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

The Headman is a Level 3 monster in R.E.P.O.: a giant disembodied floating head with glowing yellow eyes, a wrinkled face, greying hair, and a noticeable bald patch. It drifts around silently, clacking its teeth, and the moment it spots you it becomes one of the most relentless pursuers in the game.

What makes it especially threatening is its ability to fly to any height, meaning vertical cover offers no real safety. Once locked on, it won't stop until either you're dead or you manage to break its line of sight.

Behavior

The Headman patrols quietly with no footstep sounds to warn you, only the occasional clack of its teeth. It can detect players by line of sight, proximity, and touch. When it spots a semibot, a piano stinger plays, the screen glitches, and the Headman screams as it kicks into a fast flying chase with its mouth wide open.

Its attack is a biting lunge that pushes its entire mouth forward, dealing 50 damage and applying knockback. It will chase its chosen target persistently, even checking neighboring rooms if it loses track of them. If it still can't find anyone, it eventually calms down and resumes patrolling. It also attacks crouched players, so crouching is not a safe escape on its own. If an object blocks its path for too long, it may bite through it, which can damage valuables nearby.

Hidden usefulness

The Headman opens doors slowly due to its low movement speed during patrol. You can exploit this by positioning the C.A.R.T. in front of a door (without grabbing it), which can block the Headman's path entirely and cause it to despawn or teleport. This is a useful way to lock it out of a room you're working in.

Because its yellow eyes glow visibly in the dark, you can spot the Headman at longer ranges than it can detect you, giving you time to clear out before it locks on.

Weaknesses

The Headman has 250 HP, which is substantial, but its slow patrol movement speed is a real exploitable gap. Crouching and sliding underneath it can cause it to lose track of you, though you will likely take a hit in the process. Its reliance on line of sight to maintain a chase means ducking around corners or into hiding spots can break pursuit if done quickly enough.

When stunned, its strength breakpoint drops sharply from 13 to 3, meaning a stunned Headman can be picked up by almost anyone.

Strategy

• Listen for the clacking teeth and treat silence as a warning: the Headman makes almost no noise on patrol, so if you know one is in the level, stay alert.
• Its glowing yellow eyes are visible at long range in dark environments, use that to spot it before it spots you.
• If it starts chasing you, break line of sight around corners or into hiding spots to try to lose it.
• A crouch-slide under the Headman can cause it to lose track of you, but expect to take 50 damage in the process.
• Block a doorway with the C.A.R.T. to stop it entering a room you need to work in.
• Keep valuables away from areas where the Headman is patrolling, since its biting can damage them if it gets blocked.

How to kill

The Headman has 250 HP and hits hard, so you want to stun it before committing to a kill. Once stunned, its pickup strength breakpoint drops from 13 to 3, so virtually any player can grab it. The safest kill sequence is to stun it first, pick it up while it's immobilized, then finish it off without taking that brutal 50-damage bite in return. If you're using ranged weapons, keep backing away and fire while it's in its slow patrol state rather than waiting until it's in full chase mode and closing fast. Avoid letting it corner you as the bite plus knockback can quickly end a run.