War grok

General information
Species	War grok
Members	Snowball
Location	Agorian Battleplex
Offense	Melee attacks Spawning parasites

War groks are enemies in A Crack in Time. They are ferocious creatures used by agorians for combat, where they are fought and tamed in battle arenas. Ratchet battles multiple at the Agorian Battleplex.

The first war grok encountered is tamed to an extent by Captain Qwark following its battle with Ratchet and is given the name Snowball.

History

Before A Crack in Time

For generations, war groks were used by agorians to test their warriors' abilities in battle, with a traditional rite of passage called "Mauling by War Grok". The Year of the War Grok was a year in the agorians' cycling calendar system.

An agorian warrior named Osiris the Malevolent became revered throughout the galaxy as "King of the War Groks" due to his skill in the Battleplex, having killed, tamed, or insulted at least seventy of the creatures. It was not until the Year of the War Grok that he lost his head in a Battleplex challenge with one of these beasts.

A Crack in Time

A war grok went loose on the Agorian Battleplex. The Battleplex announcer attempted to calm patrons down by telling them that the war grok was a vegetarian, before later admitting this to be a lie, and reporting the war grok had been tamed after it ate enough terachnoids on deck three.

Qwark taming Snowball.

During "Save Qwark from the Agorians", Ratchet partnered up with Qwark for a series of battles, culminating in a "Mauling by War Grok" rite of passage match. After Ratchet defeated the creature, the agorians demanded it be killed, which Qwark protested against. He managed to win the agorians' favor, however, with a speech, tamed the war grok, and named it Snowball.

Ratchet went on to fight more war groks at the Battleplex in various arena challenges. In "Double Jeopardy", Ratchet fought against a war grok and an elite hydra tank tag team to win the Gold Cup. In "Toxic Engagement", he fought a war grok using only his OmniWrench, while toxic gas was released into the arena. Finally, in Overkill, after surviving twenty rounds of enemies, Ratchet fought another war grok and elite hydra tank tag team to win the Raritanium Cup.

A trailer for the holo-film, A Boy and his War Grok, played on space radio, with a release coming to Vox in the upcoming holiday season. The holo-film is the story of a boy on Veldin named Timmy O'Shay, who is an outcast among his peers and befriends a rabid war grok, which becomes his best friend and eats the other children at his school. It was marketed as a heart-warming story of salvation, friendship, and sacrifice.

Qwark and Snowball left stranded on an asteroid near the remains of the Nefarious Space Station.

During "Confront and Destroy Dr. Nefarious", after Ratchet and Clank returned to the Nefarious Space Station, Qwark and Snowball fought back the Nefarious Troopers in the station's outer perimeter, allowing the duo to forge ahead and confront Dr. Nefarious before he could depart for the Great Clock. Following the station's later destruction, Qwark and Snowball were left stranded on an asteroid, where Snowball eventually became hungry and attempted to eat him. Qwark was, however, rescued some time later, either by galactic authorities during their search of the station's remains, or by Ratchet and Clank following their battle against Alister Azimuth.

After A Crack in Time

Following A Crack in Time, Snowball was moved to a war grok reserve on Sargasso, where he now spends his time feeding on all the free-range grunthors he can handle, whilst also battling anger issues and high-cholesterol.

Fried war grok tongue was served as a meal to those in the Vartax Detention Facility while Ratchet and Clank were prisoners of Artemis Zogg.

Some time before the events of All 4 One, multiple war groks were captured by Ephemeris and taken to the Minion Training Center on Magnus, where they were placed into cryogenic hibernation, and their bodies were planned to eventually be used as hosts for the loki.

Characteristics

A war grok in combat.

War groks are large, powerful predators feared for their ferocious brutality. They resemble primates in both body structure and posture, with short legs and large arms. They are, however, almost completely carnivorous, with a mouth full of jagged-sharp teeth and strong appetites, impulsing them to eat or attempt to eat almost any other creature. They can, however, be tamed, provided their hunger is satiated; otherwise, they will eventually turn against their tamer for a food source. Staring directly into a war grok's eyes will be taken by them as a sign of aggression.

A parasite

A number of parasites can inhabit war grok bodies, embedding themselves in their backs, which the war grok can expel at any time to attack its enemies, suggesting they share a sort of symbiotic relationship.

War grok smell was insulted by Mr. Zurkon. He once remarked they smell like kerchu dung, and later remarked the Thugs-4-Less smelled like the dung of a war grok.

The holo-film, A Boy and his War Grok, suggests war groks inhabit Veldin. This is, however, unknown, considering its status as in-universe fiction.

Combat

The war grok relies on close-quarters combat in battle, running up to and slamming its hands together at Ratchet, and swinging its arms around if he is close by and out of eyesight. The war grok will sometimes run to the edge of the arena and slam its fists on the ground to launch its foe high into the air; a move known as the fabled arena stomp of destruction. If Ratchet jumps and is midair when the stomp occurs, he will not be affected. The move does not damage Ratchet, but makes it easier for the war grok to hit him when he returns to the ground. After sustaining damage, the war grok will spawn several parasites to attack its enemies, before temporarily climbing out of the arena.

Keeping a distance from the war grok is ideal, as it will quickly close the gap and get near Ratchet as much as possible. Weapons with high firepower and range are best for fighting war groks, particularly; the Spiral of Death, Negotiator, and Plasma Striker, as well as the Constructo weapons depending on your chosen modifications. When it deploys its parasites, which spite projectiles, they can be cleared quickly with area-of-effect weapons such as the Sonic Eruptor, and a Mr. Zurkon for passive defense.

When fighting the war grok in the wrench-only challenge, "Toxic Engagement", an ideal strategy is to stay at its front, and time your jumps and flips for when it claps its fists together. Attacking the war grok from its sides or back is ill-advised, as its arm swing attack is rather unpredictable and harder to avoid than its clap attack. Constant strafing and comet-strikes are also helpful to inflict damage from a light distance.

Behind the scenes

Concept art.

Snowball was affectionately based on long-time Insomniac employee and character modeler, Guthrie Iddings, who had also been likened to the agorians. The art book also uses the creature name "war grogg" rather than war grok.

The blargian snagglebeast in the re-imagined game greatly physically resembles the war grok, and shares some of its attacks.

References

Games

• Insomniac Games (2009). Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Insomniac Games (2011). Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Insomniac Games (2013). Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.

Bibliography

• Fixman, TJ (2010). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 2: Friends with Benefits) [Book]. Wild Storm.
• Sony Interactive Entertainment (2018). The Art of Ratchet & Clank [Book]. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 978-1506705729.

Websites

• George, Richard; Schedeen, Jesse (2010, September 7). "Ratchet & Clank's Vacation Adventure". From IGN. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024.