Varkolyn Leader/Tactics

## Boss Attacks

* Spawns 4 purple poison circles in a line, aimed in the direction of the target.
* Summons a number of Tentacles everywhere.
	+ These will not attack in a fixed pattern.
* Fires small bullets in every direction.
* Fires a large, wide laser beam that sweeps across the area and deals 6 damage. This attack has a longer preparation time than his other attacks and is given away by a sharp warm-up sound.
* Fires a large bullet that fires spirals of smaller bullets.
	+ If the large bullet is destroyed, it will leave smaller bullets in 4 directions for a few seconds.
* Passively gains invulnerability for a few seconds when in purple poison pools. He would be semi-transparent in this case and still blocks bullets.
	+ It is not immune to green poison pools (made by the character Alchemist or poison stone), however.
	+ It does have a brief time window before the next invincibility period starts even if it stays in a poison pool.

### Enraged Mode

* Attacks much more frequently.
* Laser attack has a slightly shorter charging time and rotates faster.

In both modes, before all attacks, Varkolyn Leader will raise its head and then look back at its target, as if it were to try and lob something at them with its mouth. Also, the swirly mark on its leg will glow a different color during the process.

## Tactics

Without the Poison Buff the fight is relatively hard, as the purple poison pools will most likely cover the entire room in short time, slowing down the player and dealing constant damage. It is recommended to reroll the floor in this case if the player is not confident enough to beat the Varkolyn Leader, but beware that the other two, Zulan and UFO, are just as tough either. The Alchemist has an edge due to his easy access to said buff.

A good tactic is to stay close to him with a fast-hitting melee weapon (the Reflect Buff is recommended), dodging the laser is easier this way and while it is active the player can inflict damage with a weapon with high DPS, as the boss will not launch other attacks. If the laser is not activated, the bullet-based attacks can be reflected this way. It is also suggested to be very aggressive in the first few seconds of the fight before it has a chance to spawn his Tentacles.

These can be killed but it is sometimes better to leave them. In fact, Varkolyn Leader cannot spawn more Tentacles if there is already a good amount of them in the room. So as to avoid more of them being spawned, it is better to let them be. They don't really contribute to creating more bullet hell since their bullets are quite easily avoidable. Moreover, the boss can turn invulnerable while being in purple Poison pools, which the Tentacles generate upon death. This is why it is better to kill the least Tentacles possible as to maximize the player's damage output on the boss.

Varkolyn Leader's invulnerability can easily be noticed (as long as there isn't a bullet storm) since he becomes semi-transparent while doing this, so trying not to fire energy-cost weapons and waiting for the pools to fade or him going out of them before resuming the assault is advised.

Paying attention to Varkolyn Leader's sprite is a good idea, not only because of the aformentioned invulnerablility, but because it can help predict which attack will come next based on the color of the swirly mark.

His laser is very dangerous and must be avoided at all costs. If the player does not have the Strong Shield Buff, the player will likely be either lose all or most of their armor, left severely wounded or instantly killed. The laser can be heard a second before being blasted, visually the leader will raise their head. If the player is far away from the Varkolyn Leader he is almost certain to be hit by the hard to avoid, wide-angled attack. Additionally, the boss doesn't do anything else while firing the laser, so it is entirely possible to dish out significant damage during the lengthy attack animation.

* However, having the Statue of the Paladin or the Elf's Focus Fire skill, it is possible to negate the laser's damage, provided if it hits just once.
* All characters with invincibility frames or the ability to summon entities that can take the hit for them (notably Rogue, Paladin, Assassin, Druid) can dodge or tank the laser with ease, making the fight slightly easier.
* Because the boss can be pushed even with the lengthy attack animation, the laser can be easily negated by pushing him close to the walls, minimizing the massive area of danger from the sweeping.

If possible, use freezing or stunning weapons such as the Frost Bow or any hammer, as they will control him temporarily and allow the player to do a lot of damage. This together with the melee necessity make the Frost Sword an ideal weapon against this boss.

## Gallery

Beating the game because the update is new Soul KnightRogue with Soul Calibre and SMG M3.(Soul Knight) (Alchemist) Cannibal Plant & Hand Grenade vs Varkolyn LeaderEngineer- Engineer (2nd skill) C5H605 VS Varkolyn Leader; Magic Bow and Meat