Dropwig



Dropwigs are fast-moving, insectoid ambush predators that stalk the enclosures of Rain World. These creatures are very skilled at hiding in plain sight, and while fragile, they are adept at quickly taking down their prey.

Appearance
As their name suggests, Dropwigs resemble large earwigs. They have a black or dark brown coloration, offset with slightly reflective purple stripes.

When lying in ambush, the Dropwig will dim its purple stripes to be less noticeable. Upon first glance they will appear like shadowy stalactites; upon closer inspection they have a symmetrical and menacing profile like a downward-reaching claw. Like most insects, two antennae crown the top of their small head, occasionally twitching whenever they sense the presence of another creature.

Behavior
Dropwigs are ambush predators, they attack by attaching themselves to a ceiling and waiting in ambush until an unsuspecting victim walks underneath them. At this point the Dropwig falls onto its prey, catching it with its large pincers. Just before it drops, it will jerk its legs wide open in preparation for a strike, possibly revealing itself to the player if it had not been previously seen.

When a Dropwig's prey is within range, it drops from the ceiling and attempts to either grab its prey or slash it. After an unsuccessful drop attack, the Dropwig proceeds to spend roughly 10 seconds chasing its prey, leaping at it in an attempt to kill it. If the prey is not caught within this time, the Dropwig will begin looking for another perch.

Dropwigs will drop from the ceiling and begin to attack if they feel threatened or are hurt when perched.

Even on the ground Dropwigs are not to be trifled with, as they can perform an agile leap, similar to that of a.

Dropwigs are supposed to keep the player always on their toes and never quite able to relax, as every room could hold a potential danger.

Bait
Dropwigs are quite intelligent creatures, oftentimes placing bait beneath their perch to lure prey into an ambush. If a Dropwig finds a suitable piece of bait, then it will grab it and drop it underneath its perch

Dropwigs have a chance to spawn at the beginning of a cycle with a piece of bait. If you are playing as the, Dropwigs cannot spawn with Karma Flowers and the chance for them spawning with no item gets increased to 76.5625% (98/128 or 49/64).

Damage
When falling, Dropwigs have an 80% chance to perform a slash attack, which has an 80% chance of killing the player on contact. They otherwise perform a grab which has a 20% lethality chance.

When on the ground, Dropwigs have an 80% chance to perform a grab attack, which is never lethal. They otherwise perform a slash attack.

After performing a slash attack, Dropwigs have a 4.5 second window where they only perform grab attacks.

Detection
Being an ambush predator, the Dropwig relies on its prey not noticing it until it is too late. If the player is able to recognize perched Dropwigs during gameplay, they have already won half the battle. This skill is primarily built up through experience, but there are a few telltale signs which indicate that a Dropwig is lying in ambush. The perched Dropwig's symmetrical, imposing form can be studied and used to acclimate a newer player to detecting it. Another way to spot a Dropwig is by noticing objects which do not naturally occur in the area or condition in which you found them. Things such as Blue Fruits on the ground and Mushrooms which are not attached to the ground by their stalks are bait used by the Dropwig, and if the player recognizes this bait, they can move on to fighting or avoiding the Dropwig. Even skilled players can be caught off guard by Dropwigs, so the best measure that can be taken to counteract the Dropwig is to always be alert and prepared.

Combat
Spears are key to defeating the Dropwig, as they can be utilized to damage it while getting it into a disadvantageous position. If a pipe or ledge exists on the same level as where the Dropwig is perched, the player can utilize it to ambush it with a spear, though do keep in mind that Dropwigs will drop down if the player gets too close while holding a spear. Since Dropwigs may take two spears to kill, it is better to have a second spear nearby so that the player can kill the Dropwig without having to face the risk of being pounced on while trying to retrieve their first spear.

Evasion
Depending on where they are, perched Dropwigs can be trivially easy to avoid if they are spotted by the player, but evasion may become more challenging if the player must pass under the Dropwig. One way to evade a perched Dropwig is to startle it and force it to drop down by climbing up next to it whilst holding a spear, and then proceeding, being mindful to avoid the ground. By the time a Dropwig is able to get back up to the player, the player could have already moved to higher ground or to a different room. If it is not possible to startle the Dropwig, the player can get into the Dropwig's range and immediately move away. The Dropwig, now attempting to leap after the player, can be easily evaded by using poles or certain advanced movement techniques, as they cannot turn mid-pounce.

Trivia

 * Dropwigs were a new creature released in the 1.5 update of Rain World.
 * Dropwigs are able to stack on top of each other while perched on the ceiling, making them even less visible.
 * Dropwigs tend to ignore prey when climbing up to the ceiling - they will even shove it out of the way in order to climb up poles or latch to the ceiling.
 * Dropwigs can hide behind background objects such as chains and vines - making them even harder to detect.
 * Dropwigs are not very good at escaping wormgrass, so baiting them to those spots in outskirts is a viable yet tedious way of battling them if you think you can outmaneuver them.
 * As with other corpses of a similar size to Slugcat, holding the corpse of a Dropwig boosts movement speed in tunnels considerably.
 * Dropwigs, due to their highly aggressive nature, are capable of grabbing Garbage Worms and may even move them from their set spawn point, causing unintended behavior.