Centipedes

Centipedes are creatures in Rain World based loosely on the real world arthropod. These creatures can vary from a safe source of food and a dangerous predator according to their size.

= Appearance = Centipedes are orange and brown insects with segmented bodies covered by reflective scales. They have many legs and two sets of antennae on either end of the body. Centipedes make long, high frequency sounds when either grabbing prey or being attacked. A variant of the ordinary centipede, the Sky Island centipede, has green, circular scales with red frills, and is capable of flight.

Centipedes may spawn in Garbage Wastes, Industrial Complex, Farm Arrays, Subterranean, Shaded Citadel and Outskirts. Additionally, flying centipedes or centiwings are present in both Farm Arrays and Sky Islands.

= Behavior = Centipedes are fast crawlers, meaning they can outrun most creatures in tunnels or tight spaces and can crawl on walls, making them hard to outmaneuver. Centipedes move in short, fast bursts, making them less predictable and harder to target than other creatures.

Larger centipedes can latch onto and shock other creatures to death. In order to deliver a shock, however, both "ends" of the centipede must latch onto the creature, meaning there is a window to escape by stunning the centipede if you are grabbed by only one end. Centipedes have two stances during combat. When hunting, centipedes will lay out flat in order to catch other creatures and pull them in easier. When in their defensive stance, centipedes will curl up into a ball, so if a creature comes near, the centipede can kill it quickly, before it can cause any more harm.

Subtypes
Centipedes come in four sizes and one additional subtype, each of which interact with other creatures differently and have separate health values.

Infant
Infant centipedes are non-aggressive juveniles of the species. Typically found in groups of 3, infants will sometimes be accompanied by an adult centipede. These can be picked up and eaten by the slugcat to fill 2 food slots. If an infant centipede is held for too long, it will shock the slugcat, stunning it and causing it to drop the centipede. Can be killed with smoke bombs.

Youth
Young centipedes are nearly the same size as slugcats, and cannot be picked up as easily as infants. Their shocks are powerful enough to stun, but not kill a slugcat. While nonaggressive, youth can be killed with one shot of a regular spear. If killed and eaten, young centipedes will restore 2 food slots.

Adult
Adult centipedes are larger than the slugcat, and will hunt it by grabbing it and shocking it to death. These can be killed with 3 shots of a regular spear. If killed and eaten, adult centipedes will restore 3 food slots.

Overgrown
Overgrown centipedes are extremely large, nearly 4 times that of the slugcat, and will aggressively hunt it down. Due to their huge size, they have slightly more trouble grasping prey with both ends and delivering shocks, making them less dangerous than they at first appear. Despite their size, they can traverse tunnels easily, and travel much faster than the slugcat inside tunnels. Overgrown centipedes are very powerful, and can win fights against the strongest of lizards, vultures and groups of scavengers. At least 7 shots of a regular spear or a well aimed smoke bomb are required to kill. If killed and eaten, can restore at least 4 food slots.

Centiwings
Centiwings are flying green centipedes most common in the sky islands region. They have similar stats and behavior to adult centipedes and will possibly attack the slugcat or other creatures like squidcadas. Their movement consists of alternating between flying and crawling like normal centipedes.

Red Centipedes
Red Centipedes are a dangerous centipede variant that only spawns naturally in hardmode. Unlike other variants, they are much larger than overgrown centipedes, much faster, well-armoured and highly aggressive. They won't stop when they start chasing the slugcat which make them lethal when encounter. They are nonetheless weak to smoke bombs.

= Strategy = Fighting an adult centipede is relatively easy, as 3 shots of a regular spear can kill it or just 1 smoke bomb. However, overgrown centipedes are much deadlier, as they are faster and have more health than adult centipedes and will need somewhere around 7 spears or just a smoke bomb. Throwing rocks at centipedes only makes them angry, but hitting a centipede with a spear stuns it, preventing it from grabbing the player momentarily. To kill a larger centipede with spears, throw one at it from close range. Right after it hits the centipede, pull the spear out, make a distance between you both and repeat. Sometimes a centipede hit with a spear on one end of its body will deliberately attack with the other end to prevent slugcat from recovering the spear, so be sure to either take the spear back quickly or pack extra. When the centipede is low on health, it will curl up into a ball, making it harder to kill, as if it grabs you, it's much more likely to kill you. Centipedes can be grabbed and eaten once dead by holding the grab button. If you killed a centipede earlier and something is chasing you, you can plug up a tunnel using a centipede's body as a means of escape.

Using Lizards
Blue lizards have sometimes been observed to fiercely hunt centipedes, including overgrown ones. These lizards alongside white lizards and salamanders have high chances of victory in these battles often due to their tongues. Reach of these tongues often allows them to deliver an incapacitating or lethal bite to a centipede before it can react.

Using Tunnels
Centipedes can only kill when both end of their body connected to their victim. If you are in a tunnel or some tight space you can delay a centipede's electric attack, since the centipede will have a hard time connecting both ends to the slugcat's body. Keep in mind the centipede can still reach around and grab you with both ends in a tunnel.

= Trivia =
 * Sky Island centipedes are green with red frills on the legs, much like some worms that you can find near coastal areas in real life.
 * Just as in real life, infant centipedes have fewer legs than their mature forms.
 * Centipedes have to curl up and connect both of their heads to shock its prey, leading some to believe one head has a negative charge and the other a positive charge, similar to a battery.
 * Centipedes cannot be stunned by rocks. Throwing a rock at a larger centipede will cause it to hunt down the slugcat with vigor.
 * Centipedes can often found in tunnels of some regions, such as the Industrial Complex and the Subterranean.