Difference between revisions of "Monster"

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	====[[Crawling Torso]]====		====[[Crawling Torso]]====
−	[[Image:Mon-crawling-torso.jpg|left|100px]][[Crawling Torso]]s are one of the more disturbing monsters we've yet seen. They are the upper half of a [[Walking Corpse]], a type of [[zombie]]. If the walking corpse is killed with a powerful hit, it will die completely. If it's only hit with a glancing blow though, it will break in half, and the upper body will become... A crawling torso.	+	[[Image:Mon-crawling-torso.jpg|left|100px]][[Crawling Torso]]s are one of the more disturbing monsters we've yet seen. They are the upper half of a [[Walking Corpse]], a type of [[zombie]]. If the walking corpse is killed with a powerful hit, it will die completely. If it's only hit with a glancing blow though, it will break in half, and the upper body will become... A crawling torso.<div style="clear:both;"></div>
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	[[Image:Mon-dark-cultist1.jpg|left|100px]][[Cultist]]s are human mages who spawn with [[Berserker]]s. Cultists are very weak, but they can shoot fireball projectiles and summon powerful [[Dark Demon]]s, so it's wise to bypass the hulking Berserkers to kill the Cultists as quickly as possible.		[[Image:Mon-dark-cultist1.jpg|left|100px]][[Cultist]]s are human mages who spawn with [[Berserker]]s. Cultists are very weak, but they can shoot fireball projectiles and summon powerful [[Dark Demon]]s, so it's wise to bypass the hulking Berserkers to kill the Cultists as quickly as possible.
−	Cultists can be recognized from [[Dark Vessel]]s by their lack of a staff. Vessels have a long staff which curls at the end, on which they lean while summoning up the demons by which they are possessed.	+	Cultists can be recognized from [[Dark Vessel]]s by their lack of a staff. Vessels have a long staff which curls at the end, on which they lean while summoning up the demons by which they are possessed.<div style="clear:both;"></div>
	====[[Dark Demon]]====		====[[Dark Demon]]====
−	[[Image:Mon-dark-demon1.jpg|left|150px]]These odd, half-skeletal creatures are summoned from raw, red manhole-like openings in the ground by [[Dark Cultist]]s. They are quadrupedal, and look a bit like a dog crossed with a crocodile, then turned inside out. They are quick of foot, but appear to possess only melee attacks.	+	[[Image:Mon-dark-demon1.jpg|left|150px]]These odd, half-skeletal creatures are summoned from raw, red manhole-like openings in the ground by [[Dark Cultist]]s. They are quadrupedal, and look a bit like a dog crossed with a crocodile, then turned inside out. They are quick of foot, but appear to possess only melee attacks.<div style="clear:both;"></div>
	====[[Dark Vessel]]====		====[[Dark Vessel]]====
		+	[[Image:Mon-dark-vessel4.jpg|left|100px]]These human mages are commonly found standing motionless, amidst various other types of Dark enemies. Vessels are harmless in their human form, but become very dangerous melee fighters if they manage to pull a demonic entity into themselves. In that form they are known as [[Activated Vessels]], and are ferocious fighters.
		+	Dark Vessels look a bit like [[Dark Cultists]], but Vessels lean on tall crooks, and remain motionless until they transform, while Cultists are mage-like enemies who cast a variety of spells and summon demons.<div style="clear:both;"></div>
		+
		+
		+	====[[Dune Thresher]]====
		+	To come.<div style="clear:both;"></div>
	====[[Fallen Shaman]]====		====[[Fallen Shaman]]====
		+	[[Image:Mon-fallen-shaman-bashiok.gif|left]][[Fallen Shaman]]s return in Diablo III, but none have yet been seen in screenshots. We only know of them thanks to this animated gif, which [[Blizzard]]'s D3 Community Manager, [[Bashiok]], had in his forum signature. [[Fallen]] were in D1 and took on an expanded role with new AI, shamans, and grouping habits in D2 ({{iw|Fallen Diablo 2 Fallen}}). How they'll progress in D3 remains to be seen, but everyone seems to like this monster type, so their return is a popular one.<div style="clear:both;"></div>
		+
		+
	====[[Ghostly Orb]]====		====[[Ghostly Orb]]====
		+	[[Image:Mon-ghostly-orb.jpg|left|100px]][[Ghostly Orb]]s are a sort of monster generator, creating a wraith every few seconds until they are destroyed. They've only been seen in the [[WWI 2008]] gameplay movie, when four of them emerge from the floor in a trapped room and begin producing wraiths as soon as they are active. <div style="clear:both;"></div>
		+
		+
	====[[Ghoul]]====		====[[Ghoul]]====
		+	[[Image:Mon-ghouls3.jpg|left|100px]]These swarming monsters appear to be the zombie cannon fodder of [[Diablo III]]. They are blue-skinned [[undead]] who spawn in great numbers, are quite but fleet of foot and quick of movement, but are fairly weak and easy too kill. [[Ghoul]]s can be seem climbing up the walls and swarming the [[Barbarian]] in the beginning of the [[WWI 2008]] gameplay movie. They die almost as fast as they race to battle (which is quite quickly).<div style="clear:both;"></div>
		+
		+
	====[[Gnarled Walker]]====		====[[Gnarled Walker]]====
		+	[[Image:Mon-wood-wraith1.jpg|left|100px]]The only type of this monster yet seen is called the [[Wood Wraith]], but they are called Gnarled Walkers in the concept art, and that seems a more likely name for the entire monster type.
		+
		+	Gnarled Walkers are not just living, Ent-like trees, but are demonic, possessed um... trees.  From the concept art they look to be things, mad plants, rather than individual entities. They do not have faces, and they are not bipedal bodies formed from wood. They are literally demonic trees, soulless and mindless and deformed by the dark magics that have animated them.<div style="clear:both;"></div>
		+
		+
	====[[Goatman]]====		====[[Goatman]]====
		+	[[Image:Mon-goatman1.jpg|left|100px]]The [[goatmen]] foot soldiers seen thus far are much as they were in [[Diablo II]]. They mill around in medium-sized packs, wielding huge two-handed polearms, and attack quickly, but not very effectively. The D3 goatmen have quick footspeed and a fast swing, but they pause for a long time between attacks. Their death sounds seem to be improved over how they were in D2, though they're not quite as delightfully bleaty and goaty as they were in D1, when their enticing noises put them amongst everyone's favourite monsters to kill. In Diablo III they finally received a proper [[goatman|backstory]] though...<div style="clear:both;"></div>
		+
		+
	====[[Goatman Shaman]]====		====[[Goatman Shaman]]====
		+	[[Image:Mon-goatman-shaman4.jpg|left|100px]]Though [[goatmen]] were a popular monster in D1 and D2, the Goatman Shaman is a new unit, and nothing is yet known about its abilities. Presumably it will be able to buff goatmen in various ways, and perhaps heal or even resurrect them as well. It is known that the shaman have intelligent AI; one in the [[WWI 2008]] gameplay movie runs when its herd is wiped out by a [[Witch Doctor]]'s [[Wall of Zombies]], finds a new pack of goatmen, and takes up a position behind them.<div style="clear:both;"></div>
		+
		+
	====[[Grotesque]]====		====[[Grotesque]]====
		+	[[Image:Mon-grotesque.jpg|left|100px]]One of the more interesting monsters seen in the [[WWI 2008]] movie, the [[Grotesque]] are basically living pinatas. They are fat, white, humanoid monsters, who either don't have an attack or a very weak one. What they do instead is run up to a player who comes into range, take a few hits, bend over backwards, and rupture into a massive fountain of wriggling silver eels called [[Lamprey]]. There seem to be far more eels within a grotesque than their volume would permit, but such is the nature of magic.
		+
		+
	====[[Lamprey]]====		====[[Lamprey]]====
		+
		+
		+
		+
	====[[Objects]]====		====[[Objects]]====
	====[[Scavenger]]====		====[[Scavenger]]====

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Revision as of 12:11, 24 September 2008

Monsters are one of the main attractions in Diablo III, or at least the opportunity to kill them is. See the Monsters Category for a listing of all the known monsters in Diablo III. There is also a brief list below. In addition to monsters, there is more of the basic Diablo III information available in the Diablo 3 Basics article.

Improvements

The D3 team has created a huge variety of monsters for our slaughtering pleasure, and the denizens of the underworld are customized, personalized, and quite versatile. Bosses have been greatly upgraded in appearance and size, and the AI has been improved as well.

Monster Types

It's not yet known how monsters are classified in Diablo III. There are monsters seen in the early screenshots and gameplay movie that look to be animals, and quite a few undead, and others that might be demons, but there's no telling if that Diablo II classification system will be reused in Diablo III. We're tentatively referring to the monsters by their apparent demon/undead/animal genus, for the sake of easier organization, but do not take that as evidence that they'll be sorted by those types in the game.

Bosses

How bosses will be distributed through the game is not yet known, and still something the design team is working on. They may follow something like the D2 system of a few [1] and lots of random bosses, or they may break away from that tradition. What we do know is that the bosses will be huge, and have a lot of individual styling. One boss battle is shown at the end of the WWI 2008 gameplay movie, and it's an amazing fight against the Siegebreaker Assault Beast, an enemy far larger than all of Diablo II's act bosses put together.

Behavior

Monsters are going to be smarter and more varied in their behaviours in Diablo III. The D3 team wants to force players to play smarter, and use tactics other than simply rushing to kill the monsters as soon as they are sighted. So some creatures have very powerful attacks that need to be avoided, others work very well in groups, others run away if threatened or only attack in packs, and so forth.

Component System

This term referred to the way monsters of the same type in Diablo II could appear different. Skeletons spawned with different types of weapons, armor, shields, and so forth, just to give the demonic legions some variety in their appearance. The different equipment wasn't purely superficial either; it went along with logical changes to the monster's damage or defense.

This technique is being used in Diablo III, and while details haven't yet been revealed, the team has mentioned their plans to use graphical tweaks and palette shifts to give the monsters some variety.

List of Known Monsters

Here is a list of all the monsters in brief. Click on their names for further information about them.

SuperUniques

In lack of a name of "boss type" units, we are calling them SuperUniques for now.

Siegebreaker Assault Beast

"Living siege Engine of Hell". The Siege Breaker is an absolutely massive "miniboss" shown in the WWI 2008 gameplay video. It's apparent that Blizzard is taking the gameplay with even the minor bosses to a whole new level in Diablo III! We don't know if he's a random encounter or not, but this big bad-ass is found in Leoric Highlands.

Thousand Pounder

Inside the forgotten Tombs of the WWI 2008 gameplay video, we got familiar with the Thousand Pounder, a boss with apparent random monster attributes (Gluttony & Incarnate), as he was summoned in to the scene. He's also seen in concept art work, and looks more like an overly powerful monster than an actual type of boss, like a SuperUnique.

Standard Monsters

Even the "standard" monsters of Diablo III comes in many different shapes and forms, and employs different types of obstacles for the player.

Activated Vessel

Scary looking humanoid demonic creation made from willing Dark Vessels. Activated Vessels are mutated, half-demonic things who fight furiously and move very quickly. It's a good idea to kill off the Dark Vessels before they can activate, if at all possible.

Beast

Beasts are large, buffalo-like herd beasts seen in the plains areas of Diablo III. They have a very fast charging attack, and gore with their huge tusks up close, though the few seen in the WWI 2008 gameplay movie died pretty easily. They're not just animals either; they've been mutated by Diablo (or someone?) to become monstrous.

Berserker

Berserkers are the muscle of their evil, demon-worshiping cult. They are massive, powerful men who wear hoods and loincloths and carry huge mauls, with which they are happy to bash your brains in. Berserkers have a special overhead smashing attack, which they telegraph by powering up their mauls with a reddish glow. Their overhead attack is highly damaging, but if you dodge it the Berserker will hit the floor so hard their maul breaks through the stone and gets stuck there.

Crawling Torso

Crawling Torsos are one of the more disturbing monsters we've yet seen. They are the upper half of a Walking Corpse, a type of zombie. If the walking corpse is killed with a powerful hit, it will die completely. If it's only hit with a glancing blow though, it will break in half, and the upper body will become... A crawling torso.

Cultist

Cultists are human mages who spawn with Berserkers. Cultists are very weak, but they can shoot fireball projectiles and summon powerful Dark Demons, so it's wise to bypass the hulking Berserkers to kill the Cultists as quickly as possible. Cultists can be recognized from Dark Vessels by their lack of a staff. Vessels have a long staff which curls at the end, on which they lean while summoning up the demons by which they are possessed.

Dark Demon

These odd, half-skeletal creatures are summoned from raw, red manhole-like openings in the ground by Dark Cultists. They are quadrupedal, and look a bit like a dog crossed with a crocodile, then turned inside out. They are quick of foot, but appear to possess only melee attacks.

Dark Vessel

These human mages are commonly found standing motionless, amidst various other types of Dark enemies. Vessels are harmless in their human form, but become very dangerous melee fighters if they manage to pull a demonic entity into themselves. In that form they are known as Activated Vessels, and are ferocious fighters. Dark Vessels look a bit like Dark Cultists, but Vessels lean on tall crooks, and remain motionless until they transform, while Cultists are mage-like enemies who cast a variety of spells and summon demons.

Dune Thresher

To come.

Fallen Shaman

Fallen Shamans return in Diablo III, but none have yet been seen in screenshots. We only know of them thanks to this animated gif, which Blizzard's D3 Community Manager, Bashiok, had in his forum signature. Fallen were in D1 and took on an expanded role with new AI, shamans, and grouping habits in D2 (Diablo 2 Fallen). How they'll progress in D3 remains to be seen, but everyone seems to like this monster type, so their return is a popular one.

Ghostly Orb

Ghostly Orbs are a sort of monster generator, creating a wraith every few seconds until they are destroyed. They've only been seen in the WWI 2008 gameplay movie, when four of them emerge from the floor in a trapped room and begin producing wraiths as soon as they are active.

Ghoul

These swarming monsters appear to be the zombie cannon fodder of Diablo III. They are blue-skinned undead who spawn in great numbers, are quite but fleet of foot and quick of movement, but are fairly weak and easy too kill. Ghouls can be seem climbing up the walls and swarming the Barbarian in the beginning of the WWI 2008 gameplay movie. They die almost as fast as they race to battle (which is quite quickly).

Gnarled Walker

The only type of this monster yet seen is called the Wood Wraith, but they are called Gnarled Walkers in the concept art, and that seems a more likely name for the entire monster type. Gnarled Walkers are not just living, Ent-like trees, but are demonic, possessed um... trees. From the concept art they look to be things, mad plants, rather than individual entities. They do not have faces, and they are not bipedal bodies formed from wood. They are literally demonic trees, soulless and mindless and deformed by the dark magics that have animated them.

Goatman

The goatmen foot soldiers seen thus far are much as they were in Diablo II. They mill around in medium-sized packs, wielding huge two-handed polearms, and attack quickly, but not very effectively. The D3 goatmen have quick footspeed and a fast swing, but they pause for a long time between attacks. Their death sounds seem to be improved over how they were in D2, though they're not quite as delightfully bleaty and goaty as they were in D1, when their enticing noises put them amongst everyone's favourite monsters to kill. In Diablo III they finally received a proper backstory though...

Goatman Shaman

Though goatmen were a popular monster in D1 and D2, the Goatman Shaman is a new unit, and nothing is yet known about its abilities. Presumably it will be able to buff goatmen in various ways, and perhaps heal or even resurrect them as well. It is known that the shaman have intelligent AI; one in the WWI 2008 gameplay movie runs when its herd is wiped out by a Witch Doctor's Wall of Zombies, finds a new pack of goatmen, and takes up a position behind them.

Grotesque

One of the more interesting monsters seen in the WWI 2008 movie, the Grotesque are basically living pinatas. They are fat, white, humanoid monsters, who either don't have an attack or a very weak one. What they do instead is run up to a player who comes into range, take a few hits, bend over backwards, and rupture into a massive fountain of wriggling silver eels called Lamprey. There seem to be far more eels within a grotesque than their volume would permit, but such is the nature of magic.

Lamprey

Objects

Scavenger

Skeletal Archer

Skeletal Shieldman

Skeletal Summoner

Skeleton

Undead

Walking Corpse

Wraith

Wretched Dead

Zombie