How to Defeat World Boss Avarice, The Gold Cursed in Diablo 4
Who is Avarice, The Gold Cursed?
Avarice is one of Diablo 4's world bosses, meaning he is a rare, high-health enemy that appears at specific locations and times across Sanctuary. True to his name, Avarice is themed around gold, treasure, and greed. His massive form wields a giant mallet in one hand and a chained treasure chest in the other, emphasizing his thematic connection to wealth and destructive power. He is more than just a visual spectacle; his attacks and mechanics are designed to challenge players who fail to read his cues or underestimate his reach and AoE damage.
Unlike dungeon bosses, world bosses such as Avarice require strategic positioning, timing, and awareness of environmental hazards. His spawn times are set on a schedule, with notifications provided in-game to allow players to prepare and assemble groups if needed. Successfully defeating him not only offers significant loot but also grants experience and rare crafting materials and Diablo 4 Items, making him a highly desirable target.
Locating Avarice
Avarice spawns at multiple locations across the game's map, and each spawn is tied to a timer. The game provides notifications roughly 30 minutes before his appearance, giving players the chance to travel to the designated area. Spawn locations include regions like the Seared Basin in Kehjistan, The Crucible in the Fractured Peaks, Caen Adar in Scosglen, and Fields of Desecration in Hawezar. Because world bosses have limited spawn windows-usually about fifteen minutes from activation-it is critical to arrive early, ideally with a group or prepared solo, to ensure you have adequate time to engage the boss.
Given the popularity of world bosses, multiple players often arrive simultaneously, which can be advantageous as additional players contribute to DPS and crowd control, but it can also lead to chaotic engagements if everyone is uncoordinated. Monitoring the map and coordinating with other players can significantly improve the chances of a successful encounter.
Preparing for the Encounter
Preparation is key when facing Avarice. While a highly skilled and well-geared solo player can engage him, this fight is designed to reward coordination and strategic planning. Here are essential preparations:
Gear and Level: Ensure that your character is appropriately geared for your current world tier or campaign progression. Damage output and survivability are both crucial, as the fight is time-limited.
Consumables: Bring potions and any buffs available through shrines or altars. Maximize your DPS and health recovery potential to survive extended engagements.
Party Coordination: While optional, joining a group can dramatically improve your chances. Roles such as tanking, damage dealing, and crowd control are more effective when coordinated.
Inventory Space: Ensure you have inventory slots available, as Avarice drops loot and occasionally spawns Treasure Goblins upon staggering, which can drop additional valuable items.
Being well-prepared not only improves your chances of success but also maximizes the efficiency of your time in the world boss encounter.
Mechanics of the Fight
Avarice is not a simple tank-and-spank boss; his mechanics are designed to challenge even experienced players. Understanding these mechanics is essential to survival and success.
Portal Charge: Avarice occasionally opens a golden portal and charges through it, emerging at another location to deal damage. Players must anticipate his exit point and avoid standing directly in front of it to prevent severe damage.
Chest Swing: His chained treasure chest can be swung in wide arcs, damaging anyone within range. Melee players should position themselves behind or to the side of Avarice to avoid the swing, while ranged players must maintain distance but be mindful of his repositioning.
Gold Pools: Avarice creates pools of molten gold on the ground, which act as damaging areas that persist for a short time. Standing in these pools causes continuous damage, requiring players to remain mobile and vigilant.
Ground Eruptions and Shockwaves: He can trigger ground pillars or shockwaves that damage nearby players. Visual cues usually precede these attacks, giving players a chance to move out of the danger zone.
Stagger Bar: Avarice has a stagger bar that can be filled through crowd control abilities such as stuns or immobilization. When the bar is filled, he becomes temporarily vulnerable and spawns two Treasure Goblins. Players must decide whether to focus on killing the goblins for additional loot or continue DPSing Avarice.
The fight progresses through phases as his health decreases, increasing the intensity and frequency of attacks. Phase transitions often involve more aggressive use of portal charges, gold pools, and chest swings. Mastering his attack patterns is essential for minimizing damage and maximizing DPS output.
Strategy and Positioning
Effective positioning is crucial to survive Avarice's attacks:
Melee Players: Stay behind or to the side to avoid chest swings. Be ready to reposition quickly in response to portal charges or gold pool placement.
Ranged Players: Maintain safe distances to avoid melee hazards, but ensure you are close enough to maximize DPS. Constantly move to avoid gold pools and shockwaves.
Crowd Control Specialists: Focus on abilities that fill Avarice's stagger bar. Timing your CC abilities to coincide with other players' attacks creates windows of increased damage opportunity.
Coordinating with other players is also essential, as staggering the boss at the right moment can significantly shorten the encounter and reduce overall risk. Communication and awareness of environmental hazards are critical, particularly in chaotic situations with multiple players.
Solo vs Group Play
While soloing Avarice is possible for high-level, well-geared characters, it is generally more efficient to engage him with a group. In group play, different roles can be optimized:
Tank or high-survivability characters can maintain aggro and absorb damage from chest swings and ground effects.
DPS characters focus on consistent damage output and exploiting stagger windows.
Support or CC characters ensure the stagger bar fills quickly and assist with interrupting adds or mitigating hazards.
Solo players must be particularly vigilant with positioning, dodge timing, and use of defensive abilities, as mistakes are less forgiving.
Loot and Rewards
Defeating Avarice is rewarding, offering high-tier loot and unique materials:
Legendary Gear: World bosses drop legendary items appropriate to the player's world tier. The loot table often includes highly desirable weapons, armor, and accessories.
Crafting Materials: Items such as scattered prisms and rare crafting components can drop, which are valuable for end-game crafting and gear enhancement.
Treasure Goblins: Successfully staggering Avarice spawns Treasure Goblins that drop additional loot. Players must decide whether to chase these goblins or focus on the boss to optimize DPS.
Weekly First-Kill Rewards: The first time a world boss is defeated in a week, players may receive bonus rewards, including additional gold, crafting materials, or exclusive items.
Common Mistakes and Tips
Ignoring Mechanics: Standing in gold pools, failing to avoid chest swings, or not reacting to portal charges leads to unnecessary deaths.
Poor Positioning: Melee players often suffer the most from poor positioning. Always stay aware of Avarice's orientation and attack indicators.
Overchasing Goblins: While Treasure Goblins are tempting, prioritizing them at the wrong moment can reduce overall DPS and risk failing the encounter.
Under-geared Engagement: Attempting the boss at a higher world tier without sufficient gear can make the fight nearly impossible within the allotted time. You can also buy Diablo 4 materials to craft gear.
Inventory Management: Make sure your inventory is not full before the encounter to avoid missing out on valuable drops.
Conclusion
Avarice, The Gold Cursed, represents one of Diablo 4's most engaging and rewarding world boss encounters. His combination of thematic design, challenging mechanics, and generous loot rewards makes him a must-fight for adventurers exploring Sanctuary. Success requires understanding his attacks, coordinating with other players when possible, and maintaining awareness of environmental hazards. With preparation, strategic positioning, and careful management of his stagger mechanics, defeating Avarice is not only achievable but also immensely satisfying. Players who master these elements will walk away with high-tier loot, crafting materials, and the satisfaction of conquering one of Diablo 4's iconic world bosses.