R.E.P.O. | Monster guide: Animal

The Animal roams the map at a steady pace, and as long as nobody disturbs it, it's harmless. The moment you get too close or cross its line of sight, that changes fast. It resembles a flesh-toned, six-legged creature with a deformed screaming face, each leg ending in a human-like foot.

Behavior

The Animal starts in a roaming phase, wandering randomly through the level. If it hears a noise, it enters an investigate phase, pathfinding toward the source before returning to roaming. Once it spots a player, it reacts with a brief startled animation and enters a chase phase, attempting to reach the player for up to 10 seconds. If it gets within 3 units of the target, it enters its Wreak Havoc state, running around the room randomly while kicking its legs wildly. Every hit deals 2 damage and briefly stuns the target. This phase lasts about 20 seconds, after which the Animal picks a distant location, ignores all noise and vision while traveling there, and then returns to its normal roaming state. It will follow a player into a new room if they leave during the Wreak Havoc phase. One notable quirk: it can spot crouched players faster than most monsters, detecting them in 1.25 seconds instead of the usual 2.5.

Hidden usefulness

The Animal's flailing legs can hit other monsters caught in the same room, including other Animals and smaller threats like Gnomes, which it can kill instantly. This means a well-placed Animal can occasionally do crowd control work for you, though the same flailing can provoke nearby dangerous monsters like Apex Predator or Elsa, so use this with care.

Weaknesses

At only 150 HP, the Animal is not tough. It can be stunned by hitting it with any valuable, regardless of size, making it straightforward to interrupt. Two players grabbing it simultaneously will stun it, dropping its effective pickup requirement from 4 to 1. It also damages itself by colliding with objects around the map during its rampage. It does not attack crouched players, so getting low is a reliable defensive option. Hitting it from above is more effective than from the sides, as side hits tend to knock the valuable away before the Animal takes damage.

Strategy

• Crouch when the Animal is nearby. It won't attack crouched players and takes longer to spot you.
• Hide under large furniture or on a higher level to shrink its effective line of sight.
• Keep your cart out of rooms where the Animal is flailing to protect your valuables.
• If it goes berserk in a room with high-value items, move to a different room to draw it away.
• Be careful around freshly revived players, as one hit can still down them if they have not received a health boost yet.
• Walk or crouch rather than sprinting near it to avoid triggering its investigate phase.

How to kill

The Animal has only 150 HP and can be stunned easily, making it one of the more manageable monsters in R.E.P.O. The fastest method is to hit it with any valuable from above while it is mid-rampage. A single hit stuns it, and stunned Animals can be picked up with just 1 strength upgrade, letting you slam it into the ground or a wall for massive damage. Two players grabbing it simultaneously also triggers a stun. From there, repeated slams will finish it off quickly. If you prefer weapons, any basic weapon will bring it down in a handful of hits given its low HP pool. Avoid swinging from the sides, since the knockback tends to send your valuable flying rather than connecting cleanly.