Even after losing his son and doing it all to defeat Lilith, did Donan deserve to die like that in Diablo 4?

The amount of focus Diablo 4 places on its characters and plot is one of its best features. The time you spend fighting alongside Lorath, Donan, and Neyrelle while trying to solve the mysteries of Lilith’s sinister schemes is surprising, but it adds a lot of weight to the gameplay and gives your character a sense of purpose and identity.

Diablo 4 was released in 2023. | Credit: Blizzard Entertainment.

With the help of a different companion, you will explore every area of the Sanctuary and learn about it while navigating the fallout from Lilith’s influence in Diablo 4‘s gripping narrative structure. The franchise is always known for its mythology, but the latest entry in the series emphasizes the characters and relationships. And that is how Donan laid down by the stab of a random ghoul.

Donan’s death served as a plot catalyst in Diablo 4

Diablo 4‘s death put Neyrelle in front. | Credit: Blizzard Entertainment.

In Diablo 4, the heroes’ friendship keeps everything together even though the pacing drags at times. When all is said and done, the satisfaction you get from seeing regular people battle the lords of Hell is greater than ever before. The cast has a Fellowship of the Ring quality that makes the story feel high-stakes and consequential. Although everything comes together beautifully, one thing still hurts many players.

You guessed correctly, of course. That’s the death of Donan. He was stabbed after getting too close to a skeleton arm pillar. It’s a terribly unsuitable conclusion for such a strong wizard and adept Horadrim. Did our beloved friend, who had already experienced such a profound loss, need to die in such a shamefully pitiful manner?

That was the story’s motivation for his death. Many players don’t like it, and each new playthrough has only made the situation feel worse, especially since Donan’s conclusion is so clear and would have been far more appropriate.

Huge controversy was sparked by Donan’s death. However, He had to die so that Lorath would have to stay behind and Neyrelle would have to decide for herself what would happen to the soulstone, so that she would have a reason to leave Mephisto’s chamber before Lilith showed up so that the party would be split up and she could steal the soulstone and flee to the Western Kingdoms. Despite our cry for the departing hero, his death was needed for the plot to deliver.

Donan had already gone through the worst in Diablo 4

Astaroth killed Donan’s son. | Credit: Blizzard Entertainment.

In the end, all three of our companions had to make some unreal sacrifices to stop Lilith. By offering his head to the Tree of Whispers, where it will hang for all eternity, Lorath strikes a fateful bargain with the tree in exchange for information about Lilith’s location.

After Neyrelle is forced to choose between Mephisto and Lilith as the demon to trap in the soulstone, she escapes Hell and is destined to wander Sanctuary in search of a safe solution to finally deal with Mephisto’s soulstone.

After being stabbed, Donan slowly and painfully bleeds out in Lorath’s arms, never knowing that Lilith has been vanquished. His last words are a prayer to the heavens, wondering if all of his actions were ever really enough. It’s intriguing to wonder who among the three has the worst fate, and the story is given more weight because of how much each of them gave up.

Although Donan’s greatest achievement was defeating Astaroth and imprisoning him in a soulstone, he was unable to keep the stone safe from Lilith when she besieged Eldhaime Keep. Yorin, Donan’s son, consequently became Astaroth’s host. In addition to losing his son, Donan had to assist us in defeating Astaroth once more after the demon took control of his body and began to burn his soul from the inside out.

It was the most terrible thing that could have happened to Donan and a cruel fate for the young Yorin. Even after all of this, was his death really necessary? At the end of the story, the Horadrim was still dealing with the consequences of his son’s passing.