Fluffy-tailed Hog

The Fluffy-tailed Hog (a.k.a 'Hog'), is a hostile melee creature that the Pioneer can encounter while exploring. It attacks by charging like a bull, dealing damage with a knockback effect. 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 character in a Multiplayer game. Hogs will become passive if their line of sight is broken, which is fairly easy to do if there are ample trees or rocks. Hogs ignore all vehicles, even ones being driven by the player. They will disregard most other living creatures, but will engage in combat with Stingers, particularly large ones, if the latter enter their aggro range. Due to the disparity in HP and damage, this very seldom works out in favor of the Hogs.

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. A Hog will flee in the same way if it encounters any source of Poison Gas. When killed they drop Hog Remains.

Movement Pattern
Hogs will turn and face the Pioneer and bellow loudly, and sometimes will run a short distance before stopping for few seconds, during which they will stamp their front legs, brace their rear legs and bellow. They will then charge towards the Pioneer. A Hog's charge stops dead with a head-toss animation if it finds its target: if it misses, it will continue running in a narrow circle before stopping to initiate another change. If the Pioneer is at extremely close range, a Hog can perform its head-toss animation with a short lunge rather than requiring a full sprint.

Jetpack Hog
It is possible for any Fluffy-Tailed Hog or Alpha Hog to be replaced by a special variant equipped with a Jetpack: the game appears to randomly assign this status to one Hog in the world on game load (saving and loading will therefore not preserve which one it is) and repeat this process any time the current Jetpack Hog is killed. Having a Jetpack does not change the Hog's idle behavior, but totally alters its attacks: instead of a normal ground-based bull-rush, a Jetpack Hog will briefly pause to wind up its Jetpack and then launch into a spinning leap towards the Pioneer's location, with similar initiation range and target leading to the leap of a large Stinger.

The Hog explodes on impact with any solid object or after a set period of time in the air, killing it and dealing enough damage to instantly kill the Pioneer even at full health with a direct hit, with significant splash damage. Jetpack Hogs are the only variant that do not drop Hog Remains on death, instead only dropping an empty Jetpack.

Combat

 * As a melee-only creature it is best to deal with a Hog using ranged weaponry, with the Rebar Gun, Rifle and Nobelisk all being ideal for this. It is however more than possible to defeat a Hog with movement skills and the Xeno-Zapper or Xeno-Basher.
 * Hogs are rarely encountered alone and some areas feature groups of a half-dozen or more which can easily surround and overwhelm an unwary Pioneer. While the Xeno-Basher is able to hit multiple Hogs at a time, this can still be dangerous.
 * Running or circle-strafing will decrease the likelihood of contact with the Hog. Press to toggle run. This setting can also be adjusted under Options->Controls. However, Hogs run faster than the Pioneer's default movement speed, and so cannot be outrun without Blade Runners. 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.
 * When a Hog detects that a Pioneer is nearby, it will run towards them, pause momentarily, then trigger its tackle attack by charging at a high speed. Hogs have a rear-up animation before their standard charge.
 * A Hog's charge can easily be sidestepped or even jumped over with proper timing. Since the Hog cannot instantly stop its charge, it is quite possible to stand at the edge of a cliff, evade the charge and have the Hog fall to its death. The creature has a distinctive squeal sound if it falls while charging, and can die from fall damage just as the Pioneer can.
 * Hogs are also not immune to Poison Gas, and if the Pioneer has a Gas Mask they can easily be goaded into entering the radius of a Poison Pillar or Spore Flower. Its 20 Health means it will be killed by Poison Gas in only 4 seconds..
 * As it passes by, use the Xeno-Zapper to double attack with . Hogs stop running if hit, but will attempt to charge again. As a Hog has only 20 HP and each zap attack deals five damage, it can be killed with four zaps.
 * Since Hogs will run straight towards the Pioneer, quickly placing a Nobelisk in their path is highly effective with the proper timing.
 * If space is limited, like on a plateau or in a cave, run towards it before it charges, then have the hog charge and double attack as it gets close. If done right, it will stop the hog's charge and allow time to retreat 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. A Hog cannot turn around quickly while sprinting, but can turn on the spot when stationary.
 * A successful hit deals 10 damage (10% of Pioneer's HP) and knocks the Pioneer back. This can inflict additional fall damage if the Pioneer is knocked off a ledge or similar. As the Pioneer has already been dealt damage, a long fall can result in instant death.

Trivia

 * The Fluffy-tailed Hog is referred to with the Latin species name Phacochoerus Plumeus Cauda (lit. "warthog feathered tail") 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 circle the Pioneer 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.
 * The Jetpack 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