Cave Leech
| “ | The Cave Leech is the reason for the long-running informational campaign across all DRG Space Rigs "Look Out, Look Up". It is an immobile, tentacled sack of grease found suspended from secluded ceilings within particularly dark caves, just waiting for anything meaty and unaware to walk past and become an unsuspecting snack. As Ranger Garfax says, says, and says again: "LOOK OUT. LOOK UP." |
| — Miner's Manual Description |
The Cave Leech is hostile creature found on Hoxxes. It can be found in every region of the planet. It appears as a pink, fleshy half-sphere attached to a small crevice in the ceiling, with three small sharp-clawed tentacles for tearing captured prey apart, and one larger central clawed tentacle meant for reaching down and gripping potential prey. The central tentacle has a small bioluminescent bulb in the middle that is visible when reaching down to grab a Dwarf.
Combat
Cave Leeches generate with the cave while loading a mission, and do not respawn once killed. They generally spawn at a low rate, but their spawn rate is greatly increased by the Cave Leech Cluster warning.
The central tentacle counts as part of the Cave Leech's hitbox, and can be damaged at any time.
Health and Armor
| Effective
Health Scaling |
Hazard Level | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Mission | 
|
DD | EDD | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | TE 1
|
TE 2
|
3 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 5.5 | ||||
| Player Count |  to 
|
70 | 100 | 110 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 159.6 | 110 | 110 | 120 | 120 | 120 | ||
Attacks
The Cave Leech's only attack is the Tentacle Snatch, which is a grab attack. When a dwarf enters a Cave Leech's range, the central tentacle will extend towards the target at a moderate pace. The tentacle's range forms a cylinder which extends downward indefinitely, with 10m radius. The attack can be stalled by attacking the claw or the base of the leech. The Cave Leech emits a distinct hissing sound while trying to grab a target, but the sound is centered on the main body of the leech, which can cause it to be inaudible if the ceiling is high above the player. When the claw feels/touches a player, it instantly grabs them and quickly lifts them towards the ceiling.
While grabbed, the player's camera switches to a third person view, and the player is unable to move or use tools and weapons. Pressing the [SHOUT] key ("X" by default) will play a special voiceline to alert teammates, and command Bosco to attack the leech. After the player is lifted up to its main body, the Cave Leech will begin to use its smaller tentacles to deal short bursts of heavy damage. Unlike a Mactera Grabber, Cave Leeches will not release their target until either the Cave Leech is killed or their target is downed.
When either the player or the Cave Leech is dead, the Cave Leech will lower the player back down toward the ground, often far enough to cause no Fall Damage, before releasing the player. However, this lowering distance is limited, making it possible for very high Cave Leeches to release players in mid-air at a lethal height. There is a 10 second grace period after a player is revived, during which Cave Leeches will not grab them.
If a Cave Leech dies while its targeted player is in mid-air, the tentacle instantly teleports to the player and lowers them to the ground, even if the Cave Leech had not yet grabbed the player. While this behavior can be used intentionally as a method of avoiding fall damage, it is almost certainly a bug.
| DoT | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damage per Tick | Hazard Level | ||||||||||||||
| Normal Mission | 
|
DD | EDD | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | PV 1 | PV 2 | 3 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 5.5 | ||||
| Player Count |
|
5 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 28 | 42 | 56 | 12 | 15 | 23 | 28 | 30 | ||
|
5 | 8 | 13 | 21.5 | 30 | 45 | 60 | 13 | 16 | 24.5 | 30 | 32 | |||
|
5 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 32 | 48 | 64 | 14 | 17 | 26 | 32 | 34 | |||
|
|
5 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 34 | 51 | 68 | 15 | 18 | 28 | 34 | 36 | |||
| Details | |||||||||||||||
| Damage Type | Typeless | ||||||||||||||
| Interval | 1 s | ||||||||||||||
Unlike most sources of damage, this attack does not prevent or reset the regeneration of the player's personal shield.
Gallery
Cave Leech's early appearance- Cave Leech chittering
- Cave Leech hissing while reaching for player
- Cave Leech grabbing player
Tentacle Snatch
Player caught in a Cave Leech's grasp
Trivia
- Cave Leeches resemble Barnacles fromHalf-Life series. The Cave Leech's internal name also used to be "Barnacle".
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