The Legacy of Cain
The Legacy of Cain is the second quest line in Act I.
Contents
Quest Information
- Initiated by: Leah
- Pre-requisite: The Fallen Star
- Required to progress? Yes
- Lore items: Adria's Journal, Grotesque Bestiary Entry, Carrion Bat Bestiary Entry, Treasure Goblin Bestiary entry
- Related Achievements: The Last of the Horadrim.
- Leads to: A Shattered Crown.
The Legacy of Cain Walkthrough
As you approach a cauldron sitting over a burning fire a unique undead called Captain Daltyn will appear. He's accompanied by three Zombies which do not present a problem.
The Captain's melee attack is nothing to fear but he has a Frozen attack too. He lays down multiple grenades that explode over a certain radius inflicting damage and freezing players within it. Kill the zombies first and move out of range of the Captain's grenades' explosion radius so you are not frozen and he too should be easy enough to kill.
Once the captain is dead Leah will give you the key and Adria's Journal.
As you leave the cellar you'll be set upon by more Zombies. Easy prey. Make your way back up Old Tristram Road and into the Cathedral. You'll get a checkpoint just as you enter the level and also just before you go down to Leoric's Passage.
The Cathedral is where the game steps up a gear and begins to get a little more challenging. Here you'll face,Carrion Bat, Grotesque, Ravenous Dead Risen and Walking Corpses and they'll attack in groups of multiple types and in numbers not yet encountered.
It's worth exploring all this level even if you come across the entrance to Leoric's Passage early because it's this level that the Black Mushrooms can be located in. They are a reagent for the Staff of Herding which grants you access to Whimsyshire.
When you make your way down to Leoric's Passage you'll find Deckard Cain fighting some skeletons. A short in-game sequence will play which you can ESC out of it. Here you will battle Headcleaver and his Royal Henchmen. There are no special attacks here but he does have a nasty kick in addition to his melee attack. You get a checkpoint once he's dead.
Speak with Deckard Cain now and follow him back to Tristram where the quest ends with Leah and another checkpoint reached.
Move on to A Shattered Crown quest.
Objectives in Brief
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Hunt for Cain
- Objective: Hunt for signs of Deckard Cain
Leaving Adria's hut and heading north a bit, the player will find the entrance to the Cathedral, which is a fairly faithful recreation of that from Diablo I. If the Cathedral in Diablo I had been hit by a meteor, that is. Some zombies will spawn near the front entrance, where the butcher quest giver used to be in Diablo of old.
Dispatching the zombies, the player moves into the cathedral, and enters through the gaping blue chasm left behind by the fallen star. The player character literally jumps down and lands on the first level of the cathedral.
This is the first actual dungeon of the game, and thus also the first chance the player will have to encounter a Treasure Goblin and snag its lore entry, along with a few other monsters along the way.
The objective of the quest is to look for signs of Deckard Cain, but as the first level of the Cathedral does not house prune juice or adult diapers, the player will descend down into Leoric's Passage.
The Legacy of Pain
- Objective: Save Deckard Cain
After taking a few steps into Leoric's Passage, the player will be greeted by something new to the Diablo franchise--a cutscene. This is not to be confused with a pre-rendered cinematic that Blizzard is renowned for, but an in-game cutscene used to deliver narrative.
In this cutscene, Cain will be spotted running from skeletal assailants past a ridge carved out by the fallen star, which collapses after he passes, dropping some skeletons into the chasm below. Cain looks back to see the ghost of Leoric materialize, who then speaks:
- The power of the fallen star awakened me, and soon, all will suffer as I have suffered. Guards, bring me his bones!
Leoric will then summon skeleton guards to attack Cain, who surprisingly attacks back with his walking stick, perhaps channeling his inner-Archivist. The player is then able to go down the stairs and assist Cain by dispatching a few waves of skeletons.
Eventually, a superunique named Headcleaver will spawn with a small posse of armed skeletal guards and attack the player. Headcleaver does not appear to have any unique abilities or pose any sort of real danger. Once dispatched, Cain will address the player, asking why the hero saved him, which in reply is told that Leah is looking for him.
Cain then leads the player to a secret passage which leads to the Cathedral Gardens with a convenient waypoint nearby as well.
Returning to town, the hero witnesses a sentimental reunion between Cain and Leah, before Cain gives the player the information they sought when coming to Tristram in the first place: knowledge of the fallen star, and what Cain can tell the player about it. Which ends up being, according to Cain...
- Not much, I'm afraid, though the Prophecy of the End Days surely points to it as a sign that the end has begun...
Which then signifies the end of the quest, rewarding the player with a pittance of gold and experience, and the warm fuzzy feeling from knowing that they helped an old, helpless friend, wandering sadly and listlessly in an old possessed cathedral.
The player must speak with Cain again to begin the quest A Shattered Crown.
Quest-Specific Bugs and Issues
- After the cutscene with Cain in the cathedral, if a Barbarian performs a Leap Attack from the top of the stairs, without walking down the stairs, the Headcleaver event will not trigger. The workaround for this is to return back to the foot of the stairs to trigger the skeletal spawn.
- Skeleton bestiary entries do not have audio attached. They can only be read in the bestiary.
Trivia and Easter Eggs
The quest name "The Legacy of Cain" may have been in homage to a game named "Legacy of Kain" developed by Silicon Knights/Crystal Dynamics.
Strategy and Tips
While in normal difficulty it isn't likely a player would need tips or tricks for strategy with The Legacy of Cain, it's worth noting a point or two for higher difficulties. As displayed in the video below, with some good timing and proper positioning, the player can use a dying Grotesque as a very potent area of effect attack. Once the grotesque "pops", it will deal damage to anything in its vicinity, including monsters.
The damage it deals can quite often kill a screen full of monsters in one hit, without requiring resource-heavy AoEs from the player.
Media
Video
A video walkthrough of The Legacy of Cain is available:
Gallery
Outside Adria's Hut
Daltyn's Frozen attack
| Quests & Events of Diablo III [e] Act I Act II Act III & Act IV Act V |
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