Screecher

The Screecher is an enemy in Raft.

Summary
The Screecher is a Threat encountered on Large Islands. Once it has spotted the player, a Screecher will attack by dropping boulders onto the player, eventually killing them. Its detection radius is fairly big, so once approaching be sure to keep an eye of for when it dives and listen for the sound of a boulder being picked up. The Screecher always tugs three times before lifting off with a boulder. Once the boulder has been picked up, the Screecher will move in as straight a line as possible towards the player. Once directly above, it will drop the boulder dealing 35 damage to the player if hit.

Whenever the Screecher is hit, a cloud of feathers emerges from its body. If the Screecher is hit while trying to pick up a boulder, it may fly away to a different location and continue. Do note that it does not start over. Despite moving to a new location, the Screecher will only need to complete three tugs before emerging with a boulder, even if its spread out over multiple attempts.

Strategies

 * To kill Screechers, it is recommended to use a Bow.
 * Wait until it flies towards you with a boulder and shoot it once while approaching, and another when it's immediately above you. Make sure to shoot slightly above it on the first shot to make up for the arrow dropping. Consider moving to a high spot so the Screechers will have to fly up to you, potentially making it easier to hit.
 * Hold Shift to sprint as the Screecher is about to drop its boulder to avoid them more easily.
 * Killing a Screecher takes ten (10) shots to kill with Stone Arrows and six (6) shots to kill with Metal Arrows.
 * Screechers can be killed with a spear when they land to pick up boulders. This method is not always viable because the Screecher tends to land far from the player, taking off after three pulls; before the player can reach it.
 * To gain the "Expert Screecher Hunter!"-achievement, the player must kill 50 Screechers, which may take a very long time if done conventionally. However, a lot of time can be saved by finding a Large Island and saving. After saving, the player can kill the Screecher, exit to Main Menu without saving, load up the previous save and start over. All Screechers killed count towards the Achievement.

Avoiding Screecher Attacks

 * Standing under any roof on your raft will shield you from the Screecher's rocks.
 * Hide in caves.
 * Keep moving; the Screecher will take longer to drop the rock, and when it does, it will miss unless you move into it again.
 * Wait for the Screecher to drop a boulder, and as you hear its trigger (a screech), run out of the way.

Trivia

 * The Screecher's design is based on the bearded vulture, also known as the Ossifrage or Lammergeier.
 * The Screecher is also known as the Stone Bird.
 * Screechers were originally going to be able to destroy parts of the raft when dropping boulders.
 * In previous versions of Raft, the boulders that Screechers drop could still damage you through one floor of your raft, requiring two or more layers to stop them. However, in the current version, only one layer is needed.
 * The Screecher‘s method of attack was possibly derived from the death of Aeschylus, an ancient Greek playwright. According to legend, a bearded vulture mistook Aeschylus's head for a rock and dropped a tortoise onto his head, killing him. Bearded vultures drop tortoises onto rocks from great heights to crack their shells before feeding on them.

Gallery
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