Although the 2.2.0 PTR for Season 8 has been closed, and it is expected that the season may receive other adjustments based on the PTR after the official launch, at least the season theme and some seasonal content will not change significantly, such as the appearance of the main boss Belial.
In fact, if you experience the 2.2.0 PTR, you will know that many new contents of Season 8 are related to this boss. It is worth noting that for the entire Diablo series, Belial is not a purely new character. His allies Andariel and Duriel have been active in the boss battle of Diablo 4, and Belial himself has appeared as the boss of the second act of Diablo 3.
So you should be able to foresee that the arrival of Belial will not only provide new playable content for Diablo 4 Season 8, but may also have an impact on the direction of the main plot of the game, because he is related to many classic villains. Based on this, we will introduce you to both aspects separately.
Playable Content In Season 8
With the return of Belial, not only are there more bosses you can farm, but you can even earn Diablo 4 Gold by farming bosses and gain new available powers while doing so! In addition, the new seasonal event Apparition Incursion and the upgraded and renamed endgame boss system are also closely related to Belial.
Boss Powers
Like Season 3’s vampire powers and Season 7’s witch powers, according to the content shown in the 2.2.0 PTR, Season 8 is expected to add boss powers as the biggest feature of the season. Specifically, you can absorb the exclusive skills of the 24 bosses in Sanctuary after killing them, including world bosses and Apparition Incursion event bosses (including even the terrifying Duriel and Lilith, as well as the latest Belial).
Each boss power is expected to have a primary effect and modifiers that can be activated based on the power slot you equip it to. You can activate up to 1 main power and 3 modifier powers at a time, and you can try more main power and modifier power combinations in the process of obtaining new powers, and find more available Season 8 builds.
Apparition Incursion Event
Realmwalker in Season 6 and Headrotten in Season 7 are special enemies that you need to kill and can drop various seasonal rewards for you. In Season 8, similar enemies will be Apparition monsters brought by the new event Apparition Incursion - they are also Belial’s subordinates.
There should be 10 Apparition monsters that can be killed in this event, each of which can provide you with rich rewards, including exclusive boss powers to help you fight against the final boss Belial.
New Lair Boss Mechanism
The most terrifying boss in Diablo 4 should have been the endgame boss, but with the appearance of Belial, the endgame boss mechanism will be fully optimized and upgraded and renamed lair boss. On this basis, bosses of this category are divided into three levels: initiate, greater, and exalted lair. They are:
- Initiate Lair Bosses: Beast in the Ice, Grigoire, Lord Zir, Varshan, and Urivar.
- Greater Lair Bosses: Andariel, Duriel, and Harbringer of Hatred.
- Exalted Lair Bosses: Belial.
It is worth noting that you must be in Torment I or higher to fight lair bosses. In addition, summoning these bosses no longer requires special materials, and killing them will not drop enough loot directly, but a hoard will appear after their death. Only by obtaining the corresponding key can the hoard be opened to obtain loot.
Also Read: 10 Overpowered Items In Diablo 4 Season 7 To Help You Deal With Lilith
Future Diablo 4 Plot
In the story of Diablo 2 and Immortal, Belial and Azmodan were imprisoned together in the soulstone after failing to conquer Sanctuary, and Diablo continued to attack Sanctuary and Heaven until he was defeated and thrown back into the abyss at the end of Diablo 3, but his failure also led to the release of Belial and other demons.
As a core character of the entire game series, Diablo’s first appearance was in Diablo 1, which was launched in 1996. This special boss battle in D1 later even appeared in the anniversary dungeon of D3. Later, Diablo also appeared as the final boss of the fourth act of both D2 and D3 games.
So far, Diablo 4 is the only game in the entire Diablo series in which Diablo himself has not appeared. Although he is often mentioned by other villains, he has never appeared as a real boss. Logically, Diablo should appear in D4, but perhaps because he is so important, the developers don’t know when is the best time to make him appear.
However, if Belial, the boss who also appeared in the previous game, can receive good reviews from players in Diablo 4 Season 8, it may indicate that it is time for Diablo to debut! This will usher in the most important turning point in the plot of the entire Diablo 4 series, and may also attract some players who are interested in Diablo himself.
The above is our analysis of the return of the new boss Belial. Let us look forward to his official performance on Season 8!














