Diablo 4 has always had players hunting Lair Bosses as a way to farm some of the best endgame gear by opening their Hoards after defeating them.
With the Lair Boss system rework in Season 13, previous summoning items have been replaced with Lair Boss Keys tied to each boss tier, making progression simpler.
As you progress through each season, farming keys and advancing to higher-tier bosses becomes key to earning stronger Uniques and endgame rewards.
How To Get Lair Boss Keys?
Lair Boss Keys used for Initiate Boss Hoards are mainly obtained through War Plans and other endgame activities.
Greater Lair Keys are obtained by opening Initiate Hoards or progressing through War Plans, making them a natural next step in the farming loop.
Betrayer’s Husks, used for opening Belial’s Hoard, are obtained by defeating him when he ambushes you after opening another Lair Boss Hoard.
How To Use Lair Boss Keys?
Lair Boss Keys are used after defeating bosses to open their Hoard Chests and claim rewards from their drop tables.
Initiate Boss Hoards require 1 Lair Boss Key, Greater Boss Hoards require 1 Greater Lair Key, and Belial’s Hoard requires 2 Betrayer’s Husks.
Each boss tier uses its own key type, allowing progression through stronger encounters and higher-value rewards.
All Lair Boss Keys
Lair Boss Keys are used to open Hoard Chests after defeating Lair Bosses, with different key types tied to each boss tier.
1) Initiate Lair Boss Keys
Initiate Lair Boss Keys are obtained from War Plans as well as other endgame activities and are used to open hoards that appear after defeating the following bosses:
- Beast in the Ice
- Grigoire
- Lord Zir
- Varshan
- Urivar
2) Greater Lair Boss Keys
Greater Lair Boss Keys can drop when opening Initiate Lair Boss hoards and also have a chance to be earned from War Plans rewards.
These are used to open hoards from the following bosses:
- Andariel
- Duriel
- Harbinger of Hatred
- The Butcher
3) Betrayer’s Husk
Things are different with Belial, Lord of Lies, who is considered an Exalted Boss and whose Hoard works differently.
Opening his Hoard requires 2 Betrayer’s Husks and allows you to choose rewards from a selection of drop tables from other bosses.
Betrayer’s Husks are obtained by defeating Belial when he ambushes you after you open a Lair Boss Hoard.
Verdict
Farming Uniques and other endgame items requires patience, especially when hunting Lair Bosses across different tiers.
As you progress through each season, you naturally start building up Lair Boss Keys as you reach higher-tier content and activities.
In Season 13, with the updated system and new Uniques added, boss farming feels more structured and less of a hassle when targeting specific rewards.
