It’s that time again. That special time that comes every couple of years, when we are thrown head first into a brutal open-world filled with enigmatic villains and furious wildlife, hellbent on murdering us as promptly as possible. Far Cry 5 is finally upon us (you can check out our review here), bringing with it a surprising relocation to rural America, a blood-thirsty cult, and a diabetic grizzly bear named Cheeseburger. The Far Cry series has always been a dangerous one to inhabit, what with the way fire seems to have a mind of its own and the fact that nothing is ever quite what it seems initially. There are always staples though, including the boosted aggression of each game’s endemic wildlife. Far Cry 5 is no different, featuring a variety of different species native to Montana. And while not everything will try to murder you, a significant proportion of the animals will. So in celebration of the new Far Cry game, we’ve ranked every animal (ones that are capable of attacking you that is) on how easily they could kill you. Giddy up.
Honorable Mention: The Mighty Skunk
Every Far Cry 5 Animal Ranked on How Easily They Could Kill You
From what I’ve experienced with these stinky little fellows, they can’t kill you. This of course takes it out of the running for the deadliest animal, but it’s worth a nod nonetheless for its ability to passively get you killed. Time after time I’ve found myself in a gun fight, comfortably picking off cult members like fish in a barrel when a skunk will run up to me, spray me in the face then leave. This causes my vision to distort, which is often enough to let the enemy gain the upper hand.
These things seem to be everywhere, seeking you out with the sole purpose of raining on your parade. As a result, the skunk takes the crown as being far and away the most annoying of Far Cry 5’s animals, somehow being simultaneously harmless and deadly.
11. Bison
Every Far Cry 5 Animal Ranked on How Easily They Could Kill You
The great American bison. A source of guilt for anyone versed in pioneer history and also quite the killing machine, if provoked that is. You may not want to fight these initially gentle beasts, but for the sake of trophies and upgrades, you’re gonna have to. Due to its size, the bison is pretty easy to take down from afar, making it a little bit of a pushover. If it does close the distance on you though, it can do some serious damage.
Generally they’ll leave you alone unless you attack them, which is a nice change from other animals which seem to have a personal vendetta against you. The bison then, is probably the least dangerous of the lethal animals, being both a large target and a generally docile foe.
10. Moose
Next on the list is the moose, with its tendency to charge you with its massive horns for no real reason at all. The reason why the moose can be particularly deadly is that, when triggered, it is a lightning fast battering ram. Unfortunately, when travelling with Boomer, he had a tendency to antagonise the moose while I was moving through the woods. This lead to a lot of hurried situations where I found myself unloading a full clip into its face, given how tricky it is to hit it with the bow.
Mostly it’s contextual danger associated with the moose, coupled with the fact that you are usually in the woods when you encounter them. It is my genuine belief that the moose is not designed to be as deadly as it is, but the fact that it is likely to attack you and how quick it is, it can quickly kill you.
9. Bull
When angered, the bull can put you down in seconds. Problem is, it’s usually either locked behind a gate or fornicating with a lady friend, which lowers its threat significantly. It’s actually kind of distracting just how often you see this animal going at it, it seems to be all it is really interested in. There are some missions which put you up close and personal with the horned beast, showing you just how deadly they can be. There’s also the fact that they will occasionally charge you the second you step foot in their area, though their attacks are usually signposted by a specific noise so it rarely takes you by surprise.
The bull is technically a very dangerous animal, though the fact that it is usually off living its life means that it ranks a lot lower on this list than it should. If you find one caged up in an outpost though, be careful about releasing it as it can set off explosive barrels and spread fire around very quickly.
8. Wild Boar
Pigs in video games are always a mystery. Sometimes they appear as set dressing. Other times they can be killed and skinned. And then there’s the times when they gang up in groups of eight and surround you In Far Cry 5, they’re the battling type, and they’re surprisingly formidable. Often you’ll hear a high pitched squeal before being swarmed by several wild boar.
They charge quickly and once they start attacking, they don’t stop until you knock them down. The wild boar is also found in a lot of locations around the game’s map, making them a particularly prevalent danger.
7. Turkey
In every Far Cry there’s that one animal that is put in as a clear joke from the developers. This time around it’s the turkey, and it is ridiculously over-powered. Now it’s worth explaining at this point, I have no idea whether turkeys are this aggressive in real life. I have to assume though, that they are not, or they would be the alpha predator on planet Earth by now and they’d be serving us up on a plate once every year.
The turkey has recently been patched to be less ferocious, or it would be a lot higher on this list. Don’t get it twisted though, these ugly birds are not to be underestimated and should be eliminated immediately when encountering them. For it’s sheer bravado, the turkey sits at the number seven spot. It’s not the most dangerous beast that Far Cry 5 has to offer, but it is without a doubt the silliest.
6. Grey Wolf
I’d wager that the wolf is the most prolific animal in all of gaming. They hunt in packs, are quick and vicious, and take a lot of bullets to down. There’s also the added danger that a lot of cultist have them as pets, ready to sick them upon you on sight.
The wolf is incredibly dangerous in Far Cry 5, mostly because of its speed and tendency to run in packs. They’ll also take down your companions pretty quickly, usually followed up by another wolf coming for you. They are a great tool to use when causing chaos at an outpost, downing enemies and making it easy for you to pick them off from afar.
5. Cougar
Cougars are a pain in the butt in most games but here they’re particularly troublesome. Due to their incredible speed they can show up in an area without warning, usually attacking the player before they even notice. They also deal a ton of damage, and attack by dealing blows, retreating, then coming back for more a few moments later.
They are also annoyingly common, with situations where you’re attacked by two or three at once definitely possible. Letting one loose in an outpost is often too dangerous in practice, as they can quickly turn on you. It’s when they are mixed with fire that the real problems start, as they will run around the whole area setting everything and anything ablaze.
4. Black Bear
Now, there are two bears to be found in Far Cry 5; the black bear and the grizzly bear. While the two are essentially identical, the black bear is just slightly less dangerous in my experience, dealing less damage and taking fewer hits to down.
Encountering a black bear is always a tense moment, given how quickly they can be on top of you gouging your face off. They run very fast, and are often found hunting along the shores of the game’s rivers. It’s possible to be surprised by one while fishing, and they can easily take down any companion you happen to be with.
3. Grizzly Bear
Given just how damn cute the game’s unofficial mascot Cheeseburger the bear is, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the game’s grizzly bears are just big cuddly goofballs. This is an attitude that will likely get you killed, seeing as encountering a grizzly bear in the wild is always incredibly dangerous. For starters, they are absolutely huge, and truly terrifying as a result. They also take an unfair amount of damage to take down, with bows rendered ineffective, even if you manage to land several head-shots.
Shotguns are really the only way to go here, given that it only takes a few hits for the bear to kill you and how tricky it can be to keep your distance. The grizzly bear is to be avoided unless absolutely necessary. There’s a reason why having Cheeseburger the bear by your side puts you at such ease, it’s because grizzly bears are nature’s tanks, able to take insane levels of damage and deal it out two-fold.
2. Bald Eagle
Right, we finally arrive at the bald eagle. This violent little guy seems to have the sole purpose of messing with you at every opportunity. You’re stood at the top of the hill enjoying the view? In comes the bald eagle to wreck your day. Just trying to collect some mustard to use? Yep it’s there too. The bald eagle comes plummeting out of the sky screeching, and proceeds to attempt to peck your eyes out. The bald eagle has killed me while I was tackling an outpost, killed me while being attacked by a cougar, and has instilled a very real fear in me of all birds in the game.
I get that eagles are pretty bad ass, but is it really necessary to make them as aggressive as they are here? It might be the personal vendetta I now possess for the bald eagle, but it definitely deserves to be this high up the list, even if solely for its ability to come out of freaking nowhere and scare the life out of me.
1. Wolverine
There’s a moment in the Far Cry 5 launch trailer when the player is bitten in the crotch by a wolverine. This is very telling of around 90 percent of my encounters with these little freaks, the other 10 percent being where I throw dynamite frantically until it dies. The wolverine is Far Cry 5’s honeybadger. It’s small, fast and is holding a very nasty grudge towards all other life on the planet.
It can be incredibly difficult to land a shot on, and once it is on you, you’re pretty much dead. You can really only spray and pray, or fire aimlessly with a shotgun. Hunting one is an absolute nightmare because more often than not it will spot you with its apparently super-powered eyesight before you get a chance to creep up on it. I legitimately hate the wolverine. it is without a doubt the most dangerous animal in the game and also the one that is most likely to be actively stalking you at all times. You’ll fail missions, lose countless rounds of ammunition, and level expletive after expletive at the screen. Wolverine, I truly, deeply despise you.
