Dune Dervish

"To those who doubt my achievements in research, I present my findings on the Dune Dervish. It took me many years to find the truth of these strange, deadly figures, but my sources indicate that they are the cursed remains of mages who summoned a demon far beyond their power to control."

- Abd al-Hazir

Dune Dervishes (a.k.a. Magewraiths) are a type of undead enemy in of Diablo III.

Lore
Dune Dervishes were once Vizjerei mages who conducted rituals in the deserts of Kehjistan, hoping to summon a demonic lieutenant from the Burning Hells. Their "success" not only ended the mages' lives, but also forever cursed their souls. They now wander the eastern deserts, hunting on instinct alone.

If one wears a deerskin branded with Ammuit runes, they will become invisible to the creatures.

In-game
Dune Dervishes are rather large, and hover above ground to approach the player. While their normal melee attack is relatively harmless, they also may use their 'whirlwind' attack that causes very quick ticks of Physical damage to anything within 10 yards of the Dervish for 5 seconds, and in addition slows the reached enemies down.

While spinning, the Dervish is fully mobile. Missile attacks (but not beams and torrents) have a chance to be reflected while the Dervish is covered with his spinning blades. After the Dervish dies, its blades spin in the air and land one second after, dealing Physical damage if player is standing below.

Uniques

 * Pazuzu (Desolate Sands)
 * Samaras the Chaser (Stinging Winds)
 * Dervish Lord (Hadi's Claim Mine event, Stinging Winds)
 * Sokahr the Keywarden (Dahlgur Oasis)
 * Torsar (Dahlgur Oasis)

Development
Dune Dervishes were seen for the first time in the Diablo III demo at Blizzcon 2009. When a player character would get too close to a Dune Dervish, it would start to spin around wildly, in a similar fashion to the 's, dealing large amounts of damage. In released version, they can star their whirling at any time.

Trivia

 * Dervishes are real-world followers of the ascetic Sufi path in Islam, famous for their ability to fall into trance as they dance, therefore whirling without stopping for hours (hence the whirlwind attack of the monsters).