Living Barrel

Living Barrels are enemies added in v2.0, the Barrels o' Fun Update. They are unique to the Derelict Distillery.

Behavior
Living Barrels are hidden in the background as regular looking barrels and will jump out when the player draws near. Living Barrels can chase after the player across platforms.

While undamaged, it will only launch spikes out of itself. After it takes any amount of damage, it will begin to prime and chase after the player before they explode.

Elite Living Barrels have no attack pattern changes, but attack faster and are even harder than usual to stun.

Strategy
Living Barrels are extremely aggressive when aggroed. They are fast and their spike attack deals a lot of damage, their explosion moreso. They make moving around in the Distillery very dangerous, as one (or more) can jump out at any minute. When you do see a Living Barrel, wait for the time to hit them so you have enough time and the right positioning to avoid getting hit by them.

If you have access to burst damage, you can try kill them quickly before their fuse goes off. Otherwise, it's best to hit them once and run away from them. Running away is easier if there are multiple (safe) platforms to jump to and have a speed boost active.

If you are trying to capture an Elite Living Barrel with the Blueprint Extractor, it's highly recommended to bring some sort of way to freeze it. Once it reaches its HP threshold, freeze it and capture it before it thaws.

Trivia

 * They have similar legs to the Hammer, an enemy that also appears in the Distillery.