Grunt (Q1)

In Quake, the Grunt is a hostile soldier, rewired with a probe in his brain that gives him pleasure with every kill that he makes, armed with a Shotgun. They are the first Enemies encountered in Quake. They traditionally appear only in the idBase levels, but they also appear in E1M2: Castle of the Damned. Unless gibbed, they drop a Backpack containing 5 Shells upon dying.

Grunts are roughly the same appearance and size as Ranger, with the same helmet, weapon, thin beige armor, and uniform. However, as they are now hostile soldiers, their exposed features appear vaguely human, while their skin is still a normal, Caucasian color. Their eyes lack pupils and they have blood-soaked chest armor and face. In comparison to Ranger, they also appear to be less muscular.

Although the game does not make this clear, Grunts could have originally been the marines sent to defeat the enemy leader, codenamed "Quake", in Operation Counterstrike. All the marines sent through were killed, leaving Ranger as the only survivor. These slain marines may have been reanimated or zombified to serve "Quake" as Grunts. They could also have been the "death squads" mentioned in the Story; this is implied due to the commander considering the Monsters "men" and due to Grunts not being part of the "true army" of "Quake". In addition when spotting a enemy the Grunt emits a menacing roar and human-like screams when being hit or killed, contrary to Enforcers which can still make audible words. A possibility is that Grunts could have been affected by possesion much more than Enforcers since they lack any form of advanced methods of defense.

Grunts seem to have quite an affection for Rottweilers.

Behaviour
In combat, a Grunt will attempt to close the distance between himself and his opponent before firing a single shotgun blast. After the shot has been fired, the Grunt shall repeat the process. Since their weapons are hitscan, meaning their attacks instantly cause damage upon attacking, you cannot dodge unless you move before they fire.

Strategies

 * The Grunt is the third weakest Enemy in the game, having only five more health than the Rotfish or Rottweiler.
 * The weaponry of a Grunt is rather weak as they only fire four pellets instead of the six fired by the player's Shotgun. Even without Armor, it is still rather easy to fight a Grunt.
 * The Grunt is the only hitscan Enemy in Quake. This means that shots fired by the Grunt are instantaneous. The only way to dodge a Grunt's shot is by moving behind an obstacle to get out of their line of sight, or by strafing in the short period of time between the Grunt aiming its weapon and firing its Shotgun.
 * While the Grunt is a ranged Enemy, their shots are often ineffective from longer ranges. Grunts will often strive to close the distance between their opponent and themselves to negate this handicap. In open spaces that are lacking obstacles to hide behind, it is advisable to keep one's distance to lower the amount of damage caused by a single shot.
 * Unlike most Monsters, the Grunt can easily be knocked back by the damage from any weapon, even a single shot from a Nailgun. This means it is easy to prevent injury when facing a Grunt as long as the player reacts before the Grunt is able to fire.
 * The Grunt runs at a rather slow pace, meaning they can be easily outrun as long as the player can either endure or avoid the shots of a Grunt.
 * In larger groups, a Grunt can become a more formidable opponent. As their shots are hitscan based, multiple shots can cause more serious injuries, especially if the player has no obstacle to hide behind. It also can become harder to avoid injury in such locations due to the difficulty of paying attention to all Grunts while in active combat. The Grunt's slow pace and desire to head towards the player means that they are easy to lead into doorways, which allows the player to cluster all of the Grunts in a smaller area and therefore make it easier to avoid taking damage. Not only does hiding behind an obstacle prevent injury, but the close nature of the Grunts means it is easier to determine if one is about to fire.
 * In a mixed group, it is advisable to take out the Grunts after dealing with any melee opponents. As all other ranged Enemies are projectile based, it is easier to evade the shots of other opponents than those of a Grunt. While the other ranged Enemies will likely cause a greater amount of damage per shot, it is more likely that the player will accumulate a greater amount of injuries if they leave an opponent that can cause instant damage.
 * The Grunt can easily provoke Infighting due to their hitscan based weaponry firing at anything that gets between them and the player. Melee opponents therefore can easily be distracted from the player if in a mixed group with a Grunt. The Grunt is the only Enemy that can cause Infighting with another member of their own species, meaning it is very likely that a player can encourage two or more Grunts to fight one another. They lose to most opponents due to their health, meaning they can serve as a minor distraction.
 * An Axe can kill a Grunt in two hits. The first hit will also cause knockback, meaning it is easy to kill a single Grunt with an Axe if in a condensed environment. This means that the Axe can be useful in these circumstances when the player is wishing to conserve Ammo. Due to being a melee weapon, it is not recommended to try using the Axe when in more open areas as the Grunt will most likely be able to fire before the player is able to reach it. The player should not attempt to face larger numbers of Grunts with an Axe as the player can easily be shot at while focusing on another opponent.
 * A Shotgun is a very useful weapon for fighting Grunts. As it takes two shots to kill a Grunt, the player can optimally receive three more Shells than they initially had for every Grunt that they kill. The player's Shotgun can also remain accurate for a longer distance than the Grunt's, meaning it can be useful even in medium to long range combat.
 * The Double-Barrelled Shotgun can be a very convenient method to eliminate a Grunt. A Grunt can be killed in a single shot from point-blank range, meaning the player does not need to worry about knockback. The slower paced nature of the firearm means that the weapon is less useful when fighting larger numbers of Grunts. If the player is inaccurate, they can also unintentionally Gib a Grunt, thereby losing the ability to collect the Backpack that the Grunt normally drops.
 * The Nailgun can be useful when facing a larger number of Grunts. The fast paced nature of the weapon, plus the low health of the Monster, means that the Grunt dies rather quickly. The Grunt can also quickly receive knockback, even from this weapon, meaning that the player can negate damage by using rapid-fire weaponry.
 * The Super Nailgun can be used like a regular Nailgun, though it is not advisable due to the larger amount of Ammo that could be wasted.
 * The Grenade Launcher is not normally recommendable due to the great possibility of Gibbing the Grunt. A single Grenade could be useful if the player is unconcerned about ammo and is able to lure a cluster of Grunts into an area of small confinement, such as a doorway. Oftentimes, the player will be able to eliminate a large number of Grunts in such a fashion and will only need to worry about picking off the few possible surviving Grunts.
 * The Rocket Launcher could be used in a similar fashion to a Grenade Launcher, though it is not recommended if the player has the latter weapon. The Rocket Launcher will often need to rely on Splash Damage if the player wishes to avoid getting in the Grunt's line of sight, while the Grenade Launcher can be more direct as it can bounce off a wall.
 * The Thunderbolt is extremely excessive when facing a Grunt due to the rarity of Cells in comparison to other forms of ammunition.

Death Messages

 * "Player" was shot by a Grunt

Appearances

 * E1M1: The Slipgate Complex
 * E1M2: Castle of the Damned
 * E2M1: The Installation
 * E3M1: Termination Central
 * E4M1: The Sewage System
 * E5M1: The Military Base
 * E5M2: The Power Supply

Trivia

 * There are unused frames of the Grunt reloading his Shotgun.
 * These are the only enemies that can provoke Infighting among themselves. The various traits of the Grunt essentially make them Quake's equivalent of Doom's different types of Former Humans.
 * The Grunt's death sound is a modified version of one of Ranger's death sounds.

Gallery
Grunt (Q1)