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For the identically named demon from Diablo Immortal, see Hellhound (Diablo Immortal).
"Tainted show the influence of their demonic masters."

- Monster summary(src)

Tainted-THAB

A Tainted

Tainted (a.k.a. Hellhounds)[1] are a type of demonic enemy encountered in Diablo II.

Lore[]

Tainted are large-headed, reptilian,[2] malformed demons that gain their strength and resilience from the natural element of lightning. While slow of foot, these beasts deliver a palpable hit when engaged at close range and can absorb a fair amount of damage. Tainted are perhaps an even greater threat when wounded, however, as this is when they retreat and direct orbs of lightning at their enemies.[3] Able to breathe electricity, Tainted are not creations of the Prime Evils, though stronger Tainted are more affected by their influences.[2]

It is said that the khazra of the Moon Clan herded these creatures in Hell, as their natural immunity to lightning allowed safe handling of these demons.[1]

In-game[]

Tainted

Tainted model

Tainted possess the ability to hurl spheres of lightning at their foes. They move slowly because of their hulking forms. The Tainted prefer to use their melee attack to strike any adventurers that step close into their paths and when wounded, they retreat and use their Lightning Globes. They have a natural resistance to lightning and are immune to it on Hell difficulty.

The Tainted come in five different varieties: Misshapen, Disfigured, Tainted, Afflicted, and Damned. The Tainted type can be first discovered as early as the Underground Passage.

All of Tainted variants have a 15/35% chance of Lightning on bite attacks when in Nightmare/Hell. They also choose to spit lightning with 60/70/80% chance if they reach certain health thresholds depending on variant. They never spit lightning over their "hurt" threshold on Normal difficulty.

A Super Unique Tainted is Pitspawn Fouldog.

Stats[]

Tainted (third variety) are an Tainted type that can spawn in:

They switch to mostly ranged attacks at 80/50/50% health. If they are over this "hurt" threshold then they choose to shoot lightning with 40%/50% chance on Nightmare/Hell.

Tainted
Tainted In-game
Property Normal Nightmare Hell
Type Demon Demon Demon
Act(s) found in 1 1 1
Monster Level 11 42 72
Experience
Health points
Damage 1
Attack Rating 1
Damage 2
Attack Rating 2
Defense
% to Block 10 10 10
Damage Resist 0 0 25
Magic Resist 0 0 0
Fire Resist 0 0 0
Cold Resist 0 0 0
Lightning Resist 60 80 105
Poison Resist 0 75 0
Drain Effectiveness 100 85 75
Immunities Lightning
Chill Effectiveness 50 40 33
Walk/Run Speed 6
Group/Minion Size 2-4

Development[]

Bighead

They have an unused cold projectile graphic called "bighead" like their codename, it can be seen on one of oldest Diablo II renders. It seems that originally they were supposed to be cold-oriented or use two different elements. In their Lightning shoot animation they still breath an cold mist.

Trivia[]

WikiLogoSmall
This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.
Tainted mural

A mural in Act I depicting a Tainted's lightning attack

  • In several of the caves in Act I, there are cave paintings of Tainted firing their lightning spheres.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Awakening
  2. 2.0 2.1 To Hell and Back
  3. Tainted, The Arreat Summit. Accessed on 2014-05-11
Tainted

MisshapenDisfiguredTaintedAfflictedDamned

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