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Andariel
For other uses of the word Succubus, see Succubus (disambiguation).
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Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish is one of the Lesser Evils and is known as the Demon Queen. In Diablo II she appears as the final boss of Act I; she is found on the fourth level of the Catacombs. Players must defeat her in order to complete the quest Sisters to the Slaughter and advance to Act II. Prior to her death, she had a servant by the name of Rakanoth (the Lord of Despair).
Background
Andariel is one of the four Lesser Evils, and the only female of the seven powers of Hell, hence her secondary title, the Demon Queen. She is considered to be the "twin" of Duriel, as their spheres of influence complement each other (Andariel tortures the mind, while Duriel tortures the body). Centuries ago, Andariel joined with the other Lesser Evils to cast out the Prime Evils as part of the Dark Exile. Nearly three hundred years later, Andariel was sent by Diablo to invade the Citadel of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye (also known as the Rogues) in order to close the passage through the mountains into the eastern lands of Aranoch, so that no one would be able to follow Diablo in his guise of the Dark Wanderer and prevent him from freeing his brother Baal from Tal Ras ha's Tomb. During the assault on the Rogue Monastery many sisters were slain and others were turned to serve the Maiden of Anguish, such as Bloodraven (who was also the Rouge character from Diablo 1). The surviving Rogues fled the Monastery and became scattered throughout the wilderness, although the majority of the survivors formed the Rogue Encampment, vowing to fight Andariel and reclaim their ancestral home.
Ancient Horadric texts record that Andariel and the other Lesser Evils once overthrew the three Prime Evils - Diablo, Mephisto and Baal - banishing them from Hell to our world. With this betrayal weighing against her, Andariel's presence in Sanctuary can only mean that the forces of Hell are once again aligned behind Diablo and his Brothers. While it is clear that the Maiden of Anguish is acting on behalf of Diablo to prevent anyone from following him eastward, it is also clear that she must be destroyed if the Lord of Terror is to be stopped.- Arreat Summit entry on Andariel.[1]
Further Information and Tips
Andariel is found on the fourth level of the Catacombs. The first rooms are filled with undead and demon minions; its best to clear them so you can focus on Andariel. Open the gates and proceed into the throne room; if you venture far enough Andariel should approach you, saying either Die, Maggot! or Fear me!
It might be best to fight Andariel in the room with the pool of blood in the middle; you can run around the pool while Andariel chases you when you need to buy some time (for instance for healing potions to take effect). Andariel uses a potent Poison Spray ability that spreads in a large area: Mercenary units and minions that get hit will most likely die from the poison damage, given enough time. When you engage her in melee combat she can still poison you.
Though it's possible to limit the damage from the poison attacks by getting Poison Resistance and bringing Antidote Potions, it's probably better to just heal through the poison damage with healing potions and focus on bursting Andariel down as fast as possible. Remember: the longer the fight takes, the more damage you will take from poison attacks. Andariel hits for a decent amount of damage in melee combat as well. Just keep hitting her and she will eventually fall (if you run out of potions you can always portal back to the Rogue Encampment and get some more). Fire is Andariel's main weakness; if possible use Fire based attacks against her.
Andariel has a weakness for any fire based damage, so try to use fire-based skills and weapons as m ch as possible. Amazons can use Fire Arrow, Paladins can use Holy Fire, Sorceresses can use any fire skill she might possess, and so on. Barbarians can augment their weapons with rubies or use charms to increase their fire damage. Andariel's poison is very lethal; however, as she will poison players very often, Antidote Potions aren't usually a great help. Focus on bringing her down as quickly as possible instead.
Here are some helpful hints on how to beat her with different classes:
Amazon - Utilize ranged attacks. Using a bow or javelins from long range allows Amazons to stay away from Andariel and possibly dodging some of her Poison attacks. Any damage increasing Fire Arrow or Cold Arrow helps kill her easily by doing extra damage.
Barbarian - If dual weapons are in use, then skills like Double Swing are excellent. Mana Stealing/Life Stealing weapons are very useful too. Andariel isn't too tough to kill, and should go down fairly quickly to good weapons.
Druid - Use Molten Boulder or your best ranged weapon or spell. It is a must to stay away from Andariel's Poison attack in anyway possible. It can be very deadly, unless you have tons of hit points. If you are a Shape Shifter, Werewolf can be good for fast damage, or Werebear for added hit points and damage.
Sorceress - The Sorceress is an excellent spell caster. The main downfall for the Sorceress is her weak armor and health but, if she can get Andariel into the room outside her starting room and get her stuck on one side of the lake, the sorceress may bombard her with as many spells as possible before she can retaliate. If she attempts to get within melee range, use Cold Spells to slow her down. Static Field is quite effective here, but keep in mind that in order to use it one has to get perilously close to the Maiden of Anguish. Use it once or twice to drop Andariel's hit points by about 1/3, and then get away. If you have Blaze, have her chase the sorceress, cast, and enjoy the spectacle.
Necromancer - Make sure to kill the creatures in Andariel's throne room before the fight. These corpses will provide a nearby place to raise more skeletons if the necromancer is utilizing summoning skills, but be aware that skeletons tend to die extremely quickly to Andariel's poison. Also, keep a golem in action at all times, as they are good tanks for the weaker skeletons. Use Poison and Bone spells to whittle down Andariel's life quickly while she is distracted, and Amplify Damage is a great way to bring her down.
Paladin - The Might and Concentration auras massively increase the Paladin's damage output; direct damage attacks such as Zeal and Vengeance help out too. Cleansing can help a Paladin that is retreating.
Assassin - Tiger Strike with a good finishing move can help bring down Andariel. Use traps to increase damage output.
When Andariel dies, her body erupts in flame. Chunks of the ceiling fall and a Town Portal opens, bringing you back to the Rogue Encampment. Your character and mercenary do not get hurt from the falling debris, however. Now the way east is opened once more, you can continue your journey in Act II.
If you return to pick up more loot, the fallen ceiling debris will have magically disappeared due to graphical errors.
Quotes
- "Die, maggot!"
- "Fear me!"
- "The East is beyond your grasp!" (removed)
Trivia
- Andariel has a unique item to her name, Andariel's Visage, a Demonhead, which may be a prized trophy rather than her actual head.
- Andariel has a weakness to fire, which is ironic considering that the Burning Hells is filled with this particular element. Also, the dragon (Tathamet) from which she was born could breathed fire.
- Andariel's chair in her chamber is a Bone Throne.
- Andariel bears a strong resemblance to Infested Kerrigan from Starcraft.
- Although it was implied in earlier materials that she was the daughter of Lilith (and thus the granddaughter of Mephisto), the Book of Cain debunks this, as Andariel was born from the heads of the Dragon Tathemet alongside the other Great Evils.
- She is the only female member of the Seven, which indicates the reason for her second title: the Demon Queen. It is unknown however, if she is more or less powerful than Lilith.
- Her four external appendages are reminiscent of Doctor Octopus, one of Spider Man's archnemeses.
- She is also the only primary female antagonist of any act in a Diablo game.
- Her name may also be a combination of the word "and" + the name "ariel".
- Despite being one herself, she apparently does not hold complete control over the succubi since Lilith already holds that title.