As you explore the desolate moons ofLethal Company, you’ll inevitably come across at least one of the strange entities that live there. Some walk, some sprint, and some, like the Maneater, prefer to crawl to you. Much like a real baby, it wants to be picked up, and it’ll cry if it doesn’t get consoled.

You’ll likely want to console it once, then put it back down so you can continue exploring, but don’t let its innocent face fool you – this infant’s not harmless. If you ignore its cries and refuse to rock it, the normally harmless Maneater will show you exactly how it got its name.

Player character approaching the entrance of a Mineshaft facility in Lethal Company.

Where To Find The Maneater

The Maneater canspawn on seven out of the 12 moons, and while theyonly spawn inside the facilitynaturally, theycan be taken outand essentiallyreleased into the outdoor areaof a moon, though doing so is extremely dangerous.

Maneaters have ahigher chance of spawning in the Mineshaftinterior, which can appear on Vow, Adamance, Offense, and Artifice.

Player character looking down at a Maneater sitting on the facility floor in Lethal Company.

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Player character holding a content Maneater in their arms inside a facility in Lethal Company.

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Player character watching a Maneater cry and roll around on the floor in Lethal Company.

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Player character standing in front of an aggressive adult Maneater in Lethal Company.

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Maneater Behavior

The Maneater willfollow the first player it sees, butsimilar to the Dramatic Masks, itcan be pickedup like a scrap. At first, you can leave it alone, but eventually,you’ll have to pick it up, and then itrequires you to take care of itlike an infant.

They havethree behavior statesthey can swap between: Content, Crying, and Adult. With theContent and Cryingstates, they’ll generallycycle between them at regular intervals, while theirAdult state is irreversible once triggered.

Player character holding and rocking a Maneater to calm it down in Lethal Company.

Content State

Thefirst behavior statebegins once the Maneatertargets a player, which happens fairly quickly due to itsmassive detection radius. It willcrawl behind you or whoever it saw first, and it’ll continuously do sounless you exit the facility.

Itwon’t attackduring this state, butapproaching it makes it back away, though it willgo back to followingits target like normal ifyou back awayfrom it, and you’re stillable to pick it upduring this time.

Player character standing in front of one of the tunnel pits a Maneater can be dropped into in Lethal Company.

Due to its size, carrying the Maneatertakes up both hands, like other large scrap pieces.

The Maneater can be left alone for some time, butit will enter into its second state eventually, usually after around a minute of being ignored, and you’llwant to pick it up immediately.

Player character watching a Maneater taken outside growing into its Adult state in Lethal Company.

Don’t leave scrap unattended around the Maneater, as it has a chance to consume one thing near it. This makes it grow in size, but it doesn’t affect it otherwise.

Crying State

Thesecond behavior stateis the Crying one, and the Maneater cango in and out of itdepending onwhat happens aroundit. During this state, the Maneater willbegin to cry and shake, and this can happenwhile it’s on the ground or being heldby a player.

The Maneater will also enter the Crying state after a few moments if youpick it up and then put it back downon the ground.

When this happens, you have torock the Maneaterby holding thePrimary Item Use keyuntil it calms downand stops crying.

This will put the Maneaterback into its Content stateuntil itnaturally enters Crying Stateor one of several thingsmakes it enter Crying State early:

You can get the Maneater to goback to its Content State by rocking itlike usual if youintentionally or accidentally trigger Crying Stateearly, but only if you’rewithin the facility.

Adult State

Bringing the Maneateroutside,ignoring its crying, or hitting it while it’s already crying will cause it togo into its Adult Statepermanentlyand become a true threat.

In this state, the Maneater willgrow into a much larger creatureand become hyper-aggressive,attacking any playerwithin its line of sight andkilling them instantlyif it reaches them. It alsobecomes much faster, with a running speedsimilar to a popped Jester.

Unlike when it’s Content, the adult Maneater willgo after any employeenearby, but itgenerally won’t swapto a different target unless itsuccessfully kills someone.

The Maneaterhas a charging attack, where it willrush its targetdown in astraight linefor aroundthree seconds, then it willpause for around twowhile it adjusts its position.

During this form, it’s also possible for the Maneater toattack and eat some smaller monsters, such as if ittransforms near aHoarding Bug, and itwon’t attackyou unless youget into its line of sightwhen this happens.

How To Deal With The Maneater

If you encounter a Maneater, youhave three choicesabout how to deal with them:trapping themin a certain location,picking them up and engagingin their behavior states, orquickly killing them.

Whether grouped or solo, thesafest but more tedious methodis tokeep the Maneaterwith you and keep calming it down.

You canput the Maneater down for a few secondswithout it going into a Crying state, which gives you enough time toput it down next to the scrapyou want, grab said scrap, and thenquickly pick the Maneater back upbefore it starts crying.

Place any scrapyou plan to bring with you at thefacility entrance while still insideso that you may sit the Maneater down, put scrap outside, and then go back inside without triggering the Adult State.

This willensure you can still carry scrap aroundand work on your quotaeven if you’re solo, and this tactic works even better if you’re playing with a group and others can watch your back.

If youdon’t want to deal with the Maneaterat all but lack a Double-Barrel Shotgun to safely kill it with, there are afew places you may trap itsafely in either solo or multiplayer:

The Maneater maystill be able to transformin these areas, but itwon’t be able to escapethem, and it’ll effectively remove the threat or annoyance of dealing with it.

Since the Maneater counts as scrap, you can alsoput it in the back of a Company Cruiser, and it will be trapped inside until you return to orbit.

If The Maneater Is In Adult State

Once theManeater is in its Adult State, there’s not much you’re able to do besidesleave the moonas soon as possible, or if you have the right weaponry and aregood at using a shotgunor shovel,go ahead and kill it.

Thetransformation takes around three seconds, or around seven if you include the time spent in the Crying state just before, so you have a brief period to put distance between you and it.

The Maneater takesfive hits with a Shovel to killin this state, and while itwon’t permanently stop attacking, the adult Maneater willpause in between attacks, giving you or any other surviving players achance to attackitif youhave a shovel, and can time it properly to avoid its insta-kill attack.

It’s alsosusceptible to Stun Grenadesand Homemade Flashbangs, so you canuse them to stun the Maneaterafter you’ve gotten a few hits in togo ahead and kill it, or get into your ship if you’re close enough to the doors.

You canuse TZP-Inhalanttoboost your speed and staminaand help you dodge or escape the Maneater.

Amuch safer, but still riskyway to kill the Maneater is tokill a Nutcracker and use its shotgunagainst it.

With its attack pattern, you candodge to one sideand avoid its charge, thenshoot it with the shotgununtil it’s dead, which takestwo to three shotsdepending on the bullet spread.