Hillock

For the Immortal Syndicate member, see Hillock, the Blacksmith.

Hillock
Hillock
Level(s)	1
Location(s)	The Twilight Strand (Act 1)
Quest(s)	Enemy at the Gate
Skill(s)

Hillock (known as Hillock of Slaugh in the Letters of Exile) is a unique monster in The Twilight Strand in Act 1.

Defeating him is the objective of the quest Enemy at the Gate.

Lore

Hillock, just like the player character and the Dying Exile, are exiled from Oriath. When player character has arrived The Twilight Strand, Hillock is a zombie already.

Also, according to the Letters of Exile, Hillock is exiled for :

Sentenced: 1599 IC

Transgressions:

Mortal Wrath

Six counts of Common Homicide

One count of Infanticide

Two counts of Homicide with post-mortem Desecration

Unlawful Avarice

Twelve counts of Extortion through Threat of Mortal Harm

Seven counts of Armed Larceny

Two counts of Armed Larceny resulting in Mortal Harm

Unsolicited Lust

Four counts of Rape

Two counts of Attempted Rape

Mortal Wrath

One count of Rape resulting in Mortality

The monster used to be harder in higher difficulties, which uses . However, the game became a single difficulty, 10 acts game, instead of 3 difficulties in 4 acts (the game was in 3 loops just like classic ARPG Diablo 2 or Titan Quest) since version 3.0.0, so that the monster has only one variant during version 3.0.X.

But since version 3.1, the developer introduced a hidden version which use a supporter-designed sword (visually, the monster apparently does not have the effect from the mod of the sword) and (since version 3.2.0) have a special Leap Slam that also summon zombie on where he lands. This hidden version is known as Uber Hillock among the player community. There is no lore to explain his appearance however, nor why he would be spawned only after the player reset the area and grind the area again and again and apparently the spawn chance is tied to the character level.

"

What? I'm free? You did this. Well, anything is better than being stuck in that. His mindless thirst fell far short of My desires, simple though they are. But now there's you. So vital. So defiant. So take Me. This dying world is but kindling, yet its un-quickened blood may boil once again. And I've waited so long for a real bath.

"

- A voice from upon killing Uber Hillock

The game developer later further revised the storyline so that the corpse of Hillock is resurrected as Hillock, the Blacksmith some time after the Act 1.

Before the release of the Letters of Exile in version 0.10.8, the game developer also released a lore in their official website, which was later took down due to website redesign. That lore mentioned Hillock's occupation and how he was killed and how he was rediscovered as a zombie. However, that lore did not mention Hillock was exiled nor his crimes such as rape, so that it is not certain that it is still canon or not.

Strategy: Normal Hillock

Defeating Hillock is easy. Use your equipped skill gem for more damage(RMB or W), when out of mana refill (hotkey 5 by default initial setup). If he gets a few hits on you, refill your HP (hotkey 1 or 2). Regular attack when needed (LMB or Q).

At around 50% of his life Hillock pulls the sword out of his chest, which will increase his attack speed while also restoring a portion of his life.

Strategy: Uber Hillock

Uber Hillock. The sword on the chest is Oni-Goroshi instead of generic sword in the normal Hillock

There is a very low chance for Hillock to spawn as "Uber Hillock". The sword on his chest is replaced with an , which drops on death. He has more life and damage and can do a Leap Slam that summons zombies like his map boss counterparts.

Because the The Twilight Strand becomes inaccessible when the character enters Lioneye's Watch after killing Hillock, obtaining Oni-Goroshi from Hillock requires the following, somewhat "grindy" procedure:

• With a new character, kill Hillock and optionally every other monster in the Twilight Strand.
• Do not enter Lioneye's Watch but log out to the character selection screen, wait about 1 minute 30 seconds for the instance to reset (the Twilight Strand has a shorter reset period than other zones), and reenter the game with the same character. This puts the character back at the beginning of the Twilight Strand.
• Continue killing the monsters and Hillock until he carries the sword. This can even last until your character is level 9.

To speed up this procedure, a batch of three or four new characters can be used in serial to farm Hillock in this manner (each Hillock kill takes about 30 seconds with +10% movement speed boots). Furthermore, using Scion will allow you to take movement speed nodes on the bottom right of the tree, hence allowing you to gain experience at a faster rate.

Video Tutorial:

Map variants

Stronger versions of Hillock serve as map bosses:

Map	Level	Name	Notes
		The Blacksmith	Leap Slam Spawns Unstable Aberrations
		Jaesyn

Dialogue

(Upon opening the door to Lioneye's Watch):

"

You finally got the biggun!

"

- the gatekeeper

or

"

You finally got the big bastard!"

"

- the gatekeeper

Gallery

• 
  Promotional boss screenshot released by the game dev
• 
  Image of the Oni-Goroshi inside of Hillock.

Version history

Version	Changes
3.15.0	We have rebalanced various monsters found throughout Act One to make them more dangerous. Note, the balance changes made to Act One Bosses and monsters also apply to their Endgame Map versions. Monster life has been increased by roughly 46% at level 1, tapering down to the same amount of life at level 84. Some bosses and monsters in Act 1, such as Hillock and Oozeback have had their life reduced to partially counteract this change. Various effects improvements have been made to monsters and bosses throughout Act One. Various audio improvements have been made to monsters and bosses throughout Act One.
3.7.0	Improved the early-game experience. Fights in the first three Acts will be tougher but more responsive, involved and dynamic. This includes fights against basic monsters!
3.2.0	The version of Hillock has more life, deals more damage, and has learned a new trick.
3.1.1c	(Not stated explicitly in patch note) The version of Hillock has been added to the game
3.0.0	Cruel and Merciless version of Hillock were removed due to overhaul of the game.
1.3.0c	Fixed a bug where there could be a short clientside freeze when Hillock was killed.
1.1.3	Removed the invulnerability period from Hillock when he is drawing his sword in all difficulties.
1.0.6	Hillock now uses the same triggered effect that the Blacksmith does, in Cruel and Merciless difficulties. The damage of the poison cloud produced by his zombies has been reduced in all instances (including Maps).
0.11.0	Hillock now correctly restores a percentage of his maximum life when he draws his sword. This life restoration increases in higher difficulties.
Before 0.10.0	Introduced to the game