Leeches

Leeches are a water-based swarming enemy in Rain World. They live solely in water, and when beached, attempt to crawl back to the nearest body of water. If they fail to reach water quickly they dry out, wither away, and die. They respawn in the next cycle. Leeches come in two basic varieties, red and blue, with a third green Leech found exclusively in Downpour. They are not a source of food, whether dead or alive.

Abilities & Behavior
When a living creature (excluding, s and other Leeches) enters the territory of Leeches, they swim after it, even occasionally jumping out of the water. A Leech does not deal damage like a bite or explosion, but instead attach themselves to their prey and drag them down in an attempt to drown the creature. A single Leech does not present a threat, but if enough Leeches latch on, prey creatures become unable to ascend poles or swim to the surface for breath.

Relationships

 * -|Vanilla=


 * -|Downpour=

Applies to all three types.

Red Leech
Red Leeches are the most common variety of Leech. They are a little smaller than and are found in pools of water in  and.

Sea Leeches
Sea Leeches are a bigger version of the Red Leech. They are slower to dehydrate out of water and are very fast and heavy. The Sea Leeches are found in the room before the gate from Garbage Wastes to, and throughout Shoreline.

Jungle Leech
Jungle Leeches are a new type of Leech exclusive to Downpour. They are able to withstand staying out of water for a longer period of time before drying up and are able to drain food from their host. They generally reside in wet and humid environments.

Appearance
Jungle Leeches are small, dark green, tubular creatures. They are visually identical to Red Leeches, only differing in color.

Abilities & Behavior
When their prey is nearby, often swimming in or standing near an occupied body of water, Jungle Leeches lunge towards them, attempting to latch on to the creature. When out of water, they can remain attached for a very long period of time, even after their color darkens. The shockwave produced by a will off an attached Jungle Leech, and they can also be removed by standing in. If hibernates with a Jungle Leech latched onto them and has food pips to spare, one stored food pip is drained at the beginning of next cycle. Additionally, if a Jungle Leech is attached to Slugcat for long enough, it passively drains food pips.

Tips
All varieties of Leech show interest in creatures in the water (dead or alive), meaning it is possible to distract them with a pursuing predator or. It is also possible to use a Snail to knock out the Leeches, a small to electrocute them, or a  to scare them away. In, it is often possible to stand in briefly, allowing the Leech to be eaten but keeping Slugcat safe.

, due to their high speeds and ability to jump out of the water, are very effective at dodging Leeches, especially in Shoreline. can be found in the room before the gate from Garbage Wastes to Shoreline, where there is a pool full of Sea Leeches. It is possible to grab a white one and hop along the tops of the poles sticking out of the water.

If none of these options are available, as is usually the case in Drainage System, and swimming through them is the only available route, then:


 * Watch how they move. A Leech only latches on during its boost. When pursuing the Slugcat, make sure to dodge their short directional bursts. They cannot change direction while boosting, so moving perpendicularly to a Leech is the best way to avoid it.
 * If there are too many Leeches to use the previous strategy, then speed up by repeatedly pressing the jump button underwater. This should be used sparingly, as boosting underwater drains breath. This strategy is only viable in areas where it is possible to surface for air. In Shoreline, while traversing the long areas of open water where Sea Leeches stick in one place, the player can wait for them to dive as far away as possible, press the jump button from a standstill on the surface to jump slightly out of the water, hold down, then press the jump button in rapid succession to quickly dive and swim under the water and bypass the Leeches. This is also useful in few other places, such as rooms in Drainage System that have pipes underwater in a pool of Leeches.
 * Allow a few Leeches to attach and have them fall off in a location where they cannot return to water.
 * Squidcadas actively 'fish' for Leeches by flying down to the water and allowing a few to attach, then flying away and dropping them near their nests. Bringing many Squidcadas to a pool of Leeches can get rid of the Leeches, but the Squidcadas may get overwhelmed by them and drown.
 * Swimming along the surface of the water provides some extra buoyancy which can help keep Slugcat above water when being attacked by leeches. Popped also provide a small amount of buoyancy.

If attacked by Leeches, it is suggested the player reach dry land as soon as possible and shake them off by jumping back and forth left to right. If the player is on a pole, it is possible to balance on top and rock back and forth to shake them off. Dependent on the individual Leech, it turns black after a sufficient time out of water and lose grip on its prey. The player may also hit the Leeches with Rubbish or Spears to detach or outright kill them, though they usually latch on Slugcat's lower body, so getting a good angle at them is difficult. An excellent way to take them off is to input an Extended Slide, which throws the object away from Slugcat in a crouched position.

Trivia

 * Jetfish attack Leeches in order to get food, but since they attack one Leech at time, it is impractical to use this against a group of Leeches.
 * After drowning an entity, Leeches continue to stay latched on for a short time, then leave to search for new prey, allowing the body of their victim to float to the surface.
 * Leeches present in a shelter during hibernation are destroyed.