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

The Trudge is a Level 3 monster in R.E.P.O. and one of the most physically imposing threats you will encounter. A large, armored, corpse-like creature with a mace fused to its right arm, it moves at a crawl but hits with devastating force, capable of one-shotting an unprepared player in a single combo.

What makes the Trudge genuinely dangerous is not its speed but its attack sequence. The mace slam, vacuum pull, and explosion chain can down a player almost instantly, and it even has a separate crouch bite for anyone trying to hide underneath cover nearby.

Behavior

The Trudge wanders slowly at a pace even slower than a semibot's crawl, but do not mistake that for harmless. It can detect players by line of sight, proximity, and direct touch, so there are very few ways to avoid its awareness. When it spots a player, it closes in until they are in range, then slams its mace down for 100 damage. That slam triggers a vacuum vortex that drags nearby players and valuables toward it. A few seconds later the mace detonates in a small explosion dealing 20 damage directly, plus an additional 80 damage if the launched player collides with a wall or surface. The combined total of a full hit is 100 damage from the slam plus up to 100 from the explosion, which is enough to kill outright in many cases.

If a player is crouching under an object nearby, the Trudge drops to the floor and bites repeatedly, once every half second, for 35 damage per bite. This means hiding is rarely a safe option. If it loses track of a player it will search briefly before either resuming patrol or walking away.

The Trudge also swings its mace when its path is blocked, for example by the cart. This swing does not damage players or monsters but it can damage or destroy valuables and doors in its way.

Hidden usefulness

The Trudge's vacuum attack pulls in objects and semibots indiscriminately, which means other monsters caught near its attack window can take knockback or be disrupted. It also clears doorways by destroying them with its mace when blocked, which can occasionally open paths you would have needed to deal with anyway.

Weaknesses

The Trudge has 500 HP, making it the tankiest standard monster you will face. Its biggest weakness is that it is extremely slow, easily outpaced by any player who simply runs away. Its attack requires it to close to melee range first, so distance is your best protection. It can be stunned by valuables like the Clown Doll, and while stunned its pickup strength requirement drops from 13 to 5, making it briefly manageable. Note that on Level 5 once the Crescent Moon phase activates, it becomes immune to stuns from medium-sized valuables, removing that window.

Strategy

• Run rather than hide. The Trudge is slow enough that jogging away in a straight line is almost always enough to break its pursuit.
• Keep the cart away from it. Its mace swing on blocked paths can suck in and damage nearby valuables even before it starts a full attack sequence.
• If you must engage, use ranged weapons or stun items to avoid stepping into its mace range.
• Never crouch near it. The crouch bite deals 35 damage per half second and activates if it spots you hiding under cover.
• Communicate with teammates. The Trudge's slow speed makes it easy to lead it away from the area while others grab valuables or the cart.

How to kill

With 500 HP the Trudge is a long fight, but its slow movement makes it manageable if you commit to a hit-and-run approach. The most reliable method is to use the Clown Doll: deal damage until the Clown is close to breaking, then detonate it by honking its nose three times while near the Trudge. The explosion deals heavy damage and the stun window opens the pickup strength from 13 down to 5, letting you grab and throw it or pile on damage freely. Repeat the cycle with additional weapons or valuables between Clown detonations. Without a Clown Doll, use any weapon that lets you hit and retreat before the mace slam animation completes. Ranged options are ideal since they let you deal damage from outside the vacuum range entirely. Avoid clustering with teammates during the fight because the vacuum pulls everyone in at once and the explosion hits all of them. Take turns baiting the attack, then punish during the long recovery animation after each slam.