Monster Champion

Introduced in Update 24 and reworked in Update 34, some enemies gain randomized buffs on Hard, Elite, and Reaper difficulties in quests with an effective level of 5 or higher (i.e. starting with level 4 quests on Hard difficulty, and level 3 quests on Elite or Reaper). These enemies are called Champions, and they have a visible crown above their head to mark them. Monster Champions do not directly spawn in any raid (the champions in Legendary Shroud's Part 5 are granted champion buffs but are not champions proper), nor do they appear at all in any wilderness area or quest on Solo, Casual, and Normal difficulty.

Tiers
Not all champions are alike - some are tougher, some are a lot tougher, and any can have different abilities (see below). The more dangerous champions are only encountered in the higher difficulty settings, and low difficulty will have no champions.


 * Casual/Normal - no champions
 * Hard - Tier 1 only
 * Elite - Tier 1 and 2
 * Reaper - Tier 1, 2 or 3

The color and size of a champion's crown designate whether the Champion is Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3:
 * A small yellow crown indicates it is Tier 1
 * A medium orange crown indicates it is Tier 2 . These are mini-bosses that have been upgraded to Champions.
 * A large red crown indicates it is Tier 3

Spawn rate

 * Hard
 * Normal monsters: 6%
 * Orange-named monsters (mini-bosses): 33%
 * Elite & Reaper
 * Normal monsters: 9%
 * Orange-named monsters (mini-bosses): 66%

Rewards
When defeated, champions have a chance to drop s
 * Regular (yellow) champions have a chance to drop Mysterious Remnants, which will appear at the feet* of the character that delivered the killing blow. Similar to treasure bags, any and all characters can "use" these remnants to collect them, even characters entering a quest after that champion is killed. These remnants only last in place for a minute or so, then disappear.
 * * This includes if the character is in mid-jump or mid-fall. In these situations, remnants will be suspended mid-air, occasionally making them challenging to collect.


 * Mini-boss (orange) champions have a chance to drop a chest when defeated, which will always include Mysterious Remnants along with randomly generated treasure appropriate to the modified level of the quest. These chests remain for the duration of the quest, and, similar to any other chest, are only collectable by characters that are in the quest when the chest is first opened.
 * These chests don't follow the chest ransack mechanic.
 * Drop rates:
 * 33% chance to drop chest or remnants (and 66% during Double Remnant events)

Buffs
Champions come in 20 different varieties, and it's random which type will be applied to any one champion. Each variety will have their own template of abilities based on a theme (inspired by the Outer and Inner Planes where they get these powers). Players can see the kind of Champion they are facing by looking at the creature's title, and additional detail can be found in the examination window.

Note that many* have True Sight, making such common tactics as Invisibility ineffective against them.


 * (* 7-8/20 of yellow-crown champions, 10-11/20 of orange-crown, and 15-16/20 of red-crown; note that Mark of Chaos champions are largely randomly generated, and it is unknown what percentage chance they have for this ability, potentially adding a full +1 to the minimum listed values.)

For the detail of Special Champions which appear in Hardcore Server, Check Monster Champion/Hardcore. (Note: As of July 1st 2021, Season 2 Hardcore Champions are now spawning in-game. It is unclear whether this is permanent or only for the Spooky Summer event lasting until July 11th.)

Special appearance during special events

 * During the Night Revels, Champions' crowns show a little jack o'lantern under the usual crown of fire.
 * During the Snowpeaks Festival, the crown is frosty rather than fiery.