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"This creature is the most unsettling of all the natural denizens of Sanctuary. The male of the species carries the eggs which the female deposits on his back. In their larval state, they burrow into the male's back, creating visible protrusions. They eat their way out of these protrusions when the host is attacked."
Rat King

The Rat King

Rat Kings are a specie of mutated vermin that stalk ruins and sewers around Sanctuary.[1]

Lore[]

When vermin feast on carrion from the Hells, their appetites have transformative consequences. These mutated beasts stalk ruins and sewers, blinding their quarry with toxic spittle before attacking — a behavior which at least hides the rat kings' fleshless faces.[1]

The male of the species carries the eggs which the female deposits on his back. In their larval state, they burrow into the male's back, creating visible protrusions. They eat their way out of these protrusions when the host is attacked.

In-game[]

Diablo Immortal[]

Rat King-bestiary

Rat King, as depicted in the Horadric Bestiary

Rat Kings appear as monsters in Diablo Immortal. They can be found in Shassar Sea, at the Chamber of Wisdom, and the Tomb of Fahir.

Diablo III[]

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Rat King in-game model (Blizzcon 2014 render)

Rat Kings are a type of Beast enemies, added in patch 2.3.0 in Diablo III. They can only be encountered in Act III in Ruins of Sescheron. They are usually found dormant. When disturbed, they spawn a horde of Plagued Vermin and enter battle. In combat, they deliver very fast melee blows, and move surprisingly quickly for their size.

The rats they spawn may be regular or explosive, the latter being able to detonate for average Poison damage in few yards.

A new portion of rats may spawn every 10-15 seconds, up to a dozen at a time. There is no limit of how many can be spawned at a time, but rats are very weak and fragile.

Upon death, a whole nest of rats erupts from Rat King's corpse to attack the player.

Variants[]

Uniques[]

Development[]

Tome This page contains obsolete content
This article contains information that is no longer relevant to gameplay, but is kept here for informational purposes.

Prior to release of Ruins of Sescheron, Hamelin the Rat King was the only known Rat King in game. Prior to the patch's release, Hamelin was planned as a "twisted natural creature" found in the Dreadlands in Act III.[2]

Rat Kings originally had antlers[2] and even other joking horn forms (see artwork).

Later this model was used for the Hive Mothers.

Trivia[]

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This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.
  • Upon death, the Rat King's carcass will remain, several rats lurking in it, going in and out, and looking around.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Horadric Bestiary
  2. 2.0 2.1 2014-11-27, BlizzCon 2014 – Diablo III: What’s Next Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2015-03-14
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