Vermin Enemy Guide: How to Fight Every Creature

All hostile creatures on Arcadia-7 are arachnid-like aliens collectively called Vermin. They attack in swarms, and their aggression scales dynamically with your base size and activity level. This guide covers every known Vermin type, their behaviors, weak points, and the best strategies for dealing with each one.

Low Threat

Young Slasher

The smallest and weakest Vermin type. Young Slashers have gray trim, no body armor, and die in a single shot from any weapon. Even the Mining Tool dispatches them easily. They appear as swarm filler in nearly every biome. While individually harmless, a large pack can still chip away at your health if you ignore them. Best dealt with using the Mining Tool or Pistol to save ammunition for tougher enemies.

Swarmer

Swarmers rush in large numbers across open terrain. They are individually weak but dangerous in quantity. Their primary threat is overwhelming your ability to reload, so area-of-effect options like Grenades are the ideal counter. Defense Turrets also handle Swarmers well. Keep them at range and do not let them surround you.

Medium Threat

Slasher

A larger, armored version of the Young Slasher with spiky forelegs. Slashers have developed body armor and attack in groups. Their weak spot is the red mouth area, so aim for the face. They can leap long distances at high speed, which makes them dangerous if you let them close the gap. Face them directly to reduce their ability to leap past your line of fire. The SLAMS-12 can one-shot Slashers at close range, while multiple pistol rounds are needed otherwise.

Exploder

Covered in blue blobs, the Exploder rushes toward you and self-destructs on contact. The explosion deals AoE damage and creates an infectious fog that disables your shield and buffs the speed of nearby Vermin. Their weak spot is the blue sac. Two well-placed shots at range will detonate them safely before they reach you. Never let an Exploder get into melee range. When fighting mixed waves, prioritize Exploders over everything else because their shield-disabling fog makes you vulnerable to all other damage.

Spitter

Small, green-colored Vermin with visible green sacs. Spitters fire short-range toxic projectiles that cause toxicity buildup over time. Individually they deal low damage, but persistent harassment from multiple Spitters will drain your health. Their critical weak point is the green sac. They are small and fast, so precision weapons like the Pistol or Phantom work best. Do not ignore them during wave fights or the toxicity stacks will become a serious problem.

Blader

A melee-focused Vermin that appears alongside Goliath boss encounters in swarm compositions. Bladers use blade-like slash attacks and are mixed in with Swarmers, Spitters, and Exploders during major combat events. They drop a Blader Biofact when defeated. Treat them similarly to Slashers but be aware they tend to appear during the most intense fights.

High Threat

Flinger

A scorpion-like ranged Vermin that is essentially an upgraded Spitter. Flingers launch long-range arcing green toxic bombs that burn through your shield on impact and fragment into ground pools of poison. They are bigger, stronger, and have much longer range than Spitters. The best counter-strategy is to close the distance and fight them at close range, where their arcing projectiles are less effective. Pistol fire works well once you are close. Flingers appear in later waves and near contested areas.

Boss Threat

Goliath

The toughest Vermin in the game. Goliaths have impenetrable frontal armor, can charge at surprising speed, slam the ground for shockwave damage, and attack with powerful pincers at close range. They can one-shot unprepared players. The critical weak point is the unarmored backside. You must circle behind the Goliath to deal meaningful damage. Expect to spend roughly two full SLAMS-12 magazines firing at the backside to bring one down.

Goliaths spawn near monoliths and after Base Core upgrades. They are always accompanied by swarms of smaller Vermin (Swarmers, Bladers, Spitters, Exploders), so you need to manage the adds while working around the Goliath's flanks. In co-op, have one player draw the Goliath's attention while others shoot the backside. Goliaths drop the valuable Goliath Biofact and Biological Samples.