Oppressor

"I have seen many warriors in my day, but only a scant few of them could face the might of an oppressor. This monster towers over the tallest barbarians and wields weapons crafted from Hellforged steel. They were last seen with Baal during his resurgence and left legions of dead men in their wake."

- Deckard Cain



The Oppressor is a type of demon.

Lore
Oppressors are tall demons that wield powerful weapons. A number of them were present in Baal's Army of Destruction when it assaulted Mount Arreat. The Oppressors inflicted heavy casualties on their foes.

Two decades later, Oppressors were seen again, this time in the service of Diablo in his assault on the High Heavens.

In-game
Oppressors are found in the fourth and fifth acts of Diablo III. Their hulking appearance and abilities are similar to those of the Balrogs encountered in the earlier installments. They often attack from above, landing right next to the player, and may be encountered in small groups.

Each Oppressor has a slow, but powerful melee attack, as well as their signature Inferno Breath. The latter deals high periodic Fire damage in a cone in front of the demon over roughly 3 seconds, but while channeling it, the Oppressor cannot do anything else or even turn around. They can also charge at player characters, dealing greater damage and inflicting knockback on hit.

These foes do not make their appearance until the player begins the second quest of Act IV, where their first encountered Oppressor will be in a fight with a couple of angel soldiers. They can also be summoned to aid Izual in his battle. Izual's own model is based on that of an Oppressor.

Sub-types

 * Warscarred Ravager

Uniques

 * Amok the Breaker (beta version only, Pandemonium Fortress Level 2)
 * Aspect of Sin (Silver Spire Level 2)
 * Beleth (Pandemonium Fortress Level 2)
 * Borgoth (Realm of the Banished)
 * Champion of Strategems (Set Dungeon)
 * Defender of Might (Set Dungeon)
 * Fenring (Sacellum of Virtue)
 * Skelon (lore only)
 * Torchlighter (Gardens of Hope, Tier 1)
 * Keeper Hashemel (Infested Ruins, Battlefields of Eternity)
 * Vekriss (Unearthed Ruins Level 2)
 * Zanthek (Pandemonium Fortress Level 1)

Development
Concept art for Oppressors originally depicted them as Corrupted Angels. Corrupted Angels have a much different appearance in the final version of the game.

Trivia

 * They can be considered analogous to the Balrog monster class of the first and second games, especially since Deckard Cain describes them as having been in Baal's army.