River of Flame

River of Flame
Act	Act IV}}
Quests	Hell's Forge
NPCs	Hadriel
Monsters	Abyss Knight, Strangler, Pit Lord, Maw Fiend, Urdar, Grotesque, Blood Maggot
Adjacent Zones	City of the Damned, Chaos Sanctuary
Area Level Normal	27
Area Level Nightmare	57
Area Level Hell	85
Waypoint	Yes

River of Flame is a zone in Act IV. It can be reached by a staircase from the City of the Damned (the staircase is usually found near the City's waypoint. The River of Flame is a winding path of rock within a vast sea of magma. It has a very unique and 'hellish' feel to it - it is arguably one of the more intense zones players will visit in Diablo II.

The River of Flame has several points of interest. The Hellforge can be found at one end of the River. Somewhere at the other end of the River lies the Chaos Sanctuary - Diablo's lair. The waypoint can be found near the entrance to the Sanctuary. It is here the angel Hadriel stands guard, accompanied by rows of demonic statues.

The double row of statues between Hadriel and the waypoint are a nice Easter Egg; their heads turn to watch as your character runs past on the way to the final battle with Diablo.

"Between the River of Flame and the Archangel Hadriel stands a row of statues, guarding the way to The Chaos Sanctuary. As you pass each statue, take notice as they turn their head and follow you with their icy stares. What purpose could they serve? Perhaps they are the eyes of Diablo himself!" - Deckard Cain

Stairs to River of Flames

The River of Flame appears considerably hotter than the city above. However, unlike other games where extreme ambient surrounding temperatures may corrode your hit points when you're in such places, somehow the area of the River of Flame is not hot enough to sear the health of the character, hireling, and/or any summons you're with. Perhaps Tyrael cast an unseen spell that protects you and your party from Hell's physical elements.

The River of Flame on Hell is also one of the area level 85 zones since patch 1.10, and the monsters there have better drop levels for this reason. If you have a powerful character, it can be a decent place to do Magic Find runs.