ACT 4 Solution
This is it. The Finale. It's you against every demon
in Hell. You've got to destroy Mephisto's Soulstone, then defeat the devil in
his lair. The hero who became the Dark Wanderer couldn't do it, but can you
finish Diablo himself? You'll find yourself in the Pandemonium Fortress, the
rallying point of Heaven before you enter the Burning Hells. This isn't exactly
a happening town. There's just you and a few others.
Pandemonium Fortress Townsfolk
Deckard Cain: As
he did in previous acts, Deckard Cain will identify items for you. How brave is
Cain, to follow you into Hell?
Halbu: Speak with Halbu to purchase weapons, armour and magical items.
Halbu also repairs damaged weapons and armour, fora price.
Jamella: Return to the Pandemonium Fortress and speak with Jamella to
instantly restore Health and Mana points, jamella also offers weapons, armour,
magical items and healing potions for sale. She's the Gambler as well.
Tyrael: The Archangel Tyrael accompanies your journey into the fourth act.
Speak with Tyrael to open Act IV quests.
Quest 1: The Fallen Angel
"There is a dark, tortured soul who was trapped
within this forsaken realm long ago. Called Izual by mortal men, in ages past
he was my most trusted Lieutenant. But against my wishes he led an ill-fated
assault upon the fiery Hell Forge itself. Despite his valour and strength,
Izual was captured by the Prime Evils and twisted by their perverse power. They
forced him to betray his own kind and give up Heaven's most guarded secrets. He
became a corrupt shadow of his former self; a fallen angel trusted neither by
Heaven nor Hell. For his transgressions, Izual's spirit was bound within the
form of a terrible creature summoned from the Abyss. His maddened spirit has
resided within that tortured husk for many ages now. It seems to me that he has
suffered long enough. I implore you, hero, to Find Izual and release him from
his cruel imprisonment. Put an end to his guilt and suffering."
Your first point of call is Tyrael. He'll give you
the Izual mission. Izual can be found in the Plains of Despair. From the
Pandemonium Fortress, head down the staircase into the Outer Steppes and locate
the entrance to the Plains of Despair. There are no Waypoint markers in the
Outer Steppes or the Plains of Despair, which lie beyond. That's where you'll
find Izual, so be sure to stock up on Town Portal scrolls before heading out
from the Pandemonium Fortress. These areas are big, although not as large as
the jungles.
There are many powerful monsters here. The Undead
are spell casters and melee fighters unlike anything you've ever seen. The Vile
Mother subclasses kick like mules and spawn at an alarming rate. And this time,
there are quite vicious little kids.
You'll find Izual in the Plains of Despair. You come
across him without any real warning. Make sure your supply of Health, Mana or
Rejuvenation potions is high. Izual is a tough adversary with powerful cold and
melee attacks, and a coterie of demon buddies. As usual, lure them away before
you go for the prize.
Izual's spirit is released from his form after
death, but only to make a shocking revelation. He betrayed Heaven and
engineered the Soulstones together with the Prime Evils. The Soulstones
provided a way to keep the spirits of the Prime Evils on Earth, giving them
places to hide if they were killed. Return to Tyrael with this shocking
revelation and get two skill points. You might want to hold off using them
until after you hit level 30, when you can improve those highest level skills.
Speak to Cain to activate the next quest.
Quest 2: Hell’s Forge
"The time has come for you to destroy Mephisto's Soulstone. Take the Stone
to the Hell Forge. Place it upon the forge and strike it soundly with the
Hammer. Only by doing this can you prevent Mephisto from manifesting in this
world ever again.”
The Hell Forge is located in the River of Flame, quite a long trek from the
Pandemonium Fortress. To reach the Hell Forge when starting in town, proceed to
the Outer Steppes, then into the Plains of Despair, past the City of the Damned
which follows, and finally down into a different section of dungeon, the River
of Flame. There are Waypoint markers located in the City of the Damned and the
River of Flame.
On the River you might run into Hadriel the
Archangel. He guards the Chaos Sanctuary, which is where Diablo waits, licking
his lips. You can't enter yet. Look around until you find the Hell Forge. The
Armourer guards it. Much like the one who you killed to retrieve the Horadric
Malus, this chap is a brick. Don't pussyfoot around him. Hit, move away, then
repeat.
Be wary of the Doom Knight, Abyss Knight and
Oblivion Knight. Doom and Abyss Knights possess powerful melee attacks coupled
with high Hit points and resistances to fire (80,40), lightning (20, 80), cold
(20, 40) and poison (40, 40). The Oblivion Knights resist those elements 60%
each and employ the Necromancer's Bone Spirit and various curses. The Oblivion
Knight is a particular problem and should be eliminated as a primary target.
At the Forge you'll find a Hammer. Equip it, and
then smash the Soulstone Mephisto bore. Grab the gems that are dropped as a
reward, then head back to town for a reward from Tyrael.
Quest 3: Terror’s End
"The time has come to hunt downs and destroy
Diablo himself. But beware, the Lord of Terror is not to be underestimated. He
single-handedly destroyed the town of Tristram and corrupted the last noble
hero who tried to stop him. This time, you must defeat him for good. Only by
destroying the Soulstone, which he carries, will his spirit be banished
forever. Good luck. Though this may be our darkest hour, it may yet be your
greatest moment!"
This is what you came for. All right. Once you've
equipped yourself thoroughly, it's time to go back to the River of Flame and
pass Hadriel. Getting from the River into the Chaos Sanctuary is a mission unto
itself. A narrow, twisting bridge over a lava pit is packed with powerful
monsters. Advance a section at a time. There will probably be spawning
monsters. The usual tactic of killing them first is particularly important here
as they can produce more monsters that can choke the paths. The Barbarian's
leap will be much appreciated here, as will teleports.
There are a total of five seals inside the Chaos
Sanctuary. They will be in couples, or alone. Approach two of the seals. Touch
the seal, and it opens. Touch the other seal nearby, and a Unique monster will
appear surrounded by minions. It's likely that the Unique monster and its
minions will trap you near the seals; consider opening a Town Portal scroll
before using the seals in case you have to retreat. Position the scroll near
the seal you'll use to release the monsters before you actually touch it. That
way you have at least one escape route should you need to flee.
The Infector of Souls (extra fast, spectral hit),
Lord DeSeis (extra fast, thieving, aura enchanted) and the Grand Vizier of
Chaos (extra strong, fire enchanted) are your enemies summoned by the seals.
Lord De Seis' thieving ability allows him to steal potions out of your
character's belt and strew them on the ground. It's probably wise to clear the
Sanctuary of the many Undead that are here before you start playing around with
the seals.
Once you've touched them all you'll summon the
Beast, Diablo himself. Head back to the Pentagram in the middle of the
Sanctuary. He'll announce himself with threats then lope like a wolf straight
for you.
Defeating Diablo
Fighting Diablo is hard. No doubt about it. Every
tactic you can use against him is flawed in some way.
An Amazon equipped with high-level jab, critical
strike and a powerful javelin, particularly paired with the passive defensive
skills like dodge, avoid and evade, is handy. Avoid Diablo's lightning and fire
attacks with hit and run bursts using jab and, even better, impale. Diablo's
elemental resistances negate some of the Amazon's lightning and poison javelin
attacks. A ranged Amazon player should implement high-level fire arrows (or
powerful standard arrows) combined with critical strike and passive defensive
skills.
As a Barbarian, leap attack and whirlwind make an effective
tactic if you've hit level 30. Use the standard leap to avoid Diablo's
lightning and fire attacks then close in with the whirlwind attack.
Alternatively, you can combine the leap attack with double swing - two hands,
each with powerful magical weaponry, can take down Diablo with repeated hit and
run attacks. Hit Diablo from the side rather than face on. His lightning attack
will kill even the hardiest warrior easily.
A Necromancer could use an enchanted Iron Golem
combined with the Iron Maiden skill if you've pumped some skill points into
them. This combination causes damage to Diablo when he retaliates against the
Iron Golem's attack. Save an impressive magical metallic item to create the
Iron Golem and enhance it with an Amplify Damage curse. High-powered Bone Spear
could prove effective along with an Iron or Blood Golem attack. At level 30?
Use Revive to bring along some Act IV minions to greet Diablo.
Diablo hits with different elemental attacks but
none more deadly than lightning. Be prepared to cope with the variety of
effects he can use against you. Zeal can be extremely powerful - if elevated to
higher skill levels. Additionally, Thorns can make Diablo's skill work for you.
Magic against Diablo is very effective, but if he
gets in your face, you're dead. The Sorceress can implement Static Field to
damage Diablo's Hit points. Follow up the field with the high-level elemental
spells of your choice. Stock up on Mana or Rejuvenation potions because you
don't need to hold back. Because you'll be fighting Diablo from afar, you can
more easily use Town Portal scrolls to hightail it back to the Pandemonium
Fortress for rejuvenation when necessary. If you quit the game, the entire
sequence of seals must be opened again.
After defeating Diablo, gather the dropped reward
(Unique, Rare or Set item), and return to Tyrael in the Pandemonium Fortress to
complete the quest. Then watch the final cinematic.
But you forgot something, didn't you?
Oh, Baal …