If you’ve spent any time playing R.E.P.O., you’ve probably encountered the confusing (and occasionally terrifying) phenomena of enemies spawning right in front of you, or worse, hearing you from halfway across the map. Ever wonder why a duck spawns right next to your van? Or how the Huntsman can hear you from such a distance? My guide dives deep into enemy behavior, from spawning mechanics to vision and noise detection, so you can stay one step ahead.
Spawning, Vision & Noise Detection Explained
My guide dives into four key systems you’ll need to master if you want to survive longer and stay one step ahead in R.E.P.O. We’ll cover how enemies appear, how they see you, how they hear you, and how they react over time. You’ll also learn about a lesser-known mechanic, proximity awareness, where enemies can sense you even without laying eyes on you. Understanding these systems is the key to outsmarting even the deadliest foes.
Spawning 101: Who Shows Up and Why
At the start of each level, the game randomly selects a set of enemies based on tiered levels. These selections occur only once per level and remain unchanged regardless of the enemy’s status (e.g., whether they die or despawn). The game features three tiers of enemies, each with increasing difficulty. As the levels progress, the number of enemies spawned also increases, ensuring greater challenge.
| Enemy/Combination | Tier | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Peeper | 1 | 20% |
| Shadow Child | 1 | 20% |
| Apex Predator | 1 | 20% |
| 4 Gnomes | 1 | 20% |
| Spewer | 1 | 20% |
| Rugrat | 2 | 12.5% |
| Animal | 2 | 12.5% |
| Upscream | 2 | 12.5% |
| Bowtie | 2 | 12.5% |
| Chef | 2 | 12.5% |
| Mentalist | 2 | 12.5% |
| 3 Bangers | 2 | 12.5% |
| Hidden | 2 | 12.5% |
| Headman | 3 | ~16.1% |
| Huntsman | 3 | ~16.1% |
| Reaper | 3 | ~16.1% |
| Robe | 3 | ~16.1% |
| Trudge | 3 | ~16.1% |
| Clown | 3 | ~16.1% |
| 4 Apex Predators | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 3 Chefs | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 3 Bowties | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 10 Gnomes | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 6 Bangers | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 3 Animals | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 3 Mentalists | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 2 Hiddens | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 4 Spewers | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 3 Rugrats | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 4 Shadow Children | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 3 Upscreams | 3 | ~0.2% |
| 3 Peepers | 3 | ~0.2% |
Enemy Tiers: Understanding Threat Levels
R.E.P.O. divides enemies into three distinct tiers based on their danger level. Higher-tier enemies spawn as you progress through levels, with more challenging and dangerous enemies appearing as you advance.
Tier 1 enemies include minor threats like the Peeper and Shadow Child. Tier 2 brings mid-level menaces like Rugrats and Chefs, while Tier 3 introduces nightmare-level enemies like the Robe, Clown, and Huntsman. If you want to learn more about them, check out my guide on all the monsters in R.E.P.O. and how to beat them.
Enemy composition changes depending on the level:
| Level | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3–5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 6–8 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 9–10 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 11+ | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Special Group Spawns
In rare cases, you might face a group spawn, one entire level filled with a single type of enemy. For example, you might face 10 Gnomes or 4 Ducks. It’s unpredictable, chaotic, and can be both exhilarating or a total disaster.
Spawn Locations & Idle Behavior
When a level starts, all enemies spawn at Level Points, these are node-like spawn locations placed on the furthest tiles from the R.E.P.O. van. These function similarly to AI nodes in Lethal Company, used for both spawning and pathfinding.
After spawning, enemies will idle at their level point for a set time. The higher the level, the shorter the idle time. There’s also a 20% chance that the idle time will be skipped entirely. If a player steps within 20 units of an enemy, it immediately cancels the idle.
Occasionally, enemies may spawn too close to the van. This is a bug that happens when the game struggles to find a proper spawn point.
Enemy States: Active, Passive, and Inactive
Enemies don’t just pop into existence. They follow a strict cycle of states: Active, Passive, and Inactive. Understanding how each state works will give you the edge in dealing with them.
Active State: Ready to Hunt
When enemies are in the Active state, they are fully functional and will roam the map, chase players, and behave according to their specific AI. Here’s how the spawning works during this state:
- Spawning: Enemies spawn randomly at level points, specific locations marked on the map. These points must be within 35 units of a player, but not within 18 units.
- Timers: Once spawned, two timers come into play:
- Spawned Pause Timer: Lasts between 3 and 4 minutes. During this time, enemies are inactive despite being spawned.
- Spawned Timer: Once the pause timer runs out, enemies begin the countdown to despawn, but only if there are no players within 20 units of them (roughly a tile size of 15 units). This timer ranges from 20-40 seconds.
- Despawn Logic: When the spawned timer expires, the enemy despawns. Certain conditions (like being killed) can alter this process.
Passive State: Waiting to Wake
At the start of the round, all enemies are in the Passive state. In this state, they remain still and do nothing. This phase varies depending on the level and random chance:
| Level | Min Time(s) | Max Time (s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 240 | 360 |
| 2 | 214 | 321 |
| 3 | 134 | 202 |
| 4 | 78 | 117 |
| 5 | 54 | 81 |
| 6 | 48 | 72 |
| 7 | 47 | 70 |
| 8 | 42 | 63 |
| 9 | 34 | 52 |
| 10 | 22 | 33 |
| 11+ | 0 | |
During Passive state, enemies will not move or react, but they still adhere to their spawn rules. The timer is interrupted if a player gets within 20 units or triggers certain enemy actions (like a Huntsman shot). Once interrupted, they become Active.
Inactive State: Gone, but Not Forgotten
In this state, enemies are technically off the map, awaiting respawn. Despawn times are random, but the length depends on when the enemy despawned and how much time has passed in the level.
| Time at Despawn(minutes) | Despawn Timer Range(seconds) | Despawn Timer Range (death)(seconds) |
|---|---|---|
| 0-10 | 240 to 300 | 720 to 900 |
| 10-20 | 192 to 240 | 576 to 720 |
| 20-30 | 244 to 180 | 732 to 540 |
| 30-40 | 96 to 120 | 288 to 360 |
| 40-50 | 48 to 60 | 144 to 180 |
| 50+ | 1 | 3 |
| Any time, final extraction | 1 | 3 |
Certain noise events or actions can speed up respawn times, like making a lot of noise, or during Final Extraction (more on that later).
Noise and Investigation: How Enemies Hear You
Enemies in R.E.P.O. rely heavily on sound to detect players. Most can hear sounds generated by your actions, but a few exceptions exist. The Peeper and Shadow Child are deaf, for instance. Meanwhile, the Huntsman has superhuman hearing, detecting sounds from 5× farther away than other enemies.
One of the core mechanics affecting enemy behavior is how enemies react to noise. Most enemies can hear sounds in their environment, triggering an investigation.
- Certain noises, such as Object Destruction or the Frog Jump, can decrease the despawn timer of enemies by five seconds. In some cases, specific items like the Animal Crate or Ice Saw can cause a much more significant increase in activity, sometimes resulting in a dramatically faster despawn timer (up to 251 times faster for the Animal Crate due to a bug).
- When an enemy hears a noise, it will investigate the sound. Different enemies react to noises in unique ways. For example, the Headman will immediately head to the nearest level point after hearing a sound.
Noise Bubble Sizes
Noise is categorized by size and range. Here’s how different actions generate sound:
| Sound | Range (units) | Despawn Decrease? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light footsteps* | 0 | No | While crouching |
| Light impact w/o damage | 0.2 | No | |
| Door opening | 0.5 | No | |
| Medium impact w/o damage | 0.5 | No | |
| Heavy impact w/o damage | 1 | No | |
| Door closing | 1 | No | |
| Medium footsteps | 1 | No | While not sprinting and not crouching. |
| Light impact w/ damage | 3 | No | |
| Heavy footsteps | 5 | No | While sprinting. |
| Flamethrower shoot | 5 | No | |
| Player voice | 5 | No | |
| Medium impact w/ damage | 5 | No | |
| Heavy impact w/ damage | 10 | No | |
| Duck quack | 10 | No | |
| Player landing | 10 | No | |
| Tranquilizer Shot | 10 | No | |
| Object destroyed | 15 | Yes | |
| Frog jump (object) | 15 | Yes | Re-pings every jump. |
| Ice saw held | 15 | Yes | Re-pings 10 times per second. (likely a bug) |
| Propane tank shooting | 15 | Yes | Re-pings every second. |
| Bottle shooting | 15 | Yes | Re-pings every second. |
| Clown boop | 15 | Yes | |
| Handgun Shot | 20 | Yes | If an enemy is killed by a shot, that enemy’s despawn timer will not be immediately decreased. |
| Screaming doll | 20 | Yes | This trigger is tied to the animation. It triggers every 0.65 seconds, making it trigger ~1.54 times per second. |
| Extraction point activation | 20 | Yes | Truck room extraction does not count. |
| Extraction point warning alarm | 20 | Yes | Pings once, at the start of the alarm. |
| Musical instrument played | 25 | Yes | |
| Gramophone active | 35 | Yes | Re-pings every second. |
| Music box active | 35 | Yes | Re-pings every second. |
| Radio active | 35 | Yes | Re-pings every second. |
| TV active | 35 | Yes | Re-pings every second. |
| Animal crate tilted | 35 | Yes | Re-pings 50 times per second. (likely a bug) |
| Fan held | 35 | Yes | Re-pings every second. |
| Toy monkey clapping | 35 | Yes | Re-pings every second. |
| Teeth book active | 35 | Yes | Re-pings every second. |
| Shotgun Shot | 40 | Yes | If an enemy is killed by a shot, that enemy’s despawn timer will not be immediately decreased. |
| Grandfather clock active | 60 | Yes | Pings the first three times in the entire game the bell rings. |
Crouching is totally silent. Your best friend. Some noises can trigger a despawn timer reduction for all enemies. For example, the Animal Crate (due to a bug) will trigger noise at an extreme rate, speeding up respawn times by 251x!
Leave Pings and Final Extraction Pings
- Leave Pings occur when no enemies are near players for a certain time, forcing all enemies to leave their current locations. As players progress through the level, the Action Meter increases based on how many enemies are in the same room as them. When the meter hits 120, all enemies will hear a noise and be forced to leave. This mechanic encourages players to keep the action meter under control and avoid letting it max out, as it can lead to enemy leaving.
- Final Extraction pings push enemies toward the players at an accelerated pace, making the final stretch chaotic. During this phase, all enemies respawn instantly, so be ready for a frenzy. During the final extraction phase, the game makes sure that enemies are more active by having them “hear” sounds every 3 seconds. The closer players are to the extraction point, the more enemies will be pushed toward them. This mechanic ramps up the difficulty significantly at the end of the level, forcing players to manage their positioning and interactions with enemies strategically.
Vision: What They See (and How Long It Takes)
Enemies use field-of-view cones. Detection isn’t instant, it takes time:
- Crouching: Reduces visibility cone and increases the time needed for detection to 2.5 seconds
- Crawling: Shrinks vision even more; enemies need 5 full seconds of visual contact to spot you
You can crawl by going under furniture, or by holding an item over your head. Keep in mind: items count as part of your hitbox. If the enemy sees your item, you’re spotted.
| Stance | Time to Detect | FOV Width |
|---|---|---|
| Standing | 1s | Normal (100%) |
| Crouch | 2.5s | Narrow (~80%) |
| Crawl | 5s | Narrower (~40%) |
Tip: Holding an item above your head while crawling can help hide you in the open. Just don’t wave it around like a flag, anything visible counts as your body. If they see it, they aggro.
Most enemies also have a proximity radius, which lets them detect you even if you’re not in their line of sight.
- Standing: 3.5 units
- Crouching/Crawling: 2 units
These values vary slightly depending on the enemy.
Final Extraction
Once the final extraction point is activated, all bets are off:
- Enemies don’t path directly to players, but get pinged by huge sound bubbles.
- First 10s: Repo Van gets pinged 4 times in a 100-unit radius.
- Afterward: Random level points near players are pinged every few seconds until 30s.
- Then: Every 30 seconds.
Also:
- All enemies respawn instantly (1s timer).
- Any noisy death leads to almost immediate respawn.
- Leave Pings can help reset the chaos by making enemies relocate. Use this to regroup if overwhelmed.
Wrap-Up
To recap:
- Don’t rush into rooms, idle timers cancel if you get too close.
- Crouch + crawl are king for stealth.
- Noise matters, especially around Huntsman.
- Use noisy items tactically to farm orbs or control spawn pacing.
- Be ready for chaos when final extraction hits. It gets wild fast.
R.E.P.O.’s enemy mechanics are complex but rewarding to master. From managing spawn timings to exploiting sound and movement to your advantage, you’ll need to think on your feet. The unpredictability of enemies and the constant tension make every playthrough unique, and with these mechanics in mind, you’ll have a serious advantage in staying one step ahead. If you’re looking to sharpen your skills even further, be sure to check out my tips and tricks for R.E.P.O!
