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Is The Return Of Belial As A Seasonal Boss In Diablo 4 Season 8 A Wise Move?

Apr 18, 2025 Author: D4gold

As you all know, Diablo 4 Season 8 will officially take over Season of Witchcraft on April 29, 2025. Of course, a series of new content and balance additions are naturally indispensable, but the return of an evil in S8 has still aroused heated discussions among many players, that is Belial, the Lord of Lies!

Belial’s return is the undisputed highlight of Season 8. He will lead his group of bosses to become the new Pinnacle Boss in Boss Ladder. Although this sounds quite exciting, from a plot perspective, is Belial wasted as a seasonal boss? More importantly, based on the developer’s initial setting, is it really reasonable for Belial to be stronger than other bosses in the latest season?

Here, we explore the position of Belial boss in Diablo 4 Season 8, some of his character plot and background, and whether he is wasted by the plot as a seasonal protagonist instead of appearing in future expansions.

Is The Return Of Belial As A Seasonal Boss In Diablo 4 Season 8 A Wise Move?

Boss Ladder System Changes

That being said, let’s first look at Season 8, where the developers are completely revamping Boss Ladder system and introducing Belial to the top of the ladder. The arrival of the new boss not only improves the problem that the endgame that players have criticized before is too boring, but also brings players more opportunities to earn Diablo 4 Gold and Unique items, and can also better improve the main storyline.

Admittedly, it is a good thing that Diablo 4 enables more powerful characters to advance the seasonal narrative, and the stories of the previous Season 5 and 7 are very exciting and really expand the world of Sanctuary, especially Season 5, which helps advance the baseline story about Mephisto.

Still, while we have yet to see the seasonal journey and how the story will play out, I am a little skeptical whether it was a wise choice to have Belial, the Lord of Lies, one of the seven Great Evils, become the seasonal Pinnacle Boss in Season 8, or if he would be better suited for an expansion?

Why Did The Master Of Tricks Become Pinnacle Boss?

Firstly, the last time we saw Belial was in Act 2 of Diablo III, where he disguised himself as Emperor Hakan II of Caldeum, thoroughly manipulated the citizens, and drove the former Royal Guards out of the King’s estate.

Now, one thing we have to admit about Belial is that as Lord of Lies, he is more known for his ability to manipulate, deceive, and disguise himself than his actual physical strength and combat abilities, which makes me a little skeptical as to why Belial is considered the strongest boss encounter in Season 8.

More importantly, we can clearly see that in the boss rankings, Andariel, and especially Duriel, are actually superior in terms of actual physical threat in combat.

Belial did have two different forms in Diablo 3, a low form and a very large and intimidating form, so perhaps Belial’s return in D4S8 with a shocking form is enough for us to consider him as a formidable opponent. But overall, I still think it’s a bit puzzling that a master of deception would headline the strongest boss fight in Season 8.

Potential Reasons For Belial’s Return

Now, let’s take a quick look at Belial’s backstory. He and another Lesser Evil, Azmodan, the Lord of Sin, are considered the smartest and most cunning bosses among Lesser Evils, and Belial himself is second only to Mephisto in his ability to manipulate and deceive.

In fact, it is said that Mephisto took Belial in as an apprentice and taught him most of his knowledge, so judging by the story of Diablo 4, it makes sense that Belial would appear in some form during the main quest centered around Mephisto.

However, I feel like Belial would be narratively wasted if he were just a seasonal boss in Diablo 4, since he not only has full voice acting, but also a whole scene dedicated to him.

Perhaps we can go out on a limb and speculate that perhaps in Season 8 someone will help convince the populace that Akarat is back, even though he is actually Mephisto. Then, Belial would be disguised as his right-hand man, possibly as one of Akarat’s followers, helping to further the story of Akarat’s return and the corrupt Zakarum faith being restored to its former glory.

Of course, at some point, I’ll be skeptical of them again. Considering the story of the previous season was pretty good, hopefully Season 8 will have a wonderful narrative that allows one of the seven Great Evils to become the main villain, rather than just giving him a standalone space in the expansion.

Especially considering that Belial is one of the masterminds of Burning Hells, and he originally helped banish the three Prime Evils: Diablo, Lord of Terror, Mephisto, Lord of Hatred, and Baal, Lord of Destruction, from Hell to Sanctuary. In fact, if Belial and Azmodan hadn’t turned on each other to become the sole lord of Hell, they would have been completely defeated and become the masters of Hell.

So, what do you think of Belial’s role and setting in Season 8? Is he more suitable for the narrative as an antagonist in the full expansion? Whether Belial’s return is a wise move to fill in the plot gaps and increase gameplay or a wrong move that will lead Diablo 4 to the abyss, we will have to wait and see!

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