Suicide Minions are monsters encountered in Act V of Diablo II.
Lore[]
The newest monsters created by Baal to serve in the Army of Destruction, Suicide Minions were stealthy, quick-footed, and unusually tough for their size. Bony knobs protruded from their thick hides, giving them added protection against melee weapons.[1] They were mutated Minions, turned into their new form by Overseers. Once the Suicide Minion reached its target, it died in a horrid explosion, causing massive damage to its target.[2]
In-game[]
The Suicide Minions can be found loitering around with their more controllable brethren. They can also be created by Overseers by inducing Minion Frenzy on Baal's Minions. They can also be encountered without an Overseer in the Worldstone Keep.
Suicide Minions are not tough to defeat, often being killed in a single blow. They are easy pickings for ranged characters. But their real strength and probably their claim to fame is their highly dangerous kamikaze-like Blast. This blast can seriously damage a player, especially given that it can knock the player back and cause a stun effect.
They can be avoided however, they do not damage Minions and Hirelings and can be easily killed by them. There is also a more risky way to get rid of them. When a Suicide Minion spots you, run away and stand still until it is very near you but not within its blast range. Then quickly run away. This causes the Suicide Minion to stop where you were and blast right there. But this method runs the risk of inviting more monsters on your chase which can be quite frustrating.
If the player kills the Suicide Minion before it blows up, it gives a massive amount of experience (no experience is obtained if the minion detonates on its own). This provides an interesting game mechanic forcing the player to think before engaging these loathsome beasts. Whether the player tries to kill them to reap the experience bonus or gets blown up along with the Suicide Minion is entirely the player's choice. You will know if you killed it when you do not suffer the knockback that occurs if it blows up by itself.
A good tactic for obtaining the experience that a Suicide Minion offers involves the Barbarian's War Cry. Simply use the skill as the Minion gets closer, and then kill it while it waits out its Stun time. If the player allows War Cry to reach the appropriate skill level, the Stun duration will be long enough for you to use your preferred attack enough to kill the Minion before it explodes.
They have a tendency to have default look when a minion is changed by an Overseer. They get their colors when player exits the screen they are on and returns back, or when town portal is used, and then player returns.
Technical Note: First three Suicide Minions spawn with heads of Greater Hell Spawn and Greater Ice Spawn probably because the last 2 suicide minions aren't used, so you can't really see Suicide Minions with the 2-horned heads of first three Minions. Also the colors of Berserker Slayers and Consumed Ice Boars are swapped an an oversight.
References[]
- ↑ Suicide Minion, The Arreat Summit. Accessed on 20201-01-15
- ↑ Overseer, The Arreat Summit. Accessed on 2021-01-15