How to complete the Cold Hard Truth quest in Diablo 4

Diablo 4 season one introduced a new questline to work through, and the Cold Hard Truth is the penultimate part of your journey with Cormond.

The questline introduces you to the new Malignant mechanics introduced, including how to craft and use Malignant Hearts, but this quest is based around what Diablo 4 does best—providing a wealth of enemies to defeat.

The Cold Hard Truth quest has multiple stages to complete and is quite lengthy, much longer than the other quests in season one, with stages including traveling, defending your companion, and defeating the season one boss.

It’s easy to get sidetracked in Diablo 4, particularly with the Malignant Hearts to hunt and distract you, so follow our guide below to help you complete the quest as swiftly as possible.

How do you complete the Cold Hard Truth quest in Diablo 4?

First up, you need to find Cormond outside of Velkhova and you’ll need to speak to him to get the quest moving, which leads to areas on your map being identified.

Move to these areas and fight the Malignant enemies, with three different tasks provided. One area requires you to slay Druslava, another is to destroy the Malignant Corruption, and the other is to defeat all enemies in the area.

After completing all three tasks, head back to Cormond and then travel to the Velkhova Church Undercroft, which will be marked on your map. You’ll then need to fight your way through to the ritual site, defeating the Malignant enemies you encounter on your way.

Once you’ve arrived at the ritual site, speak to Cormond. You’ll then need to destroy the Malignant Corruption in the area before lighting each of the Ritual Incenses to begin the ritual.

Once all incense has been lit, speak to Cormond again to start the summoning, then defend Cormond from the Malignant enemies that will appear and attack him. After the other Malignant enemies have been killed and the summoning ritual is complete, prepare to fight the boss.

Together with Cormond, you will need to slay Varshan. Almost all of his attacks are front-facing, so keep moving to the side or behind to take him down, which is not too difficult as long as you keep moving.

After he has been defeated, he will drop Varshan’s Malignant Heart. Interact with the Heart to capture it, then speak to Cormond to complete the quest. Doing so unlocks the final quest, A Merciful Fate, which is easy to complete and simply requires you to speak to Cormond at his wagon outside of Velkhova.