Malignant

"I am writing to you because although a great evil is receding from Sanctuary, a new festering curse now spreads its corruption across the land. More dangerous, more Malignant than I could have imagined. I have found a way to stop this plague, to rip the dark power of these monsters from their very core, and turn it to our advantage in destroying them. But I cannot do this alone. My allies are falling. My strength is dwindling. The Malignant are relentless and without mercy. I need help. I need...you."

- Cormond^(src)

The Malignant

The Malignant (a.k.a. Malignant Monsters) were enemies encountered in Season of the Malignant in Diablo IV.

Lore

"I've never seen this Malignant. What is this corruption?"
"Scripture says we are half angel and half demon. Lilith awakened the latter in people, driving them mad with hatred. From those who've turned Malignant...their demonic half is eating them alive."

- The Wanderer and Cormond^(src)

Decaying monstrosities, the Malignant were mindless creatures that attack anyone in range, without hesitation. They made their lairs in underground tunnels from which they would emerge to plague the surface. There was no cure for Malignancy save death.

History

There is evidence that the Malignant, or some kind of Malignant antecedent, existed as early as the first half of the 13th century. During the Zakarum Inquisition, the Church of Zakarum carried out experiments in Karamat's Reach on Malingnant/Malignant-like creatures using Cages of Binding. Their goal was apparently to separate "darkness from light." The experiments ended with Cages strong enough to always kill the creatures when used on them.

The origins of the Malignant in their most recent form can be traced back to the Fractured Peaks. Lilith came to a village in the Peaks, her words driving the townsfolk man, causing them to turn against the two Cathedral of Light priests present, Varshan and Cormond. Varshan refused to abandon his flock, and Cormond fled, only to return with a Cage of Binding, sometime after Lilith's death. He used it on Varshan, hoping to remove his corruption, but instead, the corruption burst out of him. It consumed Varshan, both body and soul, turning him into the first Malignant.

The Malignant roamed the land with infectious turmoil, killing at random without mercy. Cormond found a way to rip the dark power out of the Malignant and use it to humanity's advantage in destroying them. To this end, he allied with a group of adventurers, but one by one, they were killed by the Malignant. Bereft of other options, he wrote to the Wanderer, begging for aid.

The Malignant spread from the Fractured Peaks to the Dry Steppes. With each passing day, they encroached on towns. Cormond requested the Wanderer to hold them at bay while he worked on finding a cure. They later spread to Hawezar. However, with the death of Varshan, the death knell for the Malignant was sounded, as without their progenitor, they would start to diminish. Ultimately, the Malignant were wiped out.

In-game

This page contains obsolete content This article contains information that is no longer relevant to gameplay.

Malignant were Elite Monsters. Once the player slew a Partly Corrupted Malignant Monster, a Malignant Heart would appear, and by interacting with it, a Fully Corrupted Malignant Monster, an empowered version of the Elite the player just defeated, would rise alongside other minions. If the player defeated the Fully Corrupted enemy, a Caged Heart would drop.

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

• It was originally stated that the Malignant were solely composed of creatures that were already aligned with Hell. Given their origin through Varshan and the creatures encountered in-game, this does not appear to be the case.
• It was originally stated that Lilith's corruption spread throughout Sanctuary, creating the Malignant. This does not fully sync with the origin given in Season of the Malignant, though can be considered true in a sense, given Lilith's indirect role in their origins.