Nutcracker

Nutcracker
Information
RADAR Pip Size	Medium + Scrap
Power Level	1
Max Spawned	10
Door Open Speed	0.5s
Traits
Behavior	Scanning / Chasing / Roaming
Dwells	Inside
Vitality
Shovel HP	5 Hits
Shock Response
Stun Grenades	3.75s
Radar Booster	0.88s
Offense
Attack Speed	(Shooting)~1s (Reloading)~1.5s (Kicking)Instant
Attack Damage	(Shotgun) 5 - 100
DPS	Variable
Contact Damage	(Kick) 100

Nutcrackers are entities in Lethal Company. As the name implies, they are large nutcracker soldier figurines that are typically on the move.

They roam until they find an Employee. They will scan the area for any movement, and if the Employee is seen moving, they will be shot at. When Nutcrackers are killed, they drop a double-barreled shotgun, which can be loaded, and two guaranteed Shotgun Shells upon death.

Bestiary

The guardians of the house.

They watch with one tireless eye, which only senses movement; It remembers the last creature it noticed, whether they are moving or not.

Occurrence

Moon	Base Spawn Chance
85-Rend	24.75%
8-Titan	12.84%
68-Artifice	8.77%
5-Embrion	7.83%
7-Dine	5.10%
20-Adamance	2.20%
61-March	0.98%
21-Offense	0.94%
41-Experimentation	0.44%
220-Assurance	0.31%

Unreleased Moon	Base Spawn Chance
44-Liquidation	13.3%

Behavior

Nutcrackers are invincible during their patrol state and can only be damaged when their eye is exposed.

When they stop to scan their surroundings, the head lifts to reveal a single eye on a stalk. They are highly sensitive to motion, attacking players within range with a shotgun and kicking those who get too close.

Strategy

Underlined points are unconfirmed.

• Occasionally, its head will lift to reveal a singular eye. The eye will begin scanning for movement within a 70-degree field of view, stopping every 30 degrees per rotation. You can avoid becoming a target by remaining completely motionless, assuming it didn't already detect you prior to going into this "sentry" mode.
  • Moving your camera, crouching/un-crouching, and emoting are considered movement.
  • Players who are not detected by the Nutcracker can attack the Nutcracker when it is chasing another player and remain undetected as long as they do not enter the Nutcracker's line of sight.
• If the Nutcracker has made the player its target and seen it in sentry mode, it will pursue the player, and should the player stop, the Nutcracker will essentially camp the player until they move, causing the Nutcracker to shoot.
  • When the Nutcracker has line of sight, assuming its gun is loaded with at least one bullet, it will freeze in place. Even if it loses sight of you, it still commits to firing, so allowing it to see you and backing around a corner will make it miss, allowing you to escape while it reloads or attempt to kill it. As of Version 47, Nutcrackers can now move while aiming a shot if targeting the same player more than 2 times, so this strategy should be done with slightly more caution.
  • The Nutcracker is capable of kicking employees too close to it, instantly killing them and flinging their corpse forward.
• A relatively risky (although easy) method of killing the Nutcracker is to bait the Nutcracker's shots around a doorway (it takes a second to fire, so you have plenty of time to get around the wall). Once you repeat this twice, you are completely free to smash away at the Nutcracker. If you can smack the Nutcracker as fast as possible, you are likely to kill it after it has reloaded and before it can shoot you, granting you full ammo in the shotgun.
  • When attempting to fight a Nutcracker, it is worth keeping in mind that when dealing the last hit of damage, the Nutcracker will enter an enraged state. When in this state, it has a significantly lower period between its two shots, lowering from around a full second to roughly a quarter of that.
  • In order to avoid the Nutcracker's enraged state, you can get 2 hits on the first reload, 1 on the second, and finally the last 2 on the third. This makes it so you never have to deal with its faster shots because you get the last 2 hits in a single reload.
• Another way of killing the Nutcracker is by getting an Easter egg and throwing it at them when they stand still.
  • If the egg explodes, it will kill them instantly and throwing the egg does not trigger it.
• The Nutcracker can kill other entities with the shotgun blast. While it is possible to trick it into doing so with proper coordination, it is significantly riskier than killing the Nutcracker and using the shotgun yourself.
  • A Shotgun can take down a Nutcracker in 1 shot if close enough. The damage will be determined by how far away you shoot.
• Beware long corridors and open areas, as the chances that you will be shot are higher, even if the damage decreases with range.
• The shotgun will contain as many shells as it had in it when the Nutcracker dies. Thus, killing the Nutcracker after it reloads results in a total of 4 shotgun shells, thanks to the guaranteed 2 from the Nutcracker itself.
  • When the Nutcracker is killed, its body falls backwards and can fall directly into a wall, thus making its shotgun irretrievable. It is advised to deliver the killing blow in an open area to not risk losing the shotgun.
• You can crouch to avoid the shots, which you can also use that advantage to kill the nutcracker. Just dont be too close while hitting and crouching.

• Nutcrackers are the one of the only two enemies that drop an item when killed, the second one being Butler.
• Nutcrackers are the one of the only two enemies with a lethal ranged attack, as well as the only enemy with two different attacks. The second one being Old Bird.
• Contrary to popular belief, you cannot steal a Nutcracker's shotgun while it is alive. The shotgun only appears as an un-carried item while being wielded by the Nutcracker.
• Nutcrackers might look like Hoarding Bugs on the Monitor because the shotgun it holds is considered Scrap; you can tell the two apart by watching their movement, especially since the Nutcracker will rotate in-place, which can be seen on the Monitor.
• You can technically survive 4 shots from its gun. The distance from its shotgun will determine how much damage it will deal.
• Due to a game mechanic, the shotgun can sometimes discharge while the Nutcracker is dead or as it dies as their shotgun's safety will be off.
• Nutcrackers can't detect spike traps much like all other entities. That means that theoretically it is possible for a nutcracker to die to one, although this requires several very specific preconditions.

Trivia

• The nutcracker is based off the doll itself.

Audio

Audio	File
Aggravated Nutcracker
Nutcracker Die
Nutcracker Eye Hit
Nutcracker Turn
Nutcracker Alerted
Nutcracker Kick
Nutcracker Headpop
Nutcracker Turnstop1
Nutcracker Turnstop2
Nutcracker Turnstop3
Nutcracker Stomp1
Nutcracker Stomp2
Nutcracker Stomp3
Nutcracker Squeak1
Nutcracker Squeak2
Nutcracker Squeak3
Nutcracker Squeak4
Nutcracker Reload

Gallery

A Nutcracker marching forward.

A Nutcracker after being killed.

A Nutcracker scanning.

Nutcracker Standing still

Nutcracker Aiming

A Nutcracker is killed by a spike trap.

History

Version 45

• The Nutcracker is added.

Version 47

• Nutcrackers are now able to move slightly while aiming.

Version 50

• Nutcrackers are now able to detect player movement in addition to rotation.
• The Nutcracker "crouch cheese" bug has been fixed.