The evils have been the great adversaries since the first part of the Diablo series. But which of them is actually the strongest? MeinMMO dares to enter the hells and puts all the demonic lords in a power ranking.
This is how we created the ranking: For our ranking, we only consider the “evils”, meaning those seven beings that directly originated from the prime demon Tathamet. Therefore, you won’t find some well-known characters, such as Inarius and Lilith, the parents of Sanctuary.
For their place in the ranking, we considered the following criteria for the evils:
- How great is their pure strength in direct combat?
- What abilities do they possess aside from pure combat strength that they can use to their advantage?
- How likely is it that they would emerge victorious in a war of the hells?
- What weaknesses ensure that one evil would succumb to another?
The ranking refers solely to the strength of the evils in the lore of Diablo and not to how difficult they are to defeat in the game.
Do you want to learn more about the lore? The Book of Lorath
is a good source for that:
Rank 7: Duriel
- Type: Lesser Evil
- Domain/Title: Master of Pain, Lord of Maggots
- Appears in: Diablo 2, Diablo 4
Duriel is driven by pain – regardless of who it comes from. Consequently, he tortures humans, demons, and angels alike, and when he can’t find anyone else who screams loud enough, he tortures himself. His iconic weapons include poisons and diseases.
That makes him the weakest evil in our ranking because he cares little for true power as long as someone is suffering. Moreover, his strongest weapons have little to no effect on numerous demons and angels and are only truly effective against humans. He would likely have no interest in ruling over the hells.
In Diablo 4, Duriel appears as a boss and can be defeated by the protagonist without much trouble. He simply returns at some point to torment others.
Rank 6: Andariel
- Type: Lesser Evil
- Domain/Title: Mistress of Torment, Demon Queen
- Appears in: Diablo 2, Diablo 4
The only female evil is considered Duriel’s “sister” and ranks just above her brother. Similar to Duriel, she primarily wants to cause suffering, but unlike the Master of Pain, Andariel focuses primarily on mental torture.
Consequently, she would not harm herself just to satisfy her greed, and her weapons are somewhat more universal. In the battle for the hells, Andariel would at least be superior to Duriel, but all other evils still surpass her.
In Diablo 4, Andariel appears in a bound form and can still defend herself better than Duriel. She manages to free herself from her chains, thus demonstrating in a certain way more strength than her brother.
Rank 5: Belial
- Type: Lesser Evil
- Domain/Title: Lord of Lies, Master of Deception
- Appears in: Diablo 3
The Lord of Lies from Diablo 3 relies primarily on cunning and intrigue – and is also an extremely formidable fighter. With his deceptions, he manages to seize an entire realm of humans, demonstrating that he has the potential to gain great power unnoticed.
Since he is a master of deception, one can never really say whether they have truly defeated him or if his apparent defeat is part of Belial’s plan. This makes him a dangerous opponent. Nevertheless, he only ranks 5th, as other evils can still surpass him even in his domain.
