Choose your path
One world. Two very different ways to survive it.
Choose your species
Use the Tide Altar for ocean or the Ember Altar for gila. You start at stage 1 with a half form. New characters can choose only one species.
Ocean beast
An aquatic kaiju with a charged beam, heavy swipes, and a walking stomp at larger stages. Its back frills grow with it.
Gila
A burrowing kaiju with a venomous bite, spreading fire, wall climbing, and a powerful dash. Its pointed tusks grow with it.
Human, half form, and full form
Press V to toggle your half form. Once full transformation is unlocked, hold G for five seconds to change into or out of your full beast form. Open H for growth progress and appearance settings.
Gila appearance controls include two skin colours and a separate teeth/tusk colour. The skin pattern blends around your chosen colours.
Grow from stage 1 to 11
| Milestone | What to do |
|---|---|
| Stage 1 → 2 | Defeat 10 human Townsfolk from the mod while in half form. This unlocks the full beast body. Cultists and ordinary vanilla villagers do not count. |
| Stage 2 onward | While fully transformed, defeat a full kaiju at least as grown as you. Smaller beasts and half-form residents do not count. |
| Before stage 5 | Break a hamlet’s village heart. |
| Before stage 8 | Break a town’s village heart. |
| Before stage 11 | Break a city’s village heart. |
Breaking a required heart opens the next growth gate; you still need a qualifying kaiju kill. You can take the heart before reaching its gate. Waiting alone does not make you grow.
Ocean abilities
- Beam: hold B through the charge. Releasing too early cancels it. Larger stages bring a more dangerous attack and longer recharge.
- Swipe: use your attack button in full form.
- Walking stomp: from stage 6, walking on the ground can damage nearby enemies. Standing still does not repeatedly stomp them.
- Water: the full ocean form can breathe underwater and swim well. Fight near water when you can.
Gila abilities
- Bite: use your attack button. The bite applies venom, and other gilas can be poisoned too.
- Dig: hold right-click to bore forward. Add Sneak to dig down or Jump to dig up. Digging uses energy and cannot bypass every fortified block. Opening water can flood your tunnel.
- Climb: hold Jump while pushing into a wall.
- Dash: tap Sprint to propel yourself, even in the air. Recharge: 60 seconds.
- Fire: hold B in full form and stay near the spot where you started. The fire ring grows while you channel, for up to 12 seconds. Moving away, climbing, or dashing ends it. A damaging hit alone does not automatically interrupt it.
Gila fire gets wider as you grow, reaching a 5-block radius at stage 2 and 14 blocks at stage 11. Its default recharge grows from about 30 to 55 seconds and begins when the channel ends. It can ignite wood and spread through flammable builds under normal fire-spread rules. Creatures it burns can suffer the stronger, 20-second Gila Burn.
Stay fed
Half and full beast forms use a beast energy bar instead of eating ordinary food. Ocean beasts feed near radioactive bloom; gilas feed in source lava. Taking a village heart or an unguarded rival altar gives a full meal. You can return to human form to eat normal food.
Ocean and gila are opposing species. Your own domain residents are friendly to you. Wild beasts of the same species can still fight similarly grown rivals.
Swear the oath
Bring either reptilian eye to a Hunter King and accept the trade for a Scale Chestplate. Taking the trade makes you a hunter. You cannot later unlock a beast form through an altar.
Earn your rank
Press H to check your next trial. Complete it, then return to a Hunter King for promotion and gear.
| Rank | Trial | New equipment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Sworn | Trade an eye to a Hunter King. | Scale Chestplate |
| 2 · Blooded | Kill a kaiju. | Scale Boots, Leggings, and Crossbow |
| 3 · Warden | Help defeat a village raid: hit a raider and be inside the walls when the raid is beaten. | Scale Spear |
| 4 · Slayer | Kill a kaiju at stage 6 or higher. | Scale Shield and Helmet |
| 5 · King | Kill a kaiju at stage 8 or higher while it is raiding a village. | Scale gear crafting and access to the Lance |
Fight with speed
Tap Sprint to dash in the direction you are looking. It works on the ground or in the air, recharges in two seconds, and gets stronger as you rank up. NPC hunters can dash during combat too.
Your scale crossbow draws its power from your worn scale armour. Wear a Scale Chestplate to fire it. Better equipment improves its damage and recharge.
Call reinforcements
From rank 2, press X to summon your levy. They stay for five minutes, and the ability recharges in 20 minutes at normal game speed.
| Rank without active eyes | Troops |
|---|---|
| 2 · Blooded | 3 hunters |
| 3 · Warden | 5 hunters |
| 4 · Slayer | 3 hunters, 3 honour guards, 1 golem |
| 5 · King | 5 hunters, 3 honour guards, 2 golems |
Each active borrowed eye lowers your effective rank for this troop table by one. If that puts you below rank 2, you cannot summon a levy. This does not lower your actual hunter rank. Your summoned troops remain loyal even with both eyes active.
Borrow a beast’s power
Hunters can consume an ocean eye, a gila eye, or one of each. The powers give elemental protection and add an effect to successful melee and ranged attacks. They also change how human garrisons treat you.
Read the eye guide →Replace lost gear
Speak to a Hunter King to reclaim earned rank equipment you are missing. To make a Lance, bring a Scale Crossbow and Scale Spear to a Hunter King; both are used in the forging. You need King rank to use the Lance.