Firebug

Firebugs are arthropod-like creatures exclusive to the Downpour DLC. They carry s on their backs, protecting them from being taken by other creatures. They sport a very similar body shape, abilities and behavior to s.

Appearance
Firebugs posses numerous thin black legs attached to their main body. Two short antennae hang down from their fairly round head. They have red eyes. Their bodies are thin, and their top side is riddled with 'eggs' that are detachable and combustible when thrown or when falling and colliding from a high place.

Combat
Though they appear harmless, they explode when attacked, releasing the Fire Eggs on their backs and showing aligned Spears angled towards their back. They then begin pursuing the attacker with agile and sharp maneuvers, following the quickest route towards their target. Use to stun them for a short time, which offers the opportunity for attack. Using the Fire Eggs they drop is an easy and reliable way to take care of them, killing them in one hit. s take multiple hits to kill them, but s can kill them in two blows, making them easier to eliminate once you obtain one.

An efficient way to kill them is to stick a Fire Egg to their body and hit it with Rubbish before the explosion triggers, causing their explosion protection to be disabled. This allows the player to hit them with Spears and extra Fire Eggs to take them down.

Like other arthropods, Firebugs can be killed with a. This is relatively quick and very convenient, as it does not activate their aggressive state or the corresponding explosion. However, there is limited use for this as Spore Puffs do not spawn in Challenges or in.

Evasion
Firebugs are difficult to evade over dry land once aggravated, but they cannot swim. By luring one into water or void fluid, or swimming down and away from it, they can be easily avoided, though they will still be aggravated. s can also jump to evade their attacks. Finding a and resting in it resets their behavior back to neutral.

Abilities & Behavior
When not aggravated, Firebugs skittishly roam the room, avoiding any confrontation with any creature that they perceive as a threat. They turn hostile when injured, and begin hunting the attacking creature down in retaliation. They can climb poles, walls, and ceilings, and can use Fire Spears from their bodies.

They are immune to explosions while the eggs are attached.

Utility
Firebugs drop s and s. They can drop multiple of each. Fire Eggs can be eaten for 1 food pip, or thrown and detonated similar to a , but with a much more delayed explosion time. The explosion radius is large enough to fling and stun nearby objects or creatures. Fire Spears can be used by any Slugcat, even the, dealing more damage than the standard Spear and leaving gas particles and a bright white flash when thrown.

Variants & Attributes
Their 'Eggs', eyes and Spears can change in hue, usually a shade of red. Their body and appendages usually stays the same color, that being a dark red to black.

Trivia

 * The aggressive mode is easily missed in a normal run. The only place they spawn in is Rubicon, the final area of the Saint's campaign, and they can be quickly disposed of at that point of the game.
 * Challenge 54 'Fire Pursuit' forces Saint to fight four of them without Karma powers, which shows how dangerous they are when enraged and how useful their spears and eggs actually are. It is likely that this is the first and only time their aggressive state is experienced in a given playthrough.
 * Because of their lack of grab animation, they can easily bypass pipe-juking invulnerability and catch the player as soon as they exit a pipe.