Mutants in The Forest: Types and How to Beat Them
The files hold 12 enemy types, 4 of them mutants. The ones to prepare for are Armsy (200 health on Normal, 300 on Hard) and Virginia (175 / 262). The first creepy mutant is asked for on day 7, at night.
- Enemy types128 regular, 4 mutants
- First mutantDay 7Normal, night
- Armsy health200300 on Hard
- Fewest hits4Flintlock ammo vs Armsy, Normal
These five steps go from what you will meet, through when it arrives, to what kills it. Every number is read from the files; the advice that is not (fire, traps) is marked as the game's own hint or as a player's.
On this page
The 5 steps at a glance
Steps 1 and 2 tell you what comes and when. Steps 3 to 5 tell you how to kill it.
- Know the two families. Regular cannibals and 4 mutants.
- Know the day. When each group shows up.
- Learn the four mutants. Health, damage, where they live.
- Pick the weapon. Hits to kill Armsy, by weapon.
- Use the fight rules. Sleeping, knocked down, headshots, poison.
Step 1: Know the two families
The game's own type names split the 12 types into 8 regular ones (cannibals, skinny, pale, fireman and dynamite) and 4 creepy ones (Armsy, Virginia, the mutant baby and the fat mutant). The files carry no English names for any of them; the labels on this site are built from the type ids, and "Armsy" is the only enemy word in the game's text (a tape labelled "armsy breakout").
Health is shown as Normal / Hard. Hard and Hard Survival count the same in the code. Contact damage is what a hit hands to 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 a painted tribe and a skinned (mask) tribe. The files give a painted male 129 health on Normal against 52 for a plain one; the tribe variants are on the enemies page.
Step 2: Know the day
The spawn manager picks a handler from the day count and writes how many of each group it wants alive near you. The table gives the first day each group is asked for and the most it ever asks for at once on Normal.
| Group | First day (Normal) | First day (Hard) | Most at once (Normal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skinny | Day 0 | Day 0 | 6 (Day 0) |
| Regular | Day 1 | Day 0 | 7 (Day 6) |
| Hunched pale (skinny pale) | Day 5 | Day 5 | 3 (Day 5) |
| Pale (large pale) | Day 6 | Day 6 | 3 (Day 7) |
| Creepy mutants | Day 7 | Day 7 | 2 (Day 9) |
| Painted | Day 25 | Day 25 | 4 (Day 25 and later) |
| Skinned (mask) | Day 25 | Day 25 | 3 (Day 25 and later) |
Pro tip
Have your defences up before day 7. Walls and traps are ranked on the strongest structures page, and the game's loading hint says lit effigies will scare enemies away from your camp.
Step 3: Learn the four mutants
Health is Normal / Hard. "Where" is how many spawners the files place in caves; the rest live on the surface.
| Mutant | Health | Damage | Cave spawns |
|---|---|---|---|
 Armsy | 200 / 300 | 30 / 45 | 13 |
 Virginia | 175 / 262 | 28 / 42 | 6 |
 Mutant baby | 5 / 5 | 26 / 52 | 106 |
 Fat mutant | 200 / 200 | not in the files | 4 |
- Armsy. 200 health in the main branch; the files also hold a weaker old-mutant branch and a pale one (200, 65, 250 on Normal). Armsy page.
- Virginia. 175 on Normal, 225 for the pale branch. Virginia page.
- Mutant baby. 5 health, so one hit from nearly anything. Mutant baby page.
- Fat mutant. 200 health from the prefab, no contact-damage line: it hits by charging, and the files give a charge radius and power instead.
Step 4: Pick the weapon
The three best ranged options and the three best melee weapons by heavy hits, against Armsy. A melee weapon's heavy hit does three times its normal swing. The chainsaw is halved against Armsy, Virginia and the fat mutant by the game's code, which is why it is not first.
| Weapon | Damage per hit | Hits (Normal) | Hits (Hard) | Heavy hits (Normal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Flintlock ammo | 50 | 4 | 6 | — |
 Thrown Upgraded Spear | 40 | 5 | 8 | — |
 Arrow (ArrowModern prefab) | 35 | 6 | 9 | — |
 Club | 9 | 23 | 34 | 8 |
 Modern Axe | 8 | 25 | 38 | 9 |
 Crafted Club | 8 | 25 | 38 | 9 |
Pro tip
Virginia has less health than Armsy, so the same list works for her with fewer hits: see the Virginia page for every weapon. The full ranking of weapons is on best weapons; the Flintlock's 50 per shot is the biggest hit in the files.
Step 5: Use the fight rules
These come from the game's code, as read in the files, not from player lore:
- Sleeping enemies take a flat 100. A hit on a cannibal whose sleep flag is set costs it 100 health whatever the weapon, so a sleeping cannibal with less than 100 health (a regular male has 52) dies to one blow.
- Knocked-down cannibals take double damage. The code doubles damage when the animator's "death" flag is set, which is the state after a knock-down.
- A head hit multiplies a projectile by 20 (arrows and thrown spears). Aim high.
- Poison cuts their damage. An attacker that is poisoned deals its damage divided by 1.6.
- Mutants ignore the double. Creepy types and the boss take the plain damage, with no multiplier.
- The game's own hints: cover yourself in mud to hide from enemies; hide in bushes to escape from enemies; explosives and molotovs are effective against most enemies.
Common mistakes
Fighting Armsy in the open with a stick: Armsy has 200 health. Counting on the chainsaw against mutants: the code halves it. Trusting a Normal hit count on Hard: a male cannibal goes from 52 to 91 health.
What the files do not say
- Attack patterns. Only the attack timings of the state machine were read (0.5 to 2 seconds for the regular family); which attack an enemy picks is set by code the files do not hold.
- Fire and trap damage. This guide has no per-enemy number for a molotov burn or a trap, so it does not rank them; the loading hint above is the only word the files give.
- 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).
All 12 types
Every type with its health and damage on both difficulties.
Open all 12 types
| Type | Health (Normal) | Health (Hard) | Damage (Normal) | Damage (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 |
| Armsy | 200 | 300 | 30 | 45 |
| Virginia | 175 | 262 | 28 | 42 |
| Mutant baby | 5 | 5 | 26 | 52 |
| Fat mutant | 200 | 200 | — | — |
Pages to keep open
Related pages
Sources
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