Undead

"The undead are a pox upon our world, yet no one sees fit to look into their existence and find a way to rid us of them once and for all. How long until we are confronted by the terrifying specter of an undead army of skeletal warriors raised by some crazed sorcerer or would-be demigod? Do not let the scarce reports of skeleton attacks lull you into assuming we are safe; we are never safe from these unholy legions. They are coming, mark my words."

- Abd al-Hazir

The undead are one of the three major types of monsters encountered in the Diablo series.

Lore
"I've faced the undead several times, but you never get used to it. You think you're prepared, but there's just something that sticks in your gut, this horrible feeling. Your hands get slick with sweat, and your sword is hard to grasp correctly... you really doubt your sanity in being down there, facing something like that. And the stench is unimaginable."

- An adventurer

The undead are scattered all over Sanctuary, and their presence being a result of Hell's influence on the mortal realm. In truth, however, the walking dead are not native to Hell itself, though they can be raised by demons, and even angels themselves. In the case of the former, the undead are counted among the minions of Mephisto.

The dead may rise from their graves for any number of reasons&mdash;a powerful demon, a source of corruption, a convocation... The undead eternally seek vengeance upon the living, imbued with a hatred that defies understanding. The undead loathe the living, and seek only to consume warm flesh and blood. When risen, some undead wander the world in silence until the magic that reanimates them fades away. Others take up weapons and hunt down anything that lives. Any member of the undead can be drained of the magic that is sustaining them. Doing so in the month of Ratham, especially on the seventh day, produces the best results of magic drain.

Zombies are counted as the lowest ranks of the undead. Above them are the fierce skeleton warriors, and even wraiths&mdash;undead in ethereal form that are manifestations of tortured souls from the planes of Hell.

Undead are particuarly vulnerable to the effects of broken bones and shattered limbs. Clubs, maces, and scepters are consequently very effective against these beings. They are also vulernable to Holy Magic, and the Light is anathema to these beings.

In the period following the Darkening of Tristram, the undead rose in droves to assault the living. It reached the point where people would butcher and burn the remains of their loved ones and pets, lest they rise again.

While necromancy is possessed among demonkind, among mortals, it is only the Priests of Rathma who have access to this ability. These necromancers may also raise the dead to do their bidding as well.

Likewise, the Reapers also made use of the undead among their ranks.

Diablo I
In Diablo I, all undead creatures are resistant to hack and slash weapons, such as daggers and swords, and take 50% less damage from them, though they are very weak against blunt weapons, such as clubs, maces, and hammers, and take 50% extra damage from them instead.

The Holy Bolt Spell is a spell that can harm only the undead, and even Diablo himself.

Diablo II
In Diablo II, all blunt weapons always deal an additional in the form of an extra. Some Paladin skills like the Aura are designed specifically to work against the undead.

The Necromancer can summon undead monsters as well by using the corpses of slain monsters.

Many undead creatures are immune to Cold or Poison on difficulty.

Diablo Immortal
Undead enemies appear in Diablo Immortal.

Diablo III
In Diablo III, the Witch Doctor can summon undead monsters, for example, Zombie Dogs. Some items, such as or, have special properties that only work against undead, while some, such as  or , deal increased damage to unliving monstrosities. The likewise returns via DLC, and can summon undead in a manner similar to the  version from Diablo II.

Reapers use undead minions as cannon fodder of their armies, raising hordes of unliving creatures from the humans they kill. However, their undead servants are treated as Reaper type instead, being immune to the special effects that would affect any other undead.

Diablo IV
Undead enemies make a reappearance in Diablo IV. The Drowned are a new type of undead enemy.