Search for Deckard Cain quest failed in Diablo 2 Resurrected: What are the consequences?

Diablo 2 Resurrected's open beta weekend is here, and all players around the world will finally get a chance to explore the dark world of Sanctuary.

The 2-decade-old cult classic action RPG has defined the genre of hack and slash RPGs and has been responsible for the development of many modern genres and gameplay mechanics.

The huge influence of the Diablo franchise means that you've probably heard about the game before even if you are playing it for the first time now with Diablo 2 Resurrected, and amongst many legendary characters, the most well-known is a Horadrim sage named Deckard Cain.

And amongst the first few quests in Act I, one particularly interesting will ask you to find and save the old man.

Alas, you have somehow failed to do that (about which the message at the start of Act II politely informs you), and now you are wondering what that means and will it have any consequences?

Well, as Deckard would say, stay awhile and listen...

What happens if you fail to rescue Deckard Cain?

The quest to find and save Deckard Cain will be given to you by Akara, the high priestess of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye.

In order to find him, you will need to know how to use Cairn Stones and activate them in the correct order. Check out our dedicated guide about Cairn Stones to learn how to travel to Tristram, as we are not here for that, we are here because you've forgotten to save to old sage and progressed to Act II.

But now you have been informed that the quest has failed, and you are wondering what exactly that means for the story and your playthrough?

First of all, Deckard wasn't safe in the town of Tristram. He was waiting for you there captured by several monsters, one of them being Tristram's blacksmith Griswold (from Diablo 1), who is now a monster and would have attacked you if you had gone to save Deckard.

But luckily for you and for Deckard, he will be rescued nonetheless, as the Rogues will come to help him.

So, what are the real consequences here for you? First of all, you will not receive the quest reward from Akara - a random magic ring.

The bigger punishment for not completing this quest comes from Deckard himself, as the old man will not grant you his services for free. If you had saved him, his item identification would have been free of charge for you.

But in this case, Deckard charges a fee of 100 gold per identified item, and he will only show the total amount owed to identify items in your inventory, and not the item list so you can pick and choose.

• Read more: How do Runewords work Diablo 2 Resurrected? Best early combinations

And there you have it, those are the consequences of failing to rescue Deckard Cain before entering Act II. They are not that severe (unless you love having gold), but still annoying enough that it would have been better if you had saved him.

Don't forget to check out our dedicated Diablo section for guides, news, leaks and much more so that fans of the iconic ARPG franchise stay up to date with the latest information. 

Check out our video below, discussing Diablo Immortal's story and how the game fits into the franchise's timeline.

For more news on the game and the iconic ARPG franchise, check out our sections dedicated to Diablo 3, Diablo Immortal, and Diablo 4. Get the latest guides & tutorials for your favorite Diablo title below.

Diablo Immortal Guides - Character Server Transfer | Next Hungering Moon | Hell Difficulty Levels | Combat Rating (CR) | Recruit A Friend | Redeem Codes | Next Season | Fractured Plane Event | Vote Kick Feature | Next Helliquary Boss | XP Bug Fix | Class Change | Max Level Cost | Lost Pages | Legacy of the Horadrim | Player vs. Player (PVP) | Set Items | Resonance | Potency | Level Progression | Trading | Crusader Build | Barbarian Build | Monk Build | Necromancer Build | Marketplace | Zone Events 

Diablo 2 Resurrected Guides - Ladder Reset | Magic Find Bonus Event | Holy Grail Challenge | Underground Passage Location | Character Deleted Fix | Black Screen Freezes Fix | Unable To Start Fix | Best Assassin Build | Best Barbarian Build | Best Amazon Build | Secret Cow Level | Runewords | Attacks Missing | Horadric Cube | Cairn Stones | Reset Skills & Stats | 

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Diablo 4 Guides - Cross-Play & Cross-Progression | Dungeons | Game Pass | Endgame Beta | Book of Lorath