bosses

What it is

Bosses are large arena-locked encounters that gate level progression. Each one drops the player into a sealed circular or rectangular arena with a unique enemy composition, persistent visual layers, telegraphed attack patterns, and a death cinematic. Defeating one awards bonus XP, currency, extra reward picks, and a custom-tuned pickup cascade.

Stats / variables tables

Roster summary

Boss	Arena shape	Arena size	Closing duration (s)	Terrain	Total HP pool	Bodies	Spawn profile	Kind
Killer Croc	circle	r=350	8	open	6000	1 + 4 anchors	light_pressure	mini
Prism Cluster	circle	r=400	8	open	6000 (4 × 1500)	4 gems	none	mini
Junkrat Captains	rect	700 × 500	8	gauntlet	6000 (3000 + 2 × 1500)	3 captains	heavy_pressure	mini
Digbot Swarm	circle	r=450	8	open	6000 (100 × 60)	100	none	mini
Awakened Mech	circle	r=380	8	hazard_pads	8000	1 (phase-shifting)	crescendo	mini
Hive Queen	circle	r=400	8	pillar_ring	7000 + 4 respawning anchors	1 + 4 anchors	beacon_clearers	mini
Reactor Core	rect	800 × 400	8	corridor	~7000 (3 × 2333 valets)	1 hauler + 3 valets	light_pressure	mini
Doomsayer	circle	r=360	8	pillar_cross	10000	1	storm	mini

Per-boss body composition

Boss	Body	HP	Share pool	Is bar anchor	Targetable	AI
Killer Croc	Croc	6000	yes	yes	yes (while no anchors)	kite_player
Killer Croc	4 × Caiman anchors	external	n/a	no	yes	external
Prism Cluster	Citrine	1500	yes	yes	yes	orbit_center
Prism Cluster	Ruby	1500	yes	no	yes	orbit_center
Prism Cluster	Jade	1500	yes	no	yes	orbit_center
Prism Cluster	Pearl	1500	yes	no	yes	orbit_center
Junkrat Captains	Pierre	3000	yes	yes	yes (while no Marcos)	patrol_random
Junkrat Captains	Marco-A	1500	yes	no	yes	patrol_random
Junkrat Captains	Marco-B	1500	yes	no	yes	patrol_random
Digbot Swarm	Foreman	60	yes	yes	yes	disperse_to_fill
Digbot Swarm	99 × Digbots	60 each	yes	no	yes	disperse_to_fill
Awakened Mech	Loader → Drillbot → Bigbot	8000 (single bar, body swaps)	yes	yes	yes	formation_lock
Hive Queen	Orca	7000	yes	yes	yes (while no stingers)	patrol_random
Hive Queen	4 × Stingers (respawning)	external	n/a	no	yes	external
Reactor Core	Hauler	999999	no	yes	no	hold_center
Reactor Core	3 × Valets	2333 each	yes	no	yes	orbit_center
Doomsayer	Solaris Oracle	10000	yes	yes	yes	hold_center

Phase thresholds

Boss	Phase rule	Thresholds
Awakened Mech	Body swap at HP fractions; ability swaps with body	66% (Loader → Drillbot), 33% (Drillbot → Bigbot)
Killer Croc	Anchors block damage until cleared	4 anchors alive → boss takes 0 damage
Junkrat Captains	Pierre gated by Marcos	Both Marcos must die before Pierre takes damage
Hive Queen	Stinger anchors block damage; respawn on cadence	4 anchors alive → queen takes 0 damage; dead anchors respawn every 12 s
Reactor Core	Hauler untargetable; Valets carry the pool	3 valets dead → encounter ends
Prism Cluster	Each gem 25% of pool; equal share	Per-gem death drains 25%
Digbot Swarm	Each Digbot 1% of pool	Per-body death drains 1%
Doomsayer	Single 90 s judgment ramp; beam fires at t=90 s	30 s / 60 s / 80 s / 85 s / 87 s / 90 s escalation beats

Abilities — Killer Croc

Ability	Pattern	Cooldown (s)	Start delay (s)	Telegraph (ms)	Damage	Range / count
Cone Slam	cone_slam	4.0	1.5	1400	30	length 240, half-width 55°, 6 bullets

Abilities — Prism Cluster (per gem)

Ability	Pattern	Cooldown (s)	Start delay (s)	Telegraph (ms)	Damage / sec	Phase offset (deg)
Citrine Beam Sweep	beam_sweep	3.5	1.0	1000	40	0
Ruby Beam Sweep	beam_sweep	3.5	1.0	1000	40	90
Jade Beam Sweep	beam_sweep	3.5	1.0	1000	40	180
Pearl Beam Sweep	beam_sweep	3.5	1.0	1000	40	270

Beam arc 120°, sweep duration 600 ms, length resolves to arena radius.

Abilities — Junkrat Captains

Body	Ability id	Notes
Pierre	pierre_telegraphed_circles	Telegraphed AoE rings
Marco-A	marco_aimed_volley	Aimed bullet volley
Marco-B	marco_aimed_volley	Aimed bullet volley

Abilities — Digbot Swarm

Ability	Pattern	Cooldown (s)	Telegraph (ms)	Bullet count	Bullet speed	Bullet damage	Bullet radius
Foreman Radial Burst	radial_burst	6.0	1600	16	180	15	6

Abilities — Awakened Mech (per phase)

Phase	Ability	Pattern	Cooldown (s)	Telegraph (ms)	Bullets	Spread / arc	Damage	Notes
0 (Loader)	Aimed Volley	aimed_volley	2.0	800	5	15° spread	12	bullet speed 240, radius 5
1 (Drillbot)	Spiral Vortex	spiral_vortex	8.0	n/a	2 / emit, 100 ms interval	270°/s rotation	per-bullet	sustain 4000 ms, bullet speed 180
2 (Bigbot)	Cone Slam	cone_slam	3.0	1500	8 follow-ups	length 300, half-width 70°	35	white-hot wedge

Abilities — Hive Queen

Ability	Pattern	Cooldown (s)	Telegraph (ms)	Notes
Spawn Telegraph	spawn_telegraph	8.0	1500	Hatches 3 Stinger drones at ring-positioned circles
Drone Wisp Pulse	radial_burst	4.0	600	8 bullets, speed 100, damage 10, radius 5

Abilities — Reactor Core

Body	Ability	Pattern	Cooldown (s)	Telegraph (ms)	Damage	Notes
Hauler	Wall Sweep	wall_sweep	10.0	2000	30	horizontal, speed 280, 2 gaps × width 90
Valets	none	—	—	—	—	generators only

Abilities — Doomsayer

Ability	Pattern	Cooldown (s)	Start delay (s)	Telegraph (ms)	Sustain (ms)	Damage	Notes
Aimed Volley	aimed_volley	2.5	0	700	n/a	10	4 bullets, spread 12°, speed 220, radius 5
Death Beam	death_beam	999	90.0	3000	400	99999 (instakill)	line width 80, multi-layer composition

Doomsayer 90-second escalation timeline

Time (s)	Beat
0–30	Calm gloom; ambient void-purple breathing tint every 5 s
30–60	Gathering; gold rune-ring brightens, stronger purple breathing tint
60	Judgment-in-30 breakpoint; dread-red edge vignette ramps in
60–80	Every 5 s dread-red tint beat
80	Gold rune-ring locks; star convergence accelerates
85	Core pulse doubles to 1.6 Hz; per-second dread tick begins
87	Screen darkens; horizontal beam axis appears; camera pulls back
87.5	5 starlight spark emissions converge on Oracle
88.5	Gold rune aura saturates
89.5	Beam axis pulses at 8 Hz, thickens
90	Death Beam fires (white core + gold halo + purple corona + dread-red edge)
90.4	Beam fades; 80-spark ash-fall along path
90.6	Vignette lifts
91.0	Starlight afterglow

Rewards

Boss	XP	Currency	Extra reward picks	Reward cascade types
Killer Croc	500	50	1	comet_fragment, comet_fragment, volatile_crystal, magnetar_pulse, scrap_pile
Prism Cluster	800	80	1	default (2 Scrap + 1 Mineral + 1 Comet + 1 Magnetar)
Junkrat Captains	700	70	1	volatile_crystal, volatile_crystal, comet_fragment, magnetar_pulse, scrap_pile
Digbot Swarm	1000	100	2	default
Awakened Mech	1200	120	2	drone_wreck, drone_wreck, mineral_vein, magnetar_pulse, scrap_pile
Hive Queen	900	90	1	scrap_pile, scrap_pile, scrap_pile, mineral_vein, magnetar_pulse
Reactor Core	950	100	1	comet_fragment, comet_fragment, mineral_vein, magnetar_pulse, scrap_pile
Doomsayer	1500	150	2	scrap_pile, mineral_vein, comet_fragment, magnetar_pulse, magnetar_pulse

Death-cinematic durations

Boss	Cinematic duration (s)
Killer Croc	2.4
Prism Cluster	2.0 (encounter end) / 1.4 (per gem)
Junkrat Captains	2.6 (Pierre) / 0.9 (Marco)
Digbot Swarm	2.4 (encounter end) / 1.2 (Foreman)
Awakened Mech	3.0 (death) / 1.4 (per phase transition)
Hive Queen	2.6
Reactor Core	3.0
Doomsayer	2.8

Per-level scaling

Stat	Per-level growth	Cap type	Cap value	Cap steepness
HP	× 2.00	uncapped	—	—
Damage	× 2.15	uncapped	—	—
Turret fire rate	× 1.25	soft cap	3.0	0.30
Move speed	× 1.10	soft cap	2.0	0.25
Limb sweep speed	× 1.15	soft cap	2.5	0.20
Spawner frequency	× 1.20	soft cap	3.0	0.25
Projectile speed	× 1.12	hard cap	2.0	—
Effect radius	× 1.10	soft cap	2.5	0.20
Enrage timer	× 0.88	soft cap	0.25	0.30

Base enrage timer at level 1 is 120 seconds. Level 1 applies no scaling (multiplier 1.0 across all dimensions). For boss-tier vs mini-tier pools, the boss-tier multiplies HP and per-body damage in the roster by 2 at spawn time.

How it works (gameplay flow)

• Boss encounter is triggered when the level type rolls a boss or mini-boss level.
• A boss arena is created at the encounter location, shaped circle (radius) or rectangle (width × height) per the boss’s arena config.
• Arena closes in over 8 seconds, sealing the play space.
• Boss roster spawns at configured positions (center, cardinal compass points, ring around center, or fixed offsets).
• Persistent visual layers attach on encounter start: auras, core pulses, orbital rings, rune circles, lattice lines, hex tile shimmers, conduit lines, underglow shadows, edge vignettes, dust motes, floor glow stripes, refraction sweeps. Some layers are arena-scoped, others host-attached.
• Bodies use their AI (kite, patrol, hold center, orbit center, disperse to fill, formation lock) and fire abilities on cooldown.
• Bodies marked sharesHealthWithBoss drain the shared boss bar when damaged.
• Some bosses gate damage to the anchor: Killer Croc by shielded anchors, Junkrat Captains by gated Marcos, Hive Queen by shielded_respawn Stingers, Reactor Core by untargetable Hauler with Valets carrying the pool.
• Awakened Mech swaps its body type at 66% HP and 33% HP through respawn_as, swapping abilities and visual palette per phase.
• Hive Queen respawns dead Stinger anchors every 12 seconds.
• Doomsayer ramps a 90-second escalation timeline ending in a screen-bisecting death beam that one-shots the player.
• Each boss can also spawn pressure adds through a spawn profile (none, light pressure, heavy pressure, beacon clearers, crescendo, storm).
• On any non-boss sharing body death, the per-body death cinematic fires.
• On the final sharing-body death, the encounter-end death cinematic fires (zoom pulses, shockwave stacks, shards bursts, screen tints, edge vignettes, smoke clouds).
• After the death cinematic, the reward chamber spawns: bonus XP, currency, extra reward picks, and a custom 5-prop pickup cascade ring (or default 2 Scrap + 1 Mineral + 1 Comet + 1 Magnetar).
• Arena tear-down runs and the player resumes the run.

Interactions

• Combat system: bullet → enemy collision pipeline drives hit feedback, bar drain, and per-body death triggers.
• Affix system: shielded, shielded_respawn, gated, respawn_as, gateGroup affixes control invulnerability, anchor binding, phase swaps, and damage gating.
• Ability system: registers each boss ability into the shared registry; cone_slam, aimed_volley, spiral_vortex, radial_burst, beam_sweep, death_beam, wall_sweep, spawn_telegraph, telegraphed_circles patterns drive bullet emission and telegraph rendering.
• Enemy system: each boss roster body references an enemy type id (Backwater, Junkrats, Industria, Solaris factions).
• AI system: per-body AI ids kite_player, patrol_random, hold_center, orbit_center, disperse_to_fill, formation_lock drive movement.
• Arena system: provides shape, radius, cardinal points, ring positions, random points, closing duration, and terrain pattern.
• Spawn profile system: drives the pressure-add cadence during the encounter.
• Reward system: XP, currency, extra reward picks, and the 5-prop pickup cascade.
• VFX layer kit: dustMotes, floorGlowStripes, underShadow, aura, corePulse, orbitalRing, runeCircle, hexTileShimmer, refractionSweep, latticeLine, conduitLine, edgeVignette, telegraphLine, fullscreenSlice, screenTintPulse, cameraZoomPulse, shockwaveStack, shockwaveBand, shardsBurst, additiveSparkBurst, groundImpactCircle.
• Low-perf mode: skips ambient arena layers (dust motes, floor glow stripes, refraction sweep) and reduces per-body persistent layers on mobile.
• Level scaling: HP, damage, fire rate, move speed, limb sweep speed, spawner frequency, projectile speed, effect radius, and enrage timer all scale per level with their cap behaviors.

What it does NOT do

• Does not roll a true boss-tier encounter from the pool. All shipped bosses are mini-tier. The boss-tier code path doubles HP and per-body damage but never selects from the boss pool until a boss-tier entry is authored.
• Does not draw a background loop video. The BossBackgroundLoop data hook exists, but no shipped boss sets it.
• Does not provide a HUD text-overlay primitive for ticker messages (“JUDGMENT IN 30”, “JUDGMENT IN 10”). Doomsayer substitutes dread-red tint pulses.
• Does not expose a per-hit visual hook in the boss definition contract. Per-hit feedback (Doomsayer’s gold glass-crack, void-purple sparks, starlight sparkles) is driven from the bullet → enemy collision pipeline elsewhere.
• Does not directly mutate persistent layer alpha or rotation from one-shot death hooks for layers without cached handles. Death cinematics emit transient burst proxies in those cases.
• Does not include a dedicated smoke particle profile. Smoke effects use groundImpactCircle or tinted additiveSparkBurst as proxies.
• Does not include a skyward-drift particle profile. Doomsayer’s ascending-souls effect uses standard outward-drifting sparks.
• Does not include an attractor field primitive. Hive Queen’s bee silhouette is rendered as a ring of small spark bursts at fixed outline offsets.
• Does not drop the outer purple corona layer on Doomsayer’s death beam by default; the perf cut is gated behind a flag set to false.