Fun fact, Diablo 2 was the leading cause of rage-quitting in the early 2000s. Okay, that was a joke, but the creatures on this list are not. If there’s one thing that can be said about Blizzard's Diablo 2 it’s that the game can be insanely difficult. Diablo 2: Resurrected will probably be no different. The reason for this difficulty isn’t due to clever puzzles, poor controls, or bugs and glitches; however there are glitches that make the game a little bit more difficult.
No, this game is difficult due to the swarms of enemies the player must deal with. This list will not include bosses or super unique creatures – it will only consider the regular creatures encountered in Diablo 2. Lastly, the ranking of this list is a bit subjective as some character classes will have an easier time against some of these creatures than others.
10 Fetishes
Fetishes are small animated dolls that are encountered in the earlier acts of the game. Many players are familiar of these creatures from Diablo 3 as a creature the witch doctor summons. These little creatures are beyond frustrating to fight for character classes that rely on melee combat – such as paladins. They have a tendency to blend in with the environment, making them hard to spot. The weapons of choice for fetishes are blow-darts and knives, and these darts are nearly impossible to see coming. To make matters worse, the range of their blow-darts is so far that they can attack the player while off-screen. They also have a habit of running from the player, while surrounding fetishes continue to attack.
9 Claw Vipers/Salamanders
These demonic creatures, encountered primarily in Act 2, can be a nightmare to deal with. For starters, they move very fast; so chasing them down can be quite a chore. The claw viper’s favorite attack is an ice spike that it shoots at the player. These ice spikes can slow or even immobilize the player – making it easy for other creatures to move in and kill your character in his or her weakened state. Salamanders are a stronger form of claw viper that can be encountered in the later acts. They are similar to claw vipers, but their attacks are strong enough to kill your character with one hit.
8 Suicide Minions
These infuriating creatures are the bane of melee-based character builds. As the name suggests, they are willing to commit suicide to kill their opponents. What’s the problem with that, you might ask? Well, they commit suicide by blowing up when they get near the player’s character.
This isn’t a small explosion either – these explosions can seriously injure or kill your character. It doesn’t help that they are seldom encountered by themselves – be ready to run when a group of these come storming out of the darkness. One trick with these creatures is to run in a circle pattern to avoid their explosions.
7 Succubus
These winged female demons were a problem for players in the first Diablo game, and they are even tougher in Diablo 2. Here’s how an encounter with succubi typically goes down. First, you encounter a group of them clustered together; at which point they begin firing magical globes at your character (which cause significant damage). Then, as you move in to attack them they scatter. As you chase one of them down the others will stop and resume their attacks on you. Annoying isn’t a strong enough word for this tactic.
6 Scarab Demons
Most players of Diablo 2 knew these creatures would be somewhere on this list, but many would argue they should be higher on the list. These demonic scarabs are very fast movers – making it difficult to run from them when being overwhelmed. Their most powerful weapon is their ability to emit charged bolts when hit and slain. For the uninitiated, charged bolts are small electrical discharges that fan out from the scarabs. One of these bolts isn’t that damaging; however, when in melee every swing of your weapon will cause your character to be struck by a few of them. If you don’t have any electrical resistance this can kill your character after only a few swings of your weapon.
5 Hell Bovine
These bipedal cows were granted sentience by Diablo and are encountered in the Secret Cow Level. These bovines have a ton of hit points and deal massive damage when they hit. The only thing saving the player is that they are not very fast movers. So running away from them isn’t a problem, but since they congregate in huge herds it is possible (and easy) to get your character cornered. It’s like fighting a wave of zombies. At higher difficulty settings these Hell Bovines also start getting some pretty respectable resistances to cold, fire, lightning, and physical damage.
4 Oblivion Knights
There are three types of knights in Diablo 2; Doom Knights, Abyss Knights, and Oblivion Knights. All three are deadly opponents, but the spellcasting Oblivion Knights are the deadliest of the three. These undead spellcasters have access to some of the necromancer’s spells. They are capable of casting Bone Spirit, Bone Armor, and Curse.
Bone Spirit is particularly annoying as these spirits will seek out their target; this makes dodging them difficult. Bone Armor shields them from physical attacks. An Oblivion Knight's curse can have various effects, like lowering your resistances, amplifying damage, and draining your character’s life to heal the Oblivion Knight.
3 Ghosts/Specters
There are several reasons to hate ghosts, as well as wraiths and specters, in Diablo 2. First, as ghosts they have extremely high resistance to physical attacks and can pass through solid objects. Second, just being near them (in melee) drains your character’s health. They also drain your character’s mana as well, making them incredibly challenging for spellcasters to deal with. These spectral creatures will have most players running for their lives after only a few seconds of close contact. If you don’t have a weapon that deals some form of elemental damage these creatures are essentially invincible.
2 Burning Souls/Black Souls/Gloams
These floating masses of vapor can bring even the strongest character down in seconds. All three variants of the Willow Wisp shoot lightning bolts at your player, and they are usually encountered in groups. This massive onslaught of lightning damage can quickly kill a player with maximum lightning resistance due to a bug in the game that adds their physical attack damage to the lightning bolt (commonly referred to as lighting ropes). These bolts travel too fast, and are too long, to effectively dodge. These creatures also have extremely high resistances at the higher difficulty settings. The only thing helping players is their low hit point totals.
1 Undead Stygian Dolls
These are variants of the Fetishes, but comparing the two is like comparing a goldfish to a shark. A lot of experienced players will tell you they can walk through the game with little difficulty – until they encounter a group of Stygian Dolls. What makes these little fiends so tough? Firstly, they are fast movers; so it takes them almost no time at all to close-in on your character. Second, their physical attacks are absurdly powerful. However, what makes them so dangerous is their ability to explode when they are killed. This explosion is strong enough to kill even the strongest of characters at full health.