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"Duriel is the twin of Andariel. I believe that they conspired together to assist Diablo in releasing Mephisto and Baal, though they had both supported the Lesser Evils in the past. The Lord of Pain was found guarding Baal's prison — the tomb of Tal Rasha — when he was slain by heroes."

Duriel, the Lord of Pain, is one of the four Lesser Evils, and the "twin brother" of Andariel.

Biography

" Duriel, Lord of Pain, revels in the cacaphonous screams of those in physical agony. Even demons are no strangers to his torment."

As with all the Great Evils, Duriel was spawned from one of the seven heads of Tathamet. He ruled over the Realm of Pain in Hell.[1]

The Dark Exile

"How dare you question! How dare you deny yourselves victory! Long have the Primes lorded over us. Long have they thought themselves our betters. Diablo... Diablo will fall, as will the rest. Do not be swayed or led to fear by him. Do not, for each of you will reign. Each of you will share the power we will earn."

- Belial addressing Duriel and Andariel(src)

Duriel

Duriel

The Lesser Evils came to be discontent with the Prime Evils' focus on humanity after the events of the Sin War, furious that the Great Conflict had been apparently abandoned. Led by Azmodan and Belial, the Lesser Evils enacted a stratagem to overthrow the Three.[1] Andariel and Duriel had their doubts at first, afraid that they would fall in the coming conflict. Belial, however, kept them in the fold.[2] The plan worked, and Andariel revelled in Diablo's misery, enjoying a state of unmatched bliss through the humiliation of her former ally. However, the pact that the Lesser Evils had made soon fell apart, as Azmodan and Belial warred for the position of the supreme ruler of Hell.[1]

The Return of the Three

"Looking for Baal?!"

- Duriel 'greets' the heroes(src)

Duriel in Big Chamber

Duriel in the tomb

Nearly three hundred years after the Dark Exile, Diablo finally escaped from his captivity beneath the Tristram Cathedral, heading east to reunite with Mephisto and Baal. Andariel and Duriel concluded that the Primes would inevitably reclaim their position in Hell. Therefore, they endeavoured to gain favour with the Lord of Terror by protecting his human host.[1] Diablo freed Baal from his imprisonment in the Tomb of Tal Rasha. As punishment for his part in the Dark Exile, Baal left Duriel behind to guard the tomb. Embittered by this new position of solitary servitude, the Lord of Pain claimed the souls and blood of many bold adventurers.[3] Finally, Duriel met his match in a group of heroes who were pursuing Diablo. Duriel exacted a heavy toll upon his foes, savouring in the screams of the wounded. However, the heroes were able to overcome and slay Duriel.[1]

The Black Soulstone

Duriel-BoL

Duriel, as sketched by Lorath Nahr

Duriel was the second of the Great Evils that Adria marked for absorption into the Black Soulstone. She approached him with fear, knowing that if he failed and he imprisoned her in his domain, she could look forward to years, possibly decades of torture before being granted the peace of death. However, when she found Duriel's soul, there was no confrontation. Duriel witnessed Diablo's vision of the End of Days and rejoiced. Even if he would be a 'passenger' to the Lord of Terror, the destruction Diablo would wreck would bring him indescribable pleasures. Thus, Adria marked his soul, using a circle formed from her own blood. The wounds would heal quickly, she reflected.[4]

Duriel's vision came to pass, as over 20 years after his defeat, Duriel became merged with Diablo, now the sole Prime Evil.[5] After Diablo's defeat, all the lords of Hell were returned to the Black Soulstone, their souls screaming for release.[6] The stone was destroyed by Malthael in an effort to defeat the Nephalem, but he was defeated, and Diablo freed,[7] still containing the essence of Duriel and the other Evils.[8] At some point, Duriel became free of Diablo, and came to reside in Sanctuary.[9]

In-game

Diablo II

Duriel

Duriel's animation

Duriel is the boss of Act II of Diablo II. He is located in Tal Rasha's Chamber, which can be accessed after using the Horadric Staff on the orifice found in the real Tal Rasha's Tomb. Upon entering the Chamber, players immediately encounter Duriel, who yells, "looking for Baal?"

Duriel has a unique item named after him, Duriel's Shell, a cuirass. It is possible that being an insect-type demon, it is his moulted shell and not his real carapace.

Duriel can drop Twisted Essence of Suffering when killed in Hell difficulty.

Strategy and Other Additional Information

Duriel is perhaps the toughest boss in Diablo II, largely due to the circumstances under which he is encountered: in a very small room with a fairly low-level character.

Duriel is extremely fast despite his size and is exceedingly strong as well. He has an aura around him (Holy Freeze, which can be learned by Paladin as well) that periodically freezes the player(s) and any mercenaries, slowing movement speed. The combination of his freezing aura in addition to his speed and strength makes Duriel a difficult boss to conquer. It should be noted that Holy Freeze is not affected by Cold Resistance or Cannot Be Frozen, and Thawing Potions will not offer any protection either, but the latter are extremely useful for reducing the amount of damage Duriel deals, which is largely Cold-based. Make sure to wear equipment with Cold Resistance and, before entering the boss chamber, drink a large number of Thawing Potions; while the +50 Cold Resistance and +10 maximum Cold Resistance effect won't stack, the duration of the effect will.

Duriel can be a very hard boss due to the fact that there are no exits in his room. As soon as players enter his chamber, they are confronted by Duriel and the only option of escape is Town Portal scrolls. As said before, Duriel's speed and freezing aura make it hard to outrun him, and the very small size of the chamber makes it difficult to keep away from him for more than a couple of seconds. After the player kills Duriel the first time, on the second playthrough they can lure Duriel to the big chamber for more room to fight him. It's wise to bring as many minions as possible and a mercenary in order to buy you some time. Though it usually only takes a few swipes (sometimes just one) for Duriel to kill any minion or mercenary, it should at least give you enough time to open up a Town Portal. Using Cold attacks against Duriel will slow him down significantly. If possible, attack from range, though Barbarians, Paladins and other melee classes will probably have to face Duriel in close combat. However, Duriel also has a charge attack he uses against characters out of melee range that can only be prevented by making the character (or their mercenary/minion) stand close enough to Duriel.

Duriel can also use Smite as an attack that stuns players and knocks them back, which can be quite annoying to deal with as he will sometimes chain the knockbacks together until you hit a wall and can not be knocked back any further. If he does, and if you somehow manage to survive the onslaught (and are a melee character), it would be wise to stick close to the wall while fighting him.

Most classes will fight Duriel the way they would fight against any other monster. Necromancers and Sorceresses might have to take extra caution as at this stage of the game, your stats will be low in the areas required for heavy equipment.

Assassin's Burst of Speed ability makes an Assassin a more potent combatant against Duriel as with this ability activated, Assassins can usually outrun Duriel and perform hit-and-run tactics. Coupled with a combination of Tiger Strike and Cobra Strike, players can heal themselves from Duriel's attacks. Assassins could also rely on traps and Burst of Speed, especially if the player will specifically build an Assassin class specialized in Traps.

After Duriel has been slain, the chamber will be violently shaken and explosions occur on all sides, illuminating the chamber. Some sort of maggots and snails appear from Duriel's torn body; they won't do any harm and can be squished underfoot. A wall collapses and players can move on to explore Tal Rasha's inner chamber.

Strategy for the Necromancer

See Necromancer vs Duriel

Strategy for the Sorceress

Recruit a mercenary (if the player hasn't already) and open a Town Portal as soon as you enter the room. While your associate fights Duriel, make sure to be near enough and use Static Field to rapidly bring Duriel's health down, though the skill will become less efficient the lower his life gets. Also note, in Nightmare it will have no effect below 33%, or below 50% in Hell. Be sure also to give the hireling rejuvenation or healing potions to extend his time in combat, escaping to town when the mercenary is about to die. If a player provides the mercenary with a good spear and good armour, they may see Duriel go down at first attempt in Normal difficulty. Also, it's good to have a few points invested in Static Field... as it is an elemental version of Crushing Blow, and will work on any monster that is not immune to Lightning.

Strategy for the Amazon

Many people have problems in facing Duriel at normal in solo mode, at level 21-22 around, with Amazon with a bow. Hire an Act II Merc (possibly the defensive one) and use Full Rejuvenation potions to heal him (you can farm Rejuvenation potions in easier levels and then cube them) while you keep shooting Duriel from sufficient distance. As long as you are able to keep your merc alive, you can continue to shoot him. If the mercenary dies, try to escape with Town Portal and come back again. If you have a really good bow, you should be able to do it with only 4-6 Full Rejuvenation Potions.

Strategy for the Paladin
  • Use Zeal together with freezing and life-stealing (socketed) weapons.
  • If you have Holy Freeze offensive aura, activate it too, Holy Freeze is calculated separately from the normal freeze of your socketed weapon. This allows you to strike very fast and minimizes the effect of Duriel's freezing attack.
  • Be sure to have 6 or more Healing Potions, or at least Light Healing Potions in your belt. The more the better.
  • Since Zeal consumes mana, you might have also one or two Mana Potions in the belt.
  • Always have a town portal open and ready.

With this build, when you meet Duriel, you should only do the following:

  1. Point at him with the cursor and hold the mouse button. Thus you attack him non-stop until he dies.
  2. Take a healing potion every time you lose 1/3 of your health.

It is simple, taking no more than a minute. Just wait for him to die, and take care to heal yourself appropriately. Use any hireling of your choice, and if possible, provide him/her with a weapon that adds additional Fire and/or Lightning attacks.

Quotes

Duriel death

Duriel's death animation

  • "Looking for Baal!?"
  • "I am your doom!!" (removed)

Diablo III

The Remnant of Pain Soul Shard can be obtained in Diablo III, representing Duriel.

Diablo IV

DurielFightD4

Duriel in Diablo IV

Duriel returns as an enemy in Diablo IV.

His appearance is slightly altered compared to his Diablo II incarnation: he is less insect-like and more reminiscent of Ghom, with a fanged vertical maw in place of a stomach, more bestial and less insectoid jaws, and his crest now faces forward, in addition to the quills on his shoulders and a smaller crest at the back of his head. He also lacks the secondary pair of short, useless arms on his toroso.

Gameplay video features him performing a fatal attack on a Barbarian, involving impaling him with a claw and devouring him with a mouth on Duriel's torso.[10] He is fought in the Foul Cistern of Caldeum, and he attacks with a shoulder slam that inflicts knockback followed by an overhead slam, digging from area to area, and claw swipes. He will launch corrosive poison orbs, and he will also grab players with the mouth on his torso, chew on them, and then toss them away. He cannot be damaged while he is underground. When he takes a large percentage of damage, he will go berserk, making his attacks faster and more lethal, in addition to moving faster, and he will stop digging.

Personality and Traits

"The anticipation of pain is often more exquisite than its fruits. Such is not the case with what I will inflict upon you."

- Duriel(src)

D4Duriel

Duriel

By all accounts, Duriel loves to torture and inflict pain. However, he does not seem to care what the pain means to the recipient. He appears to love the music of their screams, and their agony on a sensual level.[1] Even demons are subjected to his torment.[11]

According to Deckard Cain, Duriel considers himself a master of pain but is only interested in physical torment rather than mental anguish. Many writings suggest that if Duriel were not in a position to inflict pain on a victim, he would subject himself to excruciating pain and be sated.[1] According to Duriel himself, however, "the anticipation of pain is often more exquisite than its fruits."[12]

Trivia

WikiLogoSmall
This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.
  • Duriel is very zerg-like in appearance bearing strong resemblances to StarCraft's hydralisk and lurker.
  • In Hebrew, Duriel translates as "God is my home."
  • If one looks closely, one can see a second pair of useless, short arms on Duriel's torso.
  • In The Sanctuary Tarot Deck and Guidebook, Duriel represents the King of Swords card.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Book of Cain
  2. Heroes Rise, Darkness Falls, Theater Macabre: The Dark Exile
  3. Duriel, The Arreat Summit. Accessed on 2016-03-16
  4. Book of Adria: Diablo Bestiary
  5. Diablo III, Act III
  6. Reaper of Souls, Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed on 2013-09-09
  7. Diablo III, Act V
  8. 2014-05-19, More Info From The Anniversary Dev Stream. Diablo Fans.com, accessed on 2014-05-20
  9. 2020-11-11, BlizzCon 2019 Diablo IV: World and Lore Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2020-05-12
  10. 2019-11-01, Diablo IV Official Gameplay Trailer. YouTube, accessed on 2019-11-10
  11. Book of Lorath
  12. Diablo III, Remnant of Pain

Prime Evil — Tathamet
Prime EvilsBaalDiabloMephisto
Lesser EvilsAndarielAzmodanBelialDuriel

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