Moloch

	Data is potentially outdated
	Last updated for version 0.17.15.0 Last mentioned in changelog 1.4.4.1 The current game version is 1.4.6.0

Moloch
Stats
Health 1,250 (Boss: 1,500)	Sight: 0.075 (Boss: 0.1)
	Hearing: 1 (Boss: 1.5)
Armor Shell, Skirt, Tentacles (See values in the Defense section)	Weakpoints Core beneath the Shell
Immunities Stun Poisons	Vulnerabilities N/A
Behavior
Walk speed N/A	Swim speed 2 slow - 6.50 fast
Aggressive? Yes	Can Enter Submarine? No
Drops only 1 of the items marked with an asterisk * may drop at a time
Items	Chance
File:.png Hydroxyapatite File:.png Brockite	100%% (1/)
File:.png Hydroxyapatite (+1) *	67%% (1/)
Moloch Shell Fragment*	33%% (1/)

The Moloch is a large jellyfish-like creature that manifests in Barotrauma.

Description

Molochs' large dark blue shells cover most of their main bodies, also known as their "core", to provide protection from their front. Moloch's cores are mostly made up of their "ballast sac", which pulsates to allow movement underwater.
Above the Moloch's core, three elongated dark brown tentacles protrude from under the shell. Below the core, thin black tendrils known as the "skirt" trail the Moloch, providing extra protection.
Molochs are blind, and rely on echolocation to navigate. The sounds emitted from this are strikingly tuneful notes, which become stronger and higher in tone when the creature attacks.

In-game

Molochs are agitated by noise. If attacked in melee by a reckless diver, the Moloch will strike back but won't persist, unless it is actively chasing the submarine. If the submarine and its crew stay silent for a few seconds, the Moloch may lose them and stop pursuit.
Impact with a Moloch, or even just a corpse thereof, is especially damaging to the submarine's hull and will easily punch holes in it, causing floods.
Molochs will deliberately attempt to ram the submarine. Despite their persistence to sink the submarine, they tend to be unable to match their speed, which makes fleeing a viable option.

Combat strategies

Coilgun Piercing and Exploding Ammunition will damage the core through the shell, and is the best option when attacking from above.

Since the shell of a Moloch significantly reduces the efficiency of regular attacks from above, if lacking any piercing or exploding ammunition it is strongly recommended to shoot them from below for maximum efficiency. A Railgun will take three to four shots to kill it. If a player manages to shoot it under its shell, it will usually be an instant-kill.

Attacks

Item	Target Type	Afflictions on Hit	AOE Inside	Explosion Range	Structure Damage	Kinetic Force	Cooldown
Core	Submarine	N/A	Stun 5 sec	8m	80	50	12 sec
Shell	Character	Bite Wounds 100 Stun 3 sec	N/A	N/Am	0	15	12 sec
Tentacles (x3)	Character	Bite Wounds 10 Stun 1 sec	N/A	N/Am	5	50	5 sec

Defense

 

Limb	Burn	Bleeding	Damage (all)	Min Severance Damage
Core	x 1.5	x 1.5	x 1.5
Shell	x 0.25	x 0	x 0.1	15
Tentacles	x 0.5	x 0.5	x 0.5	1
Skirt	x 0.25	x 0.25	x 0.25	1

Variants

• Moloch "bosses" are the targets of "Killing a Moloch" Missions.
  They are 15% bigger than regular Molochs, have higher vitality, inflict +15% affliction damage, and cause more damage to hulls.

• Black Molochs, as their name suggests, have a darker shade to their shell and limbs, and are encountered in Random Events.
  They are 15% bigger than regular Molochs, have higher vitality, inflict +15% affliction damage, but cause less damage to hulls. Their ramming attack has a large area-of-effect with a light EMP effect.

• Moloch Babies lack any offensive capabilities, but will emit a very loud noise when hurt, calling for their mother to defend them from a very long range.
  They drop 1 Alien Blood and 1 Swim Bladder.

Trivia

• The Moloch Boss' internal ID used to be "Molochboss"; in version 0.9.10.0, it was changed to "Moloch_m".
• Before version 0.3.2.0, Molochs were unable to damage players, but tried to regardless. This resulted in the popularity of a 'rush' strategy to deal with them: divers would swim to the Moloch and strike it with the least efficient weapon, distracting the creature from the comparatively vulnerable submarine and slowly wearing out the monster. The issue was fixed in 0.3.2.0, and the strategy abandoned.
• Interestingly, the Moloch's code doesn't include direct damage values against structures, instead transferring kinetic energies to yield the same result and create hull breaches.
• Molochs bear a resemblance to the extinct Dollocaris as it has a similar body plan, and may have been based on them.
• Black Molochs when nearby the sub cause the navigation terminal to display heat as if there are volcanoes attacking you
• Molochs are sometimes found instead of an artifact at the end of salvage missions in Mission Mode or Campaign, as they emit the same kind of infrasonic signals. Killing the misleading creature will still be considered a success.

Gallery

Standard

• Idle 1

• Attack 1

• Damage 1

• Death 1

• Moving

Baby

• Idle 1

• Alarm 1

• Damage 1

• Death 1