Time: 2025-09-29
Diablo 4's Season 10 has delivered a thrilling surge of power to players, many of whom blasted through to the endgame in a matter of days. The new endgame chase is in full swing, with veterans focusing on securing powerful new Uniques and the coveted Chaos Armor to perfect their builds.
Among the key farming activities—Infernal Hordes and Chaos Rifts—the Lair Bosses remain a perennial focus. However, significant changes to boss mechanics in Season 10 have completely reshaped the optimal farming strategies.
Key Changes to Boss Loot & Mechanics
The loot system has been overhauled. The unique equipment pool from Infernal Hordes has been removed and integrated into the universal drop table for all Lair bosses. Crucially, each boss now possesses a dedicated drop list, including the powerful new Season 10 Uniques, meaning you must target specific bosses for specific gear.
The most impactful change for efficient farming is the removal of invincibility phases. Now, when a boss attempts to activate a shield at a certain health threshold, players have a 5-second window to break it. Successfully doing so skips the invincible phase entirely, dramatically speeding up kill times and improving the efficiency of farming Diablo 4 items.
Understanding the Lair Boss System
The core challenge mechanic remains unchanged: you can initiate a fight at the boss's location for free. However, the reward chests that spawn upon victory require specific summoning materials to open.
Teaming up is highly recommended. While each player must provide their own materials to open their personal chest, being in a full group significantly increases the overall quantity of Unique items dropped. Furthermore, the chance to obtain Mythic Uniques is boosted when challenging bosses at higher World Tiers and Torment difficulties.
Boss locations are marked on the map with a distinctive red skull door icon. Hovering over it reveals details and allows for direct teleportation.
The summoning materials required for each boss are:
Varshan: 12x Malignant Hearts
Grigoire: 12x Living Steel
Lord Zir: 12x Exquisite Blood
Beast in the Ice: 12x Distilled Fear
Urvaar: 12x Judicator Masks
Duriel: 3x Shard of Agonies
Andariel: 3x Pincushion Dolls
Harbinger of Hatred: 3x Abhorrent Hearts
Belial, Lord of Lies: 2x Betrayer Husks
Bartuc (Infernal Hordes Boss): 666x Burning Aether (Torment difficulty)
Astaroth (Nightmare Dungeon Boss): No materials required
How To Acquire Lair Boss Summoning Materials
Malignant Heart: Whispers or Open World drops in Helltides
Living Steel: Helltides Chests
Distilled Fear: Nightmare Dungeons
Exquisite Blood: Elites in Legion Events, Helltides, and World Bosses
Judicator's Mask: Helltides, Whispers, and World Bosses
Shard of Agony: Varshan or Grigoire
Pincushioned Doll: Lord Zir or Beast in the Ice
Abhorrent Heart: Urivar
Betrayer's Husk: Belial's Ambush
Defeating bosses also rewards you with Stygian Stones, which can be converted at The Alchemist into core boss materials: Shard of Agony, Pincushion Dolls, and Abhorrent Hearts (note: Betrayer's Husk cannot be crafted). These materials are also tradable, so if you have ample Diablo IV gold, you can acquire them from other players.
Season 10 Boss-Specific Unique Drops
Sabre of Tsasgal (Barbarian): Varshan
Kilt of Blackwing (Druid): The Beast in Ice
Gospel of the Devotee (Necromancer): Varshan and Urivar
Orphan Maker (Rogue): Lord Zir
Galvanic Azurite (Sorcerer): Andariel and Harbinger of Hatred
Hesha e Kesungi (Spiritborn): Grigoire and Urivar
In addition to these specific drops, each boss shares a new universal pool of Unique gear. The standout exception is Belial. After defeating him, players are presented with a choice of reward from any other boss's loot pool. Combined with his highest-in-game drop rate for Mythic Uniques, this makes Belial the prime target for endgame farming. The most efficient strategy is to farm Belial and use your reward picks to target Duriel's exclusive drop pool.
Optimal Season 10 Farming Strategy
With the removal of invincibility phases, the farming hierarchy is now:
Tier S (Priority): Belial. Offers the highest Mythic drop rate and choice of loot. The main bottleneck is the difficult-to-acquire Betrayer's Husk.
Tier A (Group Focus): Duriel, Andariel, and Harbinger of Hatred. These bosses have good Mythic drop rates but require high damage output, making group play ideal.
Tier B (Solo Friendly): Varshan, Grigoire, Lord Zir, Beast in the Ice, and Urvaar. These are the most accessible for solo players to farm consistently.
Lair Bosses are the cornerstone of the endgame grind, but the material farm can be daunting. We recommend accumulating keys through other activities first. Once you have a stockpile, team up with friends for maximum efficiency. For players looking to bypass the grind and secure their power faster, MMOMAX provides a trusted marketplace to buy Diablo 4 items, gold, and boss materials, getting you into the action without delay.