Enigmatherium

## Description

An enormous woolly white rhino with an oversized horn. It appears in flat, wide open spaces blanketed by thick fog and is extremely aggressive.

## Campaign Placement

The Enigmatherium is an optional boss which can be found while exploring levels in Age of Fire. It does not have its own separate stage and can thus easily be skipped or missed and appears only in one specific level of each campaign. The levels it spawns in *are* predetermined but are not in the same order for each race (Ex: if the player encounters it in the 5th level of the Dryll campaign they should not necessarily expect to see it in the 5th level of the Makilek campaign).

## Attributes & Attacks

The Enigmatherium is a tanky beast with a deep health pool comparable to a Baluchitherium. It will attack on sight if its arena area is intruded upon and can move shockingly fast in a straight line, charging at high speeds to barrel through obstacles, trample enemies, and gore players. It has a fairly limited moveset compared to other bosses but is no less powerful, able to deal massive amounts of damage with its charge, horn swipe, and horn uppercut. Objects like trees and boulders that are normally indestructible can be broken down by its charge, making it impossible to take cover from. Enigmatherium cannot jump or climb, however, so any time the player feels in over their head they can simply exit its arena without having to worry about being followed.

## Strategy

### Ubaan

Having good mobility and multiple options for ranged attacks, the Ubaan stand perhaps the strongest chance when fighting against Enigmatherium. The bow is the most reliable weapon for the job by far, having lots of ammo and range without sacrificing too much attack power. Stones are just as easy to stock up on and make for a great (if very time consuming) last resort should other weapons fail. The spear and axe are both able to dole out large amounts of damage and are highly recommended for this fight, but may end up becoming single-use weapons if thrown as projectiles, as getting close enough to recover them from the rhino's hide can be tricky. It may be better to hang onto them for melee use only, striking at the rhino's rear during the brief openings that follow charges.

### Dryll

Beating Enigmatherium as a Dryll can be either very difficult or very easy depending on how prepared the player is. Taking it on with anything other than maxed out equipment is pure folly, as it has such high resistances to paralysis and sleep that it can only be affected by fully upgraded weapons: anything less will have no effect whatsoever, not even dealing damage. How effective the rest of the Dryll's arsenal is hinges largely on this detail, as bombs and the club- while powerful- can both be incredibly hard to use when Enigmatherium is awake and running around the arena. Ubaan spears are a decent backup plan if available but are not guaranteed to spawn and can only be used in relative close proximity since they can't be thrown. Even if put into a worst case scenario, however, players can at least rely on the Dryll's excellent maneuverability to avoid heavy damage.

### Makilek

Fighting Enigmatherium as a Makilek is fairly straightforward. With no long range attacks at their disposal the player will have to stay fairly close and make the most of every opening they have, striking mostly just after charges and aiming for the back half of the animal. Normal sparks have no effect on it, but Brightpowder can be used to temporarily stop it from charging; take note however that even while stunned it can still turn around and perform its horizontal horn swipe attack. Burnpowder will make the fight pass by faster, though achieving victory without is is entirely doable. Deepblood is not available in the level Enigmatherium spawns in.

### Rith

Challenging Enigmatherium as a Rith is a bold risk. Its charges are not so easy to sidestep with flippered feet and can be catastrophic if they connect, dealing even more damage than usual because of the Rith's poor armor rating. Taking it down without special items is virtually impossible as default spit and swipe attacks can take a dangerously long time to chip through its health. Muckwigglers can be helpful for getting more hits in, especially when playing more cautiously, though Floatstingers are arguably an even better choice since they add a cumulative damage over time effect to spit attacks. Bileberries, while hard to find and hold onto, can flip the script dramatically: Enigmatherium have large nostrils and a powerful sense of smell, making them highly averse to their effect. If the player has some applied then they can stop dodging charges entirely, as the beast will catch wind of what they're wearing and veer away before connecting. Just note that Bileberries stop Enigmatherium from *targeting* the player- not from harming them.

## Drops

* MAX health x1 (100% chance)
* XP+ x2 (100% chance)
* Torn Page x1 (100% chance)

## Trivia

* The name *Enigmatherium* is a defunct synonym of *Elasmotherium*, a giant rhinoceros that once coexisted with prehistoric humans.