MeatSlicer/docs/bosses.md

Bosses

All 9 bosses in MeatSlicer, their rotation, scaling, and complete attack patterns. Pulled from js/bosses.js.

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Boss rotation

Bosses rotate in a fixed 9-boss cycle. The boss you fight depends only on the floor number: boss index = (floor − 1) mod 9.

Floor	Boss	Cycle	Tier
1	Bone Saw	0	0
2	Gore Crown	0	0
3	Knife Floor Crawl	0	0
4	Veal Mother	1	0
5	The Flenser	1	0
6	Hook Choir	1	0
7	Plate Father	2	0
8	Auger Prime	2	0
9	The Scald	2	0
10	Bone Saw	3	1
11	Gore Crown	3	1
…	(cycle repeats; tier rises every 3 floors)

• Cycle = floor((floor − 1) / 3) — how many 3-floor brackets deep you are.
• Tier = cycle − debutCycle (min 0) — the boss's personal difficulty level. Each boss debuts at tier 0 and gains a tier every time its bracket comes around again. Higher tiers unlock extra attacks noted in each entry.

Shared boss rules

• Contact damage: 2 (never scales).
• Enrage: below 35% max HP — ×1.35 speed, faster attack cooldowns, and denser bullet patterns. One-time enrage howl.
• HP scaling: base × (1 + 0.30 × (floor − 1)) × (1 + 0.05 × power score) × pressure
• Speed scaling: base × (1 + 0.10 × cycle + 0.01 × power score) × pressure
• Telegraphed attacks (red zones, knife circles, sweep beams) deal 1 damage on their ticks, separate from contact damage.

Boss rewards

Killing a boss grants 500 + floor × 100 score, clears all hostile bullets/telegraphs/minions, and spawns:

• 1 item pedestal (left of room center)
• 1 weapon drop rolled at floor + 2 (right of center)
• 1 ammo pickup (above center) — the boss room also stocks one when you walk in, so you can afford to spend the magazine on the fight
• Stairs Down (below center)

"[NAME] DESTROYED — take the meat, take the stairs"

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1. Bone Saw

Debut: Floor 1 · Base HP: 520 · Base speed: 60 · Hitbox: 45

The opener: a lumbering circular saw that chases at 3× its base speed and mixes projectile fans with a telegraphed charge.

Attacks:

• Saw fling (45% of attack choices): fan of 6 saws (10 when enraged), speed 240, damage 1, 3.2 s life, spread 0.28 rad around your direction.
• Charge (55%): aims for 0.6 s (locked direction), then dashes at 430 × speed mult for 0.85 s, trailing blood. Slamming into a wall ends the charge with a screen shake. Cooldown ~3.2 s between attack rolls (2.2 s enraged).

Tier scaling: none beyond stats and enrage — the simplest boss. Strafe the charge, punish the recovery.

2. Gore Crown

Debut: Floor 2 · Base HP: 600 · Base speed: 42 · Hitbox: 48

Slow, relentless summoner-king with radial bullet patterns.

Attacks:

• Gore volleys (every 2nd attack, from cycle 1): aimed fan of 3 + min(cycle, 4) bullets, speed 260, damage 1.
• Ring attacks (alternating): ring of 12 + cycle × 4 bullets (18 + cycle × 4 enraged; both cap at 40), speed 170, 4 s life. Tier 3+: rings rotate into spirals. Tier 2+: every 3rd attack is a double ring with an offset second ring.
• Summon (every max(7 − cycle × 0.5, 3.5) s, 5 s enraged): calls min(2 + cycle, 5) minions away from you — 60% Runners / 40% Minis, with Splitters (tier 1+, 30%) and Exploders (tier 2+, 25%) mixed in.

Attack cooldown: max(2.4 − cycle × 0.15, 1.2) s (1.6 s base enraged). Kill summons before the arena clogs.

3. Knife Floor Crawl

Debut: Floor 3 · Base HP: 560 · Base speed: 75 · Hitbox: 45

Fast hunter that litters the floor with knife telegraphs and chains dashes.

Attacks:

• Knife telegraphs: places min(3 + cycle, 6) circle traps; the first is centered on you (tier 1+: it tracks you at 140 px/s for 0.4 s before locking). Warning time max(0.7 − cycle × 0.05, 0.45) s. On expiry they hit for 1 damage, then linger for 1.1 s, ticking every 0.4 s for 1 damage each.
• Cleaver volley (tier 2+): fan of 3 + min(cycle − 1, 3) cleavers, speed 300, 2.5 s life.
• Dash (chance min(0.3 + cycle × 0.08, 0.6) per attack): dashes at 320 × speed mult for 0.5 s, leaving a knife telegraph at the endpoint (tier 1+). Tier 4+: chains a second dash.

Attack cooldown: max(2.6 − cycle × 0.15, 1.3) s. Keep moving diagonally; never backtrack across lingering knives.

4. Veal Mother

Debut: Floor 4 · Base HP: 640 · Base speed: 34 · Hitbox: 52

Broodmother with a one-time damage shield and steady summons.

Brood Shield (key mechanic): the first time she drops below 50% HP, she spawns 2 elite Splitter escorts. While any escort lives, she takes only 35% damage and moves at half speed. Kill the escorts — "BROOD SHIELD BROKEN / the mother is exposed" — then burn her down.

Attacks:

• Escorts alive: ring of 10 + min(tier, 3) × 2 syringes, speed 175, every 1.6 s.
• Escorts dead: aimed fan of 5 homing syringes (9 at tier 3+), speed 190, homing 1.2, every 3.4 s (2.4 s enraged).
• Summon (every 5.5 s, 3.8 s enraged): min(3 + tier, 6) Minis, plus Splitters (tier 1+, 30%) and Exploders (tier 2+, 20%).

5. The Flenser

Debut: Floor 5 · Base HP: 460 · Base speed: 96 · Hitbox: 40

The fastest boss — a blink assassin that teleports behind you.

Attack loop (every 2.4 s, 1.5 s enraged):

1. Fade: turns invulnerable and invisible over 0.35 s.
2. Gone: repositions behind you (90–140 px away) for 0.5 s (0.3 s enraged). Drops a knife telegraph at its new position (radius 38); tier 1+: also one at its old position (radius 30).
3. Strike: reappears firing a 7-cleaver volley at you (speed 330, spread 0.16 rad; tier 2+: a second offset wave at speed 295), then dashes away at 380 × speed mult.

Tier 3+: blinks twice per loop. Never stand still during its fade — the strike always comes from behind your current aim direction.

6. Hook Choir

Debut: Floor 6 · Base HP: 580 · Base speed: 46 · Hitbox: 50

Slow chanter surrounded by orbiting harpoon hooks that periodically fling outward.

Attacks:

• Orbiting hooks: inner ring of 4 + min(tier, 3) hooks (radius 70, spin 1.9; 2.65 enraged). Tier 1+: outer ring of 4 + min(tier, 2) hooks (radius 110, counter-spin −1.6). Hooks damage on contact (damage 1) and live 20 s; rings respawn 1.2 s after being released.
• Wind & release (every 4 s, 2.8 s enraged): 0.7 s wind-up expands all hooks to radius 170 spinning 1.75× faster, then releases them tangentially at speed 300. Tier 3+: released hooks home (0.8).
• Volley (every 2.8 s): 3 aimed harpoons, speed 260.

The release is the dangerous moment — the hooks leave along the tangent, so sidestep radially (toward/away from the boss), not along the ring.

7. Plate Father

Debut: Floor 7 · Base HP: 700 · Base speed: 38 · Hitbox: 54

Armored juggernaut with breakable plating.

Armor plates (key mechanic): starts with 4 plates and takes only 25% damage. Every 6% of max HP in damage taken breaks one plate (0.45 s stun, "PLATE BROKEN"). With all 4 gone: "ARMOR BREACHED" — full damage. Effectively ~24% of his HP is spent under 75% reduction.

Attacks (alternating, every 3 s / 2 s enraged):

• Projectile walls: ring of 20 gore bullets, speed 150, with a 3-bullet gap (tier 1+: gap of 2). Tier 2+: a second, slower ring (speed 125) with its own offset gap. Slip through the gap.
• Tallow Stomp: winds up 0.7 s, then erupts a ring of 6 fire hazards at radius 120 (tier 3+: a second ring at 200). Hazards: 3.5 s life, 1 damage per 0.45 s tick.

8. Auger Prime

Debut: Floor 8 · Base HP: 600 · Base speed: 52 · Hitbox: 48

Drill titan whose signature is a rotating beam sweep.

Attack loop (every 3.6 s, 2.4 s enraged):

1. Locks onto your position and spools for 0.8 s (0.5 s enraged), stationary.
2. Sweep: fires 1 rotating beam (tier 1+: 2 arms, tier 3+: 3 arms), length 420, width 26, sweeping for 2.2 s at 1.15 rad/s (tier 2+: 1.65 rad/s) in a random direction. Beam ticks check every 0.5 s — touching the line deals 1 damage.
3. Also launches 3 aimed saws (speed 150, accelerating +260, bounce once off walls, 2.6 s life).

Stay outside the beam's radius or circle against the spin direction; the boss is stationary and punishable during the whole 2.2 s sweep.

9. The Scald

Debut: Floor 9 · Base HP: 620 · Base speed: 40 · Hitbox: 50

Area-denial boiler that floods the arena with acid.

Attacks (every 2.8 s, 1.9 s enraged):

• Acid pools: telegraphs 3 + min(tier, 2) pools (tier 2+: 7), radius 46 (tier 1+: 58), one always centered on you. After a 0.6 s warning they become acid hazards for 5 s (7 s enraged), ticking 1 damage every 0.4 s. Up to 14 active at once — floor space is the real resource in this fight.
• Steam burst (every 3rd attack): ring of 16 steam bolts, speed 220 decelerating (−60), 3.4 s life. Tier 3+: a second, slower ring (speed 155, 4.2 s life).

Keep to the edges, rotate with the room, and never let pools cut off your only escape lane.

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Boss cheat sheet

Boss	Core threat	Counter
Bone Saw	Telegraphed charge	Sidestep, punish wall crashes
Gore Crown	Rings + summons	Kill adds fast; weave ring gaps
Knife Floor Crawl	Lingering knife zones	Never retrace your steps
Veal Mother	65% damage reduction shield	Focus the Splitter escorts first
The Flenser	Backstab blink	Move when it fades; watch your six
Hook Choir	Orbital hook release	Dodge radially on release
Plate Father	75% damage reduction	Grind plates; use wall-ring gaps
Auger Prime	Rotating beam sweep	Circle the spin; punish the stationary sweep
The Scald	Acid floor denial	Rotate along edges; keep lanes open