Amdusias

Amdusias is the first boss of the Darkwood biome.

Profile[]

Appearance[]

Former[]

Prior to being turned by Leshy, Amdusias looks like any other Swordsman enemy.

Monster[]

After being transformed by Leshy, Amdusias takes on the appearance of what seems to be a mixture of a Chaser Worm and a Burrowing Spit Worm. Similar to the Chaser Worm, they have a short body, somewhat more elongated than that of their original variant due to their size. Their body is segmented and exhibits a progressive reduction in the size of the segments and a darkening of color until reaching the tail. Their entire body is adorned with sharp branch-like protuberances. The head, the largest segment, features two horns that appear to be made of wood and a triangular mouth filled with varied fangs, exuding a black liquid, possibly their blood. Their large eyes show thin, red cross shaped pupils on a black sclera. Inspired by the Burrowing Spit Worm, Amdusias displays pustules through their whole body, especially on the top of their head. The larger, uppermost pustule has a star-shaped mouth brimming with small teeth.

Follower[]

Upon being defeated and indoctrinated by the Lamb, Amdusias adopts the appearance of a typical follower. They remain green, with their head resembling a bush. They retain their head pustules and horns.

Combat[]

Behaviour[]

Amdusias will wander aimlessly around the combat arena and occasionally perform one of three attacks if in range of the lamb:

Ram: Amdusias briefly powers up before launching into a short-distance ramming attack.
Projectile Barrage: Amdusias spits a multitude of projectiles where The Lamb is currently standing. The fall of these projectiles is predicted by (x) marks on the floor.
Chaser Worm Spawn: Amdusias lays an egg, which upon hatching releases a Chaser Worm that joins the fight.

Tactics[]

Being the first boss encounter, Amdusias has relatively low health. A somewhat risky strategy involves tanking most of its attacks while focusing on quickly depleting its health. However, this tactic becomes precarious at higher difficulty levels or when the player's health is already low.

For players who have difficulty dealing with multiple targets at once, it is recommended to prioritize eliminating the Chaser Worms as soon as they hatch. However, since smaller enemies disappear after Amdusias is defeated, players can choose to evade these spawned enemies and keep attacks focused on the main adversary when they are low on health.

The indication of Amdusias's ram attack is somewhat obvious and extensive. They close their eyes and turn white, mirroring the telegram used by the Chaser Worms. The range of the attack is short enough that a timely dodge roll is not even necessary. A single roll provides enough distance to evade Amdusias, even if the player was initially directly in front of them when they began the charge.

To evade the projectile barrage attack, players can position themselves between the falling projectiles marked with (x) target markers on the ground. However, considering that the projectiles form a relatively narrow cone aimed at the player, dodging the entire cone often proves to be the easiest maneuver.

Trivia[]

The name "Amdusias" comes from The Lesser Key of Solomon, a 17th-century grimoire compiling texts on sorcery, angels, and demons. The first book of the grimoire, the Ars Goetia ("Art of Witchcraft"), lists a hierarchy of demons that rule over Hell, with Amdusias being one of the Dukes of Hell, and in charge of the cacophonous music that plays through the underworld.
They are the only sub-boss that undergoes the transformation from follower to monster in the player's view. This also indicates that every other sub-boss is a follower turned into a monster