What is Sanctuary?
The world caught between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells.
Sanctuary is the mortal world of the Diablo series: a place created apart from both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, and inhabited by humanity.
This page is an editorial primer on established series lore. It is labelled Analysis because it summarises and interprets rather than reporting a new Blizzard statement.
Why it is contested
Sanctuary's existence has always been a problem for both sides of the Eternal Conflict. Humanity is not a neutral bystander in that war; it is the thing both sides want, fear, or want gone.
What changes in Diablo V
Diablo V's confirmed premise moves Sanctuary from contested territory to captured territory. It is no longer where the war is fought - it is the base from which the next offensive against the High Heavens is launched, and its people are the ammunition.
That is a structural change, not a mood change. A series that repeatedly asked "can Sanctuary be defended" now opens with the answer being no.
