Controls/Combat (2024)

This page covers combat techniques and basic tips. Click here to go to the main Controls hub page and access other movement tech pages.

Basic combat

Rock/Spear combo

Lizards have armored heads which protect them from most Spear damage. To hurt them, Slugcat usually needs to Spear them in their softer back.

Rocks flip Lizards over when thrown at their heads. A Spear can be thrown immediately after for a simple attack.

Remember to keep the Rock in the Slugcat’s right hand to throw first!

Note: There are some extremely niche conditions under which a Lizard does not flip when hit with Rocks. These include the Lizard having just climbed up onto a ledge, and being hit with Rocks when directly next to Slugcat (essentially touching).

Pinning creatures to walls

Creatures can be pinned to walls with Spears to immobilize them for some time.

Stunlock

On taking damage, Lizards and some other creatures enter a stun state for a short amount of time. As Lizards lose more health, this amount of stun per spear increases.

This can be used to repeatedly spear creatures by pressing grab and instantly throwing again multiple times.

Spear cooldown

Spears cannot be picked up immediately once thrown, preventing Slugcat from stun-locking more resilient creatures with one Spear.

Double-spearing

Spear cooldown can be circumvented with multiple Spears, as the cooldown applies per Spear, not for the player. This allows for more rapid stun-locking, and is useful for quickly incapacitating tough creatures.

Throwing midair

Spears can be thrown while midair to catch lizards on poles.

Slide spearing

Throwing a Spear or Rock forwards mid-slide causes the object to bounce off the floor and travel much further horizontally. This allows Spears to embed into walls much further away.

Spears can be slide-thrown from further away to hit targets.

Slide-spearing a Lizard in the mouth does 1.5* damage and stuns them for longer. This allows for consistent stunlocking with a single Spear.

Downwards/Upwards throwing

Backflipping to down/upthrow

To throw vertically, hold down/up and throw mid-backflip without holding any other buttons. If holding left or right, the object is thrown in that direction instead.

Spears thrown this way become embedded in the terrain and can be climbed, for increased movement opportunity.

Spears thrown upwards have reduced damage and velocity (about the same as a Monk Spear throw).

Downthrowing from slide-flips

Slugcat can also throw downwards mid-slideflip.

Pinning creatures to floors

Downthrown Spears can pin a creature to the ground.

Creature strategy

Slideflipping to pass lizards

Slideflipping can be used to safely pass Lizards without being caught. This works for Lizards with high aggression.

Lizard tracking - Move safety/Laziness

Lizards have differing levels of aggression depending on multiple factors, including Lizard spawn variation and the gamemode.

Less aggressive Lizards have slower reactions and can be backflipped over, for instance, while more aggressive Lizards quickly turn and snap Slugcat out of the air if this is attempted. Backflipping is generally only recommended as a reasonably safe move for Green Lizards and Yellow Lizards.

Crouch-spearing/Mouth-spearing

If timed right, a Spear thrown during Slugcat's crouch animation results in a successful stab to the Lizard's body.

It is recommended to only use this if cornered and without any Rocks as a last ditch effort, as it is not only a difficult trick to pull off, but also has a relatively low success rate.

The upside to this strategy is that a successful stab to the 'throat' deals 1.5x damage.

Dealing with tongues

When grabbed by a Lizard tongue, reaching the same height and throwing objects at the Lizard is often effective.

If not possible, getting close to the Lizard often causes it to snap and miss Slugcat, especially if done quickly.

Throwing at the same height as a White Lizard's mouth has a chance to hit and is very effective when their tongue is out.

Grace period / Bite lethality

Lizard bites have a chance to immediately kill Slugcat.

It is possible, for a short window after only being stunned by a Lizard bite, to pick up / throw Rocks or Spears which can hit the Lizard and allow Slugcat to escape.

Information on Lizard bite lethality can be found on the Lizard page.

Mask responses

When wearing a Vulture Mask, Lizards run from the player for 17.5 seconds (while King Vulture Masks last for 30 seconds), starting from when they first see Slugcat wearing the mask. After this timer has run down, the mask no longer scares that Lizard. This is extremely effective for passing through regions without trouble, or playing as the Hunter. Yellow Lizards have a pack-based timer as long as they can communicate.