After the last test of Diablo 4, there was a discussion in the community whether the game is too difficult. MeinMMO looked a little into the past and checked whether there had not been even greater challenges before.
Diablo 4 apparently attracts many newcomers and players who have not played Diablo for years. The server slam was very well received, but it led fans to discuss: is the game too hard or too easy?
Particularly the world boss Ashava was seen as a benchmark for many. In the test, he was so tough that even the head of Diablo failed against him multiple times. The community is divided:
- some say: it should be this way, Diablo must challenge them as players.
- others mean: Diablo is a casual game, it should be made more accessible by Blizzard.
Particularly the first faction points out that in the past, there have always been bosses in Diablo that really heated things up for the players. And that is true.
We have rummaged a bit in old forums, on Reddit, and online, as well as searched through our own memories to present you the 5 hardest bosses in Diablo (so far).
Difficulty is always subjective. Even Ashava was solo-killed by some players – on Hardcore. You can watch the fight here:
1. The Butcher (Diablo 1)
The Butcher, better known by his original name “Butcher”, is probably the best-known boss in the series after Diablo itself. This is likely due to how you first encounter him in the first part of Diablo:
In a dark dungeon full of enemies, surrounded by stone walls, you open a door and find carcasses and blood, like in a human slaughterhouse. A huge demon then greets you with his oversized cleaver and bellows: “Fresh Meat!” The Butcher is incredibly dangerous:
- in melee, he is hard to hit and hits back harder than you do
- his attacks deal substantial damage, some kill almost instantly
- the Butcher is damn fast for his size, only one class could be faster
The demon was so popular that he even appeared in Diablo 3 and Heroes of the Storm. And in Diablo 4, you can also encounter him, but as a very nasty surprise in almost any dungeon.
2. Duriel (Diablo 2)
Almost as nasty as the Butcher is Duriel in Diablo 2. The “Lord of Pain” is the boss of Act 2, so you encounter him relatively early. Duriel is particularly nasty because he simply rolls over you unexpectedly at your first encounter:
- you enter a room and suddenly there’s a huge maggot with claws and a mouth in its belly
- you yourself are still relatively low in level and probably have rather poor gear
- there are hardly any opportunities to really evade
Like with the Butcher, you suddenly find yourself in a small arena with a huge demon lord. Duriel deals heavy damage and will certainly kill you at least once during your first playthrough, especially if you do not know him. He is still considered one of the hardest bosses today, at least if you don’t know him.
3. Uber-Mephisto (Diablo 2)
Some bosses in Diablo 2 received an Uber form during the “Pandemonium” event, including Duriel, Andariel (who becomes Lilith), and Mephisto. The Great Evil is actually the end boss of Act 3.
Uber bosses can only be found in a special version of Tristram in Diablo 2, for which you must first gather keys. The event is optional, but it brings you special rewards like one of the best items in the game.
Uber-Mephisto is so tough because he can deal the highest damage of all Uber bosses and also dispenses two types of damage: Cold and Lightning. Furthermore, he is immune to Poison and Lightning damage and has strong defensive stats. Accordingly, you need good preparation and strong gear against him.
Diablo is also present in Uber-Tristram as “Pandemonium-Diablo”, because Uber-Diablo was already in the game due to greedy players.
4. Belial (Diablo 3)
When it comes to Belial, opinions are somewhat divided on whether he is considered one of the easier or one of the hardest bosses in Diablo 3 – which is related to the fact that he was a significantly greater challenge at release.
The Lord of Lies is part of the end quest of Act 2 in Diablo 3 and has a unique boss fight: he himself is fixed in one position and you fight spread out in a semicircle around him. Meanwhile, the demon attacks you with various attacks, especially with poison pools.
What makes Belial so tricky are his servants. The swarms of flies that he summons were particularly too strong at Diablo 3’s release. Even at lower difficulties, they dealt heavy damage, and later they were almost instantly deadly.
Only after a patch was the fight “acceptable” for most players – and worth it. With his two phases and transformation, Belial is a visually spectacular fight.
5. Vitaath (Diablo Immortal)
Unlike in all previous Diablo games, there is a special Paragon mechanic in Diablo Immortal that actively makes you weaker when you face “too strong” opponents. If your Paragon is far below the level you should have, you take more damage and deal less.
The game does inform you of this, but the real effects were first noticed by players during the second major “end boss” Vitaath. Vitaath has slaughtered countless players because they participated with too low Paragon or poor resonance.
The big problem here was that reaching a higher Paragon was only possible to a limited extent and progressed always slower. There was even a real level limit that could only be exceeded after a certain time.
In addition, Vitaath could hit all enemies with multiple attacks that dealt significant damage. Weaker players died immediately. At the release of Vitaath, no one was “strong enough” from the Paragon perspective to defeat the demoness. This was also repeated with the subsequent boss, Gorgothta.
6. The Secret Final Boss of Diablo 3
Even though the list only includes 5 opponents, we must still mention a 6th boss: Error 37. This has probably consumed the most playtime of fans at the release of Diablo 3.
At the start of the game, hardly anyone could log in, and when they did, the connection barely lasted long. Players collected their error codes partly out of despair, partly cynically. The most common among them was Error 37.
Fans are now also fearing the return of this boss for Diablo 4:
From the problem arose dozens of memes, but also a lot of anger. Only days later were the servers stable enough for players to play without issues – and even then, there was still a bit of hiccup.
Whether and which of these bosses will return in Diablo 4, we do not know – except in the case of the Butcher – yet. Because so far, it is still not even clear whether the main boss will actually be in the game:
Why is Diablo 4 actually called Diablo 4, but Diablo is not present at all?
