Elite Monsters: The Six Tiers and How to Spot Them
On Morta, any normal monster can spawn as an elite: a stronger version with a glowing aura, more health, harder hits, much more experience and better loot. A rotworm can be an elite. So can a dragon.
How to spot an elite
- It glows with a coloured aura, and its light colour matches.
- It looks slightly bigger than normal, and bigger again at each higher tier.
- Look at it. The description says, for example, "It is an elite. It is much tougher, hits harder and carries better loot."
- Its corpse keeps the aura until it rots, so you can find the loot afterwards.
The six tiers
| Tier | Aura | Chance per spawn | Health | Damage | Experience | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardened | White | 0.6% | ×1.5 | ×1.1 | ×1.5 | +10 |
| Empowered | Green | 0.3% | ×2 | ×1.2 | ×2 | +15 |
| Elite | Blue | 0.15% | ×3 | ×1.3 | ×3 | +20 |
| Champion | Purple | 0.07% | ×4 | ×1.4 | ×4 | +25 |
| Ascended | Orange | 0.03% | ×5 | ×1.55 | ×6 | +35 |
| Infernal | Red | 0.01% | ×7 | ×1.7 | ×9 | +45 |
Together, roughly 1 spawn in 86 is an elite of some tier. An infernal is about 1 in 10,000.
What that means in practice: an infernal Cyclops has 1,820 health instead of 260, hits 70% harder, and gives 1,350 experience instead of 150. Treat any red or orange monster as several levels above what you're used to.
Better loot
Elites improve the item attribute rolls on their loot, and the higher tiers add extra items:
| Tier | Chance of attributes on dropped equipment | Extra equipment pieces | Enchanting dust |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardened | ×1.5 | 0–1 | |
| Empowered | ×2 | 1–2 | |
| Elite | ×3 | 1, with at least 1 attribute | 1–3 |
| Champion | ×4 | 1, with at least 2 attributes | 2–4 |
| Ascended | ×5 | 2, with at least 2 attributes | 3–6 |
| Infernal | ×7 | 3, with at least 3 attributes | 5–10 |
- Extra equipment is picked from the monster's own loot list, so it's always gear that monster normally carries, already enchanted.
- Enchanting dust shows up in about 1 in 10 elite corpses. When it does, the amount depends on the tier. Dust is the main way to get it, and you need it to enchant items. See the item attribute guide.
Which monsters can be elite
- Can: any monster that spawns normally on the map and gives experience.
- Can't: bosses, monsters summoned by other monsters or players, and monsters from raids or scripted events.
Tips
- Don't fight an unknown aura alone at low level. Check the colour first. White and green are a nice bonus, but purple and up can kill you even on an easy hunt.
- Finish what you start. Running from an elite with +35 speed rarely works.
- Loot every elite corpse, even from a weak monster. The extra items and dust are worth more than the monster's normal loot.
