How to deal with the Giant Sapsucker in Lethal Company

Lethal Company‘s Giant Sapsucker has several mouths to feed, and you may just be on the menu if you decide to bravely infiltrate her nest.

Added to v70, the Giant Sapsucker is only a threat if you wander onto her territory. If you feel like luck is on your side or want a proper challenge during your scrap runs, then here is how to deal with the Giant Sapsucker in Lethal Company.

Where to find the Giant Sapsucker in Lethal Company

The Giant Sapsucker is a seven-foot-tall Woodpecker that’s incredibly territorial. A single threat that’s predominantly found on Adamance, the Giant Sapsucker will spawn near or on its nest. So far, I have only spotted this monster in the dense forest of Adamance, but I assume she can also spawn on Vow and March. More often than not, the Sapsucker will spawn alongside Tulip Snakes and the occasional Baboon Hawk tribe.

What does the Giant Sapsucker do?

The Giant Sapsucker either sits on her nest, protecting the three eggs lying inside. This nest always appears on the other side of the rickety bridge that breaks from standing on it for too long, or by carrying too much weight over it. This is east of the Main Entrance on Adamance.

She has two main behavioral patterns: Sit on the nest and wander in close proximity to it, or go to a tree to peck into it before returning to her eggs. The Sapsucker will turn her head away from you so that her eye can watch your movement. If you start to get too close, she’ll charge towards you in a threatening manner to scare you away. This isn’t her attack, however.

If you continue to pressure her, she will assume you’re going for the nest and turn her head to let out a scream, flailing her tongue around. The Sapsucker will then charge at an alarming rate, pecking you repeatedly. It appears to be impossible to dodge or outrun this attack, and even harder to take this monster out with a Shovel. She will retaliate with her peck attack if you smack her when she’s watching you in defence mode. Taking Sapsucker on by yourself will undoubtedly conclude with your body being fed to her children.

How to handle the Giant Sapsucker

The most obvious thing to do is to completely ignore her. She isn’t dangerous to you so long as you leave her and her nest alone. This monster won’t harm you unless you provoke her. You can get within close range of her and carefully crouch-walk to the nest so long as her eye isn’t looking your way. The Sapsucker has excellent vision. I tried to get the Baboon Hawk to threaten and attack the Sapsucker who was protecting her nest at the time, but that didn’t work.

There is absolutely no reason to aggravate this monster unless you’re planning on stealing her eggs. If you decide to do it anyway, then I pray for your safe return. Egg price ranges from 30 to 60 per egg. You can only carry one egg at a time. All remaining inventory slots will fill with one egg in-hand, just like carrying a heavy item or the Maneater. You cannot pick up an egg if the Sapsucker is nearby, alive, and well. We’ve successfully (albeit briefly) taken two eggs, but getting to the Dropship has proven to be an impossible task. Stealing a single egg with the Sapsucker alive requires teammates.

We’ve found using a Stun Grenade against the Sapsucker and having TZP-Inhalant on-hand to retreat to the ship works best here. Otherwise, you have to kill the Sapsucker to effectively steal her babies to avoid the risk of her coming back for vengeance (outrageous advice). She will notice an egg is missing and immediately go on the offensive with her wood-pecking attack. What’s worse is that dropping the egg or holding onto it for more than five seconds will result in the baby hatching and squealing for its mother. Therefore, it’s recommended to only attempt stealing from the nest at the end of a round, specifically when you’re planning to go back into orbit.