After 10 Seasons, I’m Tired of This Diablo 4 Boss Ruining My Day

Few bosses in gaming really get under my skin, so when I say Diablo 4‘s Andariel ruins my day every time I fight her, I mean it. It hasn’t always been this way, either; I thought the Andariel fight in Diablo 2 wasn’t particularly challenging, and the fight against her in Diablo 4‘s main campaign pales in comparison to her Lair Boss version. For some reason, Diablo 4 locks its best endgame loot drops behind one of its most frustrating bosses, so each season I end up banging my head against a wall trying to farm Andariel for Mythics.

My first introduction to Andariel in Diablo 2 couldn’t have prepared me for the agony she’d cause me in the future. The hardest part of this incarnation of the boss is the minions she summons, but playing Necromancer has helped me deal with them without much problem. I figured the same strategy would work just as well for the first time I fought her in Diablo 4, since I was playing my go-to Necromancer class once again. But going back to Andariel in Diablo 4‘s endgame had just become an exercise in frustration and is a far cry from the epic boss fight Diablo 2 introduced.

Andariel is My Nemesis Every Diablo 4 Season, and I’m Sick of It

The basic breakdown of the Andariel fight in Diablo 4 involves three distinct phases, which can already be annoying when trying to quickly farm the boss for Mythic drops. However, each of these phases can be frustrating on its own simply because of what Andariel is capable of throwing at the player. The first phase features some powerful, but telegraphed attacks, but starting with the second phase, I hardly feel like I’m fighting Andariel at all.

During her second phase, Andariel becomes invulnerable until players destroy the three Effigies of Anguish she summons. This is the phase that really makes my blood boil, because not only am I forced to shift my focus away from Andariel herself, but the sheer amount of clutter on the screen from the various attacks she unleashes during this time makes it nearly impossible to see what I’m doing. The red beam that moves around the screen, along with the orbs of energy and flaming skulls that are added during her final phase, make the Andariel fight feel more like a bullet hell game rather than an ARPG like the rest of Diablo 4.

None of My Diablo 4 Builds Ever Seem Suited for Fighting Andariel

The worst part about having to fight Andariel every season of Diablo 4 is that I can never nail down a build that makes the battle any easier. Since the majority of the fight comes down to how well a build can dodge her myriad of attacks, all stacked on top of each other, the conventional Diablo 4 builds designed for the rest of the game’s Lair Bosses aren’t as effective in this case. To make matters worse, Andariel uses a variety of different elemental attacks, meaning that there isn’t a great way to maximize Resistances before heading into the fight, like is possible with other Lair Bosses.

In Diablo 2, Andariel primarily uses Poison Damage, so it’s easy to boost Poison Resistance before heading into her fight.

For Some Reason, Andariel Draws Me Back Each Diablo 4 Season

The Redesigned Andariel for Diablo 4- Diablo Lilith Trivia

The reason I keep coming back to Andariel season after season is simple: she offers some of the best gear drops in the game with her increased chance for Mythics to drop from her Lair Boss chest. Yes, Duriel and Harbinger of Hatred also offer the same drops, and I have started prioritizing them over Andariel since they’ve been introduced to the game. But every season, I always have to try my build out against Andariel to see if I can fare any differently, which usually ends with me giving up after a couple of tries and heading back to farm Duriel instead.

Diablo 4 Has an Obvious Chance to Rework Andariel for the Better

With how frustrating Andariel is for me and other Diablo 4 players, there’s clear room for improvement to her boss fight mechanics in the future. Luckily, it seems like Blizzard is aware of the community’s feelings towards the boss and has confirmed it is looking into improving the immunity phases of bosses like Andariel and Uber Lilith. However, until these changes are implemented, I will continue my seasonal routine of trying to best Andariel but ultimately giving up and moving on to other bosses.