If you have been scrolling through the D4 Reddit lately, you might have seen a post talking about the Harbinger of Hatred boss fight, and how certain builds can “bypass” the mechanics if they deal enough damage. Some players are finishing the fight so fast that most of the mechanics never even show up.
In the Reddit post, the player is using a Hydra Sorcerer, one of the strongest builds this season, which is absolutely deleting anything on the screen right now.
This is not really an exploit. It is just raw power doing the work. If your build hits hard enough, you can blow up the red portals before the yellow orb phase even starts. No projectile dodging, no orb back-and-forth… just melt the boss and move on.
How the Fight Usually Works
Normally, the Harbinger of Hatred fight involves a few specific mechanics:
- Red portals appear and launch projectiles that are extremely hard to dodge at close range
- You are supposed to grab yellow orbs and use them to close the portals
- This repeats five times per phase, across three full phases
- For melee players, this process is especially rough due to the short reaction window and damage pressure
In most cases, you are stuck following this pattern, or you get overwhelmed. However, high-damage builds can wipe out the portals (or even the boss) before any of that happens.
Need help beating the fight the regular way?
We have a full Harbinger of Hatred boss guide with step-by-step mechanics, tips, and strategies to make things easier, especially if your build is not built to face-tank and delete bosses:
Is It a Bypass or Just Brute Force?
This “skip” only works because of insane burst damage. If you can delete the portals right away, the mechanics never activate. A few players said they cleared Tier 4 without touching a single yellow orb.
This is not a cheese. It is just what happens when your build is strong enough. But it does bring up a fair question: should certain classes be able to skip fights like this while others are forced to grind through every phase? For melee builds in particular, it feels rough.
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