Howdy! It’s Librarian Husky and today, we’re diving into Season 5 of Diablo 4, focusing on Boss farming strategies. Now that we’re a few days into the season, it’s the perfect time to start tackling these world bosses. These unique encounters scattered across the world reward incredible gear, which is essential for reaching your 925 Max eye level, especially for upgrading your weapons.

Unique and Mythic Uniques in Season 5

There are also unique sources of specific uniques and the new Mythic Uniques, or rebranded Uber Uniques for those who’ve been playing the game for a while. There are quite a few changes this season regarding the bosses, especially with the Beast in the Ice, which is potentially bugged in terms of difficulty and output.

Challenges and Opportunities

Even in our incredible gear, it’s absolutely destroying us, but it’s also made of glass, so it might be the new best option for farming the new Mythic Uniques. Personally, I’ve got three from this guy, and I say that on day three of the season, it’s kind of crazy.

Quality of Life Changes

They’ve also introduced new quality-of-life changes like repeat summons without having to leave the dungeon reset, which is very nice. They’ve changed the Stygian Stones regarding where we get them this season and how many are needed for the summons.

New Uniques in Season 5

Yes, there are new uniques in this season—five universal ones and one for each class. So, if you’re playing one class, that’s six new uniques. On top of that, we still have the guaranteed one Mythic Unique. There’s lots to consider this season.

Introduction to Diablo 4 Ladder System

If you’re brand new to this ladder system, maybe you’ve missed a few seasons or are new to Diablo. Here’s a quick overview: there are six Ladder bosses in the game, and then we have the Echo of Lilith as your Pinnacle boss. She’s only really relevant for the first kill when you’re going to get a Ris lant Spark, which is used to craft your Mythic Uniques.

Crafting Mythic Uniques

You can craft Mythic Uniques at any Alchemist by going to the Transmutation Tab. Under Transmute Sparks, you can see the Mythic Uniques, and crafting them requires four of these Sparks. It’s on you to get three of these, and then the fourth one you get by obtaining a random Mythic Unique drop, which can be dismantled for another Spark to craft the one you want.

Guaranteeing Your Desired Mythic Unique

This system is beneficial if, for example, you don’t want a Heart of Selig but really want the Ring of the Skies. That’s how you can guarantee getting it in Season Five. One way to get a Spark is by completing the Mother’s Gift reputation system. The last cache here gives you one Spark. Another Spark is obtained by defeating your first Tormented Boss. The third comes from the Echo of Lilith Pinnacle Boss, and the fourth from actually getting a Mythic Unique and dismantling it.

How the Main Six Bosses Work

The actual main six Ladder bosses in Diablo 4 each play a critical role in progressing through the season and acquiring the essential items needed for crafting and upgrading your gear. Understanding their mechanics and the rewards they offer is key to mastering the season.

Overview of Ladder Bosses in Diablo 4

There are two major bosses, Andariel and Duriel, and four smaller ones. However, things have changed. Now, you can get Mythic Uniques from any of them, which is why I’ve obtained three this season in just three days, primarily from the Beast in the Ice.

Types of Bosses

If you’re new, there are two kinds of bosses here: the normal version, which is cheaper on resources and easier, and the tormented version, which gives you five times the rewards for three times the cost. A new material, the Stygian Stones, is required to summon them.

Summoning Bosses

To summon either version of the bosses, you need to go to the location marked by a unique symbol. Let’s break down where to find them, starting with the new Beast in the Ice. You’ll find him just next to Kyovashad. He used to be part of a Sigil craft, but now he has his own dungeon, just like everyone else.

Beast in the Ice Mechanics

The Glacial Fissure is where you’ll need to go for the Beast in the Ice. Upon entry, proceed directly to the boss room. It’s no longer a full dungeon, as it was in the past. Use the pedestal to put in nine Distilled Fear for the normal version or 27 Distilled Fear for the tormented version, as well as one Stygian Stone. As mentioned, he’s very dangerous but also quite fragile, making him easier to defeat compared to other tormented bosses.

Beast in the Ice Strategy

If you can kill him super quickly, he’s going to be the best farm. However, be wary because he hits really hard, and his ads also hit hard. He has iframe periods, so I recommend bringing iframes to dodge his mechanics to avoid getting killed by them. We wonder if they’re going to rebalance him in the future with a hotfix or something, but for now, he’s super deadly but also super squishy.

Quality of Life Improvements

On that note, you can now repeat summon without having to leave the dungeon and reset, which was a really annoying old mechanic. So if you want to repeatedly summon these bosses immediately, you can just use the pedestal, use the materials, and it will summon him again without leaving and resetting. This is a nice quality-of-life improvement.

Finding Lord Zir

Next, let’s talk about where you’re going to find Lord Zir. From Kyovashad, just to the right, he has his own unique symbol, The Darkened Way. Inside here, you’ll find another entrance to the real dungeon and another pedestal to use. Lord Zir requires nine Exquisite Blood for a normal version and 27 for the tormented version. Other than that, he’s unchanged.

Echo of Varshan Location

Let’s talk about the next boss, the Echo of Varshan, which is actually right next to the Tree of Whispers in the Malignant Burrow, just to the left of where you hand in your Whispers at the tree. Varshan has changed this season, now requiring Malignant Hearts to summon. The normal version will require five Hearts, but the tormented version will require 15.

Converting Old Summoning Materials

You’re still finding the old summoning materials: the femur, the head, and the hands. Just as before, go to any Alchemist and turn those into more Hearts. Go to the Transmutation Tab, then to Summoning Item, and you’ll see that you can turn them into Hearts. It only requires those materials and doesn’t even cost gold, so there’s no reason to carry them around as they are wasting space.

Gregor and His Requirements

Next, let’s talk about Gregor. He’s quite far away from the rest, all the way over by Kehjistan in the Hall of the Penitent. Gregor, as always, requires Living Steel. You need five for the normal version and 15 for the tormented version, along with the usual Stygian Stones. Nothing else has really changed about him.

Summoning Duriel

The original big bad, Duriel, is found over at the southwest by Gea Kul in the Gaping Chasm. He requires multiple things to summon him: two Mucus-Slick Eggs and two Shards of Agony. For the tormented version, you’ll need six of each. To get Mucus-Slick Eggs, you need to kill Varshan, and to get Shards of Agony, you need to kill Gregor.

Duriel’s Farming Viability

Obviously, in the tormented version, you’ll also need one Stygian Stone. Since all bosses now drop Mythic Uniques at a much greater rate, Duriel is no longer the best farming option. If you have the materials, you can go kill him, but because he requires more farming to get those materials, he may not be your first choice.

Summoning Andariel

It’s going to be up to you whether you choose to farm her. Lastly, we have Andariel, located near Zenet in The Hangman’s Hall. Andariel, by comparison, will require two Scott Shackles and two Pink Cushion Dolls for the normal version, and six of each for the tormented version, along with one Stygian Stone. To get Pink Cushion Dolls, you’ll need to kill the Beast in the Ice, and for the shackles, it’s Lord Zir.

Effort Versus Reward

However, because it requires more effort to summon Andariel, you might find yourself farming her less frequently. You may have gathered that there’s no new boss this season, but there are some nice quality-of-life changes with the repeat summons and the fact that Mythic Uniques drop from any of the bosses. Basically, if it’s tormented, it’s worth your time, and that’s wonderful.

New Stygian Stones Farming Locations

I did mention new locations for your Stygian Stones. That is in the new mechanic: Infernal Hordes at Tiers Five and above. You’re going to have much greater odds of actually getting Stygian Stones from the chests there, so they basically become the best place to farm these. Compared to last season, they actually drop more frequently, and we only need one per summon compared to two, which is really nice.

New Uniques in Diablo 4

I mentioned there are new Uniques: five Universal and one for your class, making six in total. These are found only in Infernal Hordes, not with the bosses. There are two kinds of chests that will drop them: the equipment chest, with the smaller one costing 20 Aether and the bigger one costing 60 Aether. The 60 Aether chest is only found in Tiers Three and above, and the higher the Horde tier, the better the reward chance on average.

Specific Uniques Found in Infernal Hordes

To be specific, the Uniques you’ll find in the Infernal Hordes include the new Crown of Lucien, Endurant Faith gloves, Rakano Wake boots, Lok-Ran’s Talisman, and the Shard of Val, which is a sword. For class-specific Uniques, there’s the Basilisk Staff, Mort Crux Dagger, Third Blade Sword, Umber Crux Dagger, and Vox Omnian Staff.

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