Cultists in 99 Nights: Every Type, Night Raids, the Stronghold and Cultist Gems

On this page

1. Cultists at a glance
2. Every Cultist type
3. Where you'll find Cultists
4. How night raids work
5. How to fight Cultists
6. The Cultist Stronghold
7. What Cultist Gems are for
8. Beginner strategies
9. Advanced strategies
10. Common mistakes
11. Cultists vs other threats
12. History and update changes
13. Related pages
14. FAQ

Cultists are the reason your campfire is never really safe. Every few nights they march out of the trees in their deer skulls, and later in the run they're carrying Morningstars instead of rusty axes.

They're also the best loot piñatas in the game. Cultist Gems power the late-game crafting bench, so learning to farm them is how you go from surviving to speedrunning.

Cultists at a glance

Fact	Detail
Type	Hostile human enemies
Health	100 to 150 in the wild and raids, up to 300 in a Level 4 Stronghold
Weapons	Old Axe, Spear, Morningstar, Crossbow
Walk speed	12 (Melee), 16 (Crossbow)
First raid	Day 4, always
Drops	Revolver or Rifle Ammo, Mossy Coin, their corpse (fuel)
Special drops	Cultist Gem, Gem of the Forest fragment
Weak to	Getting stuck on walls, rush-downs (Crossbows)

Every Cultist type

Type	Where	What makes it different
Melee Cultist	Everywhere	Most common; Old Axe, Spear or Morningstar
Crossbow Cultist	Everywhere	Red jacket, shoots from range, helpless up close
Juggernaut	Level 3+ Stronghold, Hard Mode raids, Ice Palace	Twice the size, metal helmet, Morningstar, very tanky
Jungle Cultists	Jungle biome	Poison Spear or Blowpipe, plus Poison Armor
Shadow Cultist	Caves	120 HP, Shadow Dagger, comes in groups of 2 to 4
Darkstring Cultist	Caves	Crossbow that fires two shots at once
Brute Cultist	Caves	Huge, hooded, swings a battle axe
Resurrected Cultists	Hedge Maze	Undead Melee and Crossbow versions

Swipe the table sideways →

There's also the Cultist King, who you summon yourself in the Volcano biome with Cultist Gems, and the giant Mega Cultist that only admins spawn at Update Parties. Neither shows up in a normal run on its own.

Where you'll find Cultists

• Night raids: they attack your campfire, starting on Day 4.
• Cultist Stronghold: the three-floor castle marked with three blue diamonds on your map.
• Cultist Base: an old military base with 4 Melee and 2 Crossbow Cultists, more likely at campfire Level 5 to 6.
• Cultist Hunter Camp: 2 Melee and 2 Crossbow Cultists guarding caged Alpha Wolves and a Bear.
• Cultist Tree: a dead tree with a chest and a Bear corpse, guarded by one of each type.
• Ice Palace: frozen Cultists and a Juggernaut in the Snow biome.
• Volcano biome: regular Cultists around the Cultist King's base.

How night raids work

The first raid always lands on the fourth night, no matter what day multiplier you're on. After that they come roughly every four days, and each one is bigger, up to 8 Cultists.

1. The day before, the Info Bar at the top of your screen flashes red with "Something evil is approaching your campfire."
2. About 20 seconds before night, the message changes to "You will be attacked tonight, return to your campfire" and drums start.
3. A cutscene says "A mysterious group makes its way towards your campfire."
4. The Deer shows up at camp and just watches, then the Cultists spawn near your fire and go for the closest players.
5. Kill the last Cultist to get a Cultist Gem, plus a Gem of the Forest fragment once you're past Day 99.

The first raid only has Melee Cultists with Old Axes. Later raids add Crossbows, then Spears, then Morningstars, so the raid you barely survived on Day 4 is not the one you'll get on Day 20.

How to fight Cultists

Crossbow Cultists

Crossbows are deadly at range and useless up close, because they have no melee attack. Close the gap fast and they fold.

Melee Cultists

Melees are slow at a walk speed of 12, so you can kite them easily. Their hits scale with their weapon: an Old Axe barely scratches you, while a Morningstar hits for about 30.

Juggernauts

Juggernauts are twice the size, wear a metal helmet with glowing eyes, and swing Morningstars. Treat them like a mini-boss: keep moving, use your best ranged weapon, and slow them with frost weapons if you have them.

The Cultist Stronghold

The Stronghold is the big repeatable Cultist challenge. You fight waves across three floors, then open the prize room on the third.

Stronghold level	Cultist HP
Level 1	120
Level 2	180
Level 3	240 (Juggernauts appear)
Level 4	300

• Reward room: a Ruby Chest, a Diamond Chest with 5 diamonds, 2 Cultist Gems, a Gem of the Forest fragment and Cultist scrap items.
• Resets: every 20 minutes, one level harder each time until it caps at Level 4.
• Server size matters: Cultist health and numbers go up with more players, so solo servers are easier.
• Deer-safe: the Deer doesn't spawn while you're inside, and it can't climb the spiral stairs if you lure it in.

The Diamond Chest is why so many players farm it. My diamonds guide compares it with other sources.

What Cultist Gems are for

Cultist Gems are the real reason to hunt Cultists. You need them for the Level 4 Crafting Bench and its builds, and they power the Level 5 structures.

• Temporal Accelerometer: 1 Gem skips a night, which is the speedrunner's favorite trick.
• Respawn Capsule: brings a teammate back.
• Weather Machine: clear weather for 3 in-game days.
• Cultist King: 4 Gems summons him in the Volcano.
• Chainsaw: takes 4 Gems at the Workshop.

Four Gem of the Forest fragments combine into a full Gem of the Forest, which unlocks the Level 5 Crafting Bench. The crafting guide lays out the full bench path.

Beginner strategies

• Be at camp with a weapon before the Day 4 drums. That first raid is the easiest one you'll ever get.
• Throw raider corpses on the fire. They count as fuel.
• Stun the Deer with your flashlight while it's watching the raid, so it backs off.
• Skip the Stronghold until you have a Rifle or a strong class kit.

Advanced strategies

• Solo Stronghold farming: fewer players means weaker Cultists, so run it on a private or empty server.
• Wall funnels: build Log Walls so raiders bunch up and snag, then use a Laser Cannon or melee sweep.
• Frost control: Frozen Shuriken and the Ice Sword slow whole groups, which is perfect for Stronghold waves.
• Gem planning: keep at least one Gem for a Respawn Capsule before you spend the rest skipping nights.

Common mistakes

• Standing still at range against Crossbows instead of rushing them.
• Letting a raid run into the morning and watching your fire drain.
• Running the Stronghold on a full server, then wondering why everything has 300 HP.
• Breaking the Ice Palace's Frozen Beam before you're ready for every Cultist to thaw at once.
• Spending every Cultist Gem on night skips and having none for a revive.

Cultists vs other threats

Enemy	Killable	Best answer
Cultists	Yes	Rush Crossbows, kite Melees, walls at camp
Alpha Wolf	Yes	Rifle headshots or a Bear Trap
The Deer	No	Light and the campfire

Cultists think more than animals do: they come in mixed groups and the ranged ones hang back. That's why I fight them with a plan, not just a big gun.

History and update changes

• Launch (2025): raids on the campfire were part of the game from early on, with Melee and Crossbow Cultists.
• Cultist Stronghold update (2025): added the Stronghold and its four levels.
• Volcanic update (September 2025): added the Cultist King and his base.
• Later updates: Jungle, cave and Hedge Maze variants joined the lineup.
• Halloween events: some Trick or Treat Cultists are passive and can drop Halloween Candles.

Related pages

• 99 Nights wiki hub
• Campfire
• Snow biome
• Hard Mode
• Tips and tricks

FAQ

🗓️ Last updated: 14 November 2026

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