How to Complete A Serpent Cornered and Defeat Lord Zir in Diablo 4 Season 2

Diablo 4 Season 2 introduced a new big bad into the world of Sanctuary: the ancient vampire Lord Zir.

In the quest “A Serpent Cornered,” you finally have the chance to take on the Lord and put an end to his reign of terror once and for all. If you’re up for the challenge, then read on to learn how to complete A Serpent Cornered and defeat Lord Zir in Diablo 4 Season 2.

How to finish A Serpent Cornered and defeat the Lord Zir Boss in Diablo 4 Season 2

Preparation

Before you rush head-first into Lord Zir’s lair, you should be sure to heed the words of the Scout motto: Be Prepared. While this is a seasonal story quest, and therefore not overly difficult as far as Diablo 4 content goes, the fight against Lord Zir later on is actually very challenging, so you should give it the respect it deserves. 

There are a few milestones you should hit before you take him on: you should be around the level 35 mark in terms of your character’s Skill Point development, you should have a solid build worked out, and you should farm for some powerful gear in the Blood Harvest since it’s easier than ever to do so now. Once you’ve checked all those boxes, feel free to head to the City of the Ancients and talk to Erys to start the quest.

Conquering the City of the Ancients

As mentioned above, A Serpent Cornered begins at the City of the Ancients, right after completing the Battle of Fear and Faith quest. You’ll need to enter the City via The Darkened Way in the southern section of Fractured Peaks, then talk to Erys to get the ball rolling.

The bulk of this quest involves you fighting your way through the City of the Ancients on your way to Lord Zir. It’s a lengthy Dungeon, but also a linear one, so you’ll have a hard time getting lost along the way. The enemies are all fairly easy, so you shouldn’t have much trouble dealing with them even if you skipped over the advice in the Preparation section above.

The City does come with a couple of interesting twists, though. First of all, Lord Zir, in the form of a red orb, will pursue you for the Dungeon’s duration. He’ll alternate between launching projectiles and sending out slow-moving waves of blood, both of which are easy to avoid. It can be easy to forget he’s there in the midst of battle, however, so remember to keep at least one eye on him at all times, lest he catch you out and leave you open to a swift death from another foe.

You’ll also have to deal with two mini-boss encounters in the City of the Ancients, against two groups of powerful Bloodseekers. The first of these will be a duo fight against Ebok and Tidao, while the second will be against the triple threat of Shay, Nila, and Nys. You’ll have at least some experience dealing with Bloodseekers from completing the Beckoning Thirst quest earlier, but in case you need a refresher the best strategy here is to deal with any surrounding smaller enemies, and then focus them down one at a time. They have a lot of health, so you’ll likely need to make use of your Ultimate Skill to push through it all.

How to slay Lord Zir in Diablo 4 Season 2

Once you reach the end of the City of the Ancients, you’ll find the main man himself waiting for you at the Sanguine Throne. Interacting with it will initiate a short cutscene, then the final battle against Lord Zir will begin. Contrary to the low difficulty of the Dungeon leading up to him, Lord Zir is actually a real challenge to defeat, and he managed to kill me more times than I’d like to admit.

His difficulty largely lies in his Blood Rain attack, in which he creates large pools of blood on the floor of the arena. These damage you if you touch them, and they have an annoying habit of forming right next to Lord Zir, making it difficult for melee builds to find a safe spot to attack. If you’re a ranged character, such as a Sorcerer or Necromancer, then this won’t be much of a problem for you. Melee characters will need to be patient and take their openings when they can as Lord Zir moves around the room.

In terms of other moves, Lord Zir has two melee options: a quick swipe, and a big scissor attack with both of his arms. He telegraphs the latter move well in advance. He’ll begin by holding both of his arms overhead, leading to an attack that deals a lot more damage than the former if it connects. Both can be easily dodged by simply staying behind Lord Zir as much as possible.

Lord Zir can also summon Bloodseekers to join the fight. This is an annoying move since Bloodseekers are bulky enemies who will soak up a lot of the damage that you’d rather be aiming at the boss, but you should always prioritize taking them down first, since leaving them alive can catch you out when you least expect it. If you have a build that can hit both targets at once, such as Barbarian’s Whirlwind, then try to do so for maximum efficiency.

Last, but certainly not least, is Lord Zir’s Wind Gust attack. While it is well-telegraphed, by Lord Zir flapping his wings and by a large rectangular zone on the ground indicating the impending damage zone, it can still get you if you’re unprepared, and it deals a huge amount of damage if it does. In one of my attempts on this boss, his Wind Gust killed me in a single hit from full health, despite my playing the relatively tanky Barbarian class. For this reason, as soon as you see the rectangle appear on the ground, start moving immediately, and Evade out of its path if need be. 

Lord Zir has a lot of health, but if you follow all of the above advice, try to stay behind him at all times, always deal with the Bloodseekers as soon as they appear, and be ultra-mindful of his wind gust attack, then you should be able to take him down in a few attempts. Once Lord Zir falls, A Serpent Cornered will be over, with just a final chat with Erys standing between you and the end of Season 2’s Seasonal Questline.

Rewards

Defeating Lord Zir will drop a nice selection of Rare and Legendary gear, and you’ll also receive the rewards for completing the A Serpent Cornered quest on top of that. These include two random Pact items, the Rare Lord Zir’s Amulet, and the Metamorphosis Vampiric Power, one of the best options for all 5 classes. 
And there you have it: a full guide on how to complete A Serpent Cornered and defeat Lord Zir in Diablo 4 Season 2. It’s a suitably grand climax to this season’s storyline, but you haven’t seen the last of Lord Zir just yet. He’ll be back as one of the new endgame bosses later on in your journey as well, with some new moves and complex summoning conditions that will push your skills to the limit, so savor your victory while you can.