Dealing With Lizards

There are nine different sub-species of lizards in Rain World (DLC lizards will be added to this guide eventually), each one being unique. Some climb, some crawl, some have sticky tongues, the list goes on. Being the nerd that I am, I decided to do some in game research on these guys! Want to know how to tame them, where you can find them, and how to defend yourself against them? Well, you have come to the right place!

Introduction

Warning: This guide is going to get VERY long! You can use the table of contents on the right side of your screen to get to specific areas faster!

Lizards; you find them all over Rain World, as they exist in every main region in the game except for two, thus it is impossible for you to not run into at least one sub-species. In this guide, I have put together all the information I have on every single sub-species of lizard in the game! It took a while, but it’s finally done! If you guys have any questions, comments, or things to add to the guide, feel free to put them in the comment section below. Feedback is always welcome. Enjoy the guide!

SIDE NOTE: There are almost no good pictures of Rain World's lizards and absolutley ZERO screenshots and artwork on others. The pictures I have uploaded to this guide were the only suitable pictures I could find. If you have any screenshots or pieces of artwork and would like to share them with me so I can add them to the guide, that would be a huge help!

A quick note: Downpour lizards are not included in the guide simply because I lack the time required to add them. Maybe one day, but not yet.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_QKUfuUIAAmuUX.jpg

Lizard Basics

Before we start, I should probably go over some basic lizard biology with you, as well as some commen moves to help kill or avoid them.

1. All lizards have hard heads that a spear cannot pierce. It will simply bounce off.
2. Most lizards have something called a charge attack. This is telegraphed by the lizard hissing and recoiling a bit before lunging foreword.
3. Rain World lizards have earned the nickname “Disco Lizards” because of their flashing heads. It really does resemble a flashing disco ball sometimes! Lizards will flash their heads when angered, and their heads usually go dark when they are killed.
4. Lizards are extremely territorial and will abandon a hunt to fight with nearby lizards.
5. Lizards (except for green ones) are terrified of vultures, so putting on a vulture mask will scare them off. How convenient!
6. VERY IMPORTANT! When you are in a lizards mouth, it does not mean you are dead!!! Only when you hear the second drum beat and have little X’s over your eyes are you dead!
7. It is possible to spawn hard mode exclusive lizards through the lineage system, which is pretty much killing a bunch of of lizards, waiting for a new variety to spawn, then tracking it back to its den and killing every lizard that comes out of it until you get the lizard you want. More on that later.

Now for some basic moves so that I don’t have to repeat the explanations over and over again!

1. Slide Stab. Do a belly slide while throwing a spear at a lizards open mouth. Usually an insta-kill!
2. Knock Stab. Knock the lizards hard head back with a rock and stab it with a spear.
3. Rapid Stab. Stab the lizard, then run over to it and repeatedly stab it until it’s dead. Simple, right?
4. Pin Stabbing. Take a spear and stab it into a lizard near a wall. If you do it right, the lizard will get stuck to the wall and you will have yourself a nice lizard punching bag! You can also flip upside down and throw your spear into a lizard, pinning it to the ground.

Green Lizards

Now with the technical stuff out of the way, we can get to the lizards!


https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.ixtN8CU35B62AvEcsbGTGwHaFS&pid=Api

The green lizard is the first lizard that you run into in Rain World, unless you are playing as The Hunter. These brutes are the second biggest lizard in the game and usually kill you with one chomp. However, they are also the slowest lizard in the game, dragging themselves across the ground instead of walking. Because of this, people often call them “Crocs” or “Crocodiles”. They cannot climb and cannot run, but they can charge at you. I would consider these lizards to be easy to avoide since they are extremely slow moving, but if you get into a fight with one you will find that they are certainly not weak! They take about 6 Spears to kill.

The Slide Stab and Knock Stab are the best strategies to use on this lizard, but using the Knock Stab strategy is probably the best way to go. Be sure to fight this lizard on flat ground, as you will have more of an advantage if you stay level with it. If you prefer being a pacifist, simply climb up a pole. You are completely safe from the green brutes up there! I can’t say that for the other lizards, though...

Green Lizards are found in Outskirts, Farm Arrays, Garbage Wastes, Subterranean, Industrial Complex, and Chimney Canopy. Fun fact: they seem to by immune to the leech grass in Farm Arrays. Weird...

Pink Lizards

https://www.pixilart.com/images/art/b7202263941418e.png?v=1504223278

I like to call them Pink lizards, but in reality they can be many more colors than just pink. I have seen them in purple, pink, hot pink, and light red, so some people call them Magenta lizards. Pink lizards are a bit smaller than green ones and a little faster, but the thing that really sets them apart from their green counterparts is their ability to climb poles. Yeah, that’s right, climb. Now lizards can follow you up poles and it seems as if nowhere is safe! (It only gets worse from here) They are not nearly as strong as greens, so they only take 3-4 Spears to kill.

I have always found that climbing up a pole, waiting for the lizard to follow me, then jumping and stabbing it on the way down has worked very effectively. However, it can be hard to time right, so sticking to the Knock Stab meathod followed by rapid stabbing is effective on this lizards if you can catch them on flat ground. If you prefer to avoide lizards, simply get to a high place with no surrounding poles and you will be fine!

These guys have been seen in Outskirts, Industrial Complex, Sky Islands, Shaded Citadel, Garbage Wastes, Chimney Canopy, and on rare occasions, Drainage System. Fun Fact: these lizards have the widest range of colors I have ever seen on a Rain World lizard.

Blue Lizards

https://t00.deviantart.net/5Fo01syMtnUxKHmNHDanfB7bwrU=/fit-in/500x250/filters:fixed_height(100,100):origin()/pre00/0950/th/pre/i/2017/209/6/e/blue_lizard_by_houkou_nrl-dbi1u0c.png

The blue lizard was my third species of lizard I encountered during my play through. These are the smallest and weakest type of lizard, BUT they have two things that make them a little more dangerous than the green and the pink; the abilitiy to climb on the background and the possession of a sticky tongue that can be shot out of its mouth to pull prey into biting range. They are decently fast moving and have the ability to reach you just about anywhere. However, I have noticed that they can only climb on backgrounds that portray something solid, so they can’t climb on the sky or on empty space. They only take 1 or 2 spears to kill, making them the weakest lizard in the game.

These guys usually die within 1 spear hit, so they are relatively easy to deal with. You can try the Knock Stab method or simply throw something to knock them off the background. The fall usually stuns them, giving you time to attack. You can also try knocking them off of cliffs, which is my personal favorite method! If the lizard is pressed up against or crawling on a solid wall, you can try to pin stab it, immobilizing and probably killing them. If you prefer running over fighting, simply stay away from the sticky tongue. If you are grabbed by it, throw something at the lizards face and it should let you go.

Blue lizards are found in Industrial Complex, Sky Islands, Chimney Canopy, The Exterior, Subterranean, and Farm Arrays. Fun Fact: Blue lizards are hunted by green lizards on a regular basis.

White Lizards

https://66.media.tumblr.com/bb6e9e13d26ede43963412ff6edf5de3/tumblr_pjtw7dgxRQ1tycnkoo1_500.png

Probably the most annoying (and interesting) lizard yet, the white lizard can not only climb on the background, but it can also change colors to blend in with the background AND possesses a sticky tongue twice as long as the blue lizard’s. They are faster and smarter than most other lizards and can be a pain to deal with. I cannot tell you how many times I was walking along, minding my own business, when a white lizard appeared out of nowhere, shot out its tongue, and snapped me up! This lizard can be killed with 2 spear hits, but landing a hit on something you can’t see is very difficult.

While the white lizard can change its color, it cannot change its texture. Be on the lookout for slight disruptions in the background; this is a sign that a lizard may be waiting in ambush. Since this lizard does not like to be on flat ground, the usual methods of attack are not very effective against it. Like the blue lizard, throwing something to knock it off of a wall is an effective strategy, both for escape and for combat. Wall climbing lizards are also easier to pin stab against a wall, rendering them defenseless. They are also unable to move when pulling you in with their tongue, so you can maneuver yourself into a position where it is easy to hit the lizard’s body. If you would rather flee than fight, try throwing some rocks at your pursuer to slow it down. White lizards can and will catch up to you if you simply run.

I have seen these lizards in Shoreline, The Exterior, Industrial Complex, Sky Islands, Garbage Wastes, Chimney Canopy, and Subterranean. Fun Fact: these lizards loose their ability to control their camouflage when stabbed with a spear. They begin to rapidly flash a bunch of different colors, leading to their nickname “Rainbow Lizard”.

Black Lizard

Black lizards are probably the least known and least seen lizard in Rain World. You can only find them in a select few areas and they are not overly aggressive (for me, anyways). They are blind, so they navigate by hearing and touch. They have little whiskers on their snouts to help them feel around in the darkness, leading to their other name, “Mole Lizard”. They only take 2 Spears to kill and are rather sluggish, so escaping them is relatively easy. They are probably the least dangerous lizard in the game.

Often times you will find them in tunnels, making it hard to land a hit on them if they are chasing you due to their hard head. Sometimes the tunnels do not allow for the lizard to be flipped over by a rock, so it’s best to lure them into an open area and Knock Stabbing them a few times. In terms of escaping them, simply continue to run or crawl away. They are not very fast and will give up the chase soon. However, you must always keep an eye out for other lizards in the area. If any of them sense you while you are already fleeing another lizard, there is a good chance that you will end up cornered. If you do not wish to be detected in the first place, make as little noise as possible. Jumping will make noise and alert the lizards to your presence, to try to jump as little as possible. You could also make a distraction by throwing an object at a wall and going to opposite direction.

These lizards are only found in three areas of the game; Subterranean, Filtration System, and Shaded Citadel, Filtration System being the area I see them in the most.

Axolotls

Normaly, lizards can’t swim very well. This lizard is an exception. The axolotl is a water dwelling lizard that waits for creatures to swim past them in the water before snapping them up in its jaws. They are much faster than you when swimming and have a large advantage over their prey in the water. On land, however, they slow down quite a bit. They can climb poles like pink lizards, but they can’t climb walls, so staying above them is key. They also have a short sticky tongue that they use when they are in a pinch. Axolotls come in light pink and a purple/red color. Their frilly gills allow them to breath underwater, so they can stay under for as long as they want. Thankfully, they only take 2-3 Spears to kill.

The most important thing about fighting any lizard is to have the advantage. With axolotls, luring them onto land and taking the high ground is the best thing to do. Spears and rocks don’t work very well in the water, so if you get stuck out in the open with them your only hope is to try to outmaneuver it. Or at least, that’s what I thought. It turns out that jellyfish will temporarily stun an axolotl if you manage to touch it with their stinging tentacles. That will give you a head start in your rush towards land! Just be sure not to let the tentacles touch you... when on land, I would recommend the knock stab tactic to finish it off. If you don’t want to kill it, simply keep running.

These unique lizards are found in Shoreline, Drainage System, and Subterranean around the big lake. Fun Fact: Oddly enough, axolotls do not have the highest swimming speed of all lizards...

Orange Lizards

These lizards are probably the most peculiar sub-species I have run into in terms of behavior... all of the other lizards live solitary lives, and most of them will attack and kill each other at sight. Orange lizards, however, live in packs. They also have long, striped antennae that they seem to use for communication. I expect the orange lizard’s antennae work very much like a bug’s, sending out pheromones that the other lizards can smell, informing them of the pack member’s location and their prey’s location. This communication allows them to split up and cut off any possible escape routs. They typically live in packs of 3 to 5 members, the one with the largest antennae being the alpha. They each take 3 spears to kill.

These lizards excel in hunting, being able to box in and corner prey. This is important to keep in mind while fighting them. If one lizard notices you, all of the others will as well, so you have to constantly stay vigilant. If they begin to box you in, make a dash for any opening or backflip over a lizard to escape, because if they corner you your chances of survival drop drastically. Try pin stabbing them to the ground with a downwards spear throw whilst back flipping over them. If you find yourself on flat ground facing one, knock stabbing or slide stabbing them will work well, as will rapid stabbing. Running from these lizards is not hard so long as you don’t get cornered, unless you are in The Wall. Being an almost completely vertical region, it’s hard to find flat ground to run on. You may need to take a few risky jumps to get away. Going down is your best option for escape since these lizards tend to fall off of poles when they are in a hurry and may fall off the edge while chasing you.

These guys are found in The Exterior, Farm Arrays, Sky Islands, and on rare occasions I have seen them in Chimney Canopy. Fun Fact: Killing the alpha lizard will make the rest of the lizards reckless and angry instead of detouring them.

Leapzards

So far we have climbing lizards, blind lizards, color changing lizards, lizards with sticky tongues, lizards that hunt in packs and lizards that can swim. It seems as if nowhere is safe! What’s next, flying lizards?!? Well... kind of... This next lizard is exclusive to hard mode, and for good reason.


https://78.media.tumblr.com/76237b5fecd2c42b2a1af605f80f3b00/tumblr_p07w0jb8go1uc3bkvo1_500.png

Leapzards are big cyan lizards with flashing circles on their sides. They have the ability to climb walls, shoot out a short sticky tongue and are extremely aggressive. As if these lizards weren’t scary enough, they have one more attribute that will make you dread running into one: the ability to leap very, very long distances! They can close in on prey in a matter of seconds.

Combat is extremely difficult with this lizard. They don’t stand still long enough to try most of the previous tactics and I usually don't last very long against these things, so I unfortunately can’t offer much combat advice, other than knocking it off a cliff. However, Cat Pilot can. Thanks Cat Pilot! According to them, Leapzards take about 3-4 spears to kill and also have a high chance of killing you instantly when they bite. Your best bet is to try to pin it to a wall or one -shot it with a spear into its open jaws. As for escape tactics, your best chance is to stun it with a rock and run like mad. Try throwing it off by jumping into a pipe and trying a pipe swap. This tactic works with every lizard I have ever come across.

These lizards are only found in hard mode. I have seen them in Sky Islands and Chimney Canopy, an have heard that they also spawn in The Wall, Industrial Complex, Subterranean and Drainage System. This locational information is from a secondhand source, seeing as I am bad at hard mode and haven't seen them around much, so if anyone else knows anything about these elusive predators, please leave a comment!

Red Lizards

https://78.media.tumblr.com/f9753b5af84db10ae1e270b143bb3653/tumblr_onqasfEEIN1s8wq9po1_500.png

Leapzards are terrifying. Red lizards are impossible. Also known as Dragons (for good reason), reds are exclusive to hard mode and only spawn in a select few areas of a select few regions. They are difficult to find and even more difficult to take down, as you need to stab them with 8 or more spears to kill them. They can see and hear you better than any other lizard in the entire game and will actively hone in on you, chasing you from room to room. They are called dragons because of the red globs of spit they shoot out of their mouth. This knocks you down and stuns you, allowing the lizard to catch up if they have fallen behind. It can also knock items out of your hands and knock you off of poles. Reds have the fastest running and swimming speed of all lizards and are nearly impossible to outpace. They have the strongest bite of all lizards, killing in one bite, the fastest charge of all lizards, the highest aggression level of all lizards, the highest health of all lizards, and are the largest lizards of all. They are the lizard king.

I would consider this thing to be a boss. That’s how tough it is. You will need lots and lots of spears, preferably explosive ones to give you the upper hand. Well, almost the upper hand, anyway. ALWAYS have a spear in hand. Just a second of looking for another spear is time enough for this beast to finish you off. I would definitely recommend a special pipe swapping technique for this fight. Simply jump into a pipe with a spear, wait for the lizard to follow you, do the pipe swap, then go back into the pipe and throw the spear out on the other side. If all goes well, you will have stabbed the lizard. Quickly pull the spear out and repeat for as long as you can. Be sure not to loose your spear! As for evasion, well... that’s pretty much impossible, seeing as how the red lizard has the best senses of every lizard in the game and will probably see you before you see it. If you want to run instead of fight, try throwing the lizard off your trail by taking sharp turns and going through lots of pipes. Keep running from room to room until you feel like you aren’t being chased anymore.

These lizards are only found in hard mode. I have only seen one, and that was in Industrial Complex, but I think they can also spawn in Outskirts...? I may need some help in this section... if you want to comment with information, please do!

The Dragon Slayer

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/155779595216575378/170B8129026060491FD642156687156FBF7B69F8/

The Dragon Slayer is an achievement you get for killing every type of lizard in the game except for axolotls, leapzards, and red lizards (thankfully). That means you need to kill one green, one pink, one blue, one white, one black, and one orange lizard to get this achievement.

Also something to note: If you are ever having trouble finding a certain type of lizard and don't want to actively search for it, you can do something called "Lineage", which basically translates to running around killing lizards that come out of a certain den until the one you want shows up. This is also the only way to get hard mode exclusive lizards (Leapzards and Red Lizards) to spawn in a normal game. Now, I am by no means an expert on this and have only done it once, so if anyone knows anything more about Lineage for lizards, feel free to put it in a comment!

The Friend

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_I16QHnhYc8/maxresdefault.jpg

Did you know that you could tame lizards? Yes, you can! Pretty cool, huh? A tamed lizard will follow you, fight for you, and hibernate in shelters with you. You get The Friend achievement by befriending a lizard and letting it hibernate in your shelter with you for a few cycles. To tame lizards, you have to feed them a certain amount of dead creatures. Each lizard needs to be fed a different amount of food, usually based on their type. I tamed a sweet little blue lizard with a single feed, but some people needed to feed their lizards up to 8 times to tame them! It depends on the individual.

Some lizard species are better to have than others. If you're looking for durability, you can rely on a green lizard to power through almost any situation to follow you and fight for you! However, they are very slow and can’t reach high places. If you are looking for an adventurous companion, a white lizard is the best to have, as they can follow you just about anywhere. They have low health, though, so don’t go running through scavenger tolls with one. If you are on hard mode or if you were very persistent with the lineage strategy, a leapzard is the way to go. Overall, the best lizard to tame would be a leapzard because of its ability to follow you everywhere, it’s durability and health, and it’s jumping ability. If you are looking for a real challenge, you can try your charm on a red lizard, although I can’t guarantee you will make it out alive...

Some critters to feed lizards:
Eggbugs, Hazers, Squidcadas, Lantern Mice, Grapple Worms, Blue lizards (For the green guys! And aparently the Potato Lizards as well.) Noodleflys, Jetfish, Scavengers, and Centipedes.

Conclusion

Whew! Well, that was long...
Thank you guys for making it all the way through my guide! (or skipping to the end, either one works) If you have any question or comments, feel free to put them in the comment section! I could also use some lizard information and pictures to improve this guide, so if any of you have any information you would like to share, I would be happy to add it to the guide and give you credit! Again, thanks for taking the time to read this. I fare thee well, slugcats!

[BallisticGhoul]

you should go into detail on how to tame each lizard. just like "oh greens favorite food is batflies" or whatever

[Mightyenacrush]

Pink lizards can look red, yes, but they will not become red lizards.

[mew-cats]

can pink lizards be red?

[mew-cats]

it could be a blue lizard a very light blue lizard

[mew-cats]

i think im seeing cyan lizards and im only in industrial conplex or something like that and im only survivor!

[Osaka]

i guess i just have found a leapzard in an industrial complex, almost had a heart attack but somehow survived bcs managed to hit their mouth with a spear at point blank

[HI]

leapzards spawn in drainage system and subterranean as well as the wall but i only made to the wall in hard mode once so i dont remember much

[Mightyenacrush]

I'm not sure if throwing a rock at a tamed lizard would untame it, but I *think* that throwing a rock at an untamed lizard that you are attempting to tame shouldn't do much of anything. Don't quote me on that, but I *think* it should be fine if a few accidental stones get thrown around.

[Magnus]

If I throw a rock at a lizard by accident, does that disqualify me from taming it? I keep doing that by accident.

[firewolf]

leapzards can drop you when leaping on accident, but ive only seen it once