The Mind

**The mind** is a mystical creature and power core that is located under the Varkem bases, powering the entire Varkem Compound, including the Oxygen Shield. It is also the main boss in the Cave of the Mind section.

## Information

The mind was found by Varkems six months prior to the events of the Celestial Protocol. Is an unknown creature that gives energy, potentially by drawing energy from another dimension. But it has a lot of strange consequences, for example it can create creatures with the same DNA, causing random energy surges, and much more.

## Boss Fight

### Phase 1

At first you are given no hints on how to fight the Mind, as you are expected to explore until you find the locations you can use. You have to first find the Explosives storeroom, which can be found by going all the way around the caves, passing all four windowed areas.

Inside are purple explosives which can be picked up with a Magnetic Levitron. You have to carry them and drop them onto the top of each of the Mind's four main tentacles, which will cause each tentacle to explode completely.

### Phase 2

Once all four tentacles are destroyed, the Mind opens up and new, alien creatures begin spawning directly from it and throughout the caves, replacing Varkem Soldiers.

You have to find the Mines and the Large Matter Manipulator. When you approach the Mines for the first time after finding both locations, six crates of Refined Metal will spawn in one of the storage areas, which you can pick up with your Magnetic Levitron. You have to bring each crate of Refined Metal over to the Large Matter Manipulator and place them on each of the six lime-concrete spots. This will begin to generate a small Laser Cannon.

Once you’ve completely generated the laser cannon, you have to find a Large Power Core. There is a side area of the caverns that is blocked off by a glass door, which will open at this point. You have to place and rocket-jump off of Jump-Pads to climb up some shafts to get up to a cavern with a shulker box that contains a Large Power Core, then bring it back to Narelle.

The Laser Cannon can then be pushed along the rails on the floor. Some sections of the track are missing, so you will need to craft more sections using the Matter Manipulator and place them. Once you’ve done so, you can push the Laser Cannon all the way to in view of the Mind, and it will open fire.

The Laser Cannon takes time to destroy the Mind completely. It has 6000 health, and the cannon deals 20 damage per second, meaning it takes 5 minutes. However, some of the Mind’s abilities can damage and disable the laser cannon.

The Mind can use the following abilities. It adds more as its health gets lower.

* It can spawn some Mind Spiders and Spiderlings, or a swarm of Mind Stingers from the sides. Their abilities can target the cannon, dealing 4 damage per hit.
* When below 80% health, it can summon Mind Spitters. The Spitters will target the Laser Cannon, dealing 4 damage per hit.
* When below 50% health, it will add the ability to summon two Mind Monstrosities and also the ability to summon three ‘energy balls’, which hover for a moment before being launched at the laser cannon, dealing 20 damage per hit. These energy balls can be shot or hit to stop them, which will actually deflect them at the Mind and deal a good amount of damage to it.
	+ Below 33% health, four are summoned instead, and below 16% five are summoned. Note that the more summoned, the less damage they each deal if reflected back (basically if you deflect every energy ball, you deal the same amount of damage - 300 damage).

The Laser Cannon has 180 health, and it can be damaged by the Mind’s energy balls (which deal 20 damage each) and also by Mind Spitters. If its health bar gets depleted, it will stop firing, and it will take Narelle 60 seconds to fix the laser cannon, during which you can see its health regenerate. However, at the same time the Mind’s health will also regenerate slightly (at a rate of 10 health per second, so it regenerates 600 health overall)

Once the Laser Cannon completely brings down the Mind’s health, it explodes. Make sure to pick up the weapon(s) it drops (which should spawn in front of you), and shortly after you, Lucas and Narelle will teleport back up to the ship.

## Strategy

The Frost Thrower in particular can be useful as it sets enemies on fire, and this will allow you to see enemies easier in the many low-light-level areas of the cave.

The Varkem counterparts of those weapons can suffice, though they will suffer in general damage output, as they mostly only deal half the damage.

The Cosmic Commando Phaser can be useful for quickly taking out Mind Spitters, though the Subspace Rapid Blaster can work just as well.

## Trivia

* The Mind and Disorted Monstrocity are cousins.