Diablo Quest Guide For The Original Diablo PC Game

Defeating Diablo isn't easy; certainly it's not something the average Joe could ever hope to achieve. Your character is definitely something of an average Joe at the beginning of the game, but by the time you finally face off against Diablo, you should be a lean fighting machine, armed to the teeth with magical weaponry or charged to the max with deadly spells. But how to do you get to be that ass-kicking demon slayer? The answer lies within the many quests your character will undertake in the game.

Progression in Diablo is just like any other RPG game. You fight, you kill, you loot. The more monsters you kill, the more experience your character earns, allowing you to level up your character and make him slightly more powerful for the next wave of slightly more powerful adversaries. However, having arcane aid in the form of magical items also helps but these don't just fall into your lap – you'll find some items are dropped while fighting your foes; others in chests, barrels and sarcophagi and even some villagers (namely Adria, Griswold and Wirt) seem to have a stash of magical weapons available to buy.

However the real power comes in items that are only available through questing, and if you want to defeat Diablo you have to undertake a few quests first. In this guide, we'll look at the available quests in the game.

This is usually the first quest a player will receive in Diablo. It is triggered by speaking to the wounded townsman at the entrance to the cathedral.

The Butcher is found on level two of the dungeon and his lair is easily identified – a room littered with corpses. The Butcher is a tough opponent for lesser levels, so it's often a good idea to gain as much experience as possible before taking on the Demon.

Once the Butcher is defeated, the quest is complete and the hero can claim the Butcher's Cleaver – a special weapon – as their reward.

This quest is given by Pepin. Players will know if they have this quest in the game as the water in the fountain in the village square will be yellow in colour and is initiated once the character has entered the dungeon for the first time. Players will usually receive this quest or the Skeleton King quest.

The water source is accessed by a 'dark passage' situated on level 2 of the dungeon. The entrance is represented by a large crack in the wall and is surrounded by candles. Inside the passage, defeat all the enemies to purify the water and return to Pepin to complete the quest and receive the Ring Of Truth.

This quest is also the character's first encounter with Flesh Clan demons.

This quest is given by Ogden and features King Leoric, the King of the undead. Ogden asks that Leoric's soul be released so the King may finally die. The tomb is situated on level 3 of the dungeon and Leoric is found in a large room somewhere in the level. He surrounded by many undead creatures, mostly skeletons, which Leoric can raise up continuously.

Once Leoric is defeated, the quest is completed and the character receives the Undead Crown item.

Garbhad the Weak is a goat-demon who on the surface appears harmless and asks the character not to hurt him. In return for sparing his life, he will make something special for the character. The Gharbad quest is found on level 4 and while this isn't a quest as such, as there is no real end goal, it is often worth undertaking.

To complete the quest, move a full screen away from Gharbad and then return to talk to him. On the first occasion after the initial conversation, Gharbad will show his trust by giving the character a magic item. The second occasion yields nothing but a promise Gharbad is almost done. On the fourth visit, Gharbad will attack, and defeating him yields a second magic item and the completion of the quest.

This quest involves locating a Sky Rock and is given by Griswold after the character has visited level 4 of the dungeon. The Sky Rock itself is on a pedestal located in level 5, and retrieving the rock results in the completion of the quest, with the reward being the Empyrean Band.

This quest involves retrieving the tavern sign for Ogden, which has been snatched by Dark Ones. When this quest is in effect, it must be completed before the character can proceed further in the game.

The quest is initiated by Ogden once the character has ventured into level three of the dungeon. The signpost can be found on level 4, near the stairs to level 5 and is guarded by several Overlords. The sign is in a locked chest, and the Dark One leader, a creature named Snotspill has the key. Snotspill will give the character the key but insists that the sign be returned to him.

Returning the sign to Ogden will result in the end of the quest and the character receiving the Harlequin Crest item. Giving the sign to Snotspill will also end the quest but the character will not receive the Harlequin Crest from Ogden while Snotspill will attack the character regardless of who the character gives the sign to anyway.

This quest involves finding the fabled armour of the hero, Arkaine. The quest is given on dungeon level 5. The quest is initiated by a book found in a small room. Upon reading a passage opens which leads the character to the Pedestal of Blood.

To perform the quest, characters must place a number of Blood Stones into the pedastal. Each time one is placed, a new passage to the next room with monsters and where the next Blood Stone is found.

When all Blood Stones have been placed on the Pedestal, another passage opens, at the end of which lies Valor – the legendary armour of Arkaine. Once the armour is collected the quest ends.

This quest gives the player the chance to loot the Chamber Of Bone – Diablo's treasure vault, as it happens. The quest is initiated by the character reading the Book Of Bone, which is found on level 6.

The Chamber is accessed through a stairwell on level 6 and contains a variety of monsters. Once defeated, the character finds some magic items as well as an ancient Tome hidden in the innermost chamber. Reading the Tome completes the quest and the character is bestowed with the effects of a spell, known as the Guardian spell.

This quest is found in the catacombs on dungeon level 7, and involves entering a room full of foes that can turn invisible. The quest is activated by reading the Book of the Blind, also found on level 7.

After reading the book, the character can enter a previously sealed room shaped like a figure-of-eight, which contains two smaller rooms. The room is filled with Illusion Weavers, which can turn invisible while moving about and are only visible when they attack.

The quest is achieved by retrieving the Optic Amulet, which is located inside one of the two smaller rooms

This quest is found on level 8 and involves the mad mage, Zhar, who initiates the quest himself. He is found within a magic library which contains a selection of scrolls and a bookcase. Zhar will give the character a spellbook and tell him to leave, but attempting to take the book on the bookcase will anger the mage and he will attack.

Killing Zhar completes the quest and the character can take the book as a reward.

This quest is initiated by Adria the Witch, but the quest also involves the healer, Pepin. The quest involves presenting a special book to Adria – the Fungal Tome, which is found on level 9 of the dungeon. Adria will ask the character to find and retrieve a Black Mushroom, which is also on level 9 and found by using the Fungal Tome on a patch of mushrooms.

Upon presenting the Mushroom to Adria, she will inform the character that Pepin need the brain of a demon for an elixir which Adria wants. The next monster to be killed yields the brain and from this Pepin creates the Spectral Elixir.

However, when the character presents the elixer to Adria, they are told she no longer needs it and so the elixir is rewarded to the character.

This quest involves the location of a powerful artifact, known as the Anvil Of Fury. The quest is given by Griswold once the character has navigated down to the cave section of the labyrinth.

The anvil is found on dungeon level 10, and is located on a peninsula in this area. The treasure is guarded by a number of goat demon archers and horned demons.

Upon completion of the quest, and the Anvil is returned to Griswold, he will fashion a special sword: Griswold's Edge.

The Lachdanan quest occurs either on level 13 or 14. It involves speaking to the NPC Lachdanan, a Steel Lord who was once one of King Leoric's Royal Guard.

Lachdanan is a tortured soul, condemned to eternal damnation. He tells the character of an elixir which will free his soul. The elixir is located on level 15 and upon it's return, Lachdanan will give the player the Veil Of Steel - a unique helmet item.

This quest involves the character fighting a legendary warrior for access to the later stages of the game. While fighting him isn't necessary, defeating him makes it easier to access the later levels and treasures. The quest occurs on level 13 and is initiated by reading the Steel Tome.

The Warlord guards the stairway to level 14 and is himself guarded by a number of Steel Lords. The Warlord's room contains some rare, occasionally unique, items.

The Warlord of Blood is immune to Fire, Lightning and most magic including Bone Spirit, Blood Star and Flash spells. Sorcerers as a result will find him particularly tough to combat, although he is affected – slightly – by Stone Curse making it easier to kill him with melee attacks.

This quest is given by Cain the Elder once the Staff Of Lazarus is retrieved from the dungeon. The staff itself is located on level 15 and the quest involves defeating the now-evil Archbishop.

When the quest is given a red portal – similar to the blue town portal – appears next to the pentagram on level 15, which leads to the Unholy Altar. Here, two Books Of Vileness require to be read so the character can transport to Lazarus' lair – although reading each book also involves slaying a few Hellspawn first.

Once in Lazarus' lair the character has to defeat a few more Hellspawn and a powerful priest (called an Advocate) as well as Lazarus' bodyguards – succubi known as Red Vex and Blackjade. Once all have been defeated, the quest ends and the player can advance to level 16 and Diablo himself.

The final quest of the game involves defeating the Demon Lord of Terror. Is it initiated by Cain once Archbishop Lazarus is defeated. The pentagram where the entrance to the Unholy Altar is situated becomes the entrance to the lair of Diablo and is filled with Advocates and Blood Knights, including the unique Sir Gorash.

Diablo's lair consists of four rooms, of which only one is accessible. The player must navigate each room in turn, slaying the monsters therein before progressing to the next room. In the final room is the confrontation with Diablo, but before characters reach him they must first rid the room of the other enemies. Diablo attacks using the powerful Apocalypse spell while even in close quarters, his attacks deal some potent damage. Diablo is immune to stone-curse, so forget about trying to make him into a statue!

Once Diablo is defeated, the game ends in victory with a cutscene played which suggests there may be a sequel.

The unofficial Diablo expansion, Hellfire, added some additional quests to the game but are not featured in this guide. While most of the quests in Diablo are optional - you'll receive them, but you don't have to complete them - they are good ways to help gain experience, gold and magic items.

In the next part of this guide to the original Diablo game, we'll look at the rare and unique items found in the game.