Siegebreaker Assault Beast

"The siegebreaker is a monster of legends, of nightmares, and thin whispers in the dark. It is the most prized champion of demon lords because its massive size and strength could turn any battle in its favor. I wish I knew more, but alas...all who have seen it have perished."

- Deckard Cain

The Siegebreaker Assault Beast, Living Siege Engine of Hell is a type of demon.

Lore
"I can’t believe he/she slaughtered one of those siegebreaker beasts. It took Captain Haile and a hundred men to kill the last one." "I wish I could have seen that fight." "Really?" "Well, not up close."

- Two soldiers during the Siege of Bastion's Keep

Siegebreakers are massive demons. They are the most prized champion of all demon lords because of their massive size and strength; enough to turn any battle in their master's favor. Legends of the Siegebreaker entered mortal imagination, becoming the stuff of nightmare, but all who saw it perished.

During the Siege of Bastion's Keep, at least two Siegebreakers were used by Azmodan. The first was used against the keep, and while slain, it took Hansen Haile and 100 soldiers to bring it down. The second was found guarding the edge of the Arreat Crater, where it was defeated by The Nephalem and Tyrael.

In-game
A Siegebreaker is encountered in of Diablo III as a boss in the Edge of the Abyss. After killing it, the player can hear the guards discussing how did they single-handedly dispatched of a beast that usually requires a hundred men to slay. Siegebreaker corpses can be found in the act, but are not fought. More charred corpses of Siegebreakers can be found scattered across the Battlefields of Eternity in Pandemonium, found in.

Grunkk is a non-combat pet designed after Siegebreaker.

Abilities

 * Slash Attack: The Siegebreaker Assault Beast will swipe its claws at the hero, dealing low damage. Used only if all other attacks are on cooldown.
 * Ground Pound: The Siegebreaker Assault Beast pounds the ground with its claws, dealing damage and Knocking back the hero(es) unable to avoid the hit. It will do this 3 times per use of this move, but once started, cannot stop and cannot change the direction.
 * Grab: The Siegebreaker will grab at the closest hero, rendering him/her unable to do anything but use instant cast defensive skills such as War Cry. A moment after, it will slam the hero on the ground, dealing moderate damage and Knocking him/her back.
 * Charge: The Siegebreaker will attempt to charge at a distant hero, rapidly covering ground, and causing high damage and Knockback to all caught within its path. Should this charge kill someone, all that will remain is a bloodied skeleton. Before charging, the Siegebreaker will signal of its intentions by roar and trampling.
 * Trample: the Siegebreaker will rise menacingly before hitting the ground with its sheer mass. This causes knockback and average damage to all nearby foes.
 * Armies of Hell: As the fight drags on, Demonic Hell Bearers will begin to arrive on the edges of the battleground, spitting out Demon Troopers to aid the Siegebreaker. These are the main source of Health Globes in this fight. Unlike normal Hell Bearers, these have no limit on how many Troopers they can spawn. If a Hell Bearer is killed, another one will take its place in 30 seconds.
 * Reflects Damage: On Torment difficulty, the Siegebreaker will reflect damage taken back at the attacker. This effect, unlike the normal monster affix, is permanent and does not fade from time to time.
 * Enrage Timer: On Torment difficulty, if the Nephalem fails to defeat the Siegebreaker in under 4 minutes, it will result in a hard Enrage, placing a DoT effect on player. This effect grows in strength until either side loses, damage dealt is Physical.

Uber
The Siegebreaker Assault Beast is one of the six handpicked Boss encounters to return as an Uber Boss, under the title of The Savage Behemoth, Unrelenting Devastator. Its strategies between the 2 forms does not vary at all, even to the same possession of Reflects Damage, but it does not summon Demon Troopers. In return, it has aid from the Uber version of Zoltun Kulle, which can put a hampering on attempts to end its life.

Development


The Siegebreaker first appeared at the 2008 World Wide Invitational, at which Diablo III was first revealed. It had a number of features which did not make it into the final game:


 * Fatalities: Of the four heroes that engaged the Siegebreaker, two were killed in a unique fashion. A had his head torn off by the Siegebreaker, blood remaining on its jaw, before being thrown offscreen. Another, a Witch Doctor, was destroyed by being spiked to the ground.


 * Death Animation: When the Siegebreaker was destroyed, its death animation showed its body falling apart and setting on fire, also setting the surrounding area ablaze.

Neither of these were present in the final game, although the former's biting animation can be seen briefly if players pay attention to the background during the quest involving the catapults in the Stonefort.