Izual is a boss that you may remember from one of the only three quests in Diablo II’s act III. This warped fallen angel is one of the toughest boss fights you’re likely to face, which is especially distressing when you realize that it is also one of the simplest, using only things you’ve already seen.
Izual himself is a nasty piece of work. Despite not having anything in the way of special melee attacks other than a small chance of stunning breifly, letting Izual meet you hand-to-hand is just as bad an idea as doing so with Rakanoth, and often even worse. His hits are fast and hard, and he doesn’t ever interrupt them.
Izual is also a ‘Frozen’ enemy, something which you’ve probably encountered many times before. This ability means that every five to six seconds he will spawn spiked balls of ice in random nearby locations. These balls inflate for three or four seconds, then explode, freezing you and any of your allies solid if you’re caught in the blasts. Ordinarily this would be annoying, but with Izual it is often fatal, as frozen people cannot use skills or potions and, as stated, his melee hits are terrifying.
What’s worse is that Izual frequently and without actually taking time to do anything spawns minions. Specifically, the very same fire-breathing demons that have been periodically crashing down near you all throughout Heaven are constantly smashing into the platform and joining in the fight. While ordinarily they’re a dangerous nuisance, they can easily become fatal here- if you focus on Izual, they will overwhelm you, often from behind. If you focus on them, Izual will club you to death, no question about it. And all the while you have to keep an eye out for the Frozen grenades that will lock you in place and let Izual and friends demonstrate why you shouldn’t walk down dark alleys in the bad part of town.
Mobility and slows/stuns/immobilize are the key to battling Izual, even if you’re a melee fighter. You absolutely cannot let yourself lose track of the Frozen orbs, because even one freezing is fatal. You cannot let Izual stand there and wail on you, because he will kill you faster than you’d care to imagine. And you cannot ignore the minions, or they’ll gang up with Izual and get in your way, forcing you to endure a dogpile. Keeping back from Izual and slowing him while making sure to smash his minions is the best way to handle him. It’s possible that with enough support from ranged characters you could turn this battle into a simple rock-em-sock-em, but the chances of succeeding that way are far too slim.
