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    Diablo III is live and players across the world are once again returning to Tristam, the Arreat Summit, and Hell to do battle against a new evil plot of the worshipers of the Lords of Hell.

    We’ve visited all the bosses and have put together this guide to give you a preview of each spectacular boss fight, and provide some help if you are stuck.


    **Warning, massive spoilers ahead!**

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    Act I Boss: Skeleton King, Mad King of Tristam

    Before descending into the Crypt of the Skeleton King, use your Town Portal ability to make a quick trip back to New Tristam.  There, sell any items in your inventory and buy your Templar a nice shield and spear from the Tashun the Miner.  Also, make sure you have plenty of healing potions; they can be bought from Arghus the Collector.

    For this fight, it is recommended you have an area-effect power (secondary attack) as well as a focused single-hit power (primary attack) on your hero.
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    Skeleton King: Part 2

    The Skeleton King has several special attacks. His primary attack is to club you with his gigantic mace.  He also can summon Forgotten Soldiers to attack you from behind.  

    Attack the King with your primary attack, and when his skeletal minions start attacking you from behind, unleash your area effect attack. The Skeleton King is very tough, and you won't be able to knock him out like you have with the enemies you've encountered up to this point.  When your Health is at half or below, retreat and use a healing potion.  Wait until the Healing potion timer is reset before re-entering the battle with the Skeleton King.
    If you retreat, he can teleport to you and swing his giant mace at you.  You can avoid getting hit by this attack by using any evasive abilities your character has (Monk Dash, Barbarian Jump, etc.) 
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    Act I Boss: The Butcher, Flesh Carver

    The Butcher is inside the Chamber of Suffering.  When you find the entrance to the chamber, instead of rushing inside, use a Town Portal to head back to town.  At this point, you should be able to purchase regular Healing Potions from Arghus the Collector.  Buy 10, and drag them into your potion slot on the toolbar.

    Now is a good time to pick the right companion for your character.  If you are playing a melee character like the Monk or the Barbarian, then you should take the Scoundrel with you.  He will stay at range and help amplify your damage.   If you are playing a ranged character like the Wizard or the Demon Hunter, then you should take the Paladin.  He will distract the Butcher while you unleash with your distance attacks.
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    The Butcher: Part 2

    The Butcher has two primary weapons.  In his right hand, he has a staff he pounds the ground with.  You can see this attack coming and quickly move out of the way.  

    His left hand has a magic sickle which enables two attacks.  At mid-range, the sickle will fan out a set of magic spears in your general direction. These spears are relatively low damage and have no secondary effect so you don’t have to worry about them, as long as your hero doesn’t get hit by them too frequently.  Of much more concern is the long-range sickle attack which pulls a “Get over here!”-type move and stuns your hero.

    Throughout this fight, different areas of the floor will light on fire, you can tell which areas are about to light up; they will start to glow red shortly before lighting up.

    At the top of the area, you will find two healing urns that can help restore your health between potion uses.  You don’t need to save these for an emergency, they replenish frequently throughout the fight.

    A good strategy for the Butcher is to stay at mid-range and be ready for his charging attack. If you can move out of the way, he’ll slam into the wall and stun himself.  Move in from behind to hit him with your hero’s best skills before he can recover.
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    Act II Boss: Maghda – Leader of the Coven

    Maghda is immediately at the start of the Lair of the Witch level, so be sure to head back to town to restore your Healing Potion supply and get the best gear you can.

    Maghda is not as tough as the previous main act bosses.  She has a straightforward pattern that, if exploited, makes her very easy to defeat.
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    Maghda: Part 2

    When Maghda takes a set amount of damage, she summons three to five thralls which are simple melee attackers.  As long as the thralls are alive, Maghda is immune to attack.  As soon as the thralls appear, withdraw from attacking Maghda and focus entirely on the thralls.

    The thralls have a special super-attack where they slam down a red-hot weapon.  If you get hit by this deadly swipe, it can be serious trouble.  Stay clear of them and use snare, blindness, and other area-effects to disable them.  After a few thrall spawns, Maghda falls and you can return to the Hidden Camp.
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    Act II Boss: Zoltun Kulle – Dark Horadrim

    Your reward for resurrecting Zoltun Kulle is that he immediately betrays you.  Kulle is accompanied by two gigantic Eternal Guardians.  These Guardians are susceptible to many hero effects including Knockback.  They also have a relatively low (for a boss fight) amount of hit points.  This makes them the primary target in this fight.

    The best way to beat these guys is to perform some divide and conquer.  This fight takes place in a gigantic circular walkway.  If you run your character to the opposite side of the room, you can split the constructs up so you only have to fight one on at a time.

    Alternatively, you can go straight for Kulle, but will need to constantly knock the constructs back to avoid allowing them to get close enough to start wailing on your hero.
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    Zolton Kulle: Part 2

    Kulle himself has some tricky spells.  The most common spell is one that erects a transparent semi-sphere that slows you down to half speed if you are inside.  If your character is caught in this bubble, immediately start retreating; it not only affects your movement speed, but also attack speed, making your hero ineffective.

    Another of Kulle’s spells is a tornado which roams the walkway.  If you get caught inside, it can rack up the damage very quickly.  Keep your eye out for it and avoid it.  

    Kulle’s last attack is to bring the roof down on you.  Rocks appear out of nowhere and crash into your skull.  This rock attack can erect massive damage, so you need to stay ready to quickly evade.

    Kulle can also teleport if he gets in trouble.  This can be annoying for melee attackers; use any dash or jump powers to quickly get back in range.
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    Act II Boss: Belial – Lord of Lies

    After rescuing the townsfolk of Caldeum, you soon arrive in the Emperor’s palace.  There, the child-emperor reveals himself as Belial.  Before entering the court prepare for the fight by switching out your area-effect powers for single-target powers.  

    Belial opens up with an easy surprise attack from his serpent minions.  Use this section of the fight to fully charge your mana bubble for the fight ahead.

    Wipe the imposters out and Belial teleports down to attack you directly.  Belial isn’t as tough as Kulle, he has some simple poison attacks, but they aren’t heavily damaging.  Just the assault up and when his health gets down to about 20%, he reveals his true self.  You knew it couldn’t be that easy, didn’t you?  He’s a lord of hell!
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    Belial: Part 2

    Belial is the most fearsome boss you’ve fought thus far.  His first attack is slamming his giant arms down in the green-lit areas of the floor. Stay to his sides to avoid the attack, and he should focus on your companion.  Stay on the edge of the map and you can also avoid his second attack, an acid spray.

    Belial’s last attack is his most fearsome.  He sticks both arms into the ground and acid falls from the skies filling the floor.  Don’t attack him while he’s doing this, just focus on avoiding this attack as it can kill your hero instantly. 
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    Act III Boss: Ghom – Lord of Gluttony

    Ghom – the sewer lover that he is – is hiding at the bottom of Bastion’s Keep.

    Ghom’s attacks mostly consist of various forms of vomiting.  His stomach acids are no joke; you need to keep moving to avoid getting puked on.  One of the many wonderful things he pukes out are creepy-crawly acid slimes. These slimes crawl as fast as they can your character, but you can take care of them with simple area-effect attacks.
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    Ghom: Part 2

    As you attack Ghom, he will fill the area around him with a rancid gas.  This gas has a debilitating effect on your character, if you find your hero consumed in the gassy field, move out of it and wait for Ghom to follow to resume your attack.

    Ghom doesn’t have any great ranged attacks except for the Acid Slimes, so ranged characters will have a much easier time of him than melee characters.  This would be a good fight to bring along your Vampire Hunter friend.

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    Act III Boss: Siege Breaker Assault Beast – Living Siege Engine of Hell

    When you reach the Edge of the Abyss, be ready for a big fight with a gigantic siege beast. There’s no sneaky way to defeat this guy, his attacks are straightforward and he has a ton of hit points.

    The best thing you can do is to keep your character out of range of his sweeping arm attacks. This is much easier to do if you are playing a ranged character. If you are playing a melee character, then you need to avoid standing directly in front of the Assault Beast.  
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    Siege Breaker: Part 2

    If you are unfortunate enough to be standing in front of him, he will pick your character up and spray acid in your face.  Luckily, this isn’t a tremendously damaging attack.  You need to be much more careful to avoid his ground stomp and arm-sweeping attacks.

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    Act III Boss: Cydaea – Maiden of Lust

    Cydaea is a half-spider-demon, half-succubus creature residing in the Heart of the Cursed at the bottom of Hell.  Before heading into the Heart, make sure you have a full stock of Major Health Potions.  Also, if your character has any anti-snare or root abilities, you should equip them.  

    Unlike the previous two bosses, Cydaea is much easier for melee characters. 

    If playing a melee character, your goal is to stay in her face throughout the fight.  She will try to web you to the ground to hamper your pursuit, so hopefully you prepared some anti-snaring abilities.  
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    Cydaea: Part 2

    When she takes a certain amount of damage, Cydaea runs away and opens venom pits that spawn in small armies of spiders. These spiders aren’t particularly strong, but you don’t want your hero standing in the middle of the pit. Keep moving, and use your hero’s regular area effect attacks to dispose of them.

    If you are playing a ranged character, then the fight is a bit tougher. Cydaea has a deadly poison attack that she uses at range, and she will constantly be spawning spiders on you at short-range that you need to take care of. She moves very quickly, so she can be hard to hit. Stick to rapid-fire type attacks rather than big, slow attacks to ensure you keep the damage up throughout the fight.
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    Act III Boss: Azmodan – Lord of Sin

    Azmodan is at the end of a simple trek from Cydaea’s room through the Core of Arreat, and into the Heart of Sin.

    Azmodan has two main attacks.  The first is a giant hero-seeking fireball that he belches at out.  This fireball can inflict major damage.  When he starts to belch, start running because it can move slightly faster than the average hero.

    Next, Azmodan rains corpse parts on you. Yes, the Lord of Sin can be fairly creative if need be.  This torrent actually inflicts a lot of damage if you get caught in it. Just before the grotesque rain cloud drops corpses, you can see a red outline on the ground.  Retreat to the edges of the falling corpse-field to reduce the amount of damage you take.
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    Azmodan: Part 2

    When you hurt Azmodan, he’ll start spawning in giant pits of darkness that can expand and hurt your hero if she gets caught under them.  Running away from these pools of darkness is your best option.  While the pits are out, focus on any reinforcements Azmodan may have summoned with his Demon Gates.

    One last attack Azomodan will use when he is desperate is a stream of magma that shoots out of the side of his head.  This is easily avoidable by staying at mid-range or by circling him.
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    Act IV Boss: Rakanoth – Lord of Despair

    Rakanoth is located in the Library of Fate.  You can’t teleport once you are inside, so be sure you buy potions before heading inside.  The best skills to ready for Rakanoth are big one-shot attacks.  Area effect attacks are close to useless.  You will be performing hit-and-run tactics to survive the fight.

    Rakanoth is much easier if you take a ranged approach.  You will need to stick and move to avoid his massive blade attacks.  He does have some ranged attacks of his own (he fires an arc of white discs), but these don’t hurt your hero as badly as his melee attacks.
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    Rakanoth: Part 2

    During the fight, Rakanoth spawns Soul Devourer demons.  These enemies are weak, but can pull you across the area with their giant tongues, so you should prioritize killing them. You don’t want them to stick your hero when  trying to evade Rakanoth’s deadly swipes.

    The big advantage you have in this fight is the huge room.  While Rakanoth can teleport to your position, you can get more time to recharge your abilities and heal by weaving between the spires to slow Rakanoth’s pursuit.
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    Act IV Boss: Diablo – The Prime Evil

    After fighting through Diablo’s lieutenants, corruptions, and minions, you arrive at the final confrontation when you reach the entrance to the Pinnacle of Heaven. You should have a stack of Super Potions accumulated from killing the Act IV mobs. Drag those potions into your potion slot before you start the fight. If you have any gear or powers that increase your resistance to fire, now is the time to equip them. Also, if your hero has fire-based attacks, you should switch them out for something non-fire based.  Even on Normal difficulty Diablo is largely immune to fire damage.

    Your companions are trapped at the start of the level; they are only able to watch as you battle Diablo.  

    If you’ve played any of the previous Diablo games, you’ll see he’s up to his old tricks. Initially his primary attacks are a teleport to swipe attack, a charge attack, and bone prisons he summons to trap your hero. He also attacks with a fire stomp that sends fire in all directions and a variety of fireball attacks. He can turn a tile into flame, forcing you to move or be burned.

    This first part of the fight is very straightforward, just stick to smart attacks and don’t stand in one place for too long. To avoid the bone prisons, wait to see Diablo’s underhanded summoning gesture and keep moving around to dodge the prisons as they surface form the ground, you can see where they are going to spawn by the black corruption splotches on the ground.  If you get caught, Diablo picks you up and drains about half your life.
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    Diablo: Part 2

    When you get Diablo’s health down to two thirds of the bar, he teleports you to the Realm of Terror for the second part of the fight.  

    In this realm, you must defeat a shadow aspect of yourself.  This shadow should be easy, but will use most of your Powers.  

    With your mimic down, Shadow Diablo appears and begins attacking you.  Shadow Diablo has most of the same powers as regular Diablo, this time however, you must completely drain his health bar.  

    If you get in trouble in this fight, note that the Realm of Terror is gigantic, and there’s a lot of room to retreat.  Put the chasms between your character and Diablo to buy yourself a few more moments to heal between salvos.

    When you defeat Shadow Diablo, you are teleported out of the Realm of Terror to face Diablo again.  
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    Next: The Rarest and Most Fantastic Diablo Loot

    Diablo: Part 3

    The fight continues as before, but you must watch out for Diablo’s new Godzilla-breath attack.  This attack will kill your hero if they are caught in the middle of it.  You need to move quickly to counter with a well-timed healing power or potion.

    If you need some extra healing, there are two healing fountains on either side of the level.  
    Keep the attacks up, avoid getting cornered, and Diablo will eventually fall! 

    And that’s it…  This guide is just for Normal difficulty bosses – there are three additional (and much, much harder difficulties you still need to master to consider yourself a true champion of Diablo III!