Boss Modifiers

Diablo III Boss Modifiers are special bonus properties that bosses and champions randomly spawn, or that they have preset by the developers. These grant the bosses extra speed, damage, the ability to teleport or duplicate themselves, and much more.

Regular monsters sometimes appear with one of these properties, presumably as part of their base stats. Molten skeletons, for instance, appear to replace the "Burning Dead" skeletons seen in past Diablo games.

Random boss monsters spawn with one property on Normal, and add one on each of the difficulty levels, up to four on Inferno. It's not yet known how special Elite bosses with preset modifiers increase on higher difficulty levels -- in Diablo II most SuperUniques had one or more pre-set properties, and gained additional random ones on Nightmare and Hell.

• Diablo II Boss Modifiers.

Higher Level Modifiers

Boss modifiers are not all available right from the start. Which ones were found early in the game evolved during the beta test, with steadily fewer modifiers available, as many were moved to only appear later in the game. By the end of the beta in April 2012, only Teleporter, Knockback, and Nightmarish were seen on random monsters in the majority of areas. Monsters on level two of the Den of the Fallen could spawn with those three, and might also manifest with Waller, Jailer, Molten, or Frozen, though all were rarely seen.

Most of the other known boss modifiers appear later in Normal difficulty, but there are numerous very dangerous boss properties that can only be seen on Nightmare and above.

Difficulty Level Progression

Inferno boss.

Regular random bosses spawn with one modifier on normal, and gain another on each higher difficulty level.

• Normal difficulty random bosses and champions: 1 boss modifier.
• Nightmare difficulty random bosses and champions: 2 boss modifiers.
• Hell difficulty random bosses and champions: 3 boss modifiers.
• Inferno difficulty random bosses and champions: 4 boss modifiers.

Superunique bosses have static modifiers and spawn locations, and generally do not come with minions (outside of some quest bosses).

Bosses vs. Champions

Some modifiers differ when seen on Champions or Bosses, and some modifiers can not occur at all on Champions. Further, some will only appear on a boss but not on his minions. A full list isn't yet known, but one obvious example is the Waller property. While Champions can only make straight walls with it, Bosses can make large squares and rectangles, always with one side missing, but quite sufficient to box in a fleeing character.

Boss Modifiers

This page is the master list of boss modifiers. Each entry has a brief listing here; click to the individual pages for a fully detailed listing with screenshots and gameplay reports.

Arcane Enchanted

The original, highly-dangerous, Hydra style of this modifier.

Arcane Enchanted bosses are "enchanted" with Arcane energy. Rather than adding Arcane damage to their attacks, they cast Arcane objects that look like second hands off of a clock and rotate around, damaging any players or minions in their slowly-moving path.

This boss modifier was first seen at the start of the Diablo 3 Beta test, where it was instantly the most dangerous property in the game. That initial version, which let the bosses and their minions, as well as Champions, summon multiple an Arcane damage Hydra (just one head, unlike the triple headed version of the Wizard skill), was very dangerous as the dragon head fired a rapid stream of Arcane energy balls. The effect was nerfed in the v5 Beta patch, and changed to the current "spinning second hand" style, which is much less dangerous. This was an unpopular change with fans, and it's often hoped the first Hydra head version will return in the full game, perhaps on higher difficulty levels.

• Monster Level Minimum: 31
• Available to: All
• Damage Type: Arcane
• Additional Resistances: Arcane

Avenger

Avenger is a Champions-only modifier that adds powers to each remaining Champion when one of the pack is slain. What the powers are remains unspecified.

• Monster Level Minimum: 51
• Available to: Champions only.
• Damage Type: Standard.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Desecrator

Desecrators create a "glowing void zone" beneath the feet of a character. These function like small Firewalls, dealing damage to any character who stands in them. The void zones do not move once cast, and can thus be avoided without great difficulty.

• Monster Level Minimum: 22
• Available to: Rare/Champion
• Damage Type: Physical
• Additional Resistances: None

Electrified

Electrified boss putting out massive sparks.

Electrified bosses are Diablo 3's version of Lightning Enchanted bosses. These bosses emit sparks when struck, add lightning damage to their attacks, and enjoy a high resistance to lightning damage as well.

Their sparking properties were first observed with awe in the Blizzcon 2009 and 2010 PvM demos, where the sheer amount of blueish sparks they spit out (whether being hit or not) made them seem like miniature arc reactors. Unlike their Diablo II version (Lightning Enchanted) the sparks no longer spit out in just four directions, like a "+" sign. They now travel in every direction, jittering wildly across the screen.

• Monster Level Minimum: 26
• Available to: All.
• Damage Type: Lightning.
• Additional Resistances: Lightning.

Extra Health

Extra Health grants 150% hit points to bosses and their minions. It also occurs on Champions. Note that all such monsters already have considerably increased hit points compared to normal monsters of their type, and this 150% is an increase on that existing bonus.

• Monster Level Minimum: 31
• Available to: All.
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Fast

Fast is precisely as it sounds. These monsters have a 40% bonus to their movement speed, and can thus prove quite difficulty to avoid, or to track down if they run.

• Monster Level Minimum: 31
• Available to: All
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None

Fire Chains

Fire Chains appear and disappear rapidly, linking Champions with flaming chains that deal fire damage to nearby players and their minions. This property only appears past Normal difficulty, and only on Champions. (Not on bosses.) A monster with fire chains will attempt, as a group, to surround or box in a player to inflict maximum damage.

• Monster Level Minimum: 31
• Available to: Champions
• Damage Type: Standard
• Additional Resistances: None

• 

  Fire Chains in action.

Frozen

Frozen is Diablo 3's version of Cold Enchanted. These monsters hit with bonus cold damage that chills the target, and it's assumed that they have higher cold resistance as well. Frozen bosses and Champions glow with a blueish light and emit little puffs of cold at all times, as a visual indication of their enchantment.

Near the end of the beta test, frozen bosses gained the ability to create five small ice orbs, which grow in size and then blow up, each emitting a Frost Nova during the battle. This upgrade was seen only from Captain Daltyn, as the Frozen modifier was raised in level to no longer spawn on regular bosses in the beta test.

When Frozen bosses and Champions (but not minions, as of the Diablo 3 Beta) die, they explode in a Frost Nova that will briefly freeze players it strikes.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: All
• Damage Type: Cold
• Additional Resistances: Cold.

Horde

Horde is a rather simple modifier. It means, quite simply, that there will be a horde of minions in a rare pack. What attributes the minions will have will be dependent upon the rare boss, but horde will ensure that there are a lot of minions. A pack that would spawn with three minions will likely increase to six or seven.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: Rares
• Damage Type: n/a
• Additional Resistances: n/a.

Illusionist

Illusionist Bosses and Champions are able to create duplicates of themselves, much as Baal did in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. The clones have the same properties as the original, potentially including the ability to resurrect or summon new monsters. The illusions have very low health points, so they die fairly quickly, but they do not drop any items. Certain properties can be bestowed to the illusion, such as Fast. The illusions are capable of inflicting damage as well.

Individual bosses are able to produce numerous clones at the same time, potentially making their own minion packs. Actual minions can not create illusions, though a Champion pack with Mirrored can turn into quite an ordeal.

Mirrored was originally called Doppleganger, and was later named Illusionist.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: Bosses and Champions.
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

• 

  Illusionist Desert Wasp battle.

• 

  Illusionist Desert Wasp battle.

• 

  Illusionist Desert Wasp battle.

• 

  Illusionist Desert Wasp battle.

• 

  Illusionist Phase Beast battle.

Invulnerable Minions

A boss with the Invulnerable Minions trait can be exceedingly dangerous in tight quarters, particularly in higher difficulty levels. The minions are immune to all sources of damage (although still succeptible to many crowd control tactics), and only the boss can be harmed. Because of this dynamic, the invulnerable minion modifier can only spawn on rare elites.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: Rare
• Damage Type: n/a
• Additional Resistances: n/a

• 

  Invulnerable Minion pack.

Jailer

Jailer. This modifier grants the boss or champion the ability to briefly cage players and their minions. A reddish-orange circle appears around the targets, locking them into place for a short duration during which characters can fight and fire spells or projectiles, but can not move from their location.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: Bosses and Champions.
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Knockback

Knockback. This modifier grants the boss or champion a knockback attack which will send a character or minion flying away from the monster that hits them. This is not a slight stumbling bump backwards, as many normal monsters can land; it's a special hit and knocks the target back 50 or more yards; usually to the edge of the screen. This can actually be helpful to ranged attacking classes, as it gives them plenty of room to fire before the boss can again close the distance.

• Occurs on Champions, with identical function.
• Minions may also Knockback.

• Monster Level Minimum: 1
• Available to: All.
• Damage Type: Standar.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Missile Dampening

Missile Dampening.

Missile Dampening is a rare modifier that shows up much less than others. In essence, it is the same premise as the Wizard's Slow Time bubble, where missiles (projectiles, including spells) will be slowed upon entering the sphere until they are basically motionless. It is similar in appearance to the slow time bubble, but it moves along with the elite who has the ability.

• Monster Level Minimum: 31
• Available to: Rare
• Damage Type: n/a
• Additional Resistances: n/a

Molten

A Molten unburied.

Molten is a property that creates a flaming effect on the ground beneath the feet of bosses, minions, and champions. The fire will spread to the ground beneath players and pets once combat is joined. When a molten enemy is killed, they leave behind a fiery orb that will explode in a small radius for large amounts of fire damage. This explosion alone can kill an unwary player in Inferno mode.

In earlier testing, this property was much the same as Fire Enchanted in Diablo 2, and simply added fire damage/resistance to the monsters.

• Monster Level Minimum: 8
• Available to: All.
• Damage Type: Fire.
• Additional Resistances: Fire.

Mortar

Mortar is a property where the elite will fire off firebombs over the head of the player, theoretically hitting the edge of the screen, although this is often not the case. The design intention is to keep players in melee range, or to punish ranged players with a specific attribute as melee players are often besieged by Plagued or Molten attributes.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: Bosses and Champions.
• Damage Type: Fire.
• Additional Resistances: ?

Nightmarish

Nightmarish bosses may inflict the Witch Doctor's Horrify skill when striking a target, causing the afflicted character or pet to run in a straight line away from the monster. If the path is blocked by other monsters or a wall, the afflicted will stand still, helpless.

Horrify is one of the most dangerous properties, since the horrified target can not control themselves, cast spells, run, or do anything other than drink a potion, and is thus very vulnerable to attack while in that state.

• Monster Level Minimum: 2
• Available to: All.
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Health Link

Health Link bosses and champions were first seen in the Blizzcon 2010 demo, and feared. This mod "links" the hit points of all the champions, or the boss and his minions, essentially giving them all one huge health pool. This makes it impossible to kill any single target quickly, since all of the enemies lose hit points at the same rate, until the health link breaks when they are very low on hit points.

It's dangerous since a single monster can't be picked off one at a time, and one cannot be killed quickly to lessen the damage being dealt. All of the monsters stay on the attack until they're nearly dead, at which point they de-link and usually drop over one right after the other. That aspect of it is a fun mod, since the whole group goes over like dominoes once one of them succumbs.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: All.
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None

Plagued

Plagued boss death cloud.

Plagued bosses add poison damage to their attacks, and presumably enjoyed greater resistance to poison damage as well. They give off a visual identifier, with a distinct pool of green poison underneath their feet. The pool inflicts AoE damage to any player or minion standing within the substance.

This mod seems to be the Diablo 3 version of "Poison Enchanted."

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: All
• Damage Type: Poison.
• Additional Resistances: Poison.

Shielding

Shielding is a modifier that allows the elite to become temporary invulnerable to all sources of damage, including damage-over-time abilities (DoTs) that were cast/inflicted before the shield went up. Monsters who are shielded, similar to Invulnerable monsters, can still be snared, rooted, or feared. The shields have a fairly long duration (up to ten seconds), and an elite will shield of its own volition, meaning that an individual monster in a pack will shield at different times from its brethren.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: Rare/Champion
• Damage Type: n/a
• Additional Resistances: n/a

Teleporting

Teleporting allows bosses, their minions, and champions to teleport directly on top of their target. This makes the ability especially dangerous to ranged attackers, who wish to maintain a distance from the enemy.

In earlier testing, this ability caused the monster to randomly relocate every few seconds, and was most useful for ranged attackers since they could bounce around the screen while continuing to pin cushion the player chasing after them.

• Monster Level Minimum: 3
• Available to: All
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Vampiric

Vampiric is life leech in Diablo III, and player reports from Blizzcon 2009 ranked this among the worst of the boss modifiers. The life leech was very high from this one, and some players found these guys literally impossible to kill, since they'd heal almost fully with a single hit, while it took dozens of hits to kill them.[1]

A vampiric monster ruined my last playthrough of the con. I tried to hit it with my Witch Doctor, but it kept healing itself by hitting my mongrels. I spent something like 5 minutes gently kiting it around, trying to get off a Skull of Flame or two before it could melee me. I didn’t even get to level up that time. Very, very mad.

--ExtraCrispy

The mod has been changed since its early implementation, allowing the monster to leech a slight bit of damage. The vampiric boss will, then, behave as regenerating monsters in Hell mode of Diablo II, in terms of difficulty.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: ?
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Vortex

Vortex is basically reverse Teleporter, as it causes players to appear directly on top of the monster. Players can run away again, and ranged attackers will usually want to do so.

First seen in the Blizzcon 2010 demo. It was very nasty for ranged players to deal with, since it allowed the boss or champion to yank the player back into their midst; the last place a ranged attacker wanted to be. The graphics for this skill weren't yet clear, since there was no visible display for what was happening. To the player it looked almost like lag, or a desynch, as you'd rush away from the monsters and sudden get bounced back into the midst of them.

Julian Love said that the graphics were still under construction and it would be improved in the final game. [2]

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: ?
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Waller

Waller grants monsters the ability to raise stone walls that block player movement. This can stop players from fleeing, as well as block player projectiles. Monsters are blocked from moving or firing over the walls as well.

Champions can only create short, straight walls, while Bosses can create three-sided rectangles that box fleeing players in, forcing them to run back past the boss and other monsters to escape.

• Monster Level Minimum: 10
• Available to: Bosses and Champions.
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Removed Boss Properties

This section lists modifiers that are known to have been removed from the game.

Ballista

Ballista was a new property seen in the Blizzcon 2010 demo. This modifier appeared to increase the size and damage of their projectiles, but the damage wasn't noticeably giant, and the shots didn't explode upon impact, as Warcraft 2 fans might have expected, given the utility of the human catapult, the Ballista, in that title.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: All
• Damage Type: N/A
• Additional Resistances: None

Cold Aura

Cold Aura reported by a fan from the Blizzcon 2009 demo. It has not been seen since, and is considered unconfirmed. It reputedly worked just as it did in Diablo 2, chilling and slowing players within the radius of effect. Interestingly, it was not until after that year's Blizzcon that Jay Wilson let it be known that Auras would return to the game, most likely as Monk skills.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: Bosses only.
• Damage Type: Cold
• Additional Resistances: Cold

Die Together

Die Together was a Champion-only modifier removed from the game during development. Its removal was announced in the Beta v6 patch notes in November 2011, and further explained by Blizzard afterwards. See the Die Together article for more details, but briefly stated: The modifier grouped the full pack of Champions, enabling each one to resurrect approximately 10 seconds after death so long as any of the pack remained alive.

The theory was to force players to manage the battle, and to whittle all of the Champions down to nearly dead, before trying to kill them all in rapid succession. In practice it was just annoying -- characters with AoE attacks had a considerable advantage over melee attackers and furthermore, some monsters (such as Skeletal Summoners) tended to move apart, making it nearly impossible to kill all of them in the allotted time.

Doppelganger

Doppleganger was the original name of the modifier now called Illusionist. See that entry for full details.

Magical

Magical. This modifier was seen several times during Blizzcon 2009 play testing, but its effect wasn't apparent to any of the players.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: ?
• Damage Type: ?
• Additional Resistances: ?

Multishot

Multishot returns from Diablo II. [3]. It's nastier by itself in Diablo III, since ranged attackers pack more of a punch than most of them did in Diablo II, and a boss or champion pack of ranged attackers with this mod can emit some serious ordinance.

The real danger of MS in Diablo II was due to a bug; since the MS stacked on top of the sparks that Lightning-Enchanted bosses emitted, creating insta-kill fields of lightning. That MSLE bug was fixed in v1.10, and MSLE bosses have not been any special danger since then. Though that same bug will surely not return in Diablo III, the developers might give MS some stacking ability with Electrified, Mortar, Ballista, or other ranged boss modifiers to up their danger level on higher difficulty levels.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: All.
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Mythical

Mythical was seen several times during Blizzcon 2009 play testing, but its effect wasn't apparent to any of the players.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: ?
• Damage Type: ?
• Additional Resistances: ?

Powerful

Powerful was seen in the Blizzcon 2010 demo, but not understood completely. It sounds like the Diablo III version of "Extra Strong," a Diablo II mod that granted bonus damage to monsters, but that wasn't clear from the play testing. Nor did these bosses seem to have any specially greater amount of hit points.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: ?
• Damage Type: N/A.
• Additional Resistances: None.

Stoneskin

Stoneskin returns from Diablo II, once again granting monsters much higher defense. It doesn't seem to improve the monster's hit points or resistances though, as Wizards found monsters with this one easy prey.

• Monster Level Minimum: ?
• Available to: All.
• Damage Type: Standard.
• Additional Resistances: Physical.