Arch-vile

Arch-Viles are enemy demons found in the Doom series of computer games. They are frail-looking, yellowish-skinned humanoid figures with a grotesque appearance, including stigmata. They also have no flesh around their abdomens, revealing some of their ribcage. They are new monsters that first appeared in Doom II and its later sequels.

Arch-viles take a deceptively high amount of damage (700 HP), and their attack consists of a unique ability to immolate their enemies in flames by raising their arms up, summoning fire upon the targeted foe, regardless of range (though they won't use their attack from more than 1024 map units away unless hurt). They then hunch over and clamp their hands together, causing the fire to erupt and usually send the enemy flying into the air, doing up to 60 points in damage. This attack will always hit the enemy as long as there is a line of sight between the Arch-Vile and the target, and can be avoided by hiding behind walls.

Arch-viles are the fastest monsters in the game, and meeting two of them at once usually spells doom for most players.

The Arch-Vile also has one of the more powerful abilities in the game in its power to resurrect other, lower-level monsters. They can revive all monsters except Cyberdemons, Spider Masterminds, and other Arch-Viles. This power makes them top priority to kill in battle so as to stop them from reviving monsters, forcing the player to waste precious ammo. A player gets credit for killing resurrected monsters, so in levels containing an Arch-Vile the KILLS percentage displayed at the end may exceed 100%.

The nature of Arch-Vile's attack has raised much confusion. One theory says that the victim is damaged by flames. The argument against this is that the victim gets damage after the flames disappear, but not while it is set on fire. Another theory says that the flames are meant to distract the victim. Finally, some say that the flames don't play any role in Arch-Vile's attack, they're there just to warn the player about the attack.