The bestiary / 04
Enemies & bosses
A Warhammer Survivors bestiary for every enemy we can name, with the announced attack pattern, the practical response and a clear marker when Auroch has not shown the behaviour yet.
Threat ledger
Know the thing before it surrounds you
Enemy factions are not cosmetic skins. Tyranid Synapse turns a manageable brood into a Berserk surge. Ork Waaagh! waves add bodies and speed. Death Guard fog poisons the player. Skaven bells make the weakest rats harder to kill. The counter column is built from those confirmed mechanics, not from guesswork.
- TWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Termagant
Tyranids · Tyranid battlefield
Announced behaviour
Lesser bioform. Nearby Synapse creatures can drive Termagants into a Berserk rage, increasing their movement speed and damage.
Practical counter
Clear them with wide area attacks and kill the Synapse creature first. Its death briefly stuns the surrounding brood.
- HWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Hormagaunt
Tyranids · Tyranid battlefield
Announced behaviour
A close-range lesser bioform affected by the same Synapse buff as Termagants.
Practical counter
Do not let the pack close while the Synapse creature lives. Cut through the group with melee arcs and keep a clear retreat lane.
- TWarhammer 40,000Elite
Tyranid Warriors
Tyranids · Tyranid battlefield
Announced behaviour
Guard the Legend of Catachan rescue encounter in the October demo and use Synapse to empower enemies around them.
Practical counter
Burst the Warriors before starting the rescue. Once the escorts are down, use the stun window to reach the objective.
- VWarhammer 40,000Elite
Von Ryan's Leaper
Tyranids · Tyranid battlefield
Announced behaviour
Rears up and leaps over other enemies to impale the player with its talons.
Practical counter
Watch for the rear-up animation and sidestep rather than backing straight away. Kill it while it is committed to a pounce.
- HWarhammer 40,000Elite
Hive Tyrant
Tyranids · Tyranid battlefield
Announced behaviour
A Synapse creature that makes nearby lesser bioforms faster and more resilient. Its death leaves the brood temporarily stunned.
Practical counter
Treat the Hive Tyrant as the priority target. Killing it removes the buff and creates the best crowd-clear window in the encounter.
- NWarhammer 40,000Boss
Norn Emissary
Tyranids · Tyranid battlefield
Announced behaviour
An Extremis Boss encountered in the demo. Its full move set and phase rules have not been published.
Practical counter
Keep lateral movement, clear the adds around it and save a defensive upgrade for the second half of the fight. Do not commit to a straight retreat line.
Open boss file - GWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Grots
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
Cowardly but vicious Ork infantry that fill out the green tide.
Practical counter
Sweep them up with area damage; do not spend a focused weapon on individual Grots.
- OWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Ork Boyz
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
Brutish rank-and-file Orks that apply constant melee pressure.
Practical counter
Keep moving and use knockback or wide arcs to stop the mob compressing your space during a Waaagh!.
- BWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Bomb Squigs
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
Named among the Ork forces. Auroch has not published a detailed behaviour profile.
Practical counter
Treat them as a priority threat when they close and keep a gap open. Do not stand still to finish a nearby enemy.
- WWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Warbikers
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
Named among the Ork forces by Warhammer Community. Their in-game behaviour is unannounced.
Practical counter
Keep an eye on fast flankers. Maintain wide movement so a bike pack cannot pin you against the arena edge.
Warhammer 40,000EliteLootas
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
Stationary Orks that unleash rounds of projectiles toward the player.
Practical counter
Break line of fire or close the distance. Clear them before settling into a damage window.
Warhammer 40,000EliteKilla Kan
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
A grot-piloted walker with Killsaws that stomps toward the player and explodes when destroyed.
Practical counter
Kill it early, then move away from the wreck. Its death explosion is a hazard, not a reward.
Warhammer 40,000EliteBig Mek with Shokk Attack Gun
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
Pursues the player and fires snotlings through the warp so they arrive near, on top of or inside the target.
Practical counter
Keep moving and do not let it herd you into the rest of the horde. Kill it when its escort thins out.
Warhammer 40,000EliteWeirdboy
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
Teleports himself and nearby enemies, fires warp bolts, summons the foot of Gork, then charges the player and explodes.
Practical counter
Expect the battlefield to move around you. Save an escape route for the final charge and do not chase it into a fresh pack.
Warhammer 40,000EliteMakari
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
Ghazghkull's banner-grot. He is hard to find and keep down, and may hold a piece of the puzzle to stopping the Waaagh!.
Practical counter
Chase him only when the field is stable. Auroch’s wording suggests a Waaagh! interaction, but the exact mechanic is unconfirmed.
- GWarhammer 40,000Boss
Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka
Orks · Ork Stronghold
Announced behaviour
The first revealed Extremis Boss. He stomps in with mobs of Boyz in a great Waaagh! and brings the Ork faction pressure to a peak.
Practical counter
Clear the Boyz before committing to boss damage, keep the Waaagh! spawn wave in front of you and hold a defensive cooldown for the add flood.
Open boss file - PWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Poxwalkers
Death Guard · Abandoned Space Hulk
Announced behaviour
Named among the Death Guard units in the Skulls trailer. Detailed behaviour is pending.
Practical counter
Treat them as a durable swarm and keep area coverage. Do not let them hold you in place for the heavier Death Guard units.
- PWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Plaguebearers
Death Guard · Abandoned Space Hulk
Announced behaviour
Named among the Nurgle forces seen in the Skulls trailer. Detailed behaviour is pending.
Practical counter
Maintain distance and avoid standing in dense groups while poison sources are on the field.
- PWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Plague Marines
Death Guard · Abandoned Space Hulk
Announced behaviour
Resilient Chaos Space Marines named in the Death Guard reveal. Detailed behaviour is pending.
Practical counter
Sustained damage and area effects are safer than relying on one burst. Keep a poison-safe route open.
- BWarhammer 40,000Rank and file
Blightlord Terminators
Death Guard · Abandoned Space Hulk
Announced behaviour
Heavily armoured Death Guard Terminators named in the Chaos reveal.
Practical counter
Do not let them pin you in a corridor. Break line of sight, let the horde compress behind them, then resume area damage.
Warhammer 40,000EliteMyphitic Blight-hauler
Death Guard · Abandoned Space Hulk
Announced behaviour
Bombards the player from range with frag missiles that explode and inflict Poisoned.
Practical counter
Keep moving at an angle rather than directly away. Close the gap after a missile volley and avoid fighting inside poison fog.
Warhammer 40,000EliteBeast of Nurgle
Death Guard · Abandoned Space Hulk
Announced behaviour
Charges the player, stops to regenerate, then frenzies near death and explodes.
Practical counter
Kill it from a distance or finish it while already moving away. Its death explosion can punish a greedy melee finish.
Warhammer 40,000EliteMiasmic Malignifier
Death Guard · Abandoned Space Hulk
Announced behaviour
A stationary, resilient structure whose radius of green fog poisons the player.
Practical counter
Destroy it from outside the fog or route the fight away from it. Do not let it cut off your only corridor.
- GUnconfirmedBoss
Great Unclean One
Death Guard · Stage not announced
Announced behaviour
Named on the Steam page among the mightiest monsters. Its universe, stage and move set have not been detailed.
Practical counter
Expect poison pressure from the wider Nurgle faction. Keep recovery and mobility available until Auroch publishes the fight itself.
Open boss file - CAge of SigmarRank and file
Clanrat
Skaven · Aqshy
Announced behaviour
The lowly Skaven rank and file that fills out the vermintide.
Practical counter
Clear them with overlapping area attacks. Their job is to block movement while specialists close in.
- SAge of SigmarRank and file
Stormvermin
Skaven · Aqshy
Announced behaviour
Skaven encountered in the October demo. Their special behaviour is not detailed.
Practical counter
Treat them as a sturdier part of the swarm and keep your area attacks on the densest group.
- VAge of SigmarRank and file
Vermintide
Skaven · Aqshy
Announced behaviour
Periodically swarms across the screen in horizontal lines.
Practical counter
Move perpendicular to the line, not along it. Wide lateral movement gets you out of the lane fastest.
- RAge of SigmarElite
Rat Ogor
Skaven · Aqshy
Announced behaviour
At low health it unleashes Warp Fury, increasing knockback resistance, power and movement speed.
Practical counter
Burst it before Warp Fury or keep a clear route to disengage. Do not rely on knockback once the rage begins.
- RAge of SigmarElite
Ratling Gunner
Skaven · Aqshy
Announced behaviour
Crosses the screen spraying bullets, boxing the player in with damaging hazard zones.
Practical counter
Move out of the lane early. Kill it before it finishes crossing if your build can spare the damage.
- BAge of SigmarElite
Bell of Doom
Skaven · Aqshy
Announced behaviour
An Endless Spell conjured by Skaven seers that grants nearby Skaven the Warded status, making even weak vermin tougher.
Practical counter
Break the Bell or fight away from its aura. If the swarm is Warded, reposition instead of pouring damage into a buffed blob.
- AAge of SigmarElite
Acolyte Globadiers
Skaven · Aqshy
Announced behaviour
Hurl toxic globes that create clouds of poisonous fumes and poison the player.
Practical counter
Leave the cloud rather than fighting inside it. Kill them before the arena fills with overlapping hazard zones.
- VAge of SigmarBoss
Vizzik Skour, Prophet of the Horned Rat
Skaven · Aqshy / stage not confirmed
Announced behaviour
A huge screen-filling boss named on the Steam page. Detailed moves and phases are unpublished.
Practical counter
Keep the screen clear before the fight and preserve mobility. Expect Skaven pressure around the boss until Auroch reveals the full encounter.
Open boss file - BAge of SigmarRank and file
Bloodreavers
Blades of Khorne · Hammerhal / stage not confirmed
Announced behaviour
Mortal Blades of Khorne units named in the Chaos reveal. Detailed behaviour is pending.
Practical counter
Maintain side coverage. Khorne pressure punishes sharp reversals and open flanks.
- BAge of SigmarRank and file
Blood Warriors
Blades of Khorne · Hammerhal / stage not confirmed
Announced behaviour
Mortal Blades of Khorne units named in the Chaos reveal. Detailed behaviour is pending.
Practical counter
Avoid getting surrounded by the melee ranks and keep a ranged or area tool for the pack behind them.
Age of SigmarEliteFlesh Hounds
Blades of Khorne · Hammerhal / stage not confirmed
Announced behaviour
Fast pack hunters that rapidly swarm the player.
Practical counter
Backpedal in a curve, not a straight line. Wide melee arcs and area effects catch the pack as it closes.
Age of SigmarEliteBloodcrushers
Blades of Khorne · Hammerhal / stage not confirmed
Announced behaviour
Rear up behind a red telegraph zone, then charge until slain.
Practical counter
Read the red zone and move out of the charge line. Kill them before the charge or force them to commit away from your escape route.
Age of SigmarEliteSkull Cannon
Blades of Khorne · Hammerhal / stage not confirmed
Announced behaviour
Bombards the player with screaming, fiery skulls that explode on impact.
Practical counter
Keep moving and avoid fighting in the open lane it is aiming down. Close distance between volleys.
- SAge of SigmarRank and file
Squigs
Gloomspite Gitz · Stage not announced
Announced behaviour
Gloomspite Gitz monsters named in the release-date reveal. Behaviour and stage are pending.
Practical counter
No detailed counter is confirmed. Keep standard swarm coverage and watch for a fast body-block when the faction arrives.
- TAge of SigmarRank and file
Troggoths
Gloomspite Gitz · Stage not announced
Announced behaviour
Towering Gloomspite Gitz monsters named in the release-date reveal. Behaviour and stage are pending.
Practical counter
Expect a durable melee threat. Keep a focused-damage option available rather than relying purely on area clear.
No enemies match those filters. Try another faction or clear the search.
Faction law 01
Kill the source, not the symptom.
Synapse creatures, Bell of Doom, Malignifiers and healers all change the fight around them. The elite is often the actual enemy; the swarm is the timer.
Faction law 02
A telegraph is a gift.
Bloodcrusher red zones, Weirdboy teleports and boss charges all announce themselves. Move on the tell, not after the hit. Keep a lateral exit rather than a straight retreat.
Faction law 03
Do not invent the numbers.
Auroch has not published enemy HP, damage or resist values. This bestiary describes mechanics and responses; it does not pretend to know the hidden stat sheet.
Sources and evidence
Editorial methodOfficial claims, press observations and community reports are kept separate. Where Auroch has not published a value, this guide says so instead of filling the gap.
- OfficialFeature Focus: Faction Traits
- OfficialFeature Focus: Enemy Skills
- OfficialEnemies sighted!
- OfficialChaos detected — learn about the newly revealed foes!
- OfficialWarhammer Survivors Reveals the Mighty Ork Menace and Xbox Launch in 2026
- PressWarhammer Survivors is not just a Vampire Survivors clone
- OfficialWarhammer Survivors on Steam