Scoggfirth

*"A lush and vibrant forest. Seeds from here spread through the universe, establishing all manner of biomes for the creatures of various worlds."*

   **Scoggfirth**, also known as *World 1, Area 1* or *A1*, is one of the biomes that comprises the Prime Worlds. It is also the first biome that the Ember Knights traverse in their pursuit of Praxis.

### Appearance

As the description states, Scoggfirth is mainly a forest. The Ember Knights begin their journey by landing on the remains of a big tree. Plants, flowers, mushrooms and grass are constantly present throughout rooms. Waterfalls can also be encountered as progress is made. There are some artificial elements that show up in the biome as well, such as bonfires cooking a chicken leg, pots that can be broken to reveal gold coins inside, backpacks left behind that may contain food, more gold or even more rarely, a Relic; and even roadsigns pointing in many directions that served as a guide to the inhabitants of Scoggfirth prior to the corruption brought forth by Praxis.

The environment is mostly decorative and props can be destroyed without any effect or inconvenience. Most notably, Spider webs and eggs can be encountered on various rooms. Unlike other decorations, breaking an egg will spawn a hostile Rakkling.

Healing Fountains can be found on room selections, as well as Relic, Stat and Spell selectors. Extra Gold, Extra Ember and ??? rooms are also present.

After a couple rooms, the Ember Knights will encounter a glade in which the Miniboss can be found. In this arena lay two glowing mushrooms that can be broken to reveal a chicken leg inside. Arlan's Shop comes right after defeating the Miniboss.

The second half of the biome is almost identical to the first one, except that Rakknid spawn, and Rakkling don't spawn on their own. At the end of the world, Skrixxa Za, the Weaver of Decay, waits in her cave. Prior to the boss fight, there are 3 glowing mushrooms to provide a much needed healing source.

### Enemies

* Rakkling
* Rotworm (Elite and Champion version too).
* Poison Oak
* Rakkling Nest
* Whirmaw (Elite)
* Rakknid
* Guzzle Wound (Miniboss)
* Sanguinsucker (Miniboss)
* Gust (Miniboss)
* Plague Bringer (Mini Boss)
* Skrixxa Za, the Weaver of Decay (Boss)

### Strategy

##### **General**

Being the first world, Scoggfirth is an overall easy area with simple enemies. The rooms are mostly open and sometimes have gaps that can divide the room in two. Enemy patterns are straight-forward and easy to avoid.

Because most of the decisions made while progressing through Scoggfirth will greatly influence the rest of the run, it's important to have in mind which relics and spells will provide the best chance at winning. It's always good to consider the ups and downs of each Class to boost the strengths and cover the weaknesses each weapon has. Sometimes skipping the shop altogether is a viable option if there is no useful relic in it (especially when equipped with the Dividend upgrade that grants more gold the longer you go without purchasing anything) thus saving gold for the second shop.

Relic Rerolls are also an interesting upgrade to consider, as Relics greatly influence the effectiveness of both attacks and spells. It's always good to get a strong relic early on (such as Meteor, Ripe Elderberry or Razor Bangle) and make a build around it than hoping to get an OP Relic at the last minute.

##### **Enemy Strategy**

**Rakklings** pose little threat as they go down in a single hit from any weapon most of the time. They are good spell fuel, especially when paired with a **Rakkling Nest** since they constantly spawn more Rakklings. Being overwhelmed by these is not an issue as these enemies are usually caught up in the Area of Effect of most weapons and spells. **Rakknids**, however, should be handled much more carefully as these evolved versions are faster and hit much harder. They should be prioritized over other targets or avoided all together by jumping between gaps in the rooms as they unable to follow through. Spells should be saved for these big guys.

**Whirmaws** are similar to Rakklings in that they are caught in the fray too. They present very little threat when alone, but if paired with other enemies they can easily catch an Ember Knight off guard as they randomly spin around the room. The elite version can perform a Cyclone-like pull when spinning, leaving Knights in a rough position to evade incoming damage, so it should be prioritized over normal Whirmaws.

**Rotworms** are different in that they present a ranged threat that compliments the melee attacks of the other bugs. They have a slow projectile and can bury underground to reposition and evade all forms of damage or crowd control. The Elite version fires two projectiles in quick succession and the Champion version fires three and can even summon more Rotworms. Although dodging at the right time is key to nullify any damage output from their end, the follow up from other melee enemies or even other Rotworms can be quite tricky to evade when rolling is on cooldown. The most useful technique is to simply walk sideways to evade the projectile and save the roll for another incoming attack. Ranged spells such as Phantom Spear or Arcane Bolts are good for dispatching them quickly.

Finally, **Poison Oaks** wrap up the ranged offensive by shooting a projectile that leaves a purple pond of poison on the ground. They are able to close sections of the room by blocking spaces with their attacks, cornering the Knights if they are already in a tight place. Because of how they are the only enemy that can essentially manipulate the battlefield to give an edge to Praxis' forces, Poison Oaks take the highest priority over any other enemy. Their most notable weakness is that they mostly stay still in place, lacking any mobility aside from walking to get in range to attack, which makes them easy targets to Crowd Control attacks and spells such as Rupture or Freeze Path as well as long range spells like Phantom Spear or even Chakram.

##### **Miniboss**

Guzzle Wound or any of its variations are fought in the same way: attack when the Miniboss is charging the tornadoes or the small ground poison/blood attack, and then simply dodge when Guzzle Wound is not charging. Additionally, damage can be dealt to the Miniboss in-between the melee attack animation (signaled by an exclamation mark above its head) although the timing can be hard to get. The best idea is not to attack too much, but to look for the gap between the monster's attacks to make the most out of the opening. The straight-line charged attack deals heavy damage and should be avoided at all costs.

Most crowd control spells are not quite effective on the Miniboss as it **can't be stunned** **or frozen** unlike normal enemies. Other debuffs still take full effect (such as burning or poison) and damage spells work normally (such as Chakram or Ballista). This makes spells good tools to maximize damage since their range can be fully utilized even when the Miniboss is out of melee range due to a charged attack that surrounds it (like Sanguinsucker's huge blood pool attack).

There are two glowing mushrooms inside the arena that can be broken to reveal a chicken leg which in turn can be eaten to heal up. Should an Ember Knight be in a pinch when facing the Miniboss, a good idea to get enough breathing room to heal is to lure the first straight-line charge **at the mushroom** and the second charge **away from the mushroom**, both times performing a dodge roll at the right moment. The charge itself is enough to break the chicken legs free from inside the fungus, which helps save even more time by not having to break it oneself.

##### **Boss**

    Before the fight itself, it's important to always heal up at the entrance of Skrixxa Za's Cave. There are always three glowing mushrooms, two of which are close enough to be hit and cooked by Ember Fire for more HP.

Once inside, The Weaver of Decay jumps down and begins the fight with a loud scream. She has three different phases determined by her remaining health. Each phase has specific attacks with different patterns, but later phases include the attacks from the previous ones. As the first boss, she represents a notable difficulty spike in that her attacks are faster, cover a bigger area and deal high damage.

The core idea to safely combat this first boss is the same as the Miniboss: waiting for the opening after an attack to deal damage to the boss is the most reliable way of getting past her. Additionally, **Skrixxa Za can be stunned** if hit enough on her back in quick succession, rendering her unable to act and taking extra damage from every hit.

Spells work in the same way as with Guzzle Wound and its variations, and its best use is to damage the boss from a distance when she is performing her fire ring attack around her. If timed correctly, spells can be casted just before Skrixxa Za hits the ground (she had just jumped to retreat momentarily due to switching phases), reaching the '**perfect**' mark on the spell just when she finishes falling down and hitting her instantly to follow up with a couple attacks to maximize damage.

The boss doesn't fight alone as minions appear during the fight. These consist of Rakklings (when switching from Phase 1 to 2 and when breaking the numerous spider eggs inside the arena) and Rakknids (from Phase 2 to 3). Although they are easily avoidable and will most likely end up caught on the area of effect of spells and attacks aimed at Skrixxa Za herself, it is advisable to pay enough attention as to not get hit by one of them.

Once she is defeated, she drops 20 Ember, Gold and a random Stat Gem.

If **Scoggfirth** is completed before the 7-minute mark, a bonus chest appears contaning 60-70 ember, a Stat selector and the diligent work relic if getting the chest for the first time.

### Trivia

* Scoggfirth is the first world visited by the Ember Knights on their adventure to stop Praxis from *doing something that cannot be undone.*
* Unlike Steadfast Citadel and Wightsbury, Scoggfirth does not have an intro animation when entering it.
* Scoggfirth serves as a lifebringer to other biomes in the universe by providing seeds for them and its creatures, as stated in it's description.
	+ This also relates to how it's the first biome to have been developed and how it works as a guideline for future worlds.
* Spider eggs in Scoggfirth will spawn Rakklings when destroyed, but not when the room has been cleared.
	+ These are identical to the ice blocks in Steadfast Citadel that spawn Ice Chevalliers upon breaking them.
* Scoggfirth is the only biome so far to have a Secret that can only be discovered here, and not in other biomes: Secret #11.
* Scoggfirth is the only biome to drop a random skill on the ground rather than having the Player choose one through a Skill Selector.
	+ However, it's not the only biome to drop a random relic on the ground, as one of the options for the last room before the boss fight on Wightsbury also does this.
* Scoggfirth is the only world in which the Extra Strating Relic upgrade will take effect, as it only affects the first Relic Selector.

1. ↑ Official Description: *A lush and vibrant forest. Seeds from here spread through the universe, establishing all manner of biomes for the creatures of various worlds.*