Clay Burrower

The Clay Burrower is a rare enemy native to the Clay Caves. It is made up of multiple segments and can move through walls, only emerging when a player is nearby. This makes it one of the more distinctive cave creatures, since it does not behave like a normal ground-bound enemy and can appear from unexpected directions while exploring the biome.

Clay Burrowers spawn on Clay Block ground during the initial generation of an area in the Clay Caves, and they do not respawn. Because they are both uncommon and permanently limited to the terrain generation of a world, players may need to explore widely to encounter them again. Their rarity also affects collection goals, since obtaining its figurine may require visiting multiple worlds.

A few practical points follow from this behavior:

• Clay Burrowers are tied to newly generated Clay Caves terrain rather than to an ongoing spawn cycle.
• Since they do not respawn, clearing an area does not create a reliable source of more encounters.
• Their ability to travel through walls means they can attack or reposition from behind terrain, so open spaces alone do not guarantee safety.
• Because they only emerge when a player is close, careful movement through the Clay Caves can trigger them before they are fully visible.

Internally, the Clay Burrower is referred to as the "star grub" in multiple places.