Sludge Menace

The **Sludge Menace** is a boss that spawns at the bottom of the Sludgeon after initially sealing the Pit of Decay.

## Description

The Sludge Menace appears as a giant, pulsating tentacle that rises out of the Pit of Decay after the Mechanism has been shot down into it. It is the tallest Betweenlands boss so far, reaching 9 blocks at full height.

When music is turned on, the Pit of Decay music track will play during the fight.

## Behavior

During its boss fight it will deal basic melee damage on contact, along with additional attacks against its adversaries:

* Slamming the ground, spawning 'sludgy' particles, before lifting up again slowly.
* A pierce-like attack, folding in on itself before thrusting its 'head' at the player, dealing damage on contact.
* A spinning attack, dealing damage on contact. To dodge this, the player needs to be aware of what height the sludge menace is located when spinning. If up high, the player can stay on the ground. If it's down low, the player can block with a shield or climb up.
* Grabbing the player, regenerating its health as long as it holds them. The player can free themselves by hitting the Sludge Menace until it lets go. A shield works best to block the attack.
* Shooting bouncy wads of sludge around itself when the player gets too high or far away, applying slowness () upon hitting the player.
* Summoning Leeches, Sludge Worms and Sludge Worm Egg Sacs on the ground. During this attack it also shoots bouncing wads of sludge, visually represented as a bulge being siphoned up through the Menace, before bursting from the tip.

Upon death, the Sludge Menace uses a custom death animation, flailing about before receding into the ground, leaving behind its drops as well as a significant amount of experience.

## Strategy

As the Sludge Menace can only be faced after traversing through the rest of the Sludgeon, the biggest threat comes with being underprepared for the battle. Players should stock up with extra resources, lots of food, sap, a shield, bows, plenty of arrows, and decently repaired tools and armor, as Sludgeon mobs can quickly damage durability. And if the player runs out of supplies or breaks their gear, they still have to flee back through the Sludgeon, so saving some supplies for this emergency is advised. As these items can take up a lot of inventory space, a Lurker Skin Pouch can be also useful for collecting extra loot along the way.

As for the Menace itself, much of its attacks can be predicted by watching its movements, and blocked or avoided accordingly. However, the enemies spawned by the Menace can quickly become overwhelming if not dealt with, so they should be a focus.

Once the Sludge Menace is defeated, the ward protecting blocks in the Sludgeon disappears, meaning players can simply dig back to the surface without having to navigate back through the Sludgeon again.

## Drops

The drops from the Sludge Menace are derived from the sludge\_menace loot table.

The following is a list of all of the items that can be dropped by the Sludge Menace, including their rolls, quantities, and weights.

  **Ring of Dispersion** | 1
  **Amulet Slot** | 1
  **Blue Candy** | 1
  **Red Candy** | 1
  **Yellow Candy** | 1
  **Mince Pie** | 1

Visit the Loot Tables page for more information on loot.

## Video

The Betweenlands - Enter the Sludgeon (The Pit of Decay)A video by Eric4bz covering the Sludge Menace boss fight
## History

* Release 3.7.3: Remastered Music track.
* Release 3.7.1: Updated Spawn Egg colors.
* Release 3.6.0: Added new sounds.
* Beta 3.5.0: Introduced.