Azmodan

Azmodan, or the Lord of Sin is one of the four Lesser Evils. Azmodan is a major enemy in Diablo III, appearing in at least one of the cinematics (the Black Soulstone cinematic), as well as in the game. Azmodan is the ultimate boss of Act III, where he serves as the leader of the armies invading Sanctuary through the Arreat Crater.

History

Azmodan's Diablo III profile image.

Azmodan, the Lord of Sin, is one of the seven Prime Evils. He's classified as one of the four Lesser Evils, along with Belial, Andariel, and Duriel. During the Eternal Conflict Azmodan won many battles against the High Heavens, and gained renown as the most capable battlefield commander of all the Lords of Hell; his ability to surpass Baal was only due to the latter's volatile nature and brashness in war.

As the Prime Evils turned their attention to the mortal world of Sanctuary, the Lesser Evils grew restless. Eventually, Belial, the Lord of Lies, manipulated Azmodan into leading a revolt against the Prime Evils. Azmodan is best known for events during the Sin Wars, when his alliance with Belial gave their combined demonic armies enough strength to defeat and banish the three Prime Evils into the mortal realm. (There is some speculation that the Prime Evils engineered their own exile and subsequent capture by the Soul Stones as an elaborate plot to ultimately gain more power.)

Azmodan and Belial's triumph was brief, for they fell back into war with each other as soon as they no longer had to cooperate against the Prime Evils. Azmodan's tactical acumen and overwhelming force allowed him to dominate the Civil War and defeat his rivals, including Belial.

From the early information we have about the plot of Diablo III, it seems that Azmodan has become ascendant in the Burning Hells, and is acting as the leader of the realm in leading a massive demonic army to invade Sanctuary; one of the key plot events of Diablo III.

The Lord of Sin

Azmodan in the D3 cinematic.

Azmodan as a physical being is an incarnate of all seven of the deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, price, lust, envy, and gluttony. He also controls powerful demons who personify each of those sins, two of whom will be seen in the initial version of Diablo III.

One of these is Gluttony Incarnate, Ghom. A second was revealed during a BlizzCon 2011 panel as Cydaea, the Maiden of Lust, formerly known as the Mistress of Pain.

There's no word on the other five incarnate sins, but it's presumed they will appear in the Diablo III expansions. (Which might hint at future developments; would Azmodan's lieutenants still be formidable enemies if Azmodan himself has been utterly destroyed?)

Belial and Azmodan in the Diablo I Manual

Azmodan is featured alongside Belial in the Diablo I Manual when the civil war between the lesser and prime evils is explained:

In their ignorance, the Lesser Evils began to believe that the Three were afraid to continue the war with Heaven. Frustrated by the cessation of the war, Azmodan and Belial saw the situation as their chance to overthrow the Prime Evils and take control of Hell for themselves. The two demon lords made a pact with their minor brethren, assuring them that the wretched plague of humanity would not deter the ultimate victory of the sons of Hell. Azmodan and Belial devised a plan to end the stalemate, achieve victory in the Sin War and ultimately ride the bloody crest of the Great Conflict straight into the very arms of Armageddon. Thus, a great revolution was set into motion as all of Hell went to war against the Three Brothers...

Concept art for Azmodan.

The Brothers fought with all of the savagery of the Underworld, and to their credit, annihilated a third of Hell’s treacherous legions. In the end, however, they were overcome by the Horned Death led by the traitors Azmodan and Belial. The Prime Evils, weakened and bodiless, were banished to the mortal realm where Azmodan hoped that they would remain trapped forever. Azmodan believed that with the Three set loose upon humanity, the Angels would be forced to turn their focus upon on the mortal plane - thus leaving the Gates of Heaven abandoned and defenseless. Those few demons who still pledged allegiance to the Three Brothers fled the wrath of Azmodan and Belial, escaping to the realm of Man to seek out their lost Masters.

As the warfires died out upon the battlefields of Hell, Azmodan and Belial began to argue over which of them held the higher authority. The pact that they had made quickly fell to ashes as the two demon lords took up arms against each other. The legions of Hell that remained were polarized behind either warlord, launching themselves into a bloody civil war that has lasted to this day...

Associated Achievements

Azmodan is in some way involved in the following achievement(s).

Name	Points	Description	Banner

<achievement type="single">Death From Afar</achievement><achievement type="single">A Cut Above</achievement>

In-Game

Azmodan shows up repeatedly in Act III, either through projected images of himself taunting the player, in Lore Books, and, of course, his boss fight.

Azmodan has six abilities in combat.

• Melee Attack - Precisely what it sounds like, although it is the least used of all his attacks. Azmodan will slightly lunge forward to swipe at the hero.

• Bellyflop - Azmodan will jump into the air a small bit, and then land nearly face-first on the player. This attack is imbued with knockback and will slow the player.

• Laser Attack - The lazer attack is cast only when the hero is in melee range. It is very low damage, but it is channeled and continuous. Azmodan will use the laser in conjunction with other abilities.

• Falling Corpses - Azmodan will rear up and a red circle will appear around the player in a wide radius. The circle denotes where the corpses will fall, and if the player is hit by a body, they will take a small amount of damage.

• Demon Gate - Azmodan summons demon gates which, in turn, summon his minions. The demon gates have a very small amount of health, but sometimes it may help to allow them to summon a minion to be killed for a health globe.

• Pool of Destruction - Azmodan casts expanding pools of bloody, shadowy substance which spread exceedingly fast over most of the arena. They do not last very long after they've expanded fully, and they do small amounts of damage, but the damage can stack if standing in multiple pools and ticks very quickly. Azmodan will preface this attack by shouting Enough! The dark power of Hell will consume you!

• Globe of Annihilation - Azmodan throws a homing meteor at the player which, if hit, explodes for a very high amount of damage. The meteor is slow-moving but can be rather hard to dodge if he casts it in melee range.

Post-Release Changes

Azmodan received a minor tweak in the v1.0.4 patch.[1]

Azmodan Abilities

• Fire Ball
  • Projectiles can now be slowed

Statistics

Azmodan statistics per difficulty:

Azmodan's Stats Per Difficulty

Difficulty	Max. Health	Min. Damage	Damage Delta	Run Speed	Level
Normal	22,711	262	131	0.180	28
Nightmare	220,676	2106	1053	0.189	48
Hell	987,627	8410	4205	0.200	59
Inferno	6,116,136	113,486	56,743	0.209	63

Gallery

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  Azmodan in-game.

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  Pool of destruction.

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  Falling Corpses.

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  Summoner demon gates.

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  Laser bogie of doom.

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  Exceedingly painful Globe of Annihilation.

Gallery

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  As seen in the Black Soulstone cinematic.

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  BlizzCon 2011 poster artwork.

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  Concept art.

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  Concept art.

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  Concept art.

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  Concept art.

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  Concept art.

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  Concept art.

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  Jack 'o lantern version, from 2011 contest.

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  Boss portrait.

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  In-game render of Azmodan.