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The Grenadier is a pirate enemy type in Windrose that throws explosive grenades at the player from medium range. It was publicly revealed during the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted broadcast on December 4, 2025, alongside two new weapons (the greatsword and the blunderbuss) and a new map interface. Grenadiers appear in pirate camps and some higher-difficulty points of interest, adding area-denial pressure to otherwise melee-focused encounters.

Combat Behavior

Grenadiers prefer to stay at mid range and lob explosive grenades that detonate in a small area of effect. Unlike musketeers who fire a single slow projectile, grenadiers threaten groups because their grenades damage multiple targets who are clustered. Each grenade has a brief arc time before detonation, giving attentive players a window to reposition.

Counter Strategy

• Close to melee range quickly to force the grenadier to swap weapons or flee; most grenadiers do not have strong melee defenses

• Avoid clustering with teammates or NPC crew near cover the grenadier can lob around; spread out to minimize splash damage

• Use a pistol or musket to interrupt the grenade wind-up if you see it begin

• Watch for the red-glow marker some unblockable attacks use, though standard grenadier grenades are dodgeable rather than unblockable

• Prioritize grenadiers before engaging their melee escorts; clearing the ranged threat stabilizes longer fights

Loot

Grenadiers drop gunpowder, grenade components, and sometimes Piastres or contraband goods. Because they consume higher-tier gunpowder than standard pirates, defeated grenadiers are a reasonable farming source for consumable bombs or gunpowder-based crafting recipes.

Where to Find Them

Grenadiers tend to appear in later pirate camps, at guard posts for higher-value caches, and occasionally in larger pirate fleet boarding actions once you progress past the starting Coastal Jungle biome. Their distribution across islands is influenced by the world's difficulty setting chosen at world creation.

Development Background

The Grenadier's reveal was part of a December 4, 2025 development update at the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted. The same announcement introduced the greatsword (heavy two-handed weapon with crowd control) and the blunderbuss (close-range firearm), along with a reworked map interface described as having "cleaner visuals, richer detail" and marker placement support. The Grenadier filled a design gap by giving pirate enemy groups a ranged area-damage threat distinct from single-target musketeer fire.

See Also

• Enemies — full list of hostile NPCs and creatures in Windrose

• Pirate Camps — where grenadiers commonly appear

• Weapons — player counterparts to enemy firearms

• Crosswind — development timeline including the December 2025 reveal