni's Magnum Opus, a sword designed as a tribute to deceased Blizzard developer Travis Day, saying: “I spent a lot of time trying to put my feelings into words on that one.”

Regardless of which quests and captions in Diablo 4 have resonated with you, make sure to follow us for an array of guides to everything from strongholds, to character customisation and even the game’s upcoming seasons.