Act I runs from the Blood Moor to the Catacombs in a little over five minutes, and ends with 
Andariel. It is the only act every run plays, so its clock is the one worth learning first: ten named monsters arrive before the boss, one every half minute from the first minute on.
- Length
- 5+ min
- Areas
- 6
- Timed events
- 13
- Boss
- Andariel
The route
Areas change on a clock, not by where you walk: the act moves you through them in this order.
Act I areas
| Name | From | Until |
|---|---|---|
Blood Moor | 0:00 | 1:00 |
Cold Plains | 1:00 | 2:00 |
Stony Field | 2:00 | 3:00 |
Dark Wood | 3:00 | 4:00 |
Tamoe Highland | 4:00 | 5:00 |
Catacombs | 5:00 | the boss |
On the clock
Named monsters, rings and swarms arrive at set times, whatever area you are in. Times are minutes into the act.
| Time | Event | Who | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:55 | Super unique |  Corpsefire | |
| 1:00 | Ring of monsters | 30 ×  Fallen | The first ring: walk out of it before it closes. |
| 1:15 | Super unique |  Bishibosh | |
| 1:50 | Super unique |  Bonebreaker | |
| 2:25 | Unique |  Blood Raven | |
| 2:40 | Swarm | 20 ×  Foul Crow | |
| 3:00 | Super unique |  Coldcrow | |
| 3:35 | Super unique |  Rakanishu | |
| 4:10 | Super unique |  Treehead WoodFist | |
| 4:25 | Ring of monsters | 36 ×  Dark One | |
| 4:45 | Super unique |  Griswold | Drops Wirt's Leg, the key to the Secret Cow Level in the Terror tiers. |
| 5:15 | Super unique |  The Countess | Last chance at a named chest before the Smith and the boss. |
| 5:45 | Super unique |  The Smith | Stays until he falls, even as the act boss arrives. |
| End | Act boss | Andariel |
Tips
- Pick a skill from each tree on the first card: all of your skill slots are open, and the opening cards set which lines can evolve.
- Through Act II, chests give level-ups: kill the named monsters for their chests rather than walking past them.
- Act I is not saved: a run that ends here starts anew, though your items and gold are kept.
The boss
Andariel fights with poison. Anything that makes poison wear off faster (
Fade, 
Natural Resistance, 
Cleansing) shortens what she leaves on you, and poison resistance cuts it.
Named monsters
Super uniques in Act I
| Name | Arrives | Modifiers | Minions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Corpsefire | 0:55 | Spectral Hit | 5 | |
Bishibosh | 1:15 | Magic Resistant, Fire Enchanted | 2 | |
Bonebreaker | 1:50 | Extra Strong, Magic Resistant | 5 | |
Coldcrow | 3:00 | Cold Enchanted | 4 | |
Rakanishu | 3:35 | Lightning Enchanted, Extra Fast | 8 | |
Treehead WoodFist | 4:10 | Extra Strong, Extra Fast | 2 | |
Griswold | 4:45 | Cursed | — | |
The Countess | 5:15 | Fire Enchanted | 6 | |
The Smith | 5:45 | Extra Strong | — | |
Bone Ash | — | Magic Resistant, Extra Strong, Cold Enchanted | — | |
Flamespike the Crawler | — | Fire Enchanted, Cursed | 6 | |
Pitspawn Fouldog | — | Cursed, Cold Enchanted | 4 |
