Cannibals in The Forest: Types and How to Defend
The files hold 8 regular cannibal types, with 52 health on Normal for a male cannibal and 70 for a pale one. The first group is asked for from day 0, and the game's own hint says lit effigies scare enemies away from your camp.
- Cannibal types8regular tribe, not mutants
- First dayDay 0Normal
- Male cannibal5291 on Hard
- Defences9traps, walls, effigies
These five steps go from who you will meet, through where and when, to killing, defending and hiding. The four creepy mutants have their own mutants guide.
On this page
The 5 steps at a glance
- Know the types. Health and damage of all 8.
- Know where and when. Zones on the map, first day of each group.
- Kill them. Hits per weapon, and the sleeping rule.
- Defend the camp. Spikes, traps, effigies: cost and strength.
- Hide instead. Mud and bushes, from the game's own hints.
Step 1: Know the types
The game's type names split the enemy list into 8 regular types and four creepy ones. The files carry no English names, so the labels here are built from the type ids. Health is shown as Normal / Hard, contact damage is what a hit takes off you before armour.
| Type | Health (Normal / Hard) | Damage (Normal / Hard) |
|---|---|---|
 Cannibal (male) | 52 / 91 | 20 / 40 |
| Cannibal (female) | 44 / 44 | 17 / 34 |
 Skinny cannibal | 43 / 64 | 13 / 26 |
| Skinny cannibal (female) | 38 / 57 | 13 / 26 |
 Hunched pale cannibal | 35–70 / 78–122 | 10 / 20 |
 Pale cannibal | 70 / 122 | 22 / 36 |
 Fireman cannibal | 52 / 52 | 12 / 24 |
 Dynamite cannibal | 52 / 52 | 12 / 24 |
Painted and skin-mask tribes
From day 25 the spawn manager also asks for painted and skinned cannibals. A painted male has 129 health on Normal (165 on Hard) and hits for 25 / 56, against 52 for a plain male. The enemies hub lists the variants.
Step 2: Know where and when
Surface cannibals are not placed one by one. The map has 5 cannibal villages, 36 cannibal huts and beach houses, 17 mutant encounter zones; the fixed spawners in caves are listed on each enemy page.
The spawn manager picks a handler from the day count and writes how many of each group it wants alive near you. This is the first day each group is asked for.
| Group | First day (Normal) | First day (Hard) |
|---|---|---|
| Skinny | Day 0 | Day 0 |
| Regular | Day 1 | Day 0 |
| Hunched pale (skinny pale) | Day 5 | Day 5 |
| Pale (large pale) | Day 6 | Day 6 |
| Painted | Day 25 | Day 25 |
| Skinned (mask) | Day 25 | Day 25 |
Pro tip
Cannibals are asked for from day 0, so build the camp early. The strongest structures guide ranks the walls by stored strength.
Step 3: Kill them
Hits to kill on Normal (swings, then Hard in brackets) against three common types. A melee weapon's heavy hit does three times a swing; the formula leaves out strength, upgrades and armour.
| Weapon | Cannibal (male) | Skinny cannibal | Pale cannibal |
|---|---|---|---|
 Crafted Axe | 9 (16) | 8 (11) | 12 (21) |
 Club | 6 (11) | 5 (8) | 8 (14) |
 Katana | 9 (16) | 8 (11) | 12 (21) |
 Modern Axe | 7 (12) | 6 (8) | 9 (16) |
 Flintlock ammo | 2 (2) | 1 (2) | 2 (3) |
- A sleeping cannibal loses a flat 100 health whatever the weapon, so on Normal every regular type with up to 100 health dies to one blow while asleep.
- A knocked-down cannibal takes double damage.
- Fire helps. The game's loading hint: explosives and molotovs are effective against most enemies.
Every weapon
The full list, with heavy hits and Hard counts, is on each enemy page, for example the Cannibal (male) and the Pale cannibal.
Step 4: Defend the camp
The structure list has nine pieces worth knowing against cannibals. The files give what each costs and the health stored on it. They do not say what a cannibal does when it meets one, so the only claim I can quote is the game's loading hint: lit effigies will scare enemies away from your camp.
| Structure | Cost | Stored health |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive Spikes | 9 Log | 1500 |
| Wall Defensive | 6 Log | 1000 |
| Deadfall Trap | 3 Log, 3 Stick | 200 |
| Noose Trap | 5 Log, 2 Stick, 1 Rope | 200 |
| Happy Birthday Trap | 4 Log, 20 Stick, 2 Rock, 2 Rope | 200 |
| Trip Wire Molotov | 3 Cloth, 1 Stick, 1 Booze | none stored |
| Trip Wire Explosive | 2 Cloth, 1 Stick, 1 Explosive | none stored |
| Small Effigy | 4 Stick, 3 Rock, 3 Head, 3 Arm, 2 Leg | 120 |
| Large Effigy | 10 Stick, 6 Rock, 9 Head, 9 Arm, 4 Leg | 120 |
About the health figure
It is the maximum health on the structure's prefab. The game's code may rescale it while you play, and that code was not decoded. The full list is on the structures page.
Step 5: Hide instead
Two of the game's loading hints are about not fighting at all: cover yourself in mud to hide from enemies; hide in bushes to escape from enemies. The files hold the hint text and nothing about how far it works, so treat them as the game's advice, not a measured rule.
What the files do not say
- Patrol routes and behaviour. Only the length of each attack move was read (mutant_male family); which attack a cannibal picks is set by code the files do not hold.
- What a defence does. Cost and stored health are in the files; the effect on a cannibal is not.
- Which health the Hunched pale cannibal gets. Two setters write it and which lands last was not decoded, so the page shows a range (35–70 on Normal).
Pages to keep open
Related pages
Sources
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