Caveling Skirmisher

The Caveling Skirmisher is a common enemy native to the Clay Caves. It attacks players on sight, and will also attack Larvae and Big Larvae when they are nearby. Its main attack is to throw spears at its target, making it a threat at range rather than a simple melee foe.

Caveling Skirmishers primarily spawn on Clay Moss placed in any biome, so any area with that terrain can produce them. Because of this, removing Clay Moss you come across will reduce their spawns and make travel through the Clay Caves easier. This is especially useful when clearing paths or establishing safer routes through cave regions where they otherwise appear frequently.

In combat, the most important thing to remember is that after throwing a spear, a Caveling Skirmisher has a cooldown of about 3 seconds before it can throw again. That opening is the best time to close the distance or deal heavy damage. However, getting too close is still dangerous, since their spear throws can inflict serious damage at close range early in the game, even against players wearing Bronze armor. Because of that, ranged weapons are usually the safer choice; a Slingshot is a practical option for fighting them without exposing yourself to their spear attacks.

• Keep moving and watch for the spear-throw animation, then punish the roughly 3-second downtime afterward.
• Avoid trading hits up close, especially early on, because their spears can hit hard even through Bronze armor.
• Use a ranged weapon when possible to fight them from a safe distance.
• Remove Clay Moss in explored areas if you want to cut down on future spawns while moving through the Clay Caves.