Andariel is the final boss of Act 1, a multi-limbed red-haired demon with a powerful poison attack. Andariel’s visage is the only helm named after him.
Andariel’s Face is only available to Ladder characters.
The statistics:
Defense: 310-387
Required level: 83
Required Strength: 102
Durability: 20
+100-150% Enhanced Defense
+2TB All Skills
20% increased Attack Speed
8-10% life stolen per hit
+25-30 strength
+10% to maximum poison resistance
Fire resistance -30%
Poison Resistance +70%
15% chance to cast level 15 Poison Nova when hit
Tier 3 poison (20 charges)
+2TB All Skills
A +2 to all abilities is a very, very attractive bonus for any Diablo 2 player. There are only two other unique helms that offer a +2 to all classes including All abilities, Harlequin Crest and Nightwing’s Veil.
Harlequin Crest has a lower Strength requirement (50) compared to Andariel’s Face (a strong 102) and has the very attractive +10% physical resistance mod. More players prefer to use Harlequin Crest due to this, and the fact that Andariel’s Visage has a -30% penalty to fire resistance (see below).
20% increased Attack Speed
Good for melee characters looking to break the maximum break point for their character’s attacks.
8-10% life stolen per hit
A high percentage of Life Leech is a huge help for physical fighters due to being in the thick of things and taking hits more frequently compared to throwers. By getting some health back from their hits, they can live longer and no one likes to die.
+25-30 strength
Good if you need more strength to equip other items.
+10% to maximum poison resistance
The default maximum for Resistances is 75%. Certain unique items (such as Andariel’s visage) can increase maximum resistance by up to 95%.
Fire resistance -30%
A bad mod, as it reduces fire resistance by 30%. Most players counter this by socketing Andariel’s Visage with a Ral rune, which offers +30% to fire resistance and therefore cancels this penalty.
Poison Resistance +70%
Given that this unique helm is named after Andariel, it comes as no surprise that it offers a huge boost to Poison Resistance. If your character wasn’t wearing other gear that increased max resistance, then you could have 85% poison resistance with Andariel’s visage on, courtesy of the +10% maximum poison resistance mentioned above.
Summary:
Many players prefer Harlequin Crest over Andariel’s Face, for three reasons: Harlequin Crest has a much lower strength requirement, % physical resistance, and no fire resistance penalty. On its own though, Andariel’s Face is still a very good helm, especially if you acquire a perfect one. Some players who have both helms use the Harlequin Crest for themselves and put Andariel’s Visage on their mercenary. This is a really good idea, especially for Act I, II, and IV mercs, all melee mercs who will survive longer due to the good IAS, high health leech, and big boost to poison resistance.