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Sisters to the Slaughter:
Recommended Level: 13-16
Quest Given By: Cain
Location: Monastery Catacombs
Difficulty: Moderately Hard
Reward: Allows Act II
Objectives: Find and Kill Andariel
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Introduction:
’Sisters to the Slaughter,’ the last quest of Act I, is both difficult and long, qw it spans a total of 9 different levels and is nearly as large as the whole of Diablo 1. Your mission is simple; to reach the deepest level of the Catacombs and slay the Maiden of Anguish; however getting there is a quest in itself. Mercenaries are no longer useful, as they are slain in 3-4 hits.
To Reach the Catacombs:
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| Nova continues to be one of the primary offensive spells, ideal for taking away large clumps of enemies. |
Now that you have a new rare item from Charsi, return to the Barracks. Take the stairs to the Jails to begin your long journey. The Jails consist of three levels, each one large and expansive. The monsters you’ll be facing include Bone Warriors, Wraith (Tougher Ghosts), Devil Kin, Bone Archers and Bone Magi. Just keep using the tactics you performed throughout the barracks (see previous mission) and you should have little problem
Explore each level as throughly as possible, you’ll need all the experience you can. Warriors should watch out for Bone Mage that are behind bars, and it’s suggested you keep a secondary missile weapon of some sort. Meanwhile mages should avoid Wraith, their mana drain coupled with their speed are dangerous. In this fashion you’ll finally find an exit to the Inner Cloister the level 3 Jail.
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| A Sorceress takes out a column of foes with one lightning bolt. The Cathedral is now cleansed. |
When you get out of Jail, you’ll be in a small courtyard (or near it). Take the waypoint in the center and then dispose of the quill fiends that are around. Search till you find the entrance to the Cathedral. Whatever you do, don’t just stride in. You’ll be met with a barrage of bolts shot by the Tainted (powerful Misshapen) and a swarm of Wraith. Holy Bolt and Area of effect spells will be extremely handy. Fight gorilla style, retreating whenever they begin to swarm you so that you face the minimal amount of foes at once. The hero Tainted and Wraith will be more difficult, go for the Tainted first if you’re a warrior, the Wraith first if you’re a mage.
When the monsters are cleared, stride in and search around. You’ll encounter Dark Ones (Tougher Devilkin), who shouldn’t be a problem. Clear the Cathedral and you’ll find an exit down to the Catacombs.
Navigating the Catacombs:
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| Corpse Explosion and Iron Maiden gives the Necromancer Deadly Power. When one enemy dies… they all die. |
If you had trouble through the Jail, the Catacombs will be hell. It consists of four levels, where the top two contains the same types of monsters as those in the Cathedral. The confined space here allows you to hit and run quite effectively. Keep in mind that many monsters such as the Tainted have no idea how to open doors, allowing you short reprieves. While Wraith are fast and can float through bars, they tend to get trapped in rooms like your mercenary, so running away is usually an option.
Explore the first two levels thoroughly, you’ll find another Waypoint on the level 2 catacomb. Take the stairway and you’ll be on level 3. This new level hosts some tough new monsters, including Ratmen, The Banished, Arachs (Giant Spiders) and Ghouls (Tougher Zombies). While the latter two should be of no problem, you’ll need to watch out for the first two.
The Banished resembles hovering mages, and are the most powerful monsters you face in Act I. While a single one is not much of a threat, you’ll probably chance upon a roomful of them led by a hero. In this case, retreat! Their fireballs deal enormous damage, while they still have decent hit points (around 60). They attack cold in melee, making it just that much harder to retreat after being engaged. Your best chance here is to run through the explored rooms, causing them to separate. This way you can beat them in one’s or twos. Even mages here should engage in melee combat, especially if you have a good staff from the Blacksmith quest.
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| The Banished are fast and deadly, here an adventure takes shelter between two piles of barrels. |
Ratmen are another danger, they’re tiny, but hell fast. Mages will find themselves surrounded and dead in no time. Areas of effect spells are essential here, since their small size and fast speeds make it difficult for you to target. Necromancers should make sure they have minions around, as you won’t have time to summon them on the spot. However warriors, being tough, should have little problem.
Navigate through the third level and take the staircase down. This final level is short and hosts Andariel. Your is quest is nearly complete…
The Slaughter of Andariel:
Andariel will be the toughest boss you have faced to date. Before going any further on level 4, portal to town and purchase least 20 healing and 5 antidote potions. If you don’t have one already, hire a Mercenary. While they are no match for Andariel, they are good for distraction. When you’re all set, return to the Catacombs and launch a second portal. This will provide a quick escape.
It will not take long to locate Andariel, you’ll find her throne room to be 1-3 doors away. Move forward by the inch and kill monsters with a missile weapon, so that you can destroy all the minions before she enters combat. Once you hear her scream, draw your best weapon… the fight begins.
Andariel is fairly fast, hosts nearly 1000 hit points and deals around 65 damage. While her primary attack is melee, she’ll also launch a modified version of Poison Nova as well as a poison bolt. Each of these deals around 20 damage, but an enormous amount of poison damage.
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| A Column of fire signals the demise of Andariel. |
We’ll leave specific skill use to our character tips, but no matter what, keep your healing and antidote potions handy. While your rogue friend will be killed in one hit, she’ll buy some time for you to cast spells and auras. You might even be able to throw a few poison potions at her.
If ever the potions in your belt run out, flee through the portal and rearrange your inventory in town. Akara will automatically remove all poisons and heal you, so she’s a must to talk to. When you return, always hire a new Rogue from Kashya. Once through portal, Andariel will be on you in an instant, run away and let her go after your rogue. This will give you precious time cast a second portal and gather your wits. Repeat the above till she’s dead. With the Sorceress, it took about 7 portals… but she didn’t get hit in melee once. With the Paladin, it took only 2.
Once she’s dead, you’re treated with spectacular display. Take the portal back to town and talk to the townsfolk, they’ll all love you. Talk to Warriv, and you’re on Act II!
Class Specific Tips:
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The two spells the Necromancer should be honing here are Corpse Explosion and Iron Maiden, they are your key to success. Use Iron Maiden against any clumps of monsters you sees, and they’ll start receiving twice the damage they deal! It’s great for taking out mages and archers who fire behind bars. Once one is dead, the rest can be taken to hell via a Corpse Explosion.
Andariel is harder, as Corpse Explosion is no longer an option. Her great damage allows her to smite your Golem in 2-3 blows and just about everything else in 1 blow. However such damage can be used to your advantage with Iron Maiden, and you’ll find that the boss is taking down clumps of her own life with each blow as well. Whenever your Clay Golem dies, summon a second one, whenever she’s no longer cursed, curse her again. Repeat in this fashion till you’re out of mana potions and return to town to get more. Andariel will kill herself in around 20-30 blows, that 7-10 golems you’ll need to summon.
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| Ice Blast proves again to be invaluable, slowing Andariel to an extent that she can no longer match your speed. |
Through the catacombs and caves, have Shiver Armor on at all times. Your primary spells here should be Ice Blast and Nova. (Preferably level 3 of each). Lightning bolt is also effective in some instances, especially against those heroes that are cold enchanted. The Rat men are your worst fear, so keep an eye out on them. Use hit and run tactics against the banished.
When facing Andariel, Ice Blast is your salvation. She’ll only by slowed for around 1.5 seconds per shot, so your only chance is to keep shooting her. If the Maiden of Anguish ever scores one melee hit on you, your pretty much history. Move back whenever she gets too close, and drink potions if your health is down by even a fraction (its difference between 1 hit and 2 hit kill). Use antidotes against Poison Nova and repeat the procedure till she’s dead.
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The Barbarian will have little problem against the Rat Men, but the Banished will be tougher. Use ‘howl’ to play chaos among their ranks, allowing you to attack each separately. Stun is a good skill here, and will give you the upper hand in melee. This way you usually won’t turn blue…
When facing Andariel, arm yourself with the best weapons you’ve got and change! Even with two weapons that’ll deal around 40 damage each, it’ll take a while to bring her down. Use how to keep her minions away, and shout to boost your defense before the battle. Keep a hand on the keypad, so you can use a potion whenever your health goes down half way. Retreat whenever your belt runs out and restock… she’ll die eventually.
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By now you should have at least level 3 on your auras of might and holy fire. With these two, you’ll be able to face most of the catacomb monsters.
When facing Andariel, first use an Aura of Fire to kill the lesser monsters. Once it’s just you and her, stack full with potions and charge. Use either sacrifice or an aura of might, and drink potions when needed. She will die sooner or later.
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Armed with a good bow, hit and run tactics will see you easily defeat the Banished. However you’ll need to keep a good eye out on Ratmen, as they can surround you in no time. In this case, retreat to a doorway so no more than two can attack you at once.
When facing Andariel, your best chance, like the Sorceress, is to keep her cold. A high level Cold Arrow skill will ensure that Andariel is frozen long enough so you can dish out a volley of arrows. Keep a lot of mana potions handy and retreat to town as soon as you run out. You’ll not want to engage her in melee.
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