DISCLAIMER: This is speculative and based on pre-release information, Minecraft, and Pigeon Simulator. This is not to be taken seriously; this is just for fun.
Honestly, this was extra fun for me because, unlike the other "annoying Hytale enemies" posts I did, I didn't rant here. These are just some chill predictions.
Special thanks to Shadrok for reading a draft of this post.
I was once casually browsing through some Blade & Sorcery (a VR swordfighting game) videos on YouTube, and I saw a video with a pigeon on it. I knew I had to click on it instantly because, in case you don't know, I have such a strange obsession with Hytale's deadeye pigeon to the point I used my free time to make some fan art of it.
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| This is my first time drawing a bird that's not a lazy V-shaped "dove", and I'm slightly proud of it. I just wanna parry one of those daggers with my spear. |
So what's the big deal about the Pigeon Simulator pigeon?
It causes chaos in a city, in short.
You know when pigeons sometimes poop on characters in cartoons? Pigeon Simulator takes that to the extreme: pooping near people frightens them, and hitting them directly knocks them out! The player even gets an achievement simply called "POOP ON A HUMAN", and I laughed.
The pigeon eats by stealing people's food and drinks. Okay, no big deal for regular food, but it poops different poops depending on what it eats; spicy food like a taco causes the pigeon to poop freaking fireballs!
The pigeon builds its nest on urban points of interest like on an apartment building or the top of a fountain. And guess what the baby pigeons do when they're all grown up? Poop all over the place!
The pigeon is surprisingly strong as well. It can smash through bus stops, carry and throw adult humans, and with sticky poop, it can even carry cars!
The pigeon is surprisingly strong as well. It can smash through bus stops, carry and throw adult humans, and with sticky poop, it can even carry cars!
Oh man, there are lots to break down here, but let's start with something simple: the talons.
Talon attacks, I imagine, would be easy to block or dodge because the pigeon has to get close...though blocking is risky because I could get grabbed by the pigeon, especially if I don't have a shield. Hitting it before it can grab me can probably interrupt its attack, so a spear is ideal to keep me out of the pigeon's reach.
If the pigeon does grab me but doesn't stop me from attacking, I can just stab it over and over with a dagger. If I have shears and shears can deal extra damage, I'd cut off the pigeon's wings and I won't be afraid to fall off because D&D monks have the Slow Fall feature. If I still take normal fall damage, I'll wait until the pigeon flies above something I can safely land on, like the topmost branch of a tall tree or the obvious water...unless the pigeon intends to drag me to somewhere hazardous like a glass window or a fountain of lava.
I talked about dagger attacks back in my reaction to "Custom content in Hytale", but aside from regular poop, I think those are the easiest to block with a shield...as long as I don't have a crudely built shield full of holes.
(Note that, since this is a Hytale adaptation, I'm keeping the pigeons' ability to throw daggers. As far as I know, there are no bladed weapons in Pigeon Simulator.)
Now here's the big daddy:
Poop
Regular poop is less threatening, thankfully. I imagine it would just splat on a shield like paint, and it falls slowly enough to dodge. I wanna be ready though in case it has acidic properties allowing it to melt shields.Sticky poop would follow similar rules as being grabbed by the pigeon's talons, but I most likely won't be able to reach the pigeon with melee attacks. Instead, I'd cut off the poop with a slashing weapon like a scimitar or katana. If that's not an option, I'd throw rocks or javelins at the pigeon. Edit, May 31, 2020: The May 30, 2020 progress update confirmed the ability for human players to throw spears.
I hope there's a way to reduce damage if the pigeon spins me around then makes me bump into a wall—imagine hitting a wall with a fidget spinner that's currently spinning.
Also, you know how I keep talking about bows dealing super effective damage to fliers similar to Fire Emblem? Well, sticky poop can negate that weakness by grabbing an arrow and throwing it back. If Hypixel Studios implements this, they'd better put a cooldown on sticky poop 'cause this poop will really ruin archers' days. Extra good luck from me to you if you're a bow-wielding flier.
Fireballs are extra dangerous since they can inflict area-of-effect damage and qualify the Pigeon Simulator pigeon as a griefer. They're difficult to block because they may still explode and deal damage even if I have a shield (and we don't know if it's possible to deflect projectiles like a Minecraft arrow or a ghast's fireball), and they're difficult to dodge because, if I don't time it right or the pigeon is too close, I can still get caught in the blast.
I don't know how much the fire would spread in a Hytale version of the Pigeon Simulator pigeon, but I assume the impact would create a 3x3 block area of fire. If it does spread to the point that it can incinerate even the inside of a 100% stone building...well, I'm gonna harass BoltOLightnin into getting water buckets extra fast.
Speaking of water, I think the vast majority of people know that water is super effective against fire, so dousing these fireballs with water may turn them into regular poop. You know how builds in the Minecraft multiplayer game "Factions" are often 100% obsidian and covered in water to be as TNT-proof as possible? That can also help protect against pigeon fireballs. (Hmmm, would these fireballs be less effective in zone 3?)
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| This base I built about a year ago needs more water on top. |
But okay. Hypixel Studios is nice enough to not let player characters suffer the same fate as these poor dismembered people. I'm sure they'll let us break out of being frozen through sheer willpower, strength, or even anger.
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| GIF by Disney-Pixar How the average Joe can melt ice. |
The obvious solution is to equip the faction members with ranged weapons, especially bows or slingshots. (Imagine if catapult boulders could explode and hit nearby enemies with tiny stone fragments.) If their aim doesn't suck, they can end a fight before the pigeons even get close because, so far, I haven't seen any Pigeon Simulator player successfully snipe a target from at least one city block away.
I've rambled on a bit too long about poop (which, quite frankly, is something I hate to even see in real life), so let's talk about something almost equally threatening:
The Pigeon's Crazy Diet
No, these aren't your ordinary worm- and grain-eating pigeons. They can eat or drink anything a human can: burgers, fries, soda, donuts, and tacos, for example. They can also eat weird things like...er, whatever liquid is in those barrels. Don't forget the HUMAN BODY PARTS I mentioned earlier.
This means I have to be extra protective of my farms, both crops and animals.
However, I think Pigeon Simulator pigeons in Hytale will not be as harmful to crops as they will be to animals. You can't really eat crops you've killed with a fireball or frozen poop, can you? The most they can do is grab a handful of crops with their talons or sticky poop, but they can't cause heavy damage to a crop farm unless said farm is unattended. Besides, even though these pigeons are terrorists, they still gotta eat to survive and care for their young.
As for animals, a fireball can easily cook a group of them in one hit, instantly ruining all the hard work I put into my animal farm.
I know some animals like chickens are placed in barns, so that's what I might do. That should prevent pigeons from seeing the animals in the first place...as long as the pigeons can't shapeshift into an animal or monster with a keen sense of smell.
Lastly, maybe I should invest in some durable and airtight chests. I don’t want the smells of my favorite food to seep out and lure pigeons...unless I want to trap them.
Lastly, maybe I should invest in some durable and airtight chests. I don’t want the smells of my favorite food to seep out and lure pigeons...unless I want to trap them.
Pigeon Simulator Pigeons as a Hytale Faction
This is gonna look a bit like a psycho fanboy's fanfiction.
Unlike the regular deadeye pigeon from "Custom Content in Hytale", I think Pigeon Simulator pigeons have sufficient intelligence to form an organized faction. They know how to play soccer, they can get a "quest" from a goat statue dedicated to Goat Simulator... (Yeah, this sounds like something that would make for an interesting antagonistic cult in Dungeons & Dragons. I might consider that in a much later session.)
Here we go—time to test my Dungeon Mastering skills...
Tired of being hunted and domesticated to the point of near-extinction, many of the pigeons of Orbis have banded together as one flock to exact revenge against the larger land-dwellers. United and strengthened by the voice of a legendary goat hero that they worship as a god, the pigeons have taken up arms and learned the art of poop warfare to counter the technological advancements of the rival races.
The pigeons are a chaotic evil cult whose primary modus operandi is coordinated raids on humanoid civilization using their daggers and poop. They believe that violence and gluttony appease their goat god, which is why, even if vastly outnumbered, they bravely swoop down low to swiftly steal food or use their talons to claw at their enemies or clobber them with the environment.
Pigeons firmly believe that, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. As such, they prioritize larger humans or even objects such as vehicles. However, they mistake crouched humans for smaller living creatures, therefore ignoring these humans occasionally unless the humans strike first.
Unlike other chaotic evil groups, pigeons have a sense of teamwork and family love. They often gather in formations while moving or fighting in unison, though they are also capable of fighting and feeding on their own. They are defensive of their nests, so they treat armed people with extra hostility and scrutiny, thinking these people plan to destroy their nests. However, the pigeons mistake regular, non-violent pigeons for allies.
Unlike other chaotic evil groups, pigeons have a sense of teamwork and family love. They often gather in formations while moving or fighting in unison, though they are also capable of fighting and feeding on their own. They are defensive of their nests, so they treat armed people with extra hostility and scrutiny, thinking these people plan to destroy their nests. However, the pigeons mistake regular, non-violent pigeons for allies.
Kweebecs are the pigeons' natural enemies thanks to the abundance of fruit in the Kweebecs' forest homes. Pigeons also mistake Kweebecs for twigs that can be used for nest building, making Kweebecs despise pigeons, and in turn, granting Kweebecs the wrath of the pigeons, eventually leading to the two factions competing for territory.
Despite the pigeons' burning desire for violence, they show some respect to some factions.
They respect the Outlanders' devotion to dark magic and family-like friendships, which, to the pigeons, is similar to their own. However, the pigeons have no idea that Outlanders are humans due to the latter's concealed identities.
They reluctantly show respect to the Scaraks for their organized work and battle styles, but still show hostility as Scaraks, especially larvae, resemble prey to the pigeons.
Pigeons primarily nest in urban areas, such as atop centers of humanoid traffic or humanoid settlements, thanks to their somewhat lacking sense of self-preservation and focus on swift conquest rather than "slow but steady" warfare. Other than urban areas, they can also be found in forests where they prey upon travelers using the canopy leaves as cover while having an indirect advantage thanks to humans rarely looking upwards.
Pigeons do not use many of the territory types that I discussed in my Hytale gang wars series. They mainly use generic territories where territory control is less determined by nest size or quantity and more on pigeon population.
The other territory type they use is the Dark Shrine which contains a statue of the goat god. However, instead of dark magic, pigeons can store more poop and poop much faster near these shrines.
Pigeons do not use many of the territory types that I discussed in my Hytale gang wars series. They mainly use generic territories where territory control is less determined by nest size or quantity and more on pigeon population.
The other territory type they use is the Dark Shrine which contains a statue of the goat god. However, instead of dark magic, pigeons can store more poop and poop much faster near these shrines.
Attacking Pigeon Territory
Just like the exterminators in Pigeon Simulator who use flamethrowers, a flint and steel or fire magic would be effective against pigeon nests and can also incinerate groups of pigeons who attack from low altitude. However, due to the pigeons' preference of urban areas, area-of-effect damage is risky as it may damage innocent NPCs or their properties.
Chain lightning is a precise way to kill pigeons without damaging innocents (assuming such a spell, when placed in Hytale, can auto-identify friendly, neutral, and hostile creatures). It's super effective!
However, not every player likes using magic, myself included. (I'm mostly a physical attacker.)
Only using physical attacks is tough because pigeons can fly separately from one another to avoid having several of them get hit by a single attack from a bludgeoning or slashing weapon like a bat or axe, respectively.
Pillar-jumping is also tough since it's a rather slow process which can leave the jumper wide open to being shoved or grappled.
Then again, it can be fun to take the hard way out of a video game situation. Just look at all the Pokémon videos where people try to win with a restriction like only being able to use one Magikarp.
Patience and good use of defensive techniques like blocking and dodging are key to defeating pigeons using only physical attacks...assuming the pigeons don't breed as massively as insects like mosquitoes do. Just like in modern combat except with medieval weapons and poop instead of guns, cover is important, and fortunately, urban and forest areas are filled with places to take cover in, whether it's behind a house or a tree. (I prefer urban areas, though, since the inside of a house can easily cover most, if not all, of the body.) This allows the player to stay alive long enough to take out the pigeons one-by-one with a bow.
For attacking the nest without siege weapons or magic, the strategy varies depending on the nest's location and whether or not innocents are involved.
Attacking a nest on top of a ground-level building is the easiest since the player can simply go inside the building and seal the door and windows before breaking a small part of the ceiling and sneak-attacking the nest from below. (Just please no nests on sky villages.)
Like I said before, torching a nest on a tree using flint and steel is also easy...though it's risky if, again, there are innocents. Unlike Minecraft, tree leaves in Hytale don't look like solid blocks, so I assume I go through them rather than land on top of them. It may be possible to reach nests by jumping from branch to branch like a monkey, but it's risky with tall trees or in biomes where trees are separated far from one another. Ah, fudge it, I guess I have to rely on throwable weapons which I think are not fully confirmed for players: hand axes to chop off thin branches, and rocks (if I don't have or can't use a Kweebec slingshot) to deal direct damage to the nest because I don't think arrows would deal much damage.
Then again, whether you're a physical or magical attacker, being able to fly, teleport, or jump super high makes raiding pigeon territory super easy.
As for a dark shrine, the shrine should obviously be prioritized to weaken the pigeons; a pickaxe or explosive weapon or magic can destroy the shrine.
However, pigeons may be highly protective of the shrine.
As for a dark shrine, the shrine should obviously be prioritized to weaken the pigeons; a pickaxe or explosive weapon or magic can destroy the shrine.
However, pigeons may be highly protective of the shrine.
Defending My Base from Pigeons
This is significantly easier than attacking pigeons thanks to my Trump wall. Ranged attackers stationed on the battlements will use their super effective projectiles to make short work of the pigeons even if the enemy tries to fly at high altitude.
Pigeons can't deal area-of-effect damage except with their fireballs, and even then, they have to get within a rather short effective range. YoSquid can easily snipe these arsonists from an incredibly long range.
The only reliable way the pigeons can enter our Trump wall (without using pickaxes or shovels) is through our big main entrance, though I'll be there ready to bow-spam them from ground level (or punch them if they decide to "sword-fight" with their daggers against me and my melee attackers).
If they do break through our defenses...well, we're firetrucked. Take cover underground if we can't take them all out quickly enough, I guess.
Side note: I'd better take aerial screenshots of important stages of our base build so we can restore our base if it ever gets trashed by griefers. Might make for a nice blog post as well.
(I take long-distance screenshots sometimes, causing the fine details to be blurry even in 1080p. This is probably the only good reason why I should invest in a 4K monitor.)
Side note: I'd better take aerial screenshots of important stages of our base build so we can restore our base if it ever gets trashed by griefers. Might make for a nice blog post as well.
(I take long-distance screenshots sometimes, causing the fine details to be blurry even in 1080p. This is probably the only good reason why I should invest in a 4K monitor.)
Befriending Pigeons (Evil Playthrough)
Note that I don't think humans can be dismembered in Hytale to avoid raising the ESRB rating, unlike dismembering a Kweebec which is akin to woodcutting. Remember that Hytale is aiming for T for Teen.
Because of the pigeons' hostility towards humans, the player needs to have a shield while attempting to befriend them to avoid getting pelted by daggers and poop. I did not make the pigeons allied with Varyn (or any other faction, for that matter) on purpose to make this more challenging.
(That said, a void pigeon is an interesting idea...)
I suppose I have to regularly make food donations to the pigeons? This is easy because they can eat a lot of different things. I can simply mass-produce wheat.
If I prioritize conquest over farming, I can bring back the body parts of Kweebecs as part of an oath of allegiance.
Speaking of wood, which Kweebecs are made of, I think the pigeons will like sticks. Gotta build those nests, after all. Though I have a weird thought: what if pigeons build their nests out of more durable materials used by humans, such as steel bars?
(Can someone think of more creative ways to befriend these pigeons? Maybe, offering a sacrifice of the bodies of my enemies to their goat god?)
Pigeons, I think, are effective at steadily weakening an army using chip damage and AoE damage, as long as they are given a steady supply of the food they need to use their special poops. Unless the opposing army has snipers, AoE mages, or massive numbers of ranged attackers, pigeons are hard to hit and can hit back easily, making them effective hit-and-runners.
(That said, a void pigeon is an interesting idea...)
I suppose I have to regularly make food donations to the pigeons? This is easy because they can eat a lot of different things. I can simply mass-produce wheat.
If I prioritize conquest over farming, I can bring back the body parts of Kweebecs as part of an oath of allegiance.
Speaking of wood, which Kweebecs are made of, I think the pigeons will like sticks. Gotta build those nests, after all. Though I have a weird thought: what if pigeons build their nests out of more durable materials used by humans, such as steel bars?
(Can someone think of more creative ways to befriend these pigeons? Maybe, offering a sacrifice of the bodies of my enemies to their goat god?)
Pigeons, I think, are effective at steadily weakening an army using chip damage and AoE damage, as long as they are given a steady supply of the food they need to use their special poops. Unless the opposing army has snipers, AoE mages, or massive numbers of ranged attackers, pigeons are hard to hit and can hit back easily, making them effective hit-and-runners.
Pigeon Simulator Pigeons...with Prototype Disguises
As if these pigeons were bad enough as they are.
Imagine if they can disguise as powerful monsters while retaining the ability to poop their ridiculous poops, like maybe an "ice dragon" that shoots ice out of its mouth and fire from its butt. Good luck if being cold-resistant sacrifices heat resistance.
Or an Outlander ranger which combines the Outlanders' terrain and survival skills with the pigeons' sticky poop, allowing them to pull their prey to an inconspicuous location before assassinating.
Lazy Conclusion
Actually, I think it's unlikely that Hypixel Studios will consider making a pigeon that's too similar to the Pigeon Simulator pigeon...for obvious copying reasons. Then again, Hypixel Studios posting funny or weird things from time to time, including Simon's Crab Rave meme, the deadeye pigeon, and the poop in the January 29, 2020 progress update, is a surprisingly effective marketing strategy.
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| It's super effective on your nose! Screenshot from Hytale; poop model by Thomas Frick |
That said, I'm excited to see a modder make this a reality. These pigeons look like a fun challenge.
Actually, now that I think about it, imagine if you could actually play as a Pigeon Simulator pigeon in Hytale and then terrorize fantasy monsters instead of human cities...
TL;DR summary: Pigeon Simulator pigeons, when adopted into Hytale, can cause chaos with their strong talons, throwing daggers, and specialized poops, which include sticky poop, fireballs, and freezing poop depending on what they eat. They mainly nest in urban areas. Magic is the fastest way to kill these pigeons, though it's risky when innocents are caught in the crossfire.
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