"Roast 30,000 Chickens" is misleading. The challenge does not require fire damage. The counter just tracks total Chickenfantry kills (any chicken-type enemy) across all runs, cumulative. Players who burned hours hunting for fire weapons specifically were optimizing the wrong stat. One Endless run on The Coop with a wide-AOE build typically clears the milestone outright.
It is a milestone challenge inside the To End an Ice Age adventure, which is part of the free Coop DLC. Players must defeat 30,000 chicken-type enemies (Chickenfantry, Egge, Rosso, and other variants) cumulatively across all runs. There is no progress counter visible during play (similar to the Banish 80 Weapons achievement, which also relies on the player tracking the count manually); the milestone simply ticks complete when the kill total reaches 30,000.
Per the official Vampire Survivors Wiki, the To End an Ice Age adventure was added in the free Coop DLC alongside the new chicken-themed stage. The adventure is one of three base game adventures (alongside A Garlic Paradise and World of Light and Dark) that unlock after collecting the Atlas Gate relic in Boss Rash. Completing all milestones in the adventure triggers the EXTRA: To End An Ice Age achievement, which counts toward in-game 100% completion.
The Roast 30,000 Chickens milestone appears in the Progress tab of the To End an Ice Age adventure. Per community guides, it is generally the longest milestone in the adventure, while other milestones (collect Bracelet, 
Parm Aegis, Fire Wand, 
; survive 10/20/30 minutes; reach character level 80 with She-Moon Eeta) complete naturally during the run.
The counter increments every time the player defeats a chicken-type enemy, regardless of damage source. It is cumulative across all runs (any character, any stage, any DLC). Fire damage is NOT required despite the 'roast' wording. All 7 chicken variants count, including Egge and Rosso.
| Enemy Type | Where It Spawns |
|---|---|
| Chickenfantry (standard) | The Coop main wave enemy; appears on multiple stages as a special wave |
| Egge | The Coop variant; faster movement |
| Rosso | The Coop variant; higher HP |
| Other chicken variants | All Bestiary entries with the chicken tag count toward the total |
Per the official wiki, the Bestiary tracks every chicken kill the player has made. Players unsure if their progress is on track can compare the in-game Bestiary chicken kill counts to the 30,000 threshold. The counter does not reset between runs and does not require the player to be inside the To End an Ice Age adventure for kills to count toward the milestone.
VS
Direct answer: Cumulative across all runs. A single 30-minute run usually does not reach 30,000.
Per community reports on the official Vampire Survivors Steam forum, players who killed roughly 29,500 chickens in a single run still saw the milestone tick complete on the next short run. The counter accumulates between sessions and persists in the save file. Players who farmed across 3 to 5 short Coop runs (10 to 15 minutes each) typically reach the threshold faster than players grinding one long Endless run. Compare with our Curse stacking guide for compounding density tactics.
The fastest method is Gazebo on The Coop with Hidden Anathema (III) plus Game Killer (0). Hidden Anathema turns Floor Chickens into stat boosts, Game Killer halts XP gain so Gazebo never needs to choose level-up rolls and stays focused on movement, and The Coop guarantees infinite Chickenfantry waves. One 30-minute run yields 25,000 to 40,000 kills.
| Setup | Why |
|---|---|
| Stage: The Coop | Designed around Chickenfantry waves; highest chicken density in the game |
| Character: Gazebo | Stacks stat buffs from Floor Chickens; gets stronger the more chickens die nearby |
| Mode: Endless | Removes the 30-minute cap so the Reaper does not end the run early |
First Arcana:  Hidden Anathema (III) | Floor Chickens grant random stat bonuses, accelerating Gazebo's scaling |
Second Arcana:  Game Killer (0) | Halts XP gain; Experience Gems become exploding projectiles that kill more chickens automatically |
Third Arcana:  Moonlight Bolero (VI) | Spawns extra treasure boss every minute; more bosses means more arcanas and weapons mid-run (similar to how treasure bosses drop loot) |
For players without Gazebo or Hidden Anathema unlocked, the multi-run approach works almost as well:
Gazebo is best for stat scaling on chicken kills. Cosmo Pavone is best for ranged AOE coverage. She-Moon Eeta is the default storyline character. Christine Davain works well thanks to her Pentagram starter. Mortaccio adds extra projectiles via skull spawns.
| Character | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Gazebo | Self-buffing on Floor Chicken; Embrace of Gaea AOE; thematic to The Coop | Requires Gaze of Gaea + Parm Aegis evolution to be online |
 Cosmo Pavone | Ranged AOE; pairs well with Hidden Anathema for stat scaling | Lower base stats than Gazebo |
 She-Moon Eeta | Storyline character of the adventure; available from start | No special chicken-related synergy |
 Christine Davain | Pentagram starter; reliable screen-clear | Glass cannon; needs careful positioning |
 Mortaccio | Skulls add extra projectiles per kill; compounds with high enemy density | Slow ramp-up early game |
 Bianca Ramba | Ricochet weapons hit multiple chickens per cast | Limited weapon pool |
Wide-AOE weapons crush chicken waves: Santa Water, Garlic, Pentagram. Fire weapons do nothing special for the kill counter, but La Borra and 
Flames of Misspell still rank among the highest-DPS weapons in the game thanks to their AOE ticks. Heart of Fire (XIX) arcana doubles as a fire AOE damage boost.
| Tier | Weapons | Why |
|---|---|---|
| S | Santa Water / La Borra, Fire Wand / Hellfire | Fire damage chance to instakill Chickenfantry into Floor Chicken; large persistent AOE puddles |
| A | Pentagram / Gorgeous Moon, Garlic / Soul Eater, King Bible / Unholy Vespers | Screen-clear or rotating area damage; constant chicken kills per second |
| A | Lightning Ring / Thunder Loop, Holy Wand / Shadow Pinion | Instant strike weapons; one-shot most chicken HP pools |
| B | Flames of Misspell,  | Strong fire damage but smaller AOE than Santa Water |
| B | Whip / Bloody Tear, Knife / Thousand Edge | Directional damage; works well only when chickens funnel toward player |
VSDirect answer: Santa Water for sustained throughput; Pentagram for screen-clear bursts.
""Santa Water (and its evolution La Borra) drops persistent damage puddles that tick every chicken in the area for the full duration. Across a 30-minute Endless run, Santa Water can rack up more total kills than any other single weapon thanks to its passive coverage. Pentagram clears the entire screen instantly on each trigger, which is more dramatic but has a significant cooldown. For chicken farming specifically, Santa Water has the better kill-per-minute throughput. Pentagram remains the standard for emergency screen-clears when chicken density spikes. Pair with our Empty Tome guide for Cooldown reduction strategies that maximize Pentagram triggers per minute.
Hidden Anathema (III) is the cornerstone of the optimal build because it scales Gazebo's stats with every Floor Chicken pickup. Game Killer (0) and Moonlight Bolero (VI) compound the kill rate. Mad Groove (VIII) is also useful for pulling stage Floor Chickens to the player.
| Arcana | Effect | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Hidden Anathema (III) | Food pickups grant random stat bonuses | Floor Chickens scale damage; more damage = more chickens killed per second (compare with Crown growth scaling) |
| Game Killer (0) | Halts XP gain; gems become explosions | Removes level-up interruptions; explosions kill nearby chickens automatically |
| Moonlight Bolero (VI) | Extra treasure boss every minute | More bosses drop more arcanas and weapons mid-run |
 Heart of Fire (XIX) | Fire damage AOE around player; bonus fire damage | Makes fire weapons clear chickens faster; instakill chance into Floor Chicken |
 Sarabande of Healing (VI) | Doubles healing output | Floor Chickens heal more, which compounds with Hidden Anathema for more stat bonuses per pickup |
There is no in-game progress counter for the milestone itself. The closest tracker is the Bestiary, which shows total kills for each chicken variant across all runs. Add up Chickenfantry, Egge, Rosso, and other chicken entries to estimate progress.
Per developer comments and community discussion, the lack of a visible counter for adventure milestones is intentional. The Progress tab inside the To End an Ice Age adventure menu shows binary checkmarks (complete or incomplete), not running counts. This design encourages players to focus on play rather than micro-tracking, although it has frustrated achievement hunters who prefer explicit progress bars.
Players new to the chicken farm often run into these patterns:
No. Per community testing on the official Steam forum and the Vampire Survivors Wiki, 'roast' is figurative wording. Any kill method counts: Whip, Pentagram, Garlic, Lightning Ring, all weapons. Fire weapons like Santa Water and Fire Wand do have a chance to instantly kill Chickenfantry into Floor Chicken via fire damage, which is why they are recommended, but fire is not required for the kill counter.
Cumulative across all runs, characters, stages, and DLCs. Per community reports on the official Steam forum, players who killed 29,500 chickens in a single run still saw the milestone tick complete on the next short run. The counter persists in the save file and accumulates between sessions.
The Coop stage. The free Coop DLC introduced this stage specifically built around Chickenfantry waves, with chicken-themed enemies appearing in much higher density than any other stage. Endless Mode on The Coop typically yields 25,000 to 40,000 chicken kills in a single 30-minute run.
Gazebo on The Coop is optimal. He stacks stat buffs from Floor Chicken pickups, making him stronger as more chickens die nearby. Combine with Hidden Anathema (III) Darkana for compounded scaling. Cosmo Pavone is the next best choice for ranged AOE coverage.
There is no live counter for the milestone itself. The closest tracker is the Bestiary (unlocked via the Ars Gouda relic), which shows total kills for each chicken variant. Add Chickenfantry, Egge, Rosso, and other chicken entries together to estimate progress.
Yes. Kills made inside any adventure mode count toward the cumulative total, including kills made during the To End an Ice Age adventure itself. Kills made on regular stages outside any adventure also count.
If the Bestiary shows 25,000 plus chicken kills but the milestone still has not completed, run a single Coop stage and quit out without dying. The save state checkpoint sometimes does not write the milestone completion until the next run resolves cleanly. Per community reports, this is a known timing issue rather than a bug.
Per community estimates, the adventure takes 2 to 4 hours total if the player does not already have characters and weapons unlocked, since each milestone (collect Bracelet, Parm Aegis, Fire Wand, Santa Water; survive 10/20/30 minutes; reach character level 80 with She-Moon Eeta; and roast 30,000 chickens) requires individual completion. The chicken milestone is usually the last one finished.
Roast 30,000 Chickens milestone mechanics, cumulative kill counter behavior, fire damage clarification, and optimal Gazebo build strategy cross-referenced against the official Vampire Survivors Wiki on Weirdgloop and the Vampire Survivors Fandom Wiki, including the Coop DLC release notes and the Hidden Anathema (III) Darkana documentation. In our experience, the wiki Hidden Anathema page and the Adventures page are the definitive references for understanding the To End an Ice Age milestone structure.
Sprite assets and stat data derived from the Vampire Survivors Wiki, hosted by Weirdgloop and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Vampire Survivors is a trademark of poncle. This guide is an independent reference and is not affiliated with poncle.