Andariel, Maiden of Anguish is one of the Lesser Evils in Diablo lore. She appears as a boss fight in Diablo 2 and makes a return appearance as the final boss of Act 4 in Diablo 4. Andariel is one of the story’s harder bosses, especially if your build needs work. She’s a multi-stage fight with quite a few mechanics, so she can be tough to deal with. Our guide tells you how to beat her.
Where to Find Andariel, Maiden of Anguish in Diablo 4
Andariel is the final boss of Act 4. You’ll know you’re about to fight her when you’re in the Forsaken Chapel in northeastern Kehjistan and Taissa goes outside for some air. Neyrelle will say she can’t see Taissa anymore and run outside to find her. Once you follow Neyrelle outside to make sure Taissa’s okay, you’ll run into Elias, who will summon Andariel. Make sure you top off your options at the Healing Well before you follow Taissa outside. Once you talk to Neyrelle, there’s no going back.
How to Beat Andariel, Maiden of Anguish in Diablo 4
Andariel is a multi-phase fight, but she’s a good one. In fact, I enjoyed fighting her more than any other story boss in Diablo 4. Knowing how to fight her, though, is important if you want to succeed. I’ll break down the fight by phase to make things easier to follow. If she gives you lots of trouble, though, I recommend bringing a friend or three. I’ve fought Andariel twice: once alone and once with a friend. She’s much easier with a party backing you up.
Andariel Phase 1 Tips
Andariel’s arms are initially chained to a large, u-shaped piece of wood, so she actually can’t hit you with melee attacks in this phase. She’s also very slow, so use that to your advantage. The area around the arena you’re fighting in is surrounded by a sandstorm. You’ll lose health if you step into it, so stay away from it.
Generally, this phase goes in steps. Andariel will stomp in from a point off-screen and summon Rune Chains. If you step into the Rune Chains’ area of effect, which is denoted by the circle on the ground around them, they’ll latch onto you, and you’ll be unable to leave that circle. The only way out is to destroy the Rune Chains or use an ability like the Sorcerer’s Teleport. Do not walk into the Rune Chains unless you have no choice. It makes the fight a lot easier.
Andariel’s other attacks are pretty easy to avoid. She’ll summon a series of projectiles that cover the ground in red lines. Sometimes they cover the area behind her, sometimes they cover the area in front of her — and sometimes they’ve appear in a triangle-shaped pattern. These can be easily avoided as long as you’re not in the Rune Chains, but they do a tremendous amount of damage if they hit you. Seriously, do not get caught in the Rune Chains. If you do, destroy them immediately.
The good part is Andariel is stationary during these attacks, so if you avoid them, you can just whale on her. Eventually, she’ll back off and disappear into the sandstorm. When she does, she’ll summon fireballs that will chase you around the area. They do a lot of damage, so be sure to avoid them or use a defensive ability to increase your survivability. Once you get her down to about 75% (or enough time passes), she’ll go into Phase 2.
Andariel Phase 2 Tips
When Phase 2 starts, Andariel will break the chains that bind her, and four pincer-like appendages will sprout from her back. This is when the fight really starts. Anadariel loses her projectiles but keeps the Rune Chains in this phase. She’s also much faster.
In Phase 2, Andariel will try to get up close and personal with you, attacking with her broken chain, pincers, and small area-of-effect attacks. She’ll also try to knock you back into the sandstorm, which does quite a bit of damage.
The trick to this phase is to dodge her chain attacks — one sweeps in front of her horizontally, while she brings the chain straight down in front of her in the other — by dodging toward, and ideally, through her. If you can get behind her or to her side, you can damage her while she’s still recovering from her attack. If you’re not in a good position to do that, just try to avoid getting hit. Avoiding the Rune Chains is also crucial in this phase, as you won’t be able to dodge her attacks if you’re captured by one.
Once you get her down to half health, the sandstorm will close in more tightly around the combat arena, giving you less room to maneuver. Andariel’s attacks are harder to dodge, and it’s easier for her to knock you into the sandstorm. The upside is that she’ll summon fewer Rune Chains. Your strategy should be the same: avoid the Rune Chains, dodge her attacks, and punish her while she’s recovering. Once you get her to around 33%, you’ll enter the third and final phase.
Diablo 4 Andariel Phase 3 Tips
In Phase 3, the sandstorm will close in even tighter, giving you very little room to maneuver. Andariel will still summon Rune Chains, but she’ll now only summon one at a time. Her attacks are much harder to avoid, but as long as she doesn’t knock you into the sandstorm, you should be okay.
At 25% health, Andariel powers up. You know she’s done it because she’ll hold her head and red energy will explode around her. She’ll also glow red. The power-up is substantial: Andariel will now hit much harder and move and attack much faster. Fortunately, she’ll no longer summon Rune Chains, and she doesn’t gain any new attacks. The power-up also eventually wears off.
Continue to avoid her attacks as best you can, but don’t be afraid to pop a healing potion immediately if she hits you. This is by far the hardest part of the fight, but if you do the same things you’ve been doing and make smart use of your potions, you should be okay. Andariel will power up again between 5-10% life, but by that point, I was able to burn her down before she could do much of anything.
Andareil Boss Fight Rewards
Once she dies, you’ll be rewarded with loot, money, and healing potions. Talk to Lorath and proceed through a couple of conversations to finish off Act 4.
And that’s how to beat Andariel, Maiden of Anguish in Diablo 4. For more tips, tricks, guides, and everything else, check out our Diablo 4 guides hub.
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Published: Jun 14, 2023 03:22 pm