[[Image:Mon-skeleton-king1.jpg|thumb|right|75px|[[Leoric]]]]Most general types of undead never reach a point where they are truly sentient, and even then, they are usually slaves to some sort of master that resurrected them. However, if enough dark magical power is infused in a corpse, skeleton or a skeletal construct, they can attain sentience, and even outdo their former master. Even rarer, a huge amount of energy, such as the falling of an angel, can cause undead to rise with their own properties and even carry on what they did in life. Examples of this is classically Liches or Vampires, who often in turn raise lower undead as servants and guards.

Besides [[King Leoric]], no other "Higher" is the most well known undead has been announced for monster in [[Diablo 3]].