Diabolist

A high priest with special talent for harnessing the energies of Hellfire.

The second tier of the ArchVile race. These guys are seriously menacing with their deep red skin and yellow eyes. They share race and history with the common Exile. The Diabolist is a rare breed of Exile that is created with the rare and special supernatural talent for harnessing both the destructive force of the Void AND Hellfire.

The added mutations makes the Diabolist tougher yet; and are among the Exiles revered for their rare gift. The Diabolist is considered purer and superior.

See the Exile for a more in depth history of the ArchVile species.

## Behavior

The Diabolist behaves a whole lot like the vanilla ArchVile version, but he has gained the ability to periodically sprint at double speed - making him blisteringly fast, and that much more difficult to aim at.

The Diabolist retains his influence over most other demons', allowing him to wipe the memory of demons at will. Monsters forget all about counterattacking against the ArchVile species.

The Diabolist also retains his ability to ressurect any corpse of any species of Demon below him in rank - even higher tiers of Barons' are not above him, and this alone makes the Exile more dangerous than ever before. He will even resurrect monsters' he's held a personal grudge against. He cannot ressurect other ArchViles, Cyberdemons' or SpiderMasterminds.

## Attacks

### Immolation Blast

The Diabolist prepares a supernatural spell that binds to the body of the recipient, and after about 2,1 seconds; if the target is still within sight of the Vile, the spell is released and the recipient combusts with a powerful blast of Hellfire energy - dealing significant splash damage. When used on a human player; the player is also thrown about 4 feet into the air - higher than jump height - allowing them to perform some tricks to circumvent certain types of level design. The attack most often does between 81 and 84 damage to the main target, due to the position of the blast in relation to the target.

The Immolation Blast can not hurt other species of Vile, but its splash component can hurt surrounding demons around the main target.

#### Immolation

A few split seconds after the Diabolist begins casting his spell; an immolation effect binds to the recipient - blocking much of his view and dealing rapid health draining at roughly 6-9 damage per second. This effect can only be mitigated by quickly seeking cover behind a solid wall. Taking the full duration of this effect usually causes between 10 and 18 damage, allowing this tier of Vile to sometimes kill an unarmored player at full health, with just one single spell cast. This effect can in fact hurt other players and nearby demons.

### Resurrection

Not an attack per se; but he uses this ability whenever he comes across the corpse of any eligible Demon. It works extremely fast, restoring the monster on the spot back to full health in less than 2 seconds. The monster has his memory wiped, and immediately is alerted to the players location. He constantly makes a check for surrounding corpses while he's running about; but does'nt actively go out of his way to resurrect corpses laying some distance away.

## Strategy

By themselves, in large open areas; a single Diabolist is very dangerous to both newbies and experienced players. The first tip is to never get caught in the open with an ArchVile in the first place; as their spells are undodgeable, and only fizzle out if line of sight is broken in due time, and only by solid map walls. The Diabolist is absolutely best dealt with as a first priority target due to his abilities; and preferably with potshots from around corners. Their extreme tolerance to pain; probably stemming from their religious acts, means these guys are difficult to disrupt. However, the SSG and Quad Shotgun are both excellent tools, that often scores a pain state for each point blank hit - allowing the player to focus fire a bit longer before needing to duck for cover. A BFG9500 for a guarenteed oneshot kill, is also an effective strategy to use on a Diabolist.

The ArchVile is a monster species that varies widely in difficulty considering skill of player, availability of cover and ofcourse arsenal; but the Diabolist is especially heineous to all with his lingering immolation effect. A player with very low health - regardless of skill and good spots to cover behind - will find meeting this enemy an almost secured death sentence - barring extreme luck. In a way, the Diabolist is a bit of a cheesy enemy - arguably a bit unbalanced.

Specific to the ArchVile species; mines work quite well on them, as they have a 50% chance to enter pain state upon touching one. Throwing 2 or more in one spot makes him do this check for each unit; making it likely he will be delayed just long enough to let the mine(s) explode right under the Vile - causing big damage or death at 3+ mines. This is a good way to deal with those Viles you know where and when will pop up.