Grotesque (Diablo III)

"The Grotesques may seem slow and senseless, but they hide many dangers within their hideously malformed bodies. A set of spikes lurks beneath the monsters' flesh, and foul parasites nest within them. It is said that these horrors themselves are constructed by a greater evil... a darkness that I cannot even fathom."

- Deckard Cain^(src)

A Grotesque

Grotesque (a.k.a. Corpulent) are undead constructs that appear in Diablo III.

In-game

A Grotesque

Grotesques are found in Acts I and III. They are often encountered within the depths of the Cathedral or other dungeons. They are lethal creatures for two reasons: First, they are capable of dealing damage by producing spikes from their short, stubby arms and slamming forward. Secondly, Grotesque are basically living pinatas: upon death they explode and expel whatever lurked in their bellies.

In patch 2.4, their additional danger was a bug that could prevent them from dropping loot or even make them unkillable and untargetable by freezing their model between stages.

Spells/Abilities

• Spike Thrust: the Grotesque rushes into melee range and quickly jabs at the player with sharp tentacle-like spikes concealed within its flesh. This may cause knockback in addition to damage.

• Rupture: upon death, the Grotesque swells in size and bursts open, dealing 'explosion damage' to everything caught in the blast and unleashing several creatures from its belly. Should this move kill any hero, all that will be left are bloody chunks of his/her body. Note that, unlike most damaging abilities of monsters, Rupture causes damage to other monsters as well, including other Grotesques. The damage is high enough to instantly kill a lesser enemy on lower difficulties, but will not one-shot an adequately geared hero (beware of multiple blasts at once, though). Before exploding, Grotesque will hover for a few seconds, the visual range of the blast indicating a dangerous zone.

Tips and Additional Information

Grotesques are dangerous foes, mostly because of their rupture-attack. In addition, they are surprisingly fast for their size, so think twice about outrunning them. Like most enemies, Grotesques are deadliest when encountered in groups.

Their spike-attack does moderate damage, but should not be a major concern. Their rupture-ability can easily kill a weakened player however, especially when multiple Grotesques die simultaneously. When a Grotesque dies you have approximately three seconds to run for cover before the creature detonates. This explosion triggers regardless of which way the monster is killed, and if they have Molten affix, two explosions will occur.

The Grotesque's rupture can be used against other monsters. When you battle a group of creatures including a Grotesque, make the Grotesque your priority. The explosion will take out most enemies nearby. This also works for packs of Rare Grotesque Minions and Unique monsters. Killing one might detonate the entire pack, and spawned creatures may be killed by the explosion of another Grotesque.

Grotesque Artwork and model

Monsters spawned from the Grotesque upon death include Corpse Worms, Demon Imps, Vile Swarms, Spiderlings and even Wretched Mothers on higher difficulties, depending on the location.

Uniques

• Barfield (Realms of Fate)
• Bellybloat the Scarred (Cathedral)
• Braluk Grimlow (Cathedral)
• Ekthul (Abandoned Cellar)
• Fezuul (Dahlgur Oasis)
• Gobbulard (Weeping Hollow)
• Horrus the Nightstalker (Weeping Hollow)
• Ragus Grimlow (Cathedral)

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

Censored version

• In Chinese version of the game, the Grotesque's model is severely censored to display no stitches (even on eyes) and gore.

• Grotesque bear a slight resemblance to the Warcraft III undead known as Abominations in the sense that both are large monsters made by connecting the body parts of various living beings. There is even a subtype of Grotesques named Abominations. 

• Grotesque are extremely similar to a monster type in Hellgate: London also known as Grotesque. In Hellgate, Grotesque are shambling, twisted mounds of demonic flesh that, upon death, explode and release numerous zombies and Death Maggots. Given that Hellgate: London was created by former members of Blizzard North, which made Diablo II and started work on Diablo III, one might speculate on some connection between the very similar monster types seen in the two games.

• On close inspection, the Grotesque's eyes are sewn shut.