Antlion

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-04

Overview

The antlion prefab represents the Antlion boss, a large desert-dwelling entity that cycles between dormant (desert-camouflaged) and aggressive (combat) states. It interacts with sandstorm conditions, tribute-giving players, and time-based rage mechanics. The prefab dynamically adds/removes combat, health, and sanity components upon state transition, while integrating with the worldsettingstimer, sinkholespawner, trader, and sleeper components to orchestrate its complex behavior.

Usage example

-- Spawn the antlion boss prefab (typically done via worldgen or event)
local antlion = SpawnPrefab("antlion")

-- To manually trigger combat (e.g., in custom event code):
if antlion ~= nil then
    antlion.StartCombat(antlion, ThePlayer, "burn")
end

-- To manually stop combat and return to dormant state:
if antlion ~= nil and antlion.StopCombat ~= nil then
    antlion.StopCombat(antlion)
end

Dependencies & tags

Components used:
burnable, combat, freezable, health, inspectable, lootdropper, sandstorms, sanityaura, sinkholespawner, sleeper, talker, tradable, trader, worldsettingstimer

Tags added: epic, noepicmusic, antlion, largecreature, antlion_sinkhole_blocker, trader, hostile, scarytoprey

Tags conditionally added/removed: hostile, scarytoprey, __health, __combat

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
maxragetime	number	TUNING.ANTLION_RAGE_TIME_INITIAL	Current maximum rage duration (s), updated on tribute or failure.
pendingrewarditem	string | table	nil	The reward item(s) to spawn upon tribute acceptance.
tributer	EntityReference	nil	Reference to the player who gave the tribute.
_isfighting	net_bool	false	Networked boolean indicating if the Antlion is currently in combat.
_playingmusic	boolean	false	Internal flag tracking whether boss music is active.
_musictask	Task	nil	Periodic task responsible for boss music triggering.
inittask	Task	nil	One-time initialization task.
sleeptask	Task	nil	Periodic healing task active only while asleep.
timesincelasttalker	number	-TUNING.ANTLION_TRIBUTER_TALKER_TIME	Timestamp of last tribute giver talk trigger.

Main functions

StartCombat(target, trigger)

• Description: Activates the combat state: adds health, combat, sanity aura, and burnable components; switches to SGantlion_angry state graph; enables sinkhole attacks. If trigger is "freeze" or "burn", applies status effect andBattle Cry.
• Parameters: target (Entity or nil) – initial combat target; trigger (string or nil) – "freeze" or "burn" to trigger instant response.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Early exit if inst.persists is false or combat components already exist.

StopCombat()

• Description: Deactivates combat state: removes health, combat, sanity aura, burnable components; switches back to SGantlion state graph; resets rage timer and re-enables trader.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: Early exit if inst.persists is false or no combat components exist.

AcceptTest(item)

• Description: Validates whether an item is an acceptable tribute. Must be a rock with rocktribute > 0, and the Antlion must not already have a pending reward or be in a combat-want state.
• Parameters: item (Entity) – the item to evaluate.
• Returns: true if tribute is acceptable; false otherwise.

OnGivenItem(giver, item)

• Description: Processes accepted tribute: sets pending reward, extends rage timer, and may trigger freeze/burn effects. Notifies giver if cooldown elapsed.
• Parameters: giver (Entity or nil) – player who gave the tribute; item (Entity) – the tribute item.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: No direct errors; early exit if currentTempRange is nil.

GiveReward()

• Description: Spawns the reward item(s) toward the tribute giver (or the Antlion if giver is invalid). Resets reward state.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

GetRageLevel()

• Description: Returns a numeric rage level (1 = VeryHappy, 2 = Neutral, 3 = Unhappy) based on remaining rage timer percentage.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: number – rage level (1, 2, or 3).

HasRewardToGive()

• Description: Checks if a pending reward exists.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: true if pendingrewarditem is non-nil; false otherwise.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:

  • ms_stormchanged (on TheWorld) – despawns Antlion when sandstorm ends.
  • attacked – sets attacker as combat target if within range and recent combat activity is absent.
  • timerdone – starts sinkhole attacks when rage timer completes.
  • isfightingdirty – toggles boss music task (client-only).
  • death – internal (via burnable) to stop burning effects.

• Pushes:

  • antlion_leaveworld – when despawning due to sandstorm.
  • onacceptfighttribute – when frozen or burned tribute accepted.
  • onaccepttribute – after tribute accepted and rage timer updated.
  • onrefusetribute – when tribute rejected.
  • healthdelta – via health component (standard).
  • onignite – via burnable component (standard).