The titular demon is a sight to beyond, so the honor to battle Diablo is something all fans enjoy. However, the Lord of Terror is a terror to fight. After all, before the DLC was added to the game this was the final boss, so he has to pack one hell of a punch. So, how should you prepare yourself to fight the youngest, and strongest, of all the Prime Evils?
Where?
Diablo resides in his Chaos Sanctuary, the core of his Realm of Terror. You have to venture beyond the safety of the Pandemonium Fortress and climb into hell itself to chase him down and defeat him. Your closest waypoint to his Sanctuary is the River of Flames, so make sure to catch it in case of death.
Boss Arena
The Lord of Terror’s boss arena is a little complex. At first, Diablo doesn’t even appear in the cross-shaped room. Instead, you have to face off against doom knights, oblivion knights, storm casters, and venom lords. Your goal is to open five seals within the room and defeat three unique champions: the Infector of Souls, the Lord De Suis, and the Grand Vizier of Chaos.
Once those three are defeated and the seals are opened, any other minions left in the room will disappear. Then, on the fiery pentagram in the center of the room, Diablo will appear.
Attacks
Diablo is a sort of cursed mix of Mephisto and Duriel– he hits like a truck, but he also has a host of mage-like abilities that can devastate the player. Unsurprisingly, the majority of his spells are fire-based, including Firestorm, Flame Circle, and Fire Wall. However, some unique skills include Cold Touch and Bone Prison; one freezes you and slows you down, while the other traps you in a cage of bones (a move that also shows up in Diablo III).
His worst attack, though, is his Red Lightning Hose. It’s so devastating that any time you see Diablo slowly turning up and winding up for it, you should run away as quickly as possible. The attack will easily drain the majority of your health, if not knock you down in one hit.
Tips on survival
Unsurprisingly, fire resistance and fire absorb are great boosts against his attack set. Because of his strong melee abilities and the devastation of Red Lightning Hose, damage reduction and lightning resistance are also recommended. Also, having an item with the “cannot be frozen” trait can help you ignore the effects of Cold Touch.
When it comes to consumables, this is a step beyond an Andariel situation where you want an arsenal of rejuvenation potions. Those are great, but because dodging his attacks is so important, stamina potions can save your life. Just keep running, constantly, because evasion could mean life or death. Moreover, if you’re concerned about health, mercenary help, or potions, do the town portal trick. This is where you spawn a portal early in the fight and, when necessary, escape into it to go get supplies. Be careful, though– Diablo doesn’t like them and is known to pop a Bone Prison spell if you go near it. The only way to get around this (and have a safe place to chug potions) is by heading into the side hallways and using your consumables there. For some reason, Diablo doesn’t tend to follow people out of the central arena.
Diablo is a complicated demon to fight because while melee fighters don’t have to worry about heavy hits, they struggle to dodge his spells up close and personal. meanwhile, raged players can better evade spells, but have to worry about his sudden charge attacks. So, just focus on what you’re good at and be careful of the risks.
