Fluffy-tailed Hog

The Fluffy-tailed Hog (a.k.a 'Hog'), is a hostile melee creature that the Pioneer can encounter while exploring. It will charge toward the player, dealing damage and knocking them back. It is among the most common creatures found in the game world.

Behavior
Hogs can be found almost anywhere in the world, aside from inside caves. They often spawn near resource nodes, Power Slugs, Mercer Spheres, Somersloops, or Crash Sites. They are often found in groups of two or three. When patrolling they make a guttural growling/squealing sound, making them easily identified. Rarely, a larger and deadlier variant called the Alpha Hog can be found. If a pioneer approaches a hog from the front, it will become aggressive, triggering any other nearby hogs to become aggressive as well. They will start attacking the Pioneer, focusing on the closest if the Pioneer is in a Multiplayer game. They will also sometimes begin circling the player at high speed. Hogs will become passive if their line of sight is broken, which is fairly easy to do if the player is in an area with ample trees or rocks. Hogs ignore all vehicles, even ones being driven by the player.

A hog attacks by charging and ramming the pioneer at a high speed. If a hog is attacked by a pioneer when it either hasn't targeted the pioneer or cannot reach them (e.g. while standing on a platform or flying with the), it will flee for a short while, then return to its spawn point. When killed they drop hog remains.

Movement Pattern
Hogs will turn and face the Pioneer and make a grunt noise, and sometimes will run a short distance before stopping for few seconds and starts its charging animation (by sliding its rear legs against the ground). It will then charge towards the Pioneer. If its attack is dodged, it will curve slightly behind the Pioneer and stops again, then starts over its charging attack.

Combat

 * Equip a weapon such as a or Xeno-Basher.
 * Running will decrease likelihood of contact with the hog. Press to toggle run. This setting can also be adjusted under Options->Controls.
 * When a hog detects that a pioneer is nearby, it will run towards the them, pause momentarily, then trigger its tackle attack by charging at a high speed. Hogs have a rear up animation before their standard charge.
 * In attack mode horizontal lines and a blur effect can be seen behind the hog, indicating that it is moving at a high speed.
 * Its attack can be completely dodged by getting out of its path of attack:
 * Moving sideways ( or )
 * Jumping
 * Moving backwards and sideways at the same time (( or )) while looking at the hog.


 * As it passes by, use your Xeno-Zapper to double attack with . Hogs stop running if hit, but will attempt to charge the player again.
 * If space is limited, like on a plateau or in a cave, run towards it before it charges, then have the hog charge straight at you and double attack as it gets close. If done right, it will stop the hog in it's charge and allow time to put distance between it before it charges again. Repeat it and it should go down. This tactic does carry more risk, but it will take out hogs faster and allow multiple hogs to be attacked at the same time.
 * When a hog misses its attack, it will run in a short curve before stopping, and prepare for the next attack.
 * Hogs no longer circle around the player.
 * It cannot turn around with a tight radius while it is sprinting. It can choose to pause momentarily and turn its body around.
 * A Hog's successful hit can knockback Pioneer and deals 10 damage (10% of Pioneer's HP). Fall damage can also be inflicted if the player is thrown onto lower ground or off a cliff edge.
 * As a hog has only 20 HP and each zap attack deals five damage, it can be killed with four zaps.
 * Multiple hogs can be hard to deal with; try to handle only one hog at a time. However, a Xeno Basher is able to deal damage to multiple Hogs at one swing.
 * It is possible to kill a hog without getting injured, but this requires some skill at first. Consider fleeing until gaining access to better weapons.
 * Hogs cannot be outrun. Escaping to higher ground or lower ground can prove useful. Try jumping on top of a small rock or building stackable Conveyor Poles to gain an easy height advantage.
 * Try to avoid fighting hogs when your health is very low. Using healing items such as Beryl Nuts or Paleberries can help regenerate additional segments.

Trivia

 * A Fluffy-tailed Hog is referred to as Phacochoerus Plumeus Cauda in-game by ADA.
 * It is a creature first seen in the E3 Trailer.
 * Pre-Alpha Hogs did not feature the additional VFX when running, did not encircle the player when running, and were not as hostile.
 * On April 1, 2021, the April Fools Special Event was introduced. This event was repeated on April 1, 2022.  During both events the Fluffy-tail Hog appearing as a Walker.
 * Hogs may occasionally spawn with a Jetpack. They will suicide bomb at the player, killing the player on impact and themselves regardless. They will drop their jetpack if dying this way. This hog is referred to in the code as "Johnny".
 * Johnny 'The Jetpack' Hog was coded by Lym after a meeting about creatures derailed into joking about Hogs being countered by Jetpacks.

History

 * Patch 0.6.0.10: Updated behaviors
 * Patch 0.6.0.0:
 * The Creature AI system, navigation, and spawning have been overhauled
 * Creatures now have separate visual and audio perception (and they won’t hear you crouch)
 * Creatures can now panic and run when certain conditions are met
 * Added unique loot for all aggressive wildlife (see Alien Remains - Hog Remains)
 * Added optional HUD indicators for aggressive wildlife (can be turned on in the options menu)
 * Both Hogs no longer circle around the player
 * Hogs now have a rear up animation before their standard charge
 * Added a chance to spawn with a Jetpack as an easter egg
 * Patch 0.4.0.7: April Fools 2021 Temporary Change - Fluffy-Tail Hogs made to look like the Walker
 * Patch 2018-10-17: Introduced