Elite NPC's are a special, different type of NPCs that do more damage and have more health than usual. You know that the NPC you are fighting is elite if they have two silver arrows next to their name. An enhanced type of elite has 2 gold arrows next to the NPC's name, giving it a much larger amount of health and attack power than a non-elite form of the opponent. These are often referred to as "Boss" or "Gold" elites.