Grenades

Grenades is a Demon Hunter skill unlocked at level 7. When using this skill the Demon Hunter tosses out three small metal objects that skitter along the dungeon floor, bouncing off walls and through doorways.

They detonate after about a one-second delay, dealing substantial fire damage to any targets in the vicinity. Higher levels in the skill raise their damage, and can be combined with Runestones to turn the Grenades into a formidable support skill.

Background

Diablo III Active Skill [e]
Grenades
Used by:	Demon Hunter
Enabled at:	Clvl 7
Skill Description
Thrown grenades bounce and detonate after a delay.
Type:	AoE Damage
Resource Use:	Costs Hatred
Skill Rune Effects
Alabaster rune:	Unknown
Crimson rune:	Unknown
Golden rune:	Unknown
Indigo rune:	Unknown
Obsidian rune:	Unknown

Splosions!

The skill releases a set number of grenades (dependent upon skill rank and possibly runes) into the targeted area. The grenades are physics-enabled, so they are able to bounce around objects like barrels or off of platforms such as walls and doors. After a one second delay, they explode in quick succession, doing splash fire damage to any objects or enemies close by.

Skill Design

The Demon Hunter tosses three of the spiked grenades with one point in the skill. The toss determines how far they are aimed; clicking very near the Demon Hunter just drops them, while pointing at the edge of the screen hurls them very quickly, to bounce well out of sight (barring walls or other obstructions.) The grenades pass freely through enemies and other players, but are fully controlled by the physics of the dungeon levels; they bounce off of walls and objects, and will fall over the sides of levels where there are breaks in railings, etc.

Controlling the Grenades

A fan complained about the difficulty in aiming Grenades and earned a rebuttal from Bashiok in December 2010.

I think it’s fine. It’s fun and you can pull off some pretty fun trick-moves. Not super practical all the time but I think it will definitely have its strategy. Plus, you can throw a rune on it and change the behavior if you’re having trouble gauging the throw distance.

Grenades Video

A video of Greandes can be seen below, courtesy of the Diablo.IncGamers.com You Tube channel.

Skill Rank Table

Rank 1: Throw out three grenades that explode for X-X fire damage.

Synergies

• No synergies with any of the passive skills are yet known.

Skill Rune Effects

Tink, tink, tink...boom.

• No rune effects for Grenades are known.

Development

Grenades was first shown at BlizzCon 2010 as one of the originals when the Demon Hunter was unveiled. According to Wyatt Cheng from the Gameplay Panel:[1]

Also selling the idea of ranged attacks is Grenades. I love this skill in our game because we have a 3D engine so you can actually bounce grenades off the walls and floors. I think it'll be an awesome way for players to come up with some creative uses for grenades, throwing them around corners. It actually bounces around and it shows, again, and it sells the Demon Hunter's themes - ranged attacks, gadgetry, preparation and planning. This is premeditated demon killing going on.

Flux reported about his time using the skill in the BlizzCon demo:[2]

Grenades was best used against mobs, since you could throw them very quickly, scattering 9 or 12 of the grenades across the mid-range of the screen, dealing good AoE to everything in the vicinity. They could be thrown quite a distance also, well off the screen, though aiming that way was just about pure luck. It would have been awesome in the arena, though. The second level of the dungeon in the demo featured numerous jail cells, which often had half a dozen skeletons and skeletal shieldmen in them. They were lots of fun with Grenades, since the bombs would bounce off the walls and stay where you wanted them to, then detonate with great effect.

Skill tiers were removed for the July 2011 Press Event, and Grenades became a level 7 skill.

Media

Grenades can be seen in action on video here:

• Gameplay: Blizzcon 2010

You can find pictures in the Diablo III screenshot and picture gallery:

• Diablo III screenshots and pictures
• Grenades specific gallery contents

• 

  Grenades 'splodin.

• 

  A close-up look of the grenade from the BlizzCon 2010 trailer.

• 

  Grenades in flight and bouncing around.

• 

  Grenades explode massively.

References

• BlizzCon 2010 Gameplay Panel Transcript
• BlizzCon 2010 Demon Hunter First Impressions
• BlizzCon 2010 Demon Hunter Hands-on Report
• JudgeHype.com July 2011 Press Event Coverage - The Demon Hunter (Translated by Zediono)