Scavenger

"Scavenger"
Details
Code name	Scavenger
Behavior	Reputation-based
HP	1.1
Food Pips	4 4 2 1
Points	6
Regions : Outskirts, Industrial Complex, Garbage Wastes, Drainage System, Shaded Citadel, Chimney Canopy, Sky Islands, Farm Arrays, Subterranean
Downpour Regions : Pipeyard : Outer Expanse, Submerged Superstructure : Submerged Superstructure : Waterfront Facility, Metropolis : Waterfront Facility
Damage Multipliers Head 130%

Scavengers are tribal creatures that are one of the most widespread species in Rain World. They are capable of wielding Spears, Rubbish, Grenades, Explosive Spears and other items in a manner similar to Slugcats. They are the most intelligent and social creatures in the game.

Appearance

Scavengers in their settlement

Scavengers are humanoid quadrupeds, possessing long, lanky forearms and short legs. They have mask-like faces from which a variety of antlers, horns, or beards protrude, and may have tails, spines, or frills of varying lengths. They come in a wide range of colors, but most commonly in browns, blacks, and whites of varying tones. Their eyes (which may or may not possess visible pupils) can also be a wide range of colors, angles, and sizes. They are very expressive, and can exhibit many emotions.

Variants & Attributes

Scavengers display the most color variation of any creature in the game, being capable of exhibiting every color in the rainbow. Whilst they are predominantly neutral, earthy tones, they can also display a wide range of vivid colors. They usually have 3-6 colors depending on their physical traits; body color, stomach color, head/gradient color, antler/horn accent, eye color and pupil color. These may sometimes overlap (e.g. Scavengers with the same antler/horn accent and stomach color are common).

Their main features can be broken down into a few categories - head decoration, stomach patch, gradients and back decoration. Scavengers can have a few variations of eartlers on different positions on their head, as well as 'beards', and back frills of various shapes and sizes.

The size of each body part can vary as well. This is most noticeable in their tails, and Scavengers may showcase a range of tail lengths within each group, but otherwise it typically remains close to average for other body parts. However, the odd Scavenger who has body parts skewed to the extremes may be observed every once in a while.

Abilities & Behavior

A Scavenger using a Cherrybomb

A Scavenger dodging thrown Rubbish

Scavengers predominantly walk, climb and crawl, making them a bit faster than Slugcat in most cases. They do not have the ability to jump, rather they spontaneously gain vertical momentum when they need to move upwards, which can lead to some interesting physics interactions. Scavengers can also throw Rubbish, Spears, Grenades, and other objects to ward off or kill any threats. They also have the ability to dodge objects thrown at them, though each Scavenger has a different level of skill in this regard.

Communication

Scavengers utilize a wide array of body language and gesturing to communicate amongst themselves and with the player. Learning to recognize and interpret Scavenger body language is vital to interacting with them.

• 

  Threat indicator (pointing hand/Spear at threat)

• 

  Warning (holding Spears up)

• 

  Wanting an item (staring at Slugcat and pawing at the ground, or reaching out to the item)

• 

  Fear (spines vibrating and eyes widening)

Personality

Whilst many creatures have personalities, Scavengers make the most visible use out of the six personality modifiers that control and influence their Behaviors - aggression, bravery, dominance, energy, nervousness and sympathy.

Aggression impacts dominance.

Effects

High values make Scavengers:

• Better at dodging
• Better at mid-range combat
• More likely to attack Slugcat and other threatening creatures
• More likely to attack lethally
• Have shorter Spear throw wind-ups
• More likely to spawn with Rubbish
• More likely to spawn with Explosive Spears
• More likely to have longer teeth
• More likely to have narrower necks

Bravery impacts aggression, dominance and nervousness.

Effects

High values make Scavengers:

• Better at blocking Spears
• More likely to attack creatures they fear
• Less likely to spontaneously attack fast-moving creatures nearby
• Less likely to throw weapons to free themselves from Lizard or Vulture bites
• Less uncomfortable when hearing unknown noises
  • More likely to investigate unknown noises
• More likely to idle around other creatures
• Less afraid of Slugcat

Low values make Scavengers:

• More likely to follow closely behind pack leaders
  • More likely to move faster towards pack leaders
• More scared when spears thrown by unseen creatures
• React more intensely when startled
• Less afraid of Slugcat, but only when wielding a weapon
• Eyes boggle when very scared at values < 30%

Dominance does not impact any other personality modifiers.

Effects

High values make Scavengers:

• More likely to be the pack leader
• More likely to throw warning shots
• Less likely to spawn with Rubbish
• More likely to spawn with more Spears
• More likely to spawn with Explosive Spears
• Go over lower dominance Scavengers when moving past each other
• More likely to have longer back frills
• More likely to have larger eartlers
• More likely to have fatter bodies

Low values make Scavengers:

• More likely to abandon their current task to look for pack leaders
• Less likely to follow high dominance Scavengers
• Avoid standing near higher dominance Scavengers when attacking the same target
• Avoid pathfinding through space near higher dominance Scavengers
• Less likely to communicate with the same creature a higher dominance Scavenger is communicating with

Energy impacts aggression, dominance, and nervous.

Effects

High values make Scavengers:

• Have faster movement speed
  • Have faster animations (retreating, waving through Toll, pointing, idling and trading)
  • Look around faster
• Better at blocking spears
• Better at mid-range combat
• Have increased reaction skills
• More likely to stray from designated paths when abstracted
• More likely to idle in high-visibility spots
• More likely to have an increased eye slant
  • Open eyes faster
  • More likely to have yellow eyes or accent coloration

Low values make Scavengers:

• More likely to have fatter bodies

Nervous does not impact any other personality modifiers.

Effects

High values make Scavengers:

• Better at dodging
• Have faster animations (pointing and looking around)
• Have faster movement speed when not in combat
• More likely to block or dodge weapons that are further away
• Stare at creatures longer before switching focus
• More likely to look at empty spots in a room
• More easily startled by sounds in quick succession
• More likely to move between idle spots on each tick
• Jump more when entering the attentive animation
• Have more jittery hands
• Blink more often

Sympathy impacts aggression.

Effects

High values make Scavengers:

• Point for longer
  • More likely to point at threats near pack members
• More likely to attack creatures holding friends
• More likely to treat Slugcat as a friend
• More likely to give weapons to unarmed pack members in combat
• More likely to avoid Slugcat than attack
  • More likely to throw warning shots rather than attacking lethally
• Have larger eyes
  • Have wider eyes
  • More likely to have distinct pupils
    • More likely to focus pupils more directly at what they're currently looking at

It should be noted that the impact these variables have on moment to moment gameplay may be very subtle, and thus these cannot consistently be used to predict a Scavenger's behavior.

Reputation

Scavenger behavior has the most visible variation under the Reputation system, allowing them to become either the player's most potent allies or most fearsome hunters. There is both a local reputation value for the Scavengers in a given region, and a global reputation value, the latter of which can be observed through the The Chieftain. Unlike other creatures with reputation, local actions affect the global reputation scale greatly.

By trading with Scavengers and saving them from harm, reputation can be gained with them. As reputation rises, Scavengers become less aggressive, may actively attempt to save Slugcat from harm, and, once trusted enough, allow free passage through Tolls and let the player take items from treasuries without repercussions. The benefits of good reputation do not extend to any tamed Lizards the player may have accompanying them, and Scavengers are aggressive towards them like any other Lizard.

Inversely, if repeatedly stolen from, harmed and ignored when in danger, reputation is lowered, and Scavengers become more aggressive. This typically only manifests in more defensive and hostile Scavengers, but if infractions are committed repeatedly, reputation can eventually drop to a point where Scavengers actively seek Slugcat out and send kill-squads to the player's general location.

Along with global and regional reputation, each Scavenger has individual opinions of Slugcat; if care is taken to be friendly to a particular Scavenger, they may be more inclined to follow the player and trade generously compared to others in their pack. This can also lead to random reputation changes when the leader of a group dies and a new Scavenger with a differing opinion takes over.

Scavenger reputation is measured on a scale of -100 to 100 and may only change by a maximum of ±50 each cycle. Reputation gain is linear above 0 but becomes exponentially smaller as reputation goes into the negatives. When reputation is below 0, a small amount of reputation is gained passively each cycle provided no interactions with Scavengers are had. This passive increase scales up the closer reputation is to the default 0, maxing out at +10 reputation per cycle. Reputation loss is multiplied based on the number of witnesses, but reputation gain is not, unless saving a Scavenger from a threat.

At ≥50 reputation, Tolls can be passed without paying, at the cost of reputation.

At ≥90 reputation, items may be freely taken from Treasuries and Tolls may be passed for free without reputation loss.

Survivor

As Survivor, reputation with Scavengers starts neutral, and reputation gain behaves normally.

Chieftain progress is mapped on the range 10-80.

Monk

As Monk, reputation with Scavengers starts neutral, but reputation gain is greater than normal.

Chieftain progress is mapped on the range 42-90.

SPOILER WARNING: Hunter
This section contains major plot details from Hunter. If you have not made significant progress or completed the game as Hunter, then read no further!

Hunter

As Hunter, Scavenger reputation starts at -35, low enough to be considered a threat. Early interactions with Scavengers can be dangerous, and there is little choice but to avoid, fight, or forfeit weapons to them. Due to Farm Arrays and the surrounding areas having large Scavenger populations, it is possible for the player to raise their reputation, though Hunter's starting reputation makes this difficult.

Chieftain progress is mapped on the range 10-80.

Spoilers end here.

SPOILER WARNING: Artificer
This section contains major plot details from Artificer. If you have not made significant progress or completed the game as Artificer, then read no further!

Artificer

As Artificer, reputation with Scavengers is locked at -100, the lowest possible value. This means that kill squads are constantly sent after the Slugcat. Toll Scavengers are also aggressive, making it impossible to pass one without a fight. As a result, Artificer is unable to get the Chieftain passage. This does, however, mean that Artificer suffers no punishment for killing or stealing from Scavengers, nor going through tolls without paying.

After killing the Chieftain Scavenger, wearing its Chieftain Scavenger Mask makes all Scavengers afraid of Artificer (0.5 intensity value, increasing with proximity) and attempt to flee from them.

Spoilers end here.

As with all reputation values, Scavenger reputation is artificially lowered for all Slugcats in Subterranean.

• As Saint, reputation is also lowered in Rubicon, even though no Scavengers spawn there.

Trading

• 
• 

Scavengers are always willing to trade, provided items they are given are ones they have an interest in - typically things they can be seen carrying. The number of items given in exchange for offerings are dependent on reputation - the higher, the better. For example, if attempting to give Scavengers an item they do not value very much when on a neutral reputation with them, they most likely won't give much, if anything, in exchange. Even at minimum reputation, as Artificer, Scavengers drop items in 'trade'; this does not affect reputation and they still attempt to kill Artificer with traded spears.

Reputation increase increases with the value of the item traded, and at tolls there is a set reputation multiplier for each traded item. Items dropped by Scavengers may be re-traded for reputation.

SPOILER WARNING: Hunter
This section contains major plot details from Hunter. If you have not made significant progress or completed the game as Hunter, then read no further!

Friendly Scavengers occasionally steal spears from Hunter's back. This may be seen as theft, but Scavengers can often be observed sharing their equipment, which could be considered trading between them. They do this only if they do not already have a Spear, so willingly giving up Spears to arm them or avoiding those without any is advised.

Note that this can be disabled via a Remix option.

Spoilers end here.

A Scavenger Merchant in Shaded Citadel

Below is a table displaying tradable items and their value. If an item is not on this table, scavengers are not interested in receiving the item when trading, but may still pick it up when they find one.

* Only valued if intact.
† Value equal to the number of bites left.
‡ Only valued if the Scavenger has an empty inventory space to take it.
§ 2 in Farm Arrays.

Scavenger Merchant

Scavenger Merchants are Scavengers with unique behaviors that can be found in Garbage Wastes, Shaded Citadel, Sky Islands, or Subterranean, in special rooms decorated with Scavenger graffiti and Lanterns on long pikes. Merchants usually stay inside this room unless scared away by a predator, or the player if Scavenger reputation is too low. They are capable of fighting back if not able to get away. Scavenger Merchants usually are fully stocked with Lanterns (other than in Sky Islands), Mushrooms, Grenades, and most commonly, Spears or Explosive spears. They are also more docile and more willing to trade. Scavenger Merchants still value items equally to regular Scavengers, however. As with other Scavengers, Merchants trade more items at higher reputation.

Once their current inventory is cleared out, Scavenger Merchants return to their den to restock, meaning they never run out of items to trade.

Scavenger Treasury

Scavenger Treasuries are rooms, often with hidden entrances surrounded by Scavenger graffiti, that contain a large amount of Spears, Explosives, Pearls and occasionally other items like Lanterns that randomly spawn each cycle. These are the only rooms with naturally respawning Pearls. Nomadic groups of Scavengers often visit these rooms to stock up on Spears and Explosives. Taking items from these rooms, unless reputation is already sufficiently high, incurs a reputation penalty - even if no Scavenger is around to witness it, though the reputation loss is multiplied by the number of witnesses. However, stealing Pearls from Treasuries and trading them back to Scavengers can be an efficient way of gaining reputation as Pearls are worth slightly more than the reputation penalty (assuming there are no witnesses).

Scavenger Tolls

Scavengers asking for payment, then dropping spears and waving slugcat through the toll after payment is given.

Scavenger Tolls (known as ScavengerOutpost in the code) are rooms in which a group of Scavengers has set up base around a toll post. A sufficiently valuable gift(s) is required before passage through the Toll is allowed. Any item traded at a toll has a reputation increase multiplier on its trading value. When attempting to pass without payment, Scavengers immediately become aggressive, and a reputation is decreased. If no Scavengers witness the transgression due to hiding from The Rain then no reputation penalty is incurred. Taking items from within a certain radius around the toll post is considered stealing and may also aggravate the Scavengers. Toll Scavengers are always neutral towards Slugcats (except Artificer, who they are always aggressive towards), regardless of current standing, unless provoked.

It should be noted that paying the toll once is enough to be allowed to pass freely as many times as wanted until the end of cycle.

If reputation is high enough (≥50), any Scavenger Toll can be passed for free without being attacked, at a small cost to global reputation. At the highest levels of Scavenger reputation (≥90), any Scavenger Toll can be passed for free without any reputation loss.

Whilst the tutorial given in Garbage Wastes recommends using a Pearl as payment, any items on the table of things scavengers like can be gifted as long as the cumulative trading value adds up to 10, making it possible to pass Tolls by even just trading Spears - Pearls just happen to be a convenient currency due to being worth exactly that.

Toll radius, property radius, danger radius, and gift radius

Around a Toll, several radii are calculated and determine how Scavengers consider objects lying in the room.

• Within a "property radius", which corresponds to the Toll radius plus 200 pixels, all spears belong to the Scavengers, and taking one of them is considered as theft.
  • However, it is still permitted if the creature the Scavengers consider as the most threatening is within a 400-pixel "danger radius" of any Scavenger or the Slugcat itself, in order to allow helping and self-defense.
• Within a "gift radius", which corresponds to the Toll radius plus 700 pixels, all objects given by the Slugcat count as payment of the toll.
  • However, any object the Slugcat was already holding when entering the room always counts as payment, regardless of the distance.

Two Tolls can be found in Garbage Wastes, and one in Outskirts, Farm Arrays, Outer Expanse, and Undergrowth.

Tips

Pacifism

Scavengers can be very useful allies, and as such it is highly recommended to, at minimum, remain neutral, or get on their good side. Scavengers mostly leave Slugcat alone with neutral or good rep, meaning they most likely do not pose a threat, and can be actively beneficial once they like Slugcat enough to start forming groups to escort them around. However, this can also be a disadvantage, as friendly groups of scavengers often throw Explosives or Spears at threats, which can accidentally hinder or even kill the player.

Whenever neutral or unfriendly Scavengers are encountered, it's a good idea to crouch on the ground and drop any weapons. This indicates that no threat is being posed to them, and giving up the Spears increases reputation with them. Moving around too much and throwing Rubbish and Spears needlessly may agitate them, potentially spurring them to become fully aggressive.

Because every Scavenger has a different personality and is more or less predisposed to aggression, even if Slugcat has never lost reputation with Scavengers, there may be one who attempts to kill them regardless. Care must be taken to observe their body language, or simply avoid them altogether in regions where death is particularly punishing.

Gourmand can use their crafting ability to make valuable items to give to Scavengers, making it very easy to befriend them.

Due to the ability to generate an infinite number of spears to trade with scavengers, it is very easy to befriend them as Spearmaster as well.

Combat

Taking the offensive against the Scavengers is harder than it seems - whilst Scavengers do not have very much health, the majority are carrying at least a grenade and likely at least one explosive spear, they have overwhelming numbers, more freedom with aiming and may also attack from off-screen. In addition to this, attacking them decreases reputation with them sharply, causing them to become more aggressive, thus, unless given no other choice, it is generally recommended to avoid fighting Scavengers. In the case of Tolls, Explosives are very often scattered around them, therefore if attempting to pass a Toll through hostile means it's recommended to use another Explosive or Cherrybomb to set off a chain reaction from a distance, and then pick off any remaining Scavengers with Spears.

Scavengers typically take 1-2 spears to kill, but a single headshot from a spear or Joke Rifle's rubbish bullet kills them instantly. Scavengers typically enter a bleed-out state with body shots, meaning it won't die instantly but rather over time.

Additionally, in Downpour, as Hunter, Artificer, and Spearmaster, Scavengers can be found alongside Elite Scavengers, which even alone are difficult to take down. They have uniquely shaped Vulture Masks, large amounts of powerful Spears, even more freedom with aiming, and the ability to leap to maneuver or evade attacks. Taking Elite Scavengers down quickly evens the playing field and also grant the Slugcat their powerful weaponry to fight back with. This includes unique Electric Spears and the very rare Singularity Bomb.

Artificer also has a variety of tools to make their constant fights with Scavengers easier. Along with the Explosives they can create and use from a distance; they can also produce a shockwave around themselves by performing their explosive jump while holding Down. This can quickly stun and disarm nearby Scavengers, allowing Slugcat to steal their Spears and kill them by spearing or Mauling (holding Grab while grasping a stunned creature). However, since producing this shockwave causes Artificer to overheat twice as fast as a normal explosive jump, it's best to use it sparingly in fights. When in a dire situation, a Grenade can be used to kill anything in close quarters, but the long stun duration makes Artificer an easy target for Scavengers unaffected by the blast.

Artificer can also use their explosive jump to for positional advantage over Scavengers. Since Scavengers cannot throw Spears upwards, explosive jumping above them and throwing Explosives down at them is a very effective strategy that can make them panic and scatter and may wound or kill several or at least stun them so they drop their weapons.

Stealth

Scavengers tend to rely on noise and sight to find their foes, gaining a height advantage and hiding in pipes can help in avoiding detection. Hitting walls with Rubbish or Spears and colliding with geometry produces detectable noises. In Downpour, Artificer's explosive jump also produces noise, alerting Scavengers to the player's presence.

Scavenger Tolls are often designed to be chokepoints with little room to sneak past. Waiting for the Rain to arrive makes Scavengers retreat to their dens, allowing an opportunity for the Slugcat to pass the Scavenger Toll without a reputation penalty.

Flashbangs are capable of blinding Scavengers, preventing them from attacking unless touched.

Scavengers in kill squads that are after the Slugcat are aware of the location they were last in, making avoiding them harder.

Evasion

Like stealth and combat, it's hard to outright evade Scavengers as they are meant to be evenly matched with the player in nearly every way, and moving around quickly agitates them - attempting to just run past them nearly always results in them becoming aggravated. Scavengers typically won't give much chase (unless reputation is incredibly low) but may catch up later on in the cycle as they move through the region. Therefore, the best way to evade Scavengers is to lure a bigger, more dangerous creature over to distract, scatter and take them out - they usually prioritize attacking the larger threat. Vulture Grubs, when available, can be very useful when dealing with exterior room Scavenger Tolls.

Another option is to utilize nearby poles and upwards platforms, as Scavengers cannot directly harm Slugcat if they are above them.

Bugs & Exploits

• In the Outskirts Toll (SU_C02), when entering from the Farm Arrays side, exiting the room again through the left pipe before paying counts as a transgression and causes the Toll Scavengers to become aggressive.

• When paying for Tolls, the payment that lets the player pass grants additional reputation on top of the original value of the item. However, this effect can be triggered multiple times, making it easy to grind up reputation if there's enough tradeable items around.

Decals

Scavengers mark all rooms in which they live with various types of graffiti and markings. Though they are never seen in-game doing so, they paint the walls with blue and white symbols, which serve either as decoration, communication or signs. Notably, they may represent the locations of Scavengers themselves or their hidden caves, of Rain Deer, or of Echoes. Apart from the last two cases, which are very situational, Scavengers' decals appear mostly in Garbage Wastes or next to it, as it is the territory of the largest Scavenger population.

Interestingly, Scavengers appear to have some knowledge of Ancient culture, as the glyph (representing companionship) is featured on Scavenger Toll posts and around their territory. Whether this is due to them finding relics featuring the glyph and adopting it, or a result of generational knowledge being handed down, is unknown.

Every Echo except the one in Subterranean has a marking near their location.

• 

  The companionship glyph representing Scavengers, used in Industrial Complex outside the gate to Garbage Wastes.

• 

  The companionship glyph in Looks to the Moon's chamber. The second glyph is unique and unnamed.

• 

  An arrow mark, indicating a hidden Treasury in Garbage Wastes.

• 

  A sign representing a Rain Deer, used on the Farm Arrays side of the gate to Outskirts.

• 

  A sign representing an Echo, used in the Echo room in Sky Islands.

• 

  Marks covering a Treasury in Garbage Wastes.

Trivia

• Scavengers are one of the 10 backer-created creatures.
• Originally, Scavengers were intended to be able to glide, but this feature was later scrapped due to issues with pathfinding.
• Scavengers throw Spears at Overseers out of defiance, destroying that particular Overseer for that cycle if it hits and dropping an Overseer Eye, which can be then used for trade.
  • They also attack Inspectors in the same manner, though often at the cost of their own lives.
• Scavengers have three slots for holding items (two hands and a "pocket slot" on their side) and can hold up to three extra spears on their back.
• Scavengers have "off-screen" spawns, and spawn in a different room at the start of each cycle before doing their patrols through the region.
  • Exceptions to rotation of spawn locations are Merchant and Toll Scavengers, who always spawn in their respective rooms.
• Garbage Wastes has the highest number of Scavenger spawns, at 26 on all difficulties.
  • The high number of Pearls that end up in Garbage Wastes may play a part in attracting them.
• It's unknown why Scavengers value Pearls, but they seem unaware of the data stored on them, being unable to tell the difference between a Pearl that does and a Pearl that doesn't have any.
• According to the code, some effects of personality modifiers do not work as intended.
  • Very high and very low dominance values are meant to make Scavengers more likely to be Merchants. However, Merchant selection is completely random in practice.
  • Energy is meant to make Scavengers narrow their field of vision for longer or shorter depending on value when first spotting a creature. However, Scavengers always have their vision maximally narrowed in practice.
• Scavengers in Safari Mode can pick up and throw Looks to the Moon and Five Pebbles as if they are Spears, and can even bring them outside their cans.
• When Scavengers are blinded, their eyes turn gray, and they blink rapidly.
• Like other Slugcat-sized creatures, Scavengers' corpses can boost the player's speed in tunnels when held.

SPOILER WARNING: Artificer
This section contains major plot details from Artificer. If you have not made significant progress or completed the game as Artificer, then read no further!

• There exists a Scavenger King, seen inside of Metropolis, which Artificer kills in their campaign, along with countless other Scavengers, on Five Pebbles' behalf.
  • This presumably explains why Elite Scavengers aren't present in campaigns past the Hunter's, as with the death of their king, the Scavengers would slowly begin to lose the resources necessary to have such heavily equipped soldiers.

Spoilers end here.

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