The big bear (or mama bear) is a hostile creature on Balboa Island that you need to get past in order to obtain the Machete recipe and progress further into the quest line.
Although you can collect Wild Berries and lure the big bear away to achieve that goal, some players might want to just kill the bear instead.
Recommended Read: How to Make Honey in Raft
So, is it possible to kill the big bear in Raft? Or should you lure it away as the game wants?
Yes, you can kill the big bear in Raft if you prefer. It does, however, have a lot of HP, so it’s much easier to just lure it away.
Below, we’ll go through how many hits it takes to defeat it using the different weapons in the game.
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Can You Kill the Big Bear in Raft?
Most of the time, the big bear is the first creature you’ll encounter on Balboa Island.
The game’s intent is that you find five Wild Berries across the island and put them in the basket to lure the bear away. This way, you can complete your task and progress to the next island effortlessly.
However, the big bear does have a health bar like other animals in Raft, so killing it is also an option!
The big bear has 750 HP, making it the creature with the most HP in the game.
For comparison, a normal bear only has 100 HP.
This clearly indicates that the big bear is a dangerous threat and that you should avoid it if at all possible.
However, if you insist on killing it, check the table below to see the damage of each weapon in the game, as well as the number of hits required to kill it with each one.
| Weapon | Damage | Hits Required to Kill The Big Bear |
|---|---|---|
| Stone | 5 | 150 |
| Wooden Spear | 5 | 150 |
| Metal Spear | 10 | 75 |
| Machete | 15 | 50 |
| Titanium Sword | 20 | 38 |
| Stone Arrow | 10 | 75 |
| Metal Arrow | 15 | 50 |
| Titanium Arrow | 20 | 38 |
If you want a fair fight, you should bring the best gear (Titanium if possible, which requires you to beat the final story island first).
All three pieces of Leather Armor and Good Healing Salves are recommended for the fight.
Leather Armor is crafted with Wool and Leather.
You’ll need plenty of leather, so make sure to visit large islands and hunt the Warthogs. To get Wool, you must catch and tame a Llama.
Good Healing Salve requires Egg, Clay, and Honeycomb.
Clay can be harvested on the ocean floor near islands. Egg is a common drop from tamed Cluckers, and Honeycomb can be obtained from all types of beehives.
It’s really difficult to solo the big bear without friends and proper preparation. So, to increase your chances of success, you can use tricks to make the fight easier.
First, craft a Bow and a bunch of arrows. Use the table above to make sure you craft enough arrows. You should craft more than what you need in case you miss a shot.
Next, locate the big bear and find the grassy cliff near the cave entrance that contains the Machete recipe. Then, spam the Spacebar key to jump onto the cliff.
The bear will have trouble finding you whenever you stand on the cliff, and therefore, it will run back to its previous location.
Its designated location may be out of your shooting range. So, just jump off the cliff to close the distance and then shoot the bear again.
When it starts chasing you, try shooting and running back to the cliff simultaneously if you can. Otherwise, just run straight, jump onto the cliff, and shoot the bear from there.
Repeat the process. Jump off the cliff, aggro the bear, run back and jump onto the cliff, and shoot the bear.
The big bear drops its head, 15 Leather, and 10 Raw Meat on death.
While Leather and Raw Meat are quite invaluable at this point, the big bear’s head is an awesome trophy to show off your effort.
That’s the answer to whether or not you can kill the big bear in Raft.
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