Elite Monster

An Elite Monster is one that is more powerful than it's peers. Elite Monsters can be found in Hard and higher Difficulties and is bigger than other monsters of the same type.

Monsters that are elite will have an "aura" around them, and their nameplate will be in red instead of green or yellow. It will also have a prefix in front of it's name, ex. "Something Poochum". Each prefix has it's own powers that make the monster more powerful.The spawning of Elite monsters is random, but in higher difficulties they become more and more common to the point that they are in almost every pull.

Abyss difficulty introduces monsters with purple nameplates and a boss-like health bar with only one layer. These are Sub Bosses which are either regular enemies with improved stats or more fragile versions of an earlier boss but their behavior is not altered from their normal versions and do not require special attention if the player has dealt with them earlier.

Types of Elite Monsters

 * Regenerating: These monsters have a permanent heath recovery buff that returns a percentage of their health every three seconds. In higher difficulties this can be a lot of health every three seconds and characters who cannot deal a lot of damage to them will have a difficult time killing them. In boss fights it's almost easier to ignore these elites until the boss and other monsters are dead, though killing any healers with this prefix is guaranteed to make the fight substantially easier.


 * Speedy: Monsters with the Speedy prefix get a movement and attack speed boost. When under the affects of Speedy it's quite difficult to make room between the character and the monster. When using abilities they will hit faster than normal and regular attack swings will have a shorter recharge time between hits.


 * Willful: These monsters have significantly higher magic defense. They are not dangerous by themselves unless they are of a type that the player has difficulty killing or if they can heal their allies but they may absorb spell hits for bosses if they get in the way.


 * Powerful: These monsters have significantly higher defense. The challenge is similar to that posed by Willful monsters but for physical attacks only. Called Durable in the SEA version.


 * Daredevil: These monsters attack more frequently and spend less time circling the player or running away but unlike the Speedy prefix the actual attack animations and cooldowns are not affected, so weaker enemies with this prefix are effectively suicidal. Due to AI randomization there may not be any difference in their actions compared to their normal version but enemies with debilitating attacks (such as staggers or debuffs) should still be killed first if they have this prefix as they have a higher chance of attacking when the player is in a bad situation. Called Aggressive in the SEA version.


 * Destructive: These monsters do more damage with their normal and special attacks. The added damage is usually not enough to make them more dangerous unless the player is having trouble with the normal version of the monster, in which case they should be killed first.

Handling Elite Monsters
Depending on the monster itself, different strategies must be employed if simply demolishing them is not viable. Some monsters become quite deadly when paired with a certain prefix.

Dark Elves with Speedy have the ability to juggle (to keep in the air) a player quite quickly, resulting in an unexpected death. In this case, a player would want to keep pressure on the Speedy Dark Elf while avoiding other mobs in the area, or using an ability to lock them down (ie. Paralyze Bolt). Running from them in this state would almost certainly backfire as they will catch up and begin to pummel the character in the air.

In cases where there are multiple Elite monsters, for instance in Abyss difficulties, the player may have to ignore some different kinds of elites for others. Sometimes, you may have to ignore them all together until the large pack of regular mobs are killed. In the case of a Sub Boss or Boss being present, it may be a worst case scenario where there are many hard monsters hitting you all at once. These points in the game will test players on their skills in attacking and dodging.

Classes that are resistant to staggering can afford to focus on dangerous elites first while other classes should save piercing or AoE skills for such elites if any are anticipated. This is less of a concern in party play as members can rescue each other easily enough. If an elite with a durability prefix (Regenerating, Willful or Powerful) is spotted, the battleground may have to be checked once over after combat to ensure that they are dead so that the player(s) will not be forced to backtrack later.