Red Hound

Don't Starve

DST

Red Hound
	100
	30 (22.5 )
Attack Period	2
Attack Range	3
Running Speed	10
Drops	(20%) x3
Spawns From	: :
Special Ability	Bursts into flames when killed
	"firehound"

“That one is glowy.”

–Wilson

“I actually kind of like that one.”

–Willow

“Bark!”

–Wolfgang

“His disposition is fiery.”

–Wendy

“IT LIVES TO BURN”

–WX-78

“That hound is more dangerous than the others.”

–Wickerbottom

“Hot hound!”

–Woodie

“I put fire gems in there as a joke.”

–Maxwell

“How delightfully volatile!”

–Wagstaff

“The flamed öne has nö mercy.”

–Wigfrid

“He's got a fire under his feet. And all inside him.”

–Webber

“This one seems angrier somehow.”

–Walani

“Chien, on fire!”

–Warly

“Stay beck from me legs!”

–Woodlegs

“'TIS A FWOOSHIE WOLF!”

–Wilba

“Fire Woofers!”

–Wormwood

“Should I be terrified? Just for future reference.”

–Wheeler

“Get outta here, bucko!”

–Winona

“Hyuyu, firey!”

–Wortox

“Don't like look of that one, flurp.”

–Wurt

“Who's a good boy?”

–Walter

“I won't meet a fiery end from the likes of you!”

–Wanda

The Red Hound (also known as a Fire Hound, Flame Hound, or Hellhound) can spawn in the Summer and Autumn () during Hound attacks and from Hound Mounds. Red Hounds have less health than regular Hounds, cannot be set on fire, and have a higher resistance to the effects of an Ice Staff. Upon death, they "explode" into 3 large fires that will burn for at least six seconds, then extinguish into Ashes. These fires can easily spread to nearby flammable objects. When killed, Red Hounds will always drop 1 Monster Meat and 1 Hound's Tooth, with a chance to drop 1 Red Gem.

Occasionally, players can encounter Red Hounds as part of a Fire Staff Trap. Four to five Red Hounds sleep around the Fire Staff, and if the Fire Staff is taken, they will wake up and attack. The player will lose a large amount of sanity, and it will start to rain. If encountered, it is better to kill off each Hound individually, as they will not awaken upon the assault of their brethren.

Downloadable Content

In the Reign of Giants (ROG) DLC, if a player tracks a Varg, the Varg can spot the player and howl, calling two Hounds to help attack the player. Depending on the season, these Hounds can be normal, Blue, and Red.

Periodic Hound Attacks

“Did you hear that?”

–Wilson

“Show yourself!”

–Willow

“I hear puppies!”

–Wolfgang

“The hounds are baying.”

–Wendy

“SOMETHING IS COMING”

–WX-78

“Something is approaching.”

–Wickerbottom

“There's something out there.”

–Woodie

“The hounds are growing restless.”

–Maxwell

“Hounds! Coming to eat me, no doubt.”

–Wagstaff

“The beasts are appröaching...”

–Wigfrid

“Doggies are coming!”

–Webber

“Junkyard dogs incomin'.”

–Walani

“I recognize that sound. Hunger.”

–Warly

“Whut be thet noise signallin'?”

–Woodlegs

“DOGS OF WAR IS LET LOOSED!”

–Wilba

“Woofers!”

–Wormwood

“How am I supposed to explore with those dogs running around?”

–Wheeler

“Are those dogs I hear?”

–Winona

“The beasts are baying!”

–Wortox

“Glurp... doggies coming...”

–Wurt

“Woby? Do you hear something?”

–Walter

“Wait a tick... did you hear something?”

–Wanda

When a Hound attack is imminent, snorting and growling sounds will be heard. These sounds start off softly and grow louder as the Hounds approach. Characters will also call attention to these sounds with phrases such as, "Did you hear that?". Usually, these warnings appear at least twice before the Hounds come. When the Hounds appear, the growling sounds will be replaced with the very real running and panting sounds that Hounds make when they attack. Any spawning hounds appear within a 30 unit or 7½ pitchfork tile radius of the player.

Wes and Wilbur cannot speak and therefore do not have distinguishable warnings. Wilbur will make random monkey noises, as with any other quote. Attacks will escalate and peak at day 100. Periodic hound attacks are a threat in a Sandbox Mode. The default attacks escalate making them dangerous to fight alone.

Hounds do not appear in Caves. Instead, Depths Worms attack in waves similar to the way Hounds do above ground.

Red Hounds will accompany normal Hounds during attacks in Summer and Autumn (). Red Hounds will appear less often than normal Hounds.

After the second attack, Red Hounds can spawn with normal Hounds during Summer, while Blue Hounds can spawn with normal Hounds during Winter. The chances of Red Hounds or Blue Hounds spawning with a pack increases with each day survived.

In RoG, the chance for Red Hounds to spawn is multiplied by 1.5 during Summer.

Day	Time between each hound spawns (seconds)
Day 1 to 20	3 to 8
Day 21 to 60	2 to 5
Day 61 to 100	0.5 to 3.5
Day 101 or more	0.5 to 1.5

Day	Special Hound Spawn Chance
Day 1 to 16	0%
Day 17 to 31	10%
Day 32 to 51	20%
Day 52 to 76	33.3%
Day 77 or more	50%

Default setting	Next attack	Hounds	Warning time before attack (seconds)
Day 1 to 10	6 to 13 days	2	120
Day 11 to 25	6 to 13 days	3 to 4	60
Day 26 to 50	4 to 11 days	4 to 6	45
Day 51 to 100	4 to 11 days	5 to 7	30
Day 101 or more	3 to 8 days	7 to 10	30

Hound attack frequency can be configured in the World Customization.

Custom setting	Next attack	Hounds	Warning time before attack (seconds)
Never	--	--	--
Less	6 to 13 days	3 to 4	60
More	4 to 11 days	4 to 6	45
Lots	3 to 8 days	5 to 7	30

According to the script, the default hound attacks eventually escalate to "crazy" (settings as per the last entry in the Default settings table above).

Currently the only way to eventually get to a "crazy" level of hounds is to leave the hound attack setting on default. All other settings are constant (as described above). In other words, currently it is only possible to make the hounds easier in the long term (but more difficult early on), or to leave them as default.

Behavior

Hounds are naturally aggressive, but easily distracted as they will attack all creatures on sight. Hounds will immediately charge the player when they spawn during a Hound attack. After a while, they can become distracted by nearby Mobs or Meat.

If a Hound's target is completely surrounded by Walls, they will attack the Walls in an attempt to reach their target. If there is breach in the Walls, Hounds will run through it.

In , regular Hounds can spawn from Hound Mounds. These Hounds will only stray a certain distance from their Mound, but if they spot the player, they will chase them to a considerable distance. Hounds will retreat to their Mounds if they are unable to catch their prey.

Fighting Strategy

See also: Hound Wave Survival Guide and Hound Repelling

Hounds are much faster than the player and cannot be outrun unless they become distracted or belong to a Hound Mound. The player can use a Walking Cane or run along a Road to outrun them.

Hounds will bite as soon as they are close enough to the player and pause for a slight moment before and after they chomp. It is possible to dodge their bite and then strike twice during the pause, although this proves difficult when multiple Hounds are attacking. Wearing an item that slows the player, such as the Marble Suit, will greatly increase the chance of being bitten. Once a Hound executes an attack, successful or not, it may stop to bark. When they do this, they will now target the nearest Mob or Meat.

One simple strategy to defeat Hounds, especially later in the game, is by simply filling up a large area with a set of Tooth Traps. Players can simply equip armor, and then run around the trap field avoiding attacks until the Hounds are killed. The trap field should be built away from the base and other flammable structures, to avoid uncontrolled fires caused by Red Hounds. The broken traps can be replaced by using the teeth obtained from the Hounds, making this a self-sustaining method to deal with Hound attacks.

If they attack a Mob that fights in a group such as a Beefalo, they can quickly be dispatched. If one does not wish to cheese the Hounds using Beefalos, and does not wish to or cannot yet use Tooth Traps, tanking them with a Dark Sword and Night Armor is advised, although the player should be careful to not be stunlocked during large waves.

Below is the number of hits it takes with each weapon to kill Hounds when playing with characters with a default damage modifier. The Weather Pain is not included due to the random nature of its projectile.

Weapon
No. of hits for	24	8	6	4	4	3	3	2-4	2 or 3	2	Immune	1	1'

Tips

• While Hounds are attacking, Chester can and will be targeted.
  • The same goes for Glommer in ROG, Packim Baggims in SW, and Ro Bin in HAM.

Beefalo attacking Hounds.

• One can create a walled-off area with an entrance filled with Tooth Traps. Incoming Hounds can be funneled through the entrance, killing off most, if not all. A Fire Pit and other supplies can be kept inside for night attacks.

Trivia

The Red Hound as a Steam chat emoticon.

• Hounds and Red Hounds were added in The Birds and the Bees & Dogs That Want to Kill You update.
• According to Wickerbottom, a Hound's Tooth contains brimstone, also known as sulfur. In folklore, sulfur is often associated with demons, implying that the in-game Hounds are Hellhounds, a supernatural dog common in some mythologies or beliefs.
• The Red Hound is available for use on Steam as a chat emoticon.
• Red Hounds are the only mobs that take 16 hits from an Ice Staff to be frozen - the maximum for most Mobs is 4.
• Even though Red Hounds cannot be set on fire, they still take fire damage if they come into contact with it.
• When Red Hounds are inspected by Maxwell, he reveals that he "put gems in there as a joke". This implies that the notable traits of the Red Hound, such as its red color and spontaneous combustion upon death, are due to the presence of the Red Gem inside its body.
• There's a small, but non zero, chance for a special hound to spawn in the first season.

Bugs

• Saving the game when the Hound attack warning begins and then loading that save will cause the attack to become bugged. The Hounds will arrive extremely late, up to 7 days, and the warning will persist indefinitely, making the player unable to use Tents and other items that require a "safe" condition.
• Occasionally, dying in a Cave and getting resurrected on the surface (perhaps when Hound attacks are supposed to begin) will cause the growling and snorting sounds to play in half-day intervals while the character remarks that the Hounds are coming, but they will not appear until a Hound attack in 3–10 days, where the warnings properly play close together.
• Sometimes, Hound attacks will 'reset'; the growling warning will last longer and only two normal Hounds will spawn, just as the first Hound attack.
• Saving and exiting the game during a Hound attack, and then loading the save will cause all of the Hounds to become temporarily distracted.
• Occasionally, when a SW and ROG world are merged, a hound attack may occur every time the player reloads the game.

Gallery

• 

  A Red Hound bursting into flames when killed.

• 

  Red Hounds sleeping in the Fire Staff set piece.

• 

  A dead Red Hound.

• 

  Wallpaper for the launch of Don't Starve.

• 

  The Red Hound as a Steam chat emoticon.