Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Windows Central
Windows Central
Technology
Jennifer Young

Diablo 4 Boss ladder: Boss locations, summoning guide and loot tables

Beast in the Ice.

In Diablo 4, the endgame is where the hunt for the best gear truly begins, with Uniques and Mythic Uniques being the top prizes. While these items can drop from any activity, your odds improve significantly by targeting endgame bosses through the Boss Ladder. Each boss has a unique loot table, and the ladder’s structure requires crafting materials to summon bosses, often earned from defeating the previous boss. As you progress, the difficulty increases, with Andariel and Duriel at the top, offering the highest chances to drop Mythic Uniques.

Starting in Season 6, Season of Hatred, Blizzard have streamlined the process, removing additional costs to challenge higher-tier bosses. Once you unlock Torment difficulty, you can access these encounters, and higher difficulty increases your odds of getting top-tier loot. Most players will be farming materials to repeatedly take on Andariel and Duriel for their prized drops.

This guide has been updated with loot table changes to reflect the changes from Vessel of Hatred Expansion on 7, October 2024. 

When can I start fighting Bosses in Diablo 4?

You'll need to have hit the character level max of 60 and completed a Pit Level 20 to unlock Torment difficulty. At Torment 1 the bosses on the Boss Ladder become available to you. 

Echo of Varshan

Echo of Varshan (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Varshan was added as a boss fight in Diablo 4 Season 1, Season of the Malignant, and their Echo remains for us to fight as the first Boss on the Ladder. Varshan is also the most efficient boss to farm for the popular Malignant rings.

Varshan will mainly inflict Shadow damage, so stack your build against this with Ameythst Gems and potions.

Where to find Echo of Varshan

Head to the Malignant Burrow under the Tree of Whispers to summon Varshan. (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

How to summon Echo of Varshan

You'll need the following materials to summon the Echo of Varshan.

  • 4 x Malignant Hearts

If you don't have any Malignant Hearts or you have used them all, you may have found the following materials from Whisper Caches and other drops in the game

  • Gurgling Head
  • Trembling Hand
  • Blackened Femur

These are basically Varshan's body parts, and what used to be needed to summon him. Now however as you only need Malignant Hearts to summon Varshan, you can convert these body parts to a Malignant Heart by visiting a Herbalist in any main city.

Grigoire, the Galvanic Saint

You'll need to stack lightning resistance to take on Grigoire in Diablo 4 (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Grigoire is the first boss you'll need to farm for materials to go and fight Duriel. He'll be doing Lightning damage so socket in some Topaz gems to your gear before this fight.

Where to find Grigoire, the Galvanic Saint

Grigoire can be found in the Hall of the Penitent (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Grigoire is found in the Hall of the Penitent, which is located south of Ked Bardu in the Dry Steppes. 

How to summon Grigoire

You'll need the following materials to summon the Grigoire the Galvanic Saint:

  • Living Steel x 12

Living Steel drops from opening Tortured Gifts in the Helltide. The most Living Steel is dropped from the chest of Living Steel (go figure). However, if you are playing Seasonal mode, you will also be rewarded with Living Steel by opening rewards from the season journey or quests.

Lord Zir

(Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Lord Zir was the final boss in Season 2's Season of Blood storyline, and thankfully he was kept for us to slaughter over and over for sweet loot. Blood in itself isn't an elemental damage type, but Lord Zir's blood attacks inflict Shadow damage, so you'll need Amythyst gems and a Potent Elixir of Shadow Resistance.

Where to find Lord Zir

Lord Zir is found at The Darkened Way (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Lord Zir is found in The Darkened Way, East of Kyovashad in the Fractured Peaks. 

How to summon Lord Zir

To summon Lord Zir you'll need the following:

  • Exquisite Blood x 12

Exquisite blood drops from Legion events and World Bosses.

The Beast in the Ice

Stack up Cold Resistance for Beast in the Ice (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

The Beast in the Ice will inflict, yes you guessed it, Cold damage. So stack those Sapphire gems and chug a Cold elixir for this fight. 

Where to find The Beast in the Ice

(Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

The Beast in the Ice's location used to be a Nightmare Dungeon. But no more! Now you can travel straight there. The Glacial Fissure can be found in The Fractured Peaks just South-West of Kyovashad.

How to summon The Beast in the Ice

  • Distilled Fear x 12

Distilled Fear drops from Nightmare Dungeons Tier 30 and above. 

Duriel, King of Maggots

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Duriel, who made a fleeting appearance in the campaign, and who also featured as a boss in Diablo 2: Resurrected, returns in the endgame. He will inflict Poison damage so stack Emeralds and a Poison Elixir to max out your poison resistance. 

Where to find Duriel

(Image credit: Jennifer Young Windows Central)

The Gaping Crevasse to the East of Gea Kul in Kehjistan.

How to summon Duriel

To summon Duriel, you'll need to have fought Varshan and Grigoire. Note that only the player that summoned these bosses will have the necessary materials dropped, but can summon for the entire group. You can also drop materials you have for another person in your party. 

  • Mucus Slick Eggs x 2 (from Varshan)
  • Shards of Agony x 2 (from Grigoire)

Andariel, Maiden of Anguish

Andariel is being added to the Boss Ladder (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Andariel is Duriel's twin, therefore they have identical loot tables.

Andariel will inflict all damage types, so go for an 'all resistance' gem in your gear with Diamonds. 

Where to find Andariel

Andariel is lurking at the Hanged Man's Hall (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Hanged Man's Hall to the East of Tarsarak

How to summon Andariel

You'll need to have fought both The Beast in the Ice and Zir for the materials required to summon Andariel.

  • Pincushioned Doll x 2 (From Beast in the Ice)
  • Sandscorched Shackles x 2 (From Lord Zir)

Echo of Lilith

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Lilith isn't technically part of the Boss Ladder, and isn't worth farming for Uniques and materials, however as a 'Pinnacle Boss' she is worth fighting as she will drop a Resplendent Spark.    Y

Resplendent Sparks are incredibly rare crafting materials used to craft  Mythic Uniques.

Where to find Uber Lilith

(Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Uber Lilith can be found at the Nevesk Church, go and meet Mommy with a bunch of paragon equipped and with a perfected build. Uber Lilith is by far the toughest of all the bosses. 

Which boss is best to farm Mythic Uniques?

As of Diablo 4 Patch 2.0.1, this line was included, which changed the Mythic Unique farming method:

  • Adjusted the drop rates of Mythic Unique items from Ladder Bosses to compensate for being guaranteed Ancestral quality.
  • Duriel and Andariel do not guarantee a Mythic item drop but their chance to drop a Mythic item is twice as high as other Tormented bosses.

But what does this mean? If you are target farming Mythic Uniques specifically, Duriel and Andariel have twice the drop rate of the other Ladder bosses. As Andariel has a forced second phase and cannot be killed as quickly, Duriel is the best to farm at this stage.  

Check out our full guide to
how to get Mythic Uniques.

Will Diablo 4 add any more Tormented Bosses?

Yes. The Boss Ladder has already had Andariel to it in Season 4, and following the launch of Vessel of Hatred the developers confirmed they are looking at further changes. This also means that the 'Harbinger of Hatred' could made a comeback in a future update as developers confirmed it was top of their list.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.