Worm

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**Worms** are late game creepy mutants that have a small chance to spawn after day 40. They were added in update v1.10 to *The Forest*.

There is no blue/grey variant of this enemy.

## Appearance and Behavior

The Worm Creature, otherwise known as "John", appears to be made up of multiple (over a dozen) smaller entities that look like slugs with teeth on one end. These smaller creatures do not possess much power on their own, but they seem to have an incredible hive mind attacking behavior.

There seems to be a number of ways the worms can spawn: a large number all at once, only a few, and a single one. If all the worms spawn at once, they do so with great force. This usually resulting in the downing of a number of trees. If only a few or a single worm spawns, they will quickly multiply into a huge number of mutants. If they spot the player, they will very quickly try to group into one of many different forms in order to track down and attack the player(s).

You cannot harvest this mutant for creepy armor once it is defeated, but you can melee strike the center of a dead worm piece to get some bones. 1 Worm boss is capable of filling up an entire bone basket and more if each dead worm is harvested for bones.

The worm's natural spawning on the surface is rare. There is a random interval between spawns. When a worm is created, a random day is picked, 5 to 14 days ahead of current in game day. Then, after said day, the worm has a 50% chance to spawn each day until it finally appears. Then the process repeats itself.

A single worm may spawn after defeating the 'End Boss' on the surface after the alternative ending. Soon after spawning the worm will multiply and soon form a formidable mob of worms.

* Surface 'End Boss' spawning
* Worm spawning after defeating the surface 'End Boss'

## Story

In the end game, a number of dead grey specimens are found alongside gray mutant babies like those found in the medical hallways leading up to the artifact room. The worm's bed had the name 'John'. Its significance to the story, if any, is unknown.

If you spot and defeat a boss monster above land, it's possible that upon its defeat that it will spawn a single
worm mutant. It is unknown if this is connected to the story in any way. If you leave this lone worm mutant spawn alive, it can quickly multiply and become a great threat to you and your buildings. Quick execution of the worm is recommended.

## Combat

In combat, the worm creatures quickly form up to act as one, seemingly defying gravity. it can become a towering beast capable of withstanding huge amounts of damage and possessing unparalleled maneuverability across the terrain. To make assembly faster, it will sometimes build an entire section of a beast separately from the main group and attach at the last moment. This way, if you focus your attack on the lead group and interrupt its formation, the other piece can flank and swarm you.

The beast has several known forms, each with a unique attack;

If the beast gets separated into many individual worms, they can swarm over a player significantly reducing visibility and movement, allowing for the rest of the worms to regroup to a larger creature to land a devastating blow capable of toppling trees and creating a sound like an explosive bang. Upon impact with the ground, the worms will explode outward in all directions, making focusing on an individual piece more difficult.

The least common attack from the giant beast is the formation of an incredibly tall tower to try to land on the player for a very powerful hit. It only seems to resort to this attack when there's not enough worm pieces left to group into any of its larger forms.

For higher speed combat, the worms will group to form a 3-legged being that is capable of fast swipes that are difficult to dodge at close range. This transformation also grants it the ability to easily walk over just about any defenses and traps. Should another cannibal get in its way and get stepped on, they will explode on contact. Players close to the worm mutant will experience powerful ground shakes and a knockback effect if hit. Close range weapons are not recommended to combat this form.

If there are multiple players hitting it at once or there's a large amount of player built structures nearby, the worms can morph into a gigantic flying creature to body slam a massive area to crush anyone in its shadow. If there's a tall structure in its way, it can also fly up and do a spinning dive for a more accurate strike. It can also use this form to swoop in from a great distance (aka Dragon Swoop) to knock down the player and destroy almost any player built structures in a single hit. Defensive walls and spikes seem to hold up better than other buildings such as the log cabin. This attack can also kill any normal cannibals in a single hit.

If the player(s) are overwhelmed and try to flee from the beast, the worms will split up to create an incredibly fast tidal wave of mutants, nearly being able to keep up with players on gliders. The worms seem to be able to survive and maintain their speed in water just as well as they can on land. Players building on a island very close to the mainland should beware!

There may be more forms yet to be discovered/added.

Despite the huge amount of creatures and size of the beasts they can form into, they are actually nearly silent, with only the squish sounds of them on the ground giving their position away. Whether intentional or not, this can lead to these worms to be fairly stealthy. The only exception is the 3 legged melee form, which its stomps are somewhat louder than those of the Cowman.

Although there are many forms and attacks, there does seem to be some weaknesses to the beast:

If you shoot at the worms with a gun or bow as they are forming up, you can disrupt them. This sends them flying in random directions in a form of panic, and can delay the formation of a more dangerous form. Be careful to watch your flank though, as a second group of worms could have been reforming out of sight!

Using a hairspray flamethrower does seem to be an effective way to get some damage to a good number of worms in a short amount of time.

Once you eliminate a majority of the individual worms, the remaining ones have extreme difficulty forming back into one unit, and become much easier to take care of one at a time with any melee or ranged weapon.

## Gallery

* Tower form in the trailer
* Wave/swarm form
* Melee form
* Flying form
* Dragon Swoop attack
* Cannibal exploding after being hit

## Known Bugs

* The individual worm creatures do not seem to make much if any sound when attacking or when being attacked like any of the other creepy enemies. it is unknown if this is intentional or not.
* When defeating a boss monster above ground, it can spawn a single worm, but it can sometimes spawn in dead.
* Sometimes the beast can spawn seemingly out of nowhere, even in clearly visible spots right in front of the player.
* If chasing a fleeing player in its 'tidal wave' form, it seems possible that you can trick its pathing to lead it to harm, such as into the sinkhole.
* If a fleeing player manages to escape and try to return to the monster, it can randomly despawn.
* Sometimes a single worm can become invincible and follow you through the map. it can't harm you, despawn or make new worms.

## Update history

**Enemies**