Diablo 4offers players a compelling story as they venture through the demon-filled land of Sanctuary on a quest to stop Lilith’s rise to power. Over the course of the story, players will have to take down a number of bosses to progress, but like most entries in the series, some of these fights are more memorable than others. The boss fights inDiablo 4span a range of highs and lows with some demonstrating interesting boss mechanics and punishing difficulty, and others feeling like wasted potential or filler bosses.
Although the story ofDiablo 4focuses on the main antagonist Lilith, players encounter returning enemies from past entries as well. Additionally, there are a myriad of other optional bosses located within dungeons and strongholds, and even world bosses forDiablo 4players to tackle that won’t be considered here. These main story bosses will be judged based on their uniqueness, memorability, and how difficult they are to beat.
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S-Tier
By far the best boss fight inDiablo 4is against theGuardian of the Cathedral of Hatred, Astaroth, whom players will face as the boss ofDiablo 4’s second Act in the region of Scosglen. After Lilith frees the lieutenant of Mephisto from his prison in the Soulstone, Astaroth seeks his revenge on the Horadrim who imprisoned him and sets his sights on terrorizing Donan and the inhabitants of Scosglen. Astaroth represents the pinnacle of boss design inDiablo 4, boasting a unique and tricky fight that also serves as an important force for character growth in the game’s story.
The fight against Astaroth is unique in that he will frequently move locations after the player deals enough damage to his health bar. The arena of the burningScosglen village of Cerrigar, the citizens attempting to flee him, and his Cerberus-like mount all add to the tense atmosphere of this fight. What elevates this boss even further is the heartbreaking death of Donan’s son Yorin whom Lilith uses as a vessel to host Astaroth’s soul, leading to one of the most memorable scenes in the game.
A-Tier
These bosses, while not as good as Astaroth, are still memorable in their own right, but are not quite as great as they could have been.Andariel, Maiden of Anguishis the driving force ofDiablo 4’s third Act as Lorath and the player race to prevent Elias from summoning her, but her eventual battle in Act 4 is somewhat unexpected and isn’t as difficult as the build-up in the previous act would have suggested. Airidah is an interesting character, given her betrayal of the Druids to Lilith believing she could give them the necessary power to survive the forces of Hell, but her fight is unfortunately overshadowed by Astaroth’s taking place in the same Act.
Elias and Lilith are the two primary antagonists the player spends most of the game pursuing, and while they are pretty solid bosses, they could have been better. Players will have to fight Elias multiple times due to the fact that he has made himself immortal using an old technique of Rathma’s, and as such, when the player finally breaks his incantation and fights him for real, it feels very repetitive. As the final boss of the main campaign,Lilith is a bit underwhelmingdue to the predictable nature of her fight, though she can be a challenging opponent.
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B-Tier
While these bosses serve as important obstacles in the story ofDiablo 4, they are not as memorable or interesting as some of the others. X’Fal is the first major boss players will encounter, being found within the Icehowl Ruins of the game’s prologue, but is unremarkable otherwise. Somebosses like Genbarand Brol serve as impediments to other, bigger foes but are themselves mostly forgettable, and Mohlon is a grotesque, intimidating beast but comes too late in the game to be much of a challenge for most players.
Characters like Vhenard and Valtha are interesting in that they demonstrate Lilith’s ability to corrupt otherwise good people, but their fights are too easy to really be considered remarkable. PoorDuriel’s potential is wasted inDiablo 4, which is a shame given his notoriety as one ofDiablo 2’s hardest bosses. While he can be a bit of a challenging late-game boss, he comes with little forewarning or acknowledgment of his status as one of the four Lesser Evils, unlike his twin sister Andariel.
Lilith’s Lament is slightly better than the rest as the fight is more unique, with the player being joined by a Knight Penitent who will aid them in battle. After the battle, the Knight Penitent will reveal himself to be Vigo, the knight that allowedLilith to pass with Vhenardinto the Yelesna Mines and that he fought alongside the player as atonement for his sin. Although this is an interesting twist, the boss fight itself is rather lackluster compared to other Act bosses like Astaroth.
C-Tier
The main issue with theseDiablo 4bossesis that they are mostly forgettable and could be interchanged with another boss and still have about as much impact on the game. Most of them are simply variants of other demons who are slightly stronger and serve as gatekeepers during the game’s final act. Uznu, Karum, and Ninsa all fit this bill, playing the role of distraction on the road to face the greater threat of Lilith in the climactic descent into Hell and are largely unnecessary to the game’s story.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
