HEROIC LEVELS

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Similar to ordinary demons but much stronger and more intelligent, heroic demons are more than a match for the toughest heroes.

Median XL features four heroic areas:

Act 1 Mausoleum (Burial Grounds)
Act 2 Stony Tomb Level 1 (Rocky Waste)
Act 5 Icy Cellar (Ancients' Way)
Each of the three areas contains the same 20 heroic monster types. You may want to choose the area that suits your character build the most.

Act 1 Cow Level (Rogue Encampment)
Meet invisible cow ninjas, bovine summoners and other figments of your fever dreams after a bad case of food poisoning in the Cow Level!


HEROIC BOSSES

Each heroic area is protected by its own guardian and one appears only when its shrine is disturbed. The area's heroic boss may randomly appear in the area, or he may not... Beware, heroic bosses are among the hardest encounters in Median XL.

All heroic bosses are protected by an invulnerability shield. This shield is nearly impossible to break with mortal magic but will occasionally fail and drop a random immunity, though this still leaves the boss with high resistance to this element. Use these rare opportunities well.


1/6 Bull Prince Rodeo
DIFFICULTY: MODERATE


Level
Hatred : 85
Terror : 115
Destruction : 120

Location
Cow Level (Act 1: Rogue Encampment)

See THIS PAGE for more information on how to enter the Cow Level.

Lore
The moolicious heir to the Cow King's throne, Bull Prince Rodeo is out to exact his indiscriminate revenge for all the cattle killed by humans.

Strategy
Rodeo is very aggressive and has a stunning Hoof Stomp and the Blink spell, making it difficult to put some distance between you and him. He can also summon more cows or call upon a Stampeding Herd of exploding cows that ploughs across the screen, trampling all in their path. This ability is unblockable, unresistable and will destroy you if you don't get out of the way in time. But his most common spell, in cooperation with another victim of cruel farming practices, is a wave of chickens that will pursue their victim relentlessly, inflicting devastating hurt with their beaks if they connect. The chickens can be dodged by staying mobile. Being a sacred cow, Rodeo is invulnerable to damage. Warding shields are not an exact science, however, and the spell may occasionally fail, allowing you to hit him with one or more elements until the spell is restored.

NOTE: Killing Rodeo does not prevent you from entering the Cow Level again.

Reward
Defeat Bull Prince Rodeo on Destruction difficulty to get the Fool's Gold.

Fool's Gold
Fool's Gold
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 100
+(-10 to 38) to all Attributes
Total Character Defense Plus (11 to 15)%
3% Reanimate as: Random monster (including Elites)
-75% Less Gold from Monsters
(31 to 40)% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

See THIS PAGE for the list of reanimates.

Drop Bias
On Destruction difficulty, Bull Prince Rodeo has a 1/30 chance to drop an Unique Mystic Orb on death.

See THIS PAGE for more information about the Unique Mystic Orbs.


2/6 Quov Tsin
DIFFICULTY: TRICKY


Level
Hatred : 90
Terror : 115
Destruction : 120

Location
Stony Tomb Level 1 (Act 2: Rocky Waste)

Lore
Hungry for power and misled by Diablo, the Vizjerei mage Quov Tsin almost succeeded in sacrificing the city of Ureh to the forces of Hell. He was defeated at the last moment, but his spirit still roams the burial tombs looking for a mortal vessel to come back to life...

Strategy
As a former Vizjerei in life, Quov Tsin wields the elements. His most devastating attack is a streaming blast of fire, cold and lightning bolts powerful enough to annihilate any hero in a moment. In melee combat, he may use a fire, cold and lightning nova combo that causes massive destruction at close range. Prepare for this battle by equipping resistance items to counter his ability to pierce resistances, and try to find some absorb items to further cut the damage. His contingency spells protect him by teleporting him to safety when struck by any attack. Stay near cover in case he appears too close for comfort. Quov Tsin is protected by a mystical shield that makes him invulnerable to all damage, but thankfully for you, anger is not a good state of mind to maintain a difficult invulnerability spell. It may occasionally fail, leaving him vulnerable to one or more elements. Seize the moment.

Reward
Defeat Quov Tsin on Destruction difficulty to get the Silver Seal of Ureh.

Silver Seal of Ureh
Silver Seal of Ureh
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 120
+(21 to 30) Energy Factor to Spell Damage
+1 to All Skills
+(41 to 50) to Strength
+(41 to 50) to Dexterity
+(41 to 50) to Vitality
+(41 to 50) to Energy
(21 to 25)% Bonus to Summoned Minion Damage
(11 to 15)% Bonus to Summoned Minion Resistances

2% chance to drop a trophy on Destruction difficulty. Cube the trophy with the charm for a small bonus.

Quov Tsin Trophy
Quov Tsin Trophy
Cube with the Silver Seal of Ureh...
+15% to Spell Damage

3/6 Belial
DIFFICULTY: TRICKY


Level
Hatred : 80
Terror : 115
Destruction : 120

Location
Icy Cellar (Act 5: Ancients' Way)

Once you enter, you cannot go back trough the stairs.

Lore
After his defeat in the civil war in Hell, the Lord of Lies and infernal King of Rats was banished to Sanctuary where he plots his return. The icy caves under Harrogath offered him both proximity to the powerful Worldstone and a dark moist breeding ground for his rodent servants.

Strategy
As the Lord of Lies, Belial prefers to cheat in battle. His main offence consists of his Henchmen who use the Punisher spell to poison heroes to death. If one gets through this line of defence, his tiny rat familiars go on the attack. Being so small and fast, they cannot be hit or even aimed at. Belial himself wields a spell that spits out punishers in random directions, as well as an area effect spell that slowly siphons the victim's life away and the ability to summon more rats from the ground to swarm the unwary hero. According to witnesses, Belial does attack recklessly from time to time, chasing his enemy around by teleportation, but demonologists believe that this is just to impress his underlings and his main intention is to get close to summon another batch of Henchmen. Defensively, Belial is protected by a warding spell that makes him invulnerable to all attacks. Occasionally he may drop this shield for a few moments to entice a foolish hero to attack him; this is usually met with a fierce counterattack, but it is the only way to kill him.

Reward
Defeat Belial on Destruction difficulty to get the Book of Lies.

Book of Lies
Book of Lies
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 60
+(51 to 500) to Life
+(51 to 500) to Mana

Transmute the Book of Lies with your Book of Summoning to add to it the power of Dark Summoning.

Book of Lies + Book of Summoning → Book of Lies with added bonuses

This upgrade recipe adds the following bonuses:

+1 to Dark Summoning

4/6 Athulua
DIFFICULTY: HARD


Level
Hatred : 95
Terror : 115
Destruction : 120

Location
The Twin Seas (Act 2: Halls of the Dead)

Lore
Athulua is the prime deity of the Amazon people. With her consort, Kethryes, she rules over the seasons and the weather. The Amazon capital, Tran Athulua, is named so in her honour. Athulua is responsible for some of the most mysterious powers in an Amazon's arsenal. When a warrior has proven her devotion to Athulua through her brave deeds and exceptional skill in battle, the Goddess shows her favour by granting a spiritual emissary to aid the Amazon. These emissaries of Athulua are called Valkyrie, and they are the spirits of the greatest heroes from the Amazon people. The power to summon a Valkyrie is the greatest honour that an Amazon warrior can receive. It is believed this gift is a sign that your place beside the Goddess is assured when you pass from this world-perhaps even as a Valkyrie.

Strategy
You can find the Amazon Goddess at the heart of the ruins. Her bow attacks deal heavy physical damage - make sure to avoid her Tantrum ability up close and her stunning Guided Arrows or you will become trapped in her kill zone.

She will summon killable rat minions, which chase you down and cast Tremor on death. Kill them from a distance so as to not get hit by this spell, which reduces your life significantly.

Her other attack is Sky Siege. This teleports her to your location creating a large dust cloud, which deals heavy physical damage over time. Be sure to leave its area of effect as soon as you can.

The only way to damage her is to attack her when her powerful magical shielding aura weakens from time to time.

Reward
Defeat Athulua, the Amazonian Godess on Destruction difficulty to get the Deity's Bow.

Deity's Bow
Deity's Bow
This blessed bow might be used for
unique recipes to unleash Divine Power

Valkyrie's Prime
The other use of the Deity's Bow is to possibly assemble it into a mighty bow - Valkayrie's Prime. This process is very expensive because of all the rare reagents required to make the needed Tokens.

Cursed Crystal + Unknown Skull 1 → Blessed Crystal
Blessed Crystal + Unknown Skull 2 → Book of the Wise
Unknown Skull 1 + Unknown Skull 2 → Mystic Shard

See THIS PAGE for more information about the Cursed Crystal.
See THIS PAGE for more information about the Unknown Skull 1.
See THIS PAGE for more information about the Unknown Skull 2.

Using these 3 reagents and other listed in this table, and transmuting them with the appropriate character, you can get all the Tokens.

Token Icon Character Reagents
Token of Pain Pain Amazon character icon Amazon Class Charms (all 7 different)
Token of Suffering Suffering Assassin character icon Assassin Cursed Crystal + Blessed Crystal + Book of the Wise + Unknown Skull 2 + Mystic Shard + Gift Box + Apple
Token of Terror Terror Barbarian character icon Barbarian Marksman's Eye (Unique Mystic Orb) + Arcane Crystals x6
Token of Hatred Hatred Druid character icon Druid Signet of Gold* + Greater Signet of Gold + Signet of Experience + Greater Signet of Experience + Signet of Learning + Greater Signet of Learning (25) + Signet of Skill
Token of Destruction Destruction Necromancer character icon Necromancer Great Runes (all 6 different) + Healing Potion
Token of Lies Lies Sorceress character icon Sorceress Kabraxis' Stone rune + Elemental Runes (all 6 different)
* Starting Signets of Gold cannot be used for this recipe.

Once you've gathered all 6 Tokens and the Deity's Bow you can use this recipe.

Deity's Bow + Tokens of Pain, Suffering, Hatred, Terror, Destruction & Lies → Valkayrie's Prime

It assembles the mighty Amazon bow invested with powers from Athulua herself.

Valkayrie's Prime
Valkayrie's Prime
Sacred Bow

Two-Hand Damage: 850 to 1540
Required Dexterity: 666
Required Strength: 666
Required Level: 120
Adds Strength Damage Bonus: (102/256 per Strength)%
Adds Dexterity Damage Bonus: (102/256 per Dexterity)%
100% Chance to Cast level 1 Athulua's Wrath when you Die
15% Chance to cast level 15 Time Wave when you Kill an Enemy
+1 to All Skills
+200% Enhanced Damage
Adds 400-1000 Damage
Adds 111-666 Magic Damage
Adds 111-666 Fire Damage
Adds 111-666 Lightning Damage
Adds 111-666 Cold Damage
+10 to Sky Siege
NOTE: Valkayrie's Prime cannot be socketed, but is otherwise like a fairly normal sacred unique bow.

5/6 Astrogha
DIFFICULTY: VERY HARD


Level
Hatred : 95
Terror : 115
Destruction : 120

Location
Mausoleum (Act 1: Burial Grounds)

Lore
One of Hell's greatest, the scheming spider demon Astrogha has surfaced after the fall of Andariel to continue his reign of terror. He is not the most powerful demon in close combat, but the spider king is never alone.

Strategy
Astrogha does not usually fight his foes directly, but he does not need to. His summoned Spider Statues serve as gateways for his personal swarm, belching waves of crawling Darklings from the depths of the void. Deal with them quickly, but do not touch the statues! They are protected by one of Astrogha's devious tricks: when destroyed, they will both rejuvenate Astrogha and unleash a curse that cripples the assailant causing a swift death. If left alone, they will eventually collapse on their own. Astrogha also possesses a very powerful but close ranged Frozen Orb attack and has warding spells that teleport him away when damaged, courtesy of Quov Tsin's mages. Another dweomer copied from Quov Tsin during centuries of fighting side by side at the head of their respective legions is the warding spell that renders Astrogha immune to all attacks. This is cutting edge magic and therefore still fails from time to time, allowing you to get some hits in.

Reward
Defeat Astrogha on Destruction difficulty to get Astrogha's Venom Stinger.

Astrogha's Venom Stinger
Astrogha's Venom Stinger
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 120
+1 to All Skills
+(100 to 500) to Life
Poison Length Reduced by 50%

2% chance to drop a trophy on Destruction difficulty. Cube the trophy with the charm for a small bonus.

Astrogha Trophy
Astrogha Trophy
Cube with the Astrogha's Venom Stinger...
-5% to All Enemy Resistances

Warning! Due to a bug with the way Diablo II handles champions, there is a chance Astrogha may spawn as a boss pack with several copies of himself as minions. When you see a mass of doom spiders, run for your life and restart the game.


6/6 Kabraxis
DIFFICULTY: EXTREMELY HARD


Level
Hatred : 85
Terror : 115
Destruction : 120

Location
Disused Reliquary (Act 3: Kurast Causeway)

Lore
The Thief of Hope and the Banisher of Light is a demon lord summoned by a very powerful Vizjerei magi, long ago. He used his intelligence and power to form his cult and rule the lands. People followed his philosophy, 'walked' the Black Road he created, and soon his power grew so much, that even the Prime Evils feared him, so they imprisoned him within the portal he came from, between the Sanctuary and the Burning Hells. It is whispered among his remaining followers that there is a way to release him from his centuries-long prison...

Strategy
The Pillar of Skulls seals Kabraxis. It has a Heroic shield and fires Punishers when hit. Once you kill it, Kabraxis will be released. He has a heroic shield as well, and will pounce on you with various attacks, cast bone prison on you to trap you, summon his skeleton army of followers and cast broadside or teleport when hit.Your best hope is to keep running and killing the bone prison and skeletons as fast as you can, and not stand close to Kabraxis all the time.

Reward
Defeat Kabraxis, Thief of Hope on Destruction difficulty to get the Soul of Kabraxis.

Soul of Kabraxis
Soul of Kabraxis
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 100
50% Chance to cast level 49 Trinity Nova when you Die
+1 to All Skills

2% chance to drop a trophy on Destruction difficulty. Cube the trophy with the charm for a small bonus.

Kabraxis Trophy
Kabraxis Trophy
Cube with the Soul of Kabraxis...
2% Reanimate as: Random monster (including Elites)

See THIS PAGE for the list of reanimates.

Elemental seals
If you're feeling like releasing more powerful beings, there are also 5 orb seals which used to seal Kabraxis once. Each seal is for one element: Fire, Cold, Lightning, Magic and Physical. When one is destroyed, it will unseal an Ultra Elemental, along with some normal elementals. The Ultra Elemental spawns new elementals, fires a powerful spell and takes damage only from it's own element - so be prepared to have a source of damage for every one of the elements. Once defeated, each Ultra Elemental will drop a Great Gem. Transmute all 5 Gems with the Kabraxis' Soul to get additional bonuses.

Soul of Kabraxis + 5x Great Gems (different) → Soul of Kabraxis with added bonuses

This upgrade recipe adds the following bonuses:

+(0 to 5)% to Maximum Fire Resist
+(0 to 5)% to Maximum Cold Resist
+(0 to 5)% to Maximum Lightning Resist
+(0 to 5)% to Maximum Poison Resist
+20 Required Level