Cactus Budling

Internal Name : Cactus Budling

Enemy Type : Outside

Faction : Nature

Rarity : Uncommon

Health : 10

Damage : 20 (Cactus), 50 (Rolling)

Power Level : 2

Max Count : 1

Favorite Moons : Offense, Assurance

Config : Cactus Budling Options

General Description

While smaller than its other giant counterparts, its a big nuisance for any scrap collector. It wanders the harsh climate of the desert moons in search of food. Its lopsided body is adorned by protruding cacti and pink flowers. It has big hollowed eyes and a very small mouth compared to the other giants. One of its arms is disproportionately oversized compared to the other, this massive arm is used to root and to dig into the soil.

Even in youth, its skin appears to be aged decades, a consequence of the scorching heat. Goddamn the sun.

Gameplay

When a Cactus budling spawns, it will wander and find a spot to root itself. Upon selecting a spot, it will thrust its largest arm into the soil and begin pulsating, spreading roots to deploy its cacti. During its rooting phase, it can summon cacti around players whether they are inside or outside the facility. These cacti deal damage and break upon being touched. They can also be broken by any damage source. After sprouting a few cacti, it will unroot and wander to another rooting spot, restarting the cycle. If threatened, it will roll away, dealing damage to any player in its way. They can also be targeted and eaten by Redwood titans.

Lore

A member of the giant family, it shares many similarities with the other giants. Notably a wood like or plant like appearance and a childish intellect. Its intellect being akin to that of a newborn. Its senses are poorly developed, having no known eyes, ears or sense of smell. That being said, it relies heavily on vibrations and spreading out its roots across a vast area. It uses this method to feed, capturing small prey and plants inside its cacti, digesting it for nutrients. However it has a tendency to mistake employees for food. Its lifecycle is unknown, as its aging is extremely slow due to its environment forcing a slower metabolism. Its body is a giant reservoir of water leeched from its prey and rain, giving it a more round and bloated form. However the water inside is not recommended to drink, being very acidic and bitter. If it feels threatened, it will roll itself into a ball and tumble around wildly in order to escape or potentially crush the aggressor. They are also prey for the much larger and more docile Redwood Titan.

Strategies

Unlike other giants, its thick hardened skin is very heat resistant and will not burn when using fire weapons. So oxidizer, Ez bake, explosives, ect will not set it on fire. A budling's cacti can never spawn directly on a player, so moving slowly or standing still will avoid walking into emerging cacti. When rooting, it will root for 60 seconds at a time, attacking only 6 times in that span. To deal with cacti, carry a weapon or be vigilant when traversing with a budling spawned. The budling can be killed however its roll is dangerous and unpredictable, ranged weaponry is high recommended and safer when dealing with a budling head on. Due to its lack of senses and thick skin, it can't be stunned.

Images

No images yet cuz im lazy

Dev History

Originally the Cactus giant was a concept enemy for the Giant specimens mod by Xu Xiaolan. The original art was made by Flameburnt and depicted the giant as being very large, lobsided, with a head covered in cacti.

Artwork by Flameburnt

Originally it was concepted as an ambush enemy that would hide as a pile of cacti on a moon before crushing you with its massive arm. But due to the lack of natural cacti on moons, the idea and gameplay were revised and revisited for Code Rebirth. The vision was for an outside enemy that can snipe the player inside and out, forcing evasion or confrontation with the creature. However this creature has been quite unpopular and disliked, making us consider a rework in the future.

"He a little goofy, but he's my boy." -QWERTYrodrigo

"He's a little baby. There's a fucking mosquito in my room, don't put that in the comment." -Xu Xiaolan

Related

Redwood Titan - https://thunderstore.io/c/lethal-company/p/XuXiaolan/CodeRebirth/wiki/3916-enemy-redwood-titan/
Driftwood Menace - https://thunderstore.io/c/lethal-company/p/XuXiaolan/CodeRebirth/wiki/3915-enemy-driftwood-menace/
Emerging Cacti - https://thunderstore.io/c/lethal-company/p/XuXiaolan/CodeRebirth/wiki/3936-hazard-cactus-emerging-cactus/