Malbatross

The Malbatross is a Boss Mob exclusive to Don't Starve Together, introduced in Return of Them.
 Only 25% of the Deep Bass shoals with a map icon can spawn the Malbatross when visited. After 3 days, the Malbatross despawns and again, 25% of the Deep Bass shoals are randomly selected to spawn the Malbatross. The Malbatross also has a 10% chance to spawn when a player hooks a Deep Bass. The Malbatross respawns 5 to 15 days after dying.
Upon death, the Malbatross drops 7 Meats, 2 Blue Gems plus 30% to get one extra, 5% of a Yellow Gem, one Malbatross Bill, 3 Malbatross Feathers plus two times 30% to get one extra plus 24 minus the amount spawned by hitting the Malbatross.
== Behavior ==
The Malbatross is neutral towards players. It does attack Hostile mobs that come near it. Fishing deep bass in the shoal when the Malbatross spawns in will cause it to become aggressive. 
When not fighting, it moves around and dives to catch Ocean Fishes, creating a circle of Waves. Waves will push away a Boat and apply 9 to player.
The normal attack of the Malbatross deals 75 damage to players and 150 to Mobs. If the Malbatross is over a boat, the attack also does 5 damage to the boat and pushes it away. If the Malbatross is over the Ocean the attack also creates 3 waves. Each hit on the Malbatross can drop up to 4 Malbatross Feathers, each feather having a 5% chance of dropping.
When the Malbatross' health goes below 66%, it will dive and run away from the player, creating a circle of waves. When the Malbatross' health goes below 33%, it can swoop over the player, destroying every Mast in its wake. Each Mast destroyed spawns 3 Malbatross Feathers plus two times 30% to get one extra.
== Tips ==
*If the player wishes to deliberately hunt down Malbatross, using an Ocean Trawler with Monster Meat/other Meats as bait over a Deep Bass Shoal almost instantly spawns it.
*Keeping the boat's anchored is strongly recommended, so that Malbatross has substantially more trouble pushing the vessel around.
*Ensuring Malbatross stays within melee range is the key to winning the fight.
**Hitting Malbatross 5-6 times before running to the other side of the boat will generally keep it within range, without it damaging the player with its normal attack in the process.
**In addition to the player's melee weapons, a Pan Flute or enough Blow Darts is recommended for hitting the Malbatross at a range, in order to start the fight or incase it attempts to fly away from the player.
*The player will likely need a separate boat from their main boat for fighting Malbatross, incase the fight goes badly and the boat is lost or sunk. 
**If this strategy is used, the boat should have an Anchor (but no Mast, as Malbatross may destroy it), a chest with enough Boat Patches and wood for oars/repairing the boat, a Fire Pit for light and warmth, and optionally a Tin Fishin' Bin for bringing back the collected fish from the Ocean Trawler.
== Trivia ==
* Malbatross was introduced in the Salty Dog beta update.
* The name Malbatross is likely a portmanteau of "marlin" and "albatross" given the Malbatross' blue color and having both fish and bird characteristics.
** It could additionally be a portmanteau of "malicious" and "albatross" given its hostile nature.
* Warly's quote also points out that the first syllable of its name sounds like the french word for "bad" or "evil".
* It no longer drops an Advert as of the March 2022 QoL update.
== Gallery ==
Malbatross All Sides.png|Malbatross from all sides.
Malbatross Dead Ocean.png|A dead Malbatross in the ocean.
Malbatross Sleeping Ocean.png|A sleeping Malbatross in the ocean.
Malbatross Frozen.png|A frozen Malbatross.
Malbatross SD Update Trailer.jpg|The Malbatross as seen in the Salty Dog update trailer.
Malbatross SD Update Trailer 2.jpg|The Malbatross as seen in the Salty Dog update trailer.
ROT Salty Dog Update Promo.gif|The Malbatross featured in a promotional animation for the Salty Dog update.
DST QOL Update Promo Image.png|The Malbatross featured in a promotional image for the Don't Starve Together QOL update.
Art Stream 89 Malbatross.jpg|The Malbatross as seen in a drawing from Art Stream # 89.
Art Stream 98 Malbatross.png|The Malbatross as seen in a drawing from Art Stream # 98.
File:Malbfuckedup.png|Concept art of mutated Malbatross shown off in a Klei Stream.Official Klei Stream: Don't Starve Together: Return of Them - Salty Dog | Rhymes With Play Dev Cast
File:Malbconceptart2.png|Further Iteration on Malbatross's design.
File:Malbconceptart3.png|Further Iteration on Malbatross's design.
File:Malbconceptart4.png|Further iteration on Malbatross's design.
File:Malbconceptart5.png|Further iteration on malbatross's design.
==References==
vi:Malbatross
Category:Boss Monsters
Category:Ocean
Category:Return of Them
Category:Birds
Category:Neutral Creatures
Category:Flying Creatures
Category:Surface Creatures
Category:Area of Effect