Sand Wasp

Desert Wasp Concept Artwork

The Desert Wasp is a type of monster revealed appearing in Diablo III. First revealed as concept art, this beast was first seen in action in the Blizzcon 09 videos in and around Act 2 desert areas.

Lore

I would rather not discuss the Sand Wasp. These overgrown insects wouldn't be notable whatsoever if not for their exceptionally poisonous stings...which, alas, killed my young apprentice. I thought he would be more careful when I sent him to retrieve a sample from the hive, but...his parents did not understand my perspective. - Abd al-Hazir

In Game

The Sand Wasp is a notorious creature, mostly due to it's relatively powerful 'missile' attack. They usually appear in groups, but lack high health or defensive stats. It's primary attack is shooting smaller wasps from its abdomen at the player.

Spells/Abilities

• Fire Spawns - the adult Sand Wasp fires multiple (often three or four) mini-wasps at the player's location. These individual wasps don't hit for a lot of damage, but getting hit by multiple missiles could prove disastrous;

• Poison - attacks launched by the Sand Wasp (including the spawned young-lings) are poisoned, ticking for damage over time.

Tips and Additional Information

Sand Wasps are deadly because of their numbers and their missile attack. The smaller wasps are deadly poisoned and four of them hit is normally a certain death. However: the small wasps move slowly, in a straight line and do not 'lock onto' targets, so they can be easily avoided. Ways to avoid the small wasps include walking in circles, as the spawns 'detonate' a few seconds after 'launch'.

Be careful if you are surrounded by several sand wasps! Arrogance because of their slow move and straight forward movement could lead into expensive repair costs. Dodging bullets from multiple Sand Wasps can prove frustrating, as the Wasps create a 'bullet hell' effect.

The best way to deal with the Sand Wasp is to quickly close the distance and eliminate the source of the missiles. They adult Wasps should not prove much of a challenge once you put the hurt on them.

Trivia

• Wasps are animals and are meant to convey the idea that nature itself is deadly on Sanctuary, even without the corruption of the Burning Hells.
• Wasps remind to both Flayer and Mosquito Demon monsters from Diablo II - in terms of general annoyance.