Diablo Monsters: Difference between revisions

Diablo Monsters (view source)

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-This page houses general information about the monsters in Diablo and Hellfire. Click to the individual monster pages for full stats and images, along with some strategy and other tidbits.
+This page houses general information about the monsters in Diablo and Hellfire. Click to the individual monster pages for full stats and images, along with some strategy and other tidbits. See chapter 5 in [[Jarulf's Guide]] for even more detailed formulae than this wiki provides.
 ==Monster Type==
-Monsters in Diablo and Hellfire are divided into three types: Animals, Demons, and Undead. The type of a given monster is fairly easy to tell; Undead are skeletons and zombies, Animals are lower life forms like scavengers, bats, goatmen, etc, and Demons are the more advanced enemies like Knights and Mages. (Everything found in Hell is a Demon, save for Lava Dogs and one type of Witch.)
+Monsters in Diablo and Hellfire are divided into three types: Animals, Demons, and Undead. The type of a given monster is generally easy to tell in Diablo, though the lines are more blurred in Hellfire's bestiary. Generally speaking, Undead are skeletons and zombies, Animals are lower life forms like scavengers, bats, goatmen, etc, and Demons are the more advanced humanoid enemies like Knights and Mages. The monster type is listed on every individual monster page and every boss page, since it matters what they are. These different types are not just the answers to trivia questions either, a monster's type has a considerable effect on how much damage it takes from different types of melee weapons.
-These different types are not just a trivia question, since they substantially effect the damage dealt by swords and clubs, in melee combat.
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 Monster type also determines if a monster will take damage from the spell [[D1_Spellbooks#Holy_Bolt|Holy Bolt]]. Only undead monsters (and Diablo) take damage from it; other monsters can not be touched at all by the spell.  Also, some weapons (mostly Uniques) have higher AC or deal bonus damage against one type of monster. For instance,[[D1_Unique_Axes#Bloodslayer|Bloodslayer]], the unique broad axe, deals 200% damage to Demons.
+To summarize: swords deal 50% bonus damage to Animals and have a 50% penalty against Undead. Blunts are just the opposite. Both deal 100% damage to Demons. In effect this favors swords, since there are no Undead found past the Catacombs (Dlvl 5-8) in Diablo. The Caves are about evenly divided between Animals and Demons, and then Hell is almost entirely Demons (with one or two Animals). Since swords do higher base damage to begin with, the fact that they have an additional bonus to Animals, and that there aren't any Undead later in the game (in Diablo) makes Swords a much better long term choice. Blunts are a better choice early on though, especially against large packs of undead, such as the Skeleton King's.
-To summarize: swords deal 50% bonus damage to Animals while blunt weapons deal 50% bonus damage to Undead. Both deal 100% damage to Demons. In effect this favors swords, since there are no Undead found past the Catacombs (Dlvl 5-8) in Diablo. The Caves are about evenly divided between Animals and Demons, and then Hell is almost entirely Demons (with one or two Animals). Since swords do higher base damage to begin with, the fact that they have an additional bonus to Animals, and that there aren't any Undead later in the game (in Diablo) makes Swords a much better long term choice. Blunts are a better choice early on though, especially against large packs of undead, such as the Skeleton King's.
+This is not the case in Hellfire, since the monsters in the Hive and Crypt are (roughly) divided between the three monster types. However, since this means that the monster type bonuses even out, and since the bastard sword has the highest base melee damage of any one-handed weapon, swords are still king. (Assuming the modifiers on the weapons are roughly equivalent.)
-This is not the case in Hellfire, since the monsters in the Hive and Crypt are (roughly) divided between the three monster types. However, since this means that the monster type bonuses even out, and the bastard sword has the highest base melee damage of any one-handed weapon, swords are still king. (Assuming the modifiers on the weapons are roughly equivalent.)
 Since Axes, Bows, Staves, and all spells (save for Holy Bolt) deal 100% damage to everything, this distinction is largely irrelevant to Monks, Rogues, Barbarians, and Sorcerers.
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 ==Monster Attack Type==
-Most monster types have their own unique way of attacking and moving. However, some of the monster types share some common attack types. The table below lists the various attack types that exist. I have used the name of the first monster type that uses that attack type. For example, skeletons and knights use the same attack type, but I have called it ''skeleton'' because they appear first. All monsters of a monster type share the same attack type, so I have only listed attack types for monster types. Since Hellfire does not have monster types, I have listed the attack type for each monster.
+Monsters are divided into different types, and each type has its own AI for movement, attacking, retreating, and so forth. These types are not specifically defined by the game, but are easy to envision if you've played a fair amount. Players just "know" how skeletons, or goat men, or drakes, behave. This table lists which monsters use which type of AI, and since there are fewer types of AI than there are monsters, some monsters use the AI of another creature.  Monsters with the same behavior type may still differ; some spell-casters move the same, but use different spells which changes the feel of the battle; Diablo uses the AI of a Magma Demon, for instance. Monster behavior changes with distance; Balrogs behave like Skeletons until they are within 3 squares of a character.
+* Monster behavior does not change with difficulty level.
+* All monsters of the same type use the same behavior.
+** Different monsters with the same behavior will differently depending on their IntF rating. Higher IntF usually makes them react more quickly; [[D1 Succubus|Soul Burners]] retreat as soon as you're in range, while [[D1 Succubus|Succubus]] are slower to react. IntF is listed on the individual monster and boss pages.
+* Some boss monsters use the behavior of a different type of monster. Those are listed on the individual [[D1 Superuniques|SuperUnique pages]].
+** The minions of a boss monster use the same behavior as their boss. Even when it's different than their usual type behavior.
+* All Hellfire monsters use the behavior type as one of the Diablo monsters. (Usually skeleton.)
-When a unique monster is present, it and its mob may have a different attack type than the normal one for that monster type.
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 | Skeleton
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-The attack type does not only affect the actual attack but also how the monsters move around. Many monsters that share a specific attack type still cast different spells as the attack type does not in itself include spell (or arrow) cast. Others may be similar at some parts; for example, at a distance greater than Inferno range (3 squares) a Balrog will behave like a Skeleton in its movements, and it is not until it gets closer that it will start to circle the player. There are many similar features between the different attack types. Most of them are also heavily triggered by the distance to the target; that is, the behavior of the monster changes as it gets to a specific distance(s) to the target. Monsters can also gain a different attack type if they are part of a mob of a unique monster with a different attack type. The way monsters behave is not affected by difficulty level. For a more detailed explanation of how the attack types work, see chapter 5.5.