In R.E.P.O., your mission to extract valuable artifacts is never just about grabbing loot and running. It’s a high-stakes battle against a grotesque menagerie of creatures, each with their own horrifying (and sometimes absurd) behaviors. Whether you’re a rookie just stepping into the haunted ruins or a hardened veteran, understanding these monsters is the difference between a successful extraction and a gruesome demise.

This guide breaks down every threat you’ll face, from the laughably annoying to the outright lethal, and provides advanced strategies to outsmart, evade, or eliminate them.

Know Your Enemy: Monster Tiers and Behaviors

Monsters in R.E.P.O. are divided into three threat levels, with spawn rates scaling based on the world’s difficulty. Higher-level missions (6+) introduce more enemies, including variant spawns—where a Level 3 monster might be replaced by a swarm of weaker foes (like 10 Gnomes or 3 Mentalists). Sometimes those are actually worse than dealing with one Level 3 threat, so don’t count on those for easy runs.

Level 1 (Low Threat)

These creatures are more of a nuisance than a true danger, but underestimating them can still cost you.

• Gnomes – moves in packs, destroys your loot
  HP: 20
  Damage on Attack: 10
  Strength to Lift: 0
  Orb Value: N/A

Gnomes are annoying little jerks who can do a lot of damage to you or your loot if you underestimate them. Mostly they aren’t a threat, as you can just lift them up and smash them against the wall. They do tend to move in packs of 3 or 4, but unless you’re low on health they won’t do too much damage. The Gnomes are most annoying when they purposefully target your loot to destroy its value, and they will purposefully hop into your cart and go ham. This is terrible when you’re busy having to deal with another, larger threat and can’t focus on them.

The Gnomes also act as little flunkies for the bigger monsters. I’ve had them spot me, then go back and start leading The Trudge to my location. They like to swarm you when you’re hiding from bigger threats, flushing you out into the open. This is particularly true if you’re running back to the truck with only 1 HP, and one Gnome hit will kill you. And if you’re dealing with The Gnomes and a Huntsman, then good luck! Smashing one lets The Huntsman know where to shoot you. Just be mindful of your enemies’ positions and suffer not a Gnome to live.

• Apex Predator – bites
  HP: 150
  Damage on Attack: 10
  Strength to Lift: N/A
  Orb Value: $2k-$3k

The Apex Predator is definitely R.E.P.O.’s cutest monster, but you will quickly grow to hate it. This little duck is initially harmless, follows you everywhere trying to get your attention by jumping in front of you. It’ll especially try having you click on it. If you do, it will fly at you, biting the hell out of you for 10 damage a hit. You don’t need to worry about the cart hitting it, but if any items or other monsters hit the duck, your life is forfeit. The only way to get away from it is to have enough speed and stamina or to utilize the tumble launch to outpace it for 10 seconds.

If an Apex Predator is on your level, you should kill it as soon as possible. There are a number of ways to do it if you’re fast or clever, as the duck will remain stationary if you are just standing there looking at it. You can bait the Apex Predator into pits or cauldrons, or into the extraction point when it is active. Additionally, you can have an ally drop a grenade right on it or whack it with a hammer. Thankfully, the dev team is looking at creating a bucket you can put over it as a countermeasure.

• The Spewer – face-hugger, causes damaging vomit
  HP: 65
  Damage on Attack: 10
  Strength to Lift: 4
  Orb Value: $1k-$4k

The Spewer isn’t actually that much of a threat. In fact, it could even be a weapon when used right. These fish-like monsters will hover around you, gargling spew, until they lock on and charge. If they get you, they will take over your face, lowering your voice. You will then periodically vomit, damaging anything you hit. As long as you don’t throw up on your friends or your loot, you’re good. You can even use this monster to damage enemies. However, you can also just sit in a corner with your face turned away to try and not hit allies.

The Spewer will rarely actually hit you and is easily dodged, making it more of an annoyance than anything. And while it can be used to hurt enemies the low damage output definitely makes it a gamble. You don’t want to go after a Level 3 Threat unless you have allies with other weapons to back you up. 

• The Peeper – damages you with its gaze, locking you in place
  HP: 250
  Damage on Attack: 2 per second after 3 seconds of you looking at it
  Strength to Lift: N/A
  Orb Value: $2k-$4k

The Peeper is very disorientating and can be dangerous if other monsters are around. If you walk into a room with this eyeball on the ceiling, it forces your perspective to look at it. You then need to break the line of sight, so you either need to back up into the last room you were in or get an object between you and it. If it holds your gaze for three seconds, it will begin to damage you for 2 per second.

The Peeper spawns and respawns randomly, not staying in one place for long. While it can be annoying to come across, just waiting for a few seconds will see it relocate elsewhere. The real danger comes in being perspective-locked when other enemies are charging at you, leaving you defenseless. If you have allies around, however, they can smack it or shoot it to try and free you from its grasp. But it’s not honestly worth the resources, unless your friend is in actually dire straits.

• Shadow Child – stuns, pushes you away
  HP: 150
  Damage on Attack: 30
  Strength to Lift: 9
  Orb Value: $2k-$5k

The Shadow Child looks intimidating, but it is not actually bad as long as you know how to avoid it. When it is near, you will hear a child giggle. All you need to do is not look at Slender Baby directly. If you do, however, you have four seconds to look away. If you don’t look away, it will hit you for 30 and push you backwards, stunning you with a cute little “Doink!”. Before long, the Shadow Child will teleport away, and you can carry on your business.

The Shadow Child stands completely still, so it’s easy enough to avoid or to kill. You just have to make sure you don’t accidentally aggro it while tossing your grenade or smacking it with a hammer. You can also use small items to stun it, though the Shadow Child will vanish rather than allow you time to grab and toss it around.   

Level 2 (Moderate Threat)

These monsters require careful handling—ignoring them can lead to disaster.

• The Animal – dangerous in packs or tight spaces

HP: 150
Damage on Attack: 2
Strength to Lift: 4
Orb Value: $2k-$4k

The Animal is more nuisance than a threat, but it can go wild and damage your valuables if it’s set off near your cart. It can run into you, stunning you, and knock items out of your grasp, so be careful. However, their attacks are not powerful, so you don’t need to worry too much. They are one of the least threatening monsters in the game, even if they do look a bit grotesque. 

The Animal is at its most dangerous when there are multiples of them, or when you’re caught with them in a tight space. However, you can damage and stun them with small items if you do not have any weapons on hand. Those items will fly from your grasp, however, so be prepared for that. Overall, you can ignore The Animal. Just keep your things away from them and jump on some furniture to avoid them.

• Bangers – explodes
  HP: 50
  Damage on Attack: 30, with knockback
  Strength to Lift: 0
  Orb Value: 0

These little skulls don’t hide their secret very well. The lit sticks of dynamite should clue you in that these guys will explode if they get too close. They only do 30 damage, but they do like to run around in packs of 3, so if you get hit by more than a couple it’s likely lights out for you. 

When they see you, they will immediately ignite and begin following you. After they give a second sound cue, they will explode. Your best plan is to lead them away from any valuables, wait for that cue, and then run like hell. You can also toss them into a pit if one happens to be nearby. On the other hand, you can use these bomb-omb like enemies against other monsters if your timing is right, making them a valuable weapon. 

• The Bowtie – Pins players against walls with wind gusts.
  HP: 100
  Damage on Attack: 5 per hit when pinned by knockback
  Strength to Lift: 7
  Orb Value: $3k-$7k

The Bowtie looks like a slightly deflated Marshmallow Man, but it can be pretty deadly. If it sees you, it will drop down and blow a big wind gust attack. If you stay within its range and it pushes you against a wall, you’ll lose a lot of life. It won’t stop attacking until you die. This will also affect any other items or enemies nearby. Try to keep your cart out of range.

Thankfully, Bowties are both slow and loud, so you will likely see them before they see you. Once you know where they are, they are pretty easy to avoid. Plus, they’re slow, if you sneak up behind The Bowtie with a grenade, it’s a fairly easy kill. They can also be stunned with medium-sized items if you’re strong enough to throw one around.

• The Chef – attacks with knives
  HP: 150
  Damage on Attack: 10 per hit
  Strength to Lift: 9
  Orb Value: $2k-$5k

These little frog chefs can be wild. When they notice you, they will stop and line you up before jumping in your direction, flailing knives everywhere. You can get hit by multiple swings per bounce, so be careful to stay out of their way. Make sure to move right before they jump, and you should be mostly fine. The Chef will even lay stunned for a second after their attack before they jump back up, giving you a chance to attack it.

The Chef really isn’t that threatening, given how easy it is to dodge its attacks and retaliate. The self-stun makes it a free-kill if you have a grenade to drop on it. You can even bait The Chef into leaping into a pit if you mind your footing. You can also beat on it with melee items or stun it with a small sized item.

• The Hidden – invisible
  HP: 100
  Damage Attack: 0
  Strength to Lift: 4
  Orb Value: $3.5k-$7k

The Hidden is mostly harmless on its own, but paired with other threats it’s one of the more dangerous monsters in R.E.P.O. This ghostly creature is entirely invisible, except for its breath and footsteps. It’s a terrible flat-footed mouth-breather. When it gets you, it won’t attack but lift you up and sprint with you to somewhere far away. On an easy level, this just isolates you from your team. Thankfully, if you have a teammate nearby all they need to do is grab you out of The Hidden’s arms to save you.

However in the right – or wrong – circumstances, the Hidden could drop you next to a major enemy or throw you into a pit, essentially killing you. On other occasions, he has carried me all the way back to the truck after we finished the Extraction, or to the next Extraction Point we needed. It is really a toss-up as to whether he’s a help or a bother. Either way, he’s very hard to kill, without being able to see him.

• The Mentalist – uses anti-gravity to move you and your objects.
  HP: 150
  Damage on Attack: 50
  Strength to Lift: 4
  Orb Value: $3k-$6k

The Mentalist is a strange little alien that likes to surprise you. It floats silently, teleporting randomly around the map. If you get too close to it, it will begin to lift you and all your valuables within an orb around it. After a couple of seconds it slams you down for 50 damage. Luckily, if you have some allies nearby they can pull you out of the anti-grav to safety before the drop. You can save your valuables this way as well. However, be careful, as you can just as easily get caught up in the attack as pulled out of it.

The Mentalist is pretty slow, so it’s not too hard to avoid. If you notice that it’s in a bad spot, you can bait it and get it to activate its attack in an area where it will do less damage to your loot. Once it turns red to activate its attack, The Mentalist is stationary and helpless, making that the ideal moment to strike. Thankfully, The Mentalist also has terrible eyesight. It’s very easy to dodge once you get the hang of it.

• The Rugrat – Throws valuables at you, damaging both you and the loot.
  HP: 150
  Damage on Attack: Depends on size of object thrown
  Strength to Lift: 4
  Orb Value: $2k-$4k

The Rugrat is a real pain to deal with. Not only can it do a variable amount of damage, but it also uses your own valuables against you. While you can move around the Rugrat without it doing anything to you, the second it grabs an item it will stop and try to hurl it at you, both hurting you and the item. He can even take items directly out of your hands. It’s also really hard to dodge, given the sheer velocity this big baby throws things. 

If there is a Rugrat on your map, you cannot ignore it. And God help you if you have two or more. You’ll need to take it out right away. Luckily, you can stun a Rugrat with a small item if you manage to hit it before it grabs it. It’s also very difficult to bait the Rugrat into position if you want to use grenades or mines, so your best option might just be melee. 

• The Upscream – screams in your face and throws you, stuns
  HP: 50
  Damage on Attack: 10 with a stun
  Strength to Lift: 4
  Orb Value: $2k-$4k

The Upscream is more nuisance than a threat, but its incredibly annoying. Once it spots you, it will crawl quickly towards you, grab you, and scream in your face before throwing you. This scream forces your perspective while doing 10 damage and stunning you. Like Rugrats, their attack is very hard to avoid. If they decide to keep attacking you, they can also stun lock you. Though, they will often move on after an attack or two… or three… or four. They’re not too bad in the early levels, but on higher levels the Upscream can throw you into pits for an instant death, or throw you into bad positions with other enemies.

They only have 50 health, so if you have a way of dealing damage it won’t take long to get rid of these guys. However, The Upscream is also very fast, making them hard to hit. A small item will stun them, but make sure to hit them on the first try if you want to avoid being punished.

Level 3 (Deadly)

These are the apex predators of R.E.P.O.—one mistake can mean instant death.

• The Clown – fires a one-shot, one-kill beam
  HP: 250
  Damage on Laser: 100
  Damage on Kick: 60
  Strength to Lift: 13
  Orb Value: $5k-$8k

The Clown is one of R.E.P.O.’s most intimidating monsters, particularly when first starting out. If they spot you, they fire a beam that is a one-hit kill without health upgrades. However if you’re expecting it, it’s not too hard to dodge. The Clown will always aim at your head, which means that you can then jump or duck accordingly. If you’re still standing and it sees you, The Clown will follow up by trying to kick you. It’s also not terrible to dodge, if you just run to the side or jump over the kick.

Just a note when you’re hiding from it: The Clown has a personal bubble. If you’re hiding from it and accidentally get too close, The Clown will notice, turn, and immediately kick you. You will have to bait the kick if you want to attack it with melee, and its high health means that it will take at least three grenades or mines to finish off if you’re keeping your distance.

• The Headman – no reliable way to inflict damage
  HP: 250
  Damage Attack: 50 with a stun
  Strength to Lift: 13
  Orb Value: $4k-$8k

The Headman is one of R.E.P.O.’s most iconic monsters. He’s practically the face of R.E.P.O. and there is no reliable way of dealing with it. Even if you shoot him, he will aggro and charge you down before you can dispatch him. If The Headman spots you he will fly very fast towards you until it can get in a good chomp or two, and it only takes two to kill you. Even ducking into a hiding spot isn’t a safe bet, as The Headman will reach under to get at you.

The one thing going for you is that his eyesight is terrible, so staying crouched and hidden should keep you safe. However, he has a large personal bubble and will aggro immediately if he drifts too close to you. If you can afford a hit, sometimes you can run towards The Headman and slide underneath him. He’ll still get a hit in, but he takes time to turn around, giving you a chance to escape and break line of sight.

• The Huntsman – impeccable hearing, silent movement, can one-shot you
  HP: 250
  Damage on Attack: 100
  Strength to Lift: 9
  Orb Value: $3k-$7k

The Huntsman one of R.E.P.O.’s most dangerous enemies, perhaps even the worst. He is completely blind, however if he hears you he is a one-hit kill if you have no health upgrades. The Huntsman won’t be able to see you, but you and your friends need to be quiet. He is a great shot, giving you almost no time to react. If you’re close enough, The Huntsman can even hear you crouch and uncrouch, or interact with an item. The Huntsman will also aggro onto you it you touch him with the cart or an item, or if you interact with an enemy like a Gnome near him. The Apex Predator is particularly bad for this, as a single quack immediately gives away your position no matter how well you hide.

On the other hand, The Huntsman is fairly easy to avoid if you spot him before he spots you. You just have to be careful, and there is no warning your friends in the next room without getting yourself shot first. Plus, given that The Huntsman is completely silent before firing his gun, it’s incredibly easy for him to sneak up on you. You can dodge to the side to avoid the shot, but that move requires incredibly fast reflexes. You can also stun him with a medium item, but your first hit needs to land, or you will die. Another sure-fire, but tedious, way to kill The Huntsman is to bait him up and down staircases. He will always trip and fall down a flight of stairs, no matter how short they are.

• The Reaper – hard to kill, uses swinging blade attacks, charges, very fast
  HP: 250
  Damage on Attack: 10 per hit
  Strength to Lift: 9
  Orb Value: $6k-$8k

The Reaper can be a pretty dangerous monster, and the worst R.E.P.O. has when it comes to wrecking your loot. This walking scarecrow with arm blades will swing wildly while charging you if she spots you. This can be really bad news if you’re too close and get hit multiple times. You can try to run, but she’s fast as hell and will end you when you run out of stamina. What’s worse is if she’s attacking next to your cart with all your items in it, destroying them in the process. If you hide under something while she’s after you, The Reaper will reach under and slash at you as well. Luckily she stays in one place while doing that, so you might be able to back up and run away if there is space to move.

Killing The Reaper isn’t necessarily as easy as other enemies. She will deflect gunshots with her swords and knock items out of your hands. Your best shot is to sneak up on The Reaper and stun her with a medium item before attacking her. Otherwise, you can try baiting her over mines, or aggro her while hiding in a good spot while your allies work on her from behind. Most often, though, your best option is to wait her out. Just be patient and let this monster pass on while you hide.

• The Robe – quiet, jump scares one shots, no delay
  HP: 250
  Damage on Attack: 100
  Crouching Attack Damage: 50
  Strength to Lift: 13
  Orb Value: $5k-$8k

The Robe is legitimately one of the most terrifying creatures in R.E.P.O., but also one of the easier to avoid. This No Face-looking Ghibli monster loves to creep up behind you without you knowing. Then, when you turn around and see it, it pounces like a jump-scare and one-shotting you if you have no health upgrades. The trick with The Robe is that he will not aggro onto you unless you are looking directly at him, like the Shadow Child. However, The Robe does not have a delay, so even a quick glance could be your doom.

If you look down or use your peripheral vision, you can usually see if it’s near. Just let The Robe pass on, not turning around if possible. The Robe’s walking speed is much slower than your own, so you can even just walk away without issue. Once it’s aggroed, however, it will chase you down quickly. The Robe can also reach under tables, and will continue to attack you there if it sees you hiding. Thankfully The Robe makes for a large target when attacking it, and it can be stunned with medium items as well. With caution and care, it is not terribly difficult to take out.

• The Trudge – pulls in from long distances, one-shot attacks, deadly hammer.
  HP: 500
  Damage on Attack: 100 to Insta-Kill
  Strength to Lift: 13
  Orb Value: $5k-$8k

The Trudge has the most health of any monster in R.E.P.O. It also has a one-hit attack, but it’s not actually that dangerous. The Trudge is exceptionally slow and won’t attack as long as you stay out of its line of sight. However, it can pull you and allies in from a fair distance away, before damaging you. That drag-in attack deals 100 damage, which is an instant kill without health upgrades. However, if you get caught under the hammer when it comes down you will die instantly, no matter how many hundreds of health you have.

One way to avoid getting dragged in by The Trudge is to get a wall between you and it. There is a moment where it starts to charge its attack, giving you that time to get behind cover. The best tactic to dealing with The Trudge, however, is to ignore it. Not only does The Trudge loudly announce its presence, but it is slow as hell, too. You will almost always see it before it sees you, so just hide and let it pass – even if it can take an age for it to do so. If you need to get past, just bait the attack, wait it out, and run past it the opposite direction.

Advanced R.E.P.O. Survival Strategies

Despawn & Respawn Mechanics

Any avid R.E.P.O. player will have noticed by this point the ominous music that plays when your monsters first spawn in. These monsters will spawn as far from the truck as possible, and wait idle for a set amount of time unless disturbed. They will start moving if alerted by a loud noise, if a player comes within 20 spaces of them, or if another monster has found and attacked a player.

After 3–4 minutes, distant enemies despawn if they have been over 20 spaces away from all players for about a minute. Their respawn time is dependent on how long you have been in the level for. If you’ve been there for less than ten minutes, the monsters will wait for five before returning to terrorize you. If you’ve been on the level for over 50 minutes, however, they will respawn almost immediately. 

Items that make noise, like the TV or radio, will increase the rate at which a monster respawns. The worst noise makers are the saw and any dropped instruments, so move these with caution. Killing an enemy also triples its respawn timer, so you cannot always rely on murder to clear your board.

Physics-Based Kills

The most straight-forward kills are with weaponry, but that’s not always an option. Whether you’re in the early levels without a lot of purchasing power or you’ve run out of ammunition, you’re gonna need to get creative if you want to survive. That means taking advantage of whatever is at hand.

No matter what level you’re on, there are always items to play with. Most monsters can be stunned when you hit them with your loot. Large items aren’t easy to fling around, but small and medium items can almost always be used to bash a monster. If you’re lucky enough to have a clown doll, you’ve got an extra bomb. Bop its nose three times and chuck it before it blows up on you. The fragile crate also explodes when it runs out of value, for up to at least 250 damage. I’ve blown up more than one Clown by letting it fire its laser right next to one.

The R.E.P.O. extraction points are also killing machines. Not only will it smash you and any unlucky valuables that are out of place, but it will also instantly kill a monster that happens to wander in. Apex Predators can be made to stand in just the right spot to be turned into paste. The blind Huntsman – the scariest monster in R.E.P.O. – will often be helplessly drawn to the lure of the noisy machine.

And don’t forget the pits! These insta-death hazards affect hasty enemies as much as you. It takes some practice and careful positioning, but a number of monsters can be baited into flying into these head-first. You can even just lift and toss them in if you’ve got enough strength upgrades to do so. 

Chaos at the R.E.P.O. Extraction

When the final extraction starts, monsters come back from the grave and swarm the truck. You can try to kill them to clear a path, but they won’t stay dead for longer than a second.  It can be a waste of both time and resources and give other monsters a chance to lock onto your position. All enemies once Final Extraction is triggered will path to the truck for twelve seconds, meaning that they are going to flock to get between you and your path to freedom. After that, they’ll path to the room with the nearest player in or out of the truck. This makes avoiding them even harder. Keep your head down, sneak as much as you can, and run like hell when you can make a break for it.

Your best chance to survive is to save the closest R.E.P.O. extraction point for last. The less distance you have to cover, the greater your chances of survival. It also helps to give teammates time to escape before you trigger your last mad dash. So long as one person survives to start the truck, your whole team will escape with your money, if not your HP. The only real reason to linger after triggering Final Extraction is if you’re reviving dead friends and there are Gnomes on the level. Your friend’s survival chances will be much higher if you can transfer them some health and keep Gnomes from being a one-hit kill enemy.

Without the Player Count Upgrade, you won’t have any way of telling how many of your friends are alive or dead. This can be a problem for the person on the truck. If you tell the truck to leave and your friends are still out there, it triggers a 10 second self-destruct count-down unless they reach the truck, and then they’ll be mad at you for not having faith in them. One potential solution to this problem is saving a small item to carry back with you. All players can see the gold dot moving on their screen, letting them know you’re alive and how close you are. You might have to drop the item to pick up a friend’s head, which is a noble sacrifice to get them a whole 25 HP back before the next level, but that’s just a risk you might have to take.

Final Warning

R.E.P.O.’s monsters are more than obstacles—they’re a dynamic ecosystem of terror. Luckily, they are all affected by the same laws of physics as you. Learn their patterns, exploit their weaknesses, and never underestimate a duck.

Will you master the horrors and escape with your loot? Or become another victim of the Zone?

Good luck, R.E.P.O. Agent. You’re gonna need it.

For more of our thoughts on R.E.P.O., read our review.