Andariel Farming Guide

Andariel - The Maiden Anguish is arguably the best boss to farm early on. You can farm large quantities of Unique and Set Items from her with little to no risk to your Character. The value of farming Andariel is not limited to Hell difficulty as even in Nightmare she can drop powerful Items that make further progression a lot easier.

Andariel is located in Catacombs Level 4 in Act 1. The best access point for her is the Waypoint in Catacombs Level 2.

Why farm Andariel?

Andariel is a great source to farm many useful Unique and Set Items. Here are some examples of what you can find in Nightmare and Hell. Check out our drop calculator for all possible drops!

How do I find Andariel?

Catacombs Level 2

Let's take a look at parts of the Map Reading Guide to help you Level 3 as efficiently as possible.

When entering the Catacombs Level 2 through the Waypoint you are in a map tile that only has one direction to leave it. Take the perspective of your Character when it is running in that direction, and the Catacombs Level 3 always is to your Right. Check out the Video Guide for more detail.

To find Andariel quickly, it helps to know how the exit tile looks like you are looking for. There are 4 Waypoint tiles with 2 corresponding "Exit Tiles" each:

Waypoint "Bottom Left"

Exit tile

Waypoint "Top Left"

Exit tile

Waypoint "Bottom Right"

Exit tile

Waypoint "Top Right"

Exit tile

Catacombs Level 3

The entrance to Catacombs Level 4 is usually on the edge of the map, but there is no way to determine which direction to travel.

Catacombs Level 4

Andariel always spawns in the same spot in Catacombs Level 4. Elite-Groups can spawn around her and make the fight more tricky.

Tips & Tricks

Antidote Potions

Andariel deals significant poison damage, which can be mitigated by drinking Antidote Potions before (to stack Poison Resistance) and during the fight. Bring some along to trivialize the fight!

Burn her down... literally

Want to know what Andariel hates the most? Fire, as she starts with an astonishing -50 Fire Resistance on Hell. If you've got a character that deals fire damage, Andariel is your best bet for farming.

Close the Door!

If you're walking through Catacombs Level 4 to reach Andariel, you have to walk through a large central room full of monsters first. If you're quick enough, you can open and shut door behind you to prevent the monsters from flooding in.

Elite-Groups

When a lot of Elite-Groups spawn next to Andariel, clear them out before engaging her. This makes fighting her a lot saver, and you can get additional drops from them.

Kiting

Kiting is a great way of "cheesing" down Andariel. Simply run away from her and use your abilities. You can also use the various obstacles and terrain in her room to block her poison shots.

Build Recommendations

Most builds are capable of farming Andariel with minimum investment. The Sorceress has a big advantage over other Characters due to her built-in Teleport. Check out our Andariel and Mephisto Tier-List to understand how the following builds match up without Enigma.

• Amazon - Lightning Fury
  • Without Enigma, the Amazon is among the worst Characters when it comes to mobility. With her Charged Strike, however, she can destroy Andariel with ease.
  • Cannot Be Frozen, high Resistances, and a source of Teleport (E.g. Staff of Teleportation) are required to farm him efficiently.
  • Elite-Groups that are naturally Immune to Lightning can be a problem for early-game Javazons.
• Assassin - Lightning Sentry
  • The Assassin has very high mobility through Burst of Speed. When equipped with a Staff of Teleportation she can farm Andariel rather efficiently, even with budget gear.
• Barbarian - Frenzy
  • Without Enigma it is hard to pick a good Barbarian build for farming Andariel. The Frenzy Barbarian benefits from his high movement speed and can kill him quickly when equipped with enough Crushing Blow.
  • Early on the Barbarian struggles a lot in clearing out the area around Andariel which might reduce his kill-speed significantly.
• Druid - Hurricane Tornado
  • The Wind Druid can farm Andariel even on a low budget.
  • His Summons are able to tank anything even dangerous enemies that you encounter on the way to Andariel.
• Necromancer - Bone Spear
  • The Bone Necro is well-equipped to farm Andariel without any danger. It is remarkably easy by simply spamming Bone Prison on top of him and sniping him with Bone Spear.
• Paladin - Blessed Hammer
  • The Hammerdin is arguably the 2nd fastest Character in farming Andariel before Enigma. His high mobility from Charge, Vigor, and Staff of Teleportation make him only marginally slower than the Sorceress in getting there.
  • Blessed Hammer allows the Paladin to clear out the area if necessary.
• Sorceress - Blizzard / Meteor
  • The Sorceress is unrivaled when it comes to farming Andariel due to the high mobility through built-in Teleport.
  • While the Blizzard can clear out the area and kill Andariel easily, the Meteor melts her in no time due to her low Fire Resistance.

Video

Summary

• Andariel is one of the easiest bosses and best to farm in Diablo 2, especially early on!
• Andariel drops a wide range of Unique and Set Items. Some of them are even used in the end-game.
• Remember that Antidote Potions are your friend, before and during the fight!
• If you are struggling to progress in Hell, or even the later stages of Nightmare, consider farming Mephisto on Nightmare difficulty. He can still drop items that help you.
• Consider having a Helmet and Body Armor filled with Perfect Topaz to equip for the kill for extra Magic Find!

Credits

Written by Teo1904
Reviewed by Raxxanterax