How to deal with the Forest Keeper in Lethal Company

The Forest Keeper in Lethal Company watches over the Moon’s surface, restoring peace for the residing wildlife whenever things are disturbed. Unfortunately, keeping the peace means killing all employees that dock onto its habitat.

Some call them Forest Giants, others call them Keepers, but this creature isn’t simple folklore. The Forest Keeper really does exist in Lethal Company and actually appears rather frequently as an outdoor monster, regardless of the Moon you visit. It appears from the ground, bursting through the soil with its arm, searching for anything to sate its hunger. If you were wondering how to kill this monster, we have the answers.

Can you kill Forest Keepers in Lethal Company?

In previous Lethal Company versions, the Forest Keeper couldn’t be killed. In fact, the only way to deal with this pest was to throw grenades and stun him with the Zap Gun if he got too close. Since v50’s release, however, the Forest Keeper can officially be killed.

This leaves the Earth Leviathan and the Old Bird as the only outdoor monsters you cannot kill in Lethal Company. We’re sure this change was to allow for all-out battles between the Keeper and Old Bird within Artifice, as these monsters most commonly spawn together. While employees don’t pack the punch that a single Old Bird can, we can still (potentially) deal 25 Shovel whacks to eventually take down a Keeper ourselves.

How to deal with the Forest Keeper in Lethal Company

Forest Keepers can be beaten, outsmarted, and outran, though everything depends on the situation.

1) Hide under cover

Forest Keepers are enormous, and we mean colossal, which is as much a weakness as a strength. They cannot bend over and reach into low-lying cover, meaning your best friend will be any form of cover you can crouch under. The railings of your ship will most often serve this function, and even though the Forest Keeper may clip through the railing or the ship, they cannot reach you. You can also go inside buildings to quickly escape them, leaving you vulnerable to other creatures. The ship will likely be the best place to run into, but you should stay away from the doors to prevent any unfortunate hitboxes from getting you eaten alive.

2) Use items

Several items can serve you well when facing off Forest Keepers. All of them can be purchased at the terminal and should be considered generally, not only in this situation. They are:

• TZP-Inhalants: If you’re trying to find cover and want to get there fast, take a TZP-Inhalant. This item boosts your movement speed, allowing you to outrun a Forest Keeper, as they can easily catch up to a default moving player; especially one carrying loot. You should also drop your items when trying to outpace the giants.
• Stun Grenades: As of version 40 of Lethal Company, Forest Keepers can be stunned, even while trying to eat one of your teammates. Stunning them gives you an excellent window to escape and allows you even to save someone they may have already caught. You cannot stun them to save yourself, so always have a stun grenade or two on each crew member for safe measure. Stun grenades also work on other enemies.
• Jetpack: The jetpack, while reliable, can boost you vertically and horizontally, allowing you to stay beyond the Forest Keepers’ reach. It’s not a great tool to use, though when facing off a Forest Giant directly, you may try it as it’s better than nothing.

3) Keep a great distance and break line of sight

Forest Keepers have a massive field of vision and can spot players from really far away, thanks to their bulging eyes. Even in foggy conditions, when you cannot see a thing, the Forest Giants can easily spot you and begin their hunt. What you can do to avoid them is to keep a massive distance between yourself and the Forest Keeper. To determine when you’re safe, listen for the loud thumps they make when moving, and if you cannot hear them, you’re likely good for now but stay on your toes. Staying behind cover and moving while they’re not looking are also good ideas.

Though they see far and wide, Forest Keepers are deaf, so breaking the line of sight by hiding behind cover will provide you with a slim escape opportunity so long as they don’t turn around to bite you.

3) Avoid Eclipsed moons

The best way of beating the Forest Keepers is by not seeing them. They have a knack for spawning more frequently on moons that are forested and Eclipsed, meaning you should stay away from both as much as possible. Though they can spawn on other moons, Vow and March are the two moons most populated with Forest Keepers, which makes sense as both contain luscious woods. The tow moons are early-game areas that can easily be skipped once you get to the later parts of the game, as they don’t really have valuable loot.

4) Use them as bait

Forest Keepers have two enemies that can kill them, and these are the Earth Leviathans and Old Birds. What you can do is provoke an Earth Leviathan to jump while a Forest Keeper is pursuing you in a full sprint. Alternatively, lure the Keeper directly to an Old Bird while using the TZP-Inhalant or Jetpack to avoid taking damage from the Old Bird’s missiles.

If you manage to align them, you’ll see the giant sandworm has had his lunch for the day, and you live to tell the tale. Leviathans have massive area-of-effect jumps, so surviving one is improbable, but if you do pull it off, make sure to post it online.

What are Forest Keepers in Lethal Company?

They are a deadly giant foe, and according to the lore, they’re related to the Bracken. You’ll know the latter as the big, void-like fiend with glowing white eyes that pursues you if you look at it too often or too little. The lore also states that, while Forest Giants like eating things, they don’t do it out of hunger, but curiosity. Their huge eyes on the front give them incredible vision, which is a forewarning on how to approach them. So long as you’re hiding, these giants won’t spark their lethal curiosity and lead to your untimely demise.