Betrayal of Harrogath (Quest)


 * "Nihlathak told me he struck a deal with Baal to protect Harrogath..." - Anya

Betrayal of Harrogath is the fourth quest of Act V. After players rescue Anya from her icy prison, Anya tells them the last remaining elder of Harrogath, Nihlathak, has willingly sided with Baal in exchange for the demon's mercy. Nihlathak even provided Baal with the Relic of the Ancients, allowing him to enter Worldstone Keep unhindered by The Ancients. Anya then tasks the player with slaying Nihlathak and opens a portal to his hiding place, Nihlathak's Temple.

The quest is completed after Nihlathak has been dealt with. Upon returning to Harrogath, Anya rewards the player with personalizing an item of his/her choosing.

Tips and additional information
This quest, unlike most, is not required, and extremely deadly on Nightmare and Hell. Many players choose to skip it past Normal, especially if they are playing Hardcore. Another reason not to finish this quest is that once done, Anya won't open the red portal in a game you create on that difficulty level, unless the Halls of Pain waypoint is left deactivated (in which case the red portal will remain). The red portal will disappear permanently if the waypoint is activated and the quest is completed. This can be a drawback for players who want to farm Pindleskin for magic items.



Enter the portal and proceed into Nihlathak's Temple. Fight your way through the three levels below the temple known as the Halls of Anguish, Halls of Pain and the Halls of Vaught. The last level has a constant design; four hallways spreading from the entrypoint and leading to a room. In one of these rooms you'll find Nihlathak on a raised dais surrounded by Minions. What makes Nihlathak exceptionally dangerous on higher difficulties is his Corpse Explosion spell that can instantly kill players with ease. If players seek to mitigate the damage done by Corpse Explosion they should stack up on Fire Resistance. It might be better, however, to wholly avoid Corpse Explosion by luring the minions away from Nihlathak before killing them. Cold attacks are also useful as frozen enemies shatter on death, leaving no corpse. After the majority of the minions has been dealth with players should focus on Nihlathak. Be warned that he has the ability to summon additional minions, so it's best to kill him as fast as possible.

Nihlathak himself isn't that hard to kill. See the Nihlathak article for more information and tips on how to defeat him. Upon death Nihlathak's skeleton bursts forth from his remains, hovering above the ground before being pulled down into the earth through fiery fissures.

Afterwards return to Harrogath for your reward. Anya will personalize an item for you: you can give Anya any item of your choosing (including unique items). You then get it back with your character's name added before the item's name.


 * "Augh. A coward's hiding place."

Necromancer

 * "Ah, the familiar scent of death."

Druid

 * "Nihlathak...you can't hide from me."

Amazon

 * "Oh, Nihlathak's home away from home."

Paladin

 * "By the Light, what is this place?"

Sorceress

 * "Could this be a trap?"

Assassin

 * "Heh, I should've known."


 * "A fitting death for a traitor."

Necromancer

 * "Nihlathak...you were a sad little man."

Druid

 * "Traitor! Receive your just reward."

Amazon

 * "Conspiring with Baal...what a tragic mistake."

Paladin

 * "Nihlathak...what led you to this end?"

Sorceress

 * "Your power was no match for me."

Assassin

 * "You dark mages are all alike, obsessed with power."

Trivia

 * [[Image:WikiLogoSmall.jpg|left]]This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article


 * Earlier in the Act, one of Nihlathak's town gossips foreshadows his turn to evil: "The demon hordes have grown powerful beyond measure, aided by our foolish mistakes. But I may have found a way to correct those mistakes."
 * The Halls of Vaught could be named after Fred Vaught, one of the background artists on Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.
 * You can personalize all items, including Wirt's Leg. This can lead to very odd combinations.
 * Pior to v1.09, Nihlathak's corpse explosion was absurdly deadly on hell difficulty; capable of dealing well over 1000 damage with a radius larger than the visible screen.
 * In the Halls of Vaught, there was a dead Sorceress hanging along other of Nihlathak's victims when you encounter him, if you look closely.
 * Like the considerably larger Mephisto, Nihlathak is always floating when moving. Other bosses and mini-bosses - such as the Prince of Pain - are too heavy to get aloft.