Duriel

Who He is and the best strategy to beat Him at the end of Act 2

Duriel is the last boss of Act 2. You can find him in Tal Rasha’s Chamber. However, you have to use the Horadric Staff in order to access it. Once you enter the Chamber, you will immediately encounter Duriel, who shouts “Looking for Baal?”.

He’s also known as the Lord of Pain and he’s Andariel’s twin brother and one of the four Lesser Evils. Also, Duriel controls the Realm of Pain in Burning Hells. During the Dark Exile, Azmodan and Belial manipulated Duriel and Andariel in order to assist them in overthrowing the three Great Evils. At first, their plan succeeded but later Duriel realized that Diablo will eventually reclaim his throne. Therefore, he and his sister decided to join Diablo for reuniting with Mephisto and Baal. About 300 years later from Dark Exile’s event, Diablo managed to free Baal from his imprisonment in the Tal Rasha’s Tomb. Then, Baal left Duriel to guard his tomb as a punishment for taking part in the Dark Exile. He felt embittered by his new position, so the Lord of Pain claimed the blood and souls of many adventurers. Finally, a team of heroes who were pursuing Diablo managed to overcome and kill Duriel. After Adria’s machinations, his spirit was trapped inside the Black Soulstone.

Duriel’s Attacks

Smite: This attack stuns your character knocks it back. This can be quite disturbing to deal with as sometimes he can chain the Knock-back effects until you hit a wall. If you are a melee class, it may be better to stay close to a wall while fighting him.
Charge: He can use a Charge attack as well versus players out of the melee range.
Holy Freeze Aura: It freezes your character and his party, slowing the movement speed. Note that this Aura isn’t affected by “Cannot Be Frozen” effects, Cold resistance or Thawing potions.

Strategy: How to defeat Duriel

Duriel is one of the toughest Bosses in Diablo 2. He’s very fast despite his big size and he can deal great amounts of damage. In addition, the fight takes place in a small room and the only option of escaping is to open a Town Portal. This results in a difficult Boss to kill, considering also his Holy Freeze Aura. After you slay Duriel for the first time, on the second play-through it’s better to lure him to the big chamber as it offers more space for the fight. Further, you should bring as many minions as possible and your hireling in order to distract him. However, Duriel can kill them with a few swipes, but at least you will have enough time to open a Town Portal. Cold attacks are also helpful versus Duriel as they can slow him down. You should attack from range if it’s possible. In the case you’re playing a melee class, you will have to face him in close combat.

After you defeat him, a wall will collapse and you can move on to explore the inner chamber of Tal Rasha.

Tactics

Assassin: The Burst of Speed ability makes an Assassin more effective versus Duriel. While this skill is active, the Assassins can outrun Duriel and use the hit-and-run tactic. If you combine this tactic with the Tiger Strike and Cobra Strike, you can heal your character as well. In the case you specialize in Traps, you can rely on the Traps skills along with the Burst of Speed.
Amazon: If you’re struggling with defeating Duriel with an Amazon armed with a Bow, you should hire an Act 2 defensive mercenary. In addition, use Full Rejuvenation potions to heal your hireling, while you are shooting the Boss from range. As long as you can keep your mercenary alive, you can keep shooting him. When your hireling dies, try to escape with Town Portal and return. If you have a powerful bow, you should be able to defeat him using about 5 Full Rejuvenation Potions.
Barbarian: This class is powerful for fighting as melee combat. Thus, you shouldn’t face many problems killing Duriel, especially if you have decent equipment. Just make sure to activate some healing potions and go back to town if you run out of Health points.
Druid: If you rely on your summoning skill tree, you should keep alive your minions and your mercenary as long as possible. While your group is distracting the Boss, you can attack him using a Bow or some of your spells. If you’re playing as a Wind or Fire Druid, hire a mercenary to act as a tank and follow a strategy similar to Sorceress (see below).
Necromancer: Make sure you have a Town Portal open as the battle starts. If you’re a Bonemancer, the most effective strategy is to use Bone prison in order to trap the Boss. Then, you can spam your other spells from a safe distance. As a Summonmancer, you should keep your minions alive during the fight. If you and your minions run low on health, you can always return to Town to re-summon your team.
Paladin: The most effective to kill Duriel as a Paladin is to use Zeal along with a freezing and life-leeching weapon. The Holy Freeze Aura is very helpful too as its effect slows the Boss even more. Finally, keep some healing and mana potions at your belt ready for use.
Sorceress: The key here is to equip your mercenary with a good spear and strong armor. Also, you should try to keep him alive with healing potions because he will act as a tank. In the case your hireling dies, return immediately to the town through a Town Portal. Your most effective spell versus Bosses is the Static field that can rapidly reduce their life total. Note that in Nightmare difficulty, the Static field will have no effect below 33% of Boss’ Health and below 50% Health at Hell difficulty.

Find Out Everything About The Other Bosses