Frog (boss)

*For general information on co-operatives see Main Article: Co-op Mode*

*For the Frog creature see Main Article: Frog (creature)*

The Frog is the the Boss found on Frog Pond Co-op mode. It is the 5th boss added to the game.

**IMPORTANT!!: Frog Pond requires significant cooperation between all players in order to win the coop.**

## General information

The Frog boss has two phases based on its health, with multiple attacks and special attacks on each phase.

### Player cooperation

**Frog Pond requires significant cooperation between all players in order to win the coop.**

Before starting any frog coop players MUST decide two things:

* Who gets which spot (1/top middle, 2/top right, 3/middle right, etc).
* Who blocks first on the large partner flower cannons (see video posted below).
	+ They must also decide who will be the primary spitter and who will be backup spitter.

The spot that a player is in decides which leaf they stand on during the flood and which black/white frog they take their fly to. It also determines which flower cannon they will go to.

The image on the floor of the player lobby is designed to help players quickly determine these things. If players stand on the section that matches their desired position, other players can quickly see which spots have been taken and which spots are still open. This way all players automatically know which position they are in. Then, the colors of the flowers in the image are grouped into pairs for the large partner cannons so players know who their partner will be. This makes assigning positions very quick and efficient with only minor discussion needed to confirm who blocks first and who will be the main spitter.

### Game setup

A player can only bring their player ant and a pet aphid to the coop. No soldier ants will be present.

Players have limited lives and can die 4 times (3 lives plus 0) before dying permanently. Players who have lost all their lives show a **-** in place of their lives with their name darkened. Their player ant body stays in the last spot they died for the remainder of the game. Players can use 75 gems  to regain one life.

**NOTE**: If any player dies before the Partner Cannons (25% health) then the coop will **automatically fail**. Therefore it is very important to protect your lives as much as possible and play very safe if there are 0 lives left.

If players lose all their lives during a co-op, they can spectate other players by clicking the player ant icon next to the Exit button at the top of the screen. It's possible to choose a player to spectate by pressing the player ant icon multiple times. It will cycle according to the list of players in coop who are still alive.

Tip:

* Spectating can be helpful for players who are learning how frog co-op works. Make sure to choose experienced players from whom it's possible to learn how to dodge attacks. This will help you learn to play better.

## Frog Shield and Damage

### Frog shield

Frog has a shield that is constantly regenerating. It can be removed by having players spit on the frog. When the shield is more than 25%, less damage is dealt to the frog by the flower shots. Therefore the shield needs to be kept below 25% at all times.

* 50% or more shield greatly reduces the amount of damage the frog will take.
* There should be two people assigned to spitting. A primary and a backup.
	+ The primary spitter will only spit during the coop.
	+ The backup spitter will shoot the flower shots, and start spitting if the shield gets higher than 25%.
* It is often necessary to assist the primary spitter after the frog does an attack or if the primary spitter is targeted by the frog's tongue.
* Other players may be needed to assist in dropping the shield following each of the three special attacks or following the Super Tongue attack. Other players may also need to assist if the shield stays above 25% or gets close to 50% during the coop.

**Note: Low QC players should never be spitters.** The shield damage is determined by qc level. Each spit takes 5x the qc level of the player who is spitting. That means a qc12 player does 60 points of damage to the shield per hit, whereas a qc8 only does 40 points of damage per hit.

Tips:

* It's recommended to have 5 players ready to spit at the beginning of frog to immediately drop the shield to below 25% at the start of the coop.
* Players can spit on the frog while waiting for the partner cannons to finish (after blocking their shot).
* There is also enough time to fill up on spit before going to the leaf for the flood so players can be ready to attack right away when the flood is over.

### Frog damage

Players control flowers that shoot seeds towards the frog. The damage from the seeds is based on a precision meter when shooting.

* First, players charge the flower, then an arrow below will move indicating the damage of the shot. The button must be pressed when the arrow is at the green colors for max damage.
* A perfect shot will result in the seed becoming a red color that is only visible to the player that shoots it.
* Damage from shots also depends on frog's shield. Damage does not seem to be affected by QC level.

Tips:

* The shoot button can be held down while the flower is charging, then the player can remove their finger when the arrow is in the green section. This allows for more control and consistent "perfect" shots.
* Most players should be shooting the flower cannons and only spitting when the main spitter needs support keeping the shield below 25%.
* Always try to get the log during the phase 1 Tongue Target attack to get 1% damage instantly.

## Phase 1 Attacks

### Poison cloud

* Purple particles appear at the frog's mouth with **no angry sign**.
* After 3 seconds it releases a purple cloud that spreads all around it. The cloud moves slowly and lingers for about 10 seconds.
* Players only need to dodge the particles (similar to Termite Queen explosion).
* *This attack continues in phase 2 of the co-op.*

Tips:

* In the last 25% of frog health, the poison cloud only lasts about 4 seconds.
* The logs block the poison cloud particles. Players can stand behind them for protection.

### Poison spit

* Purple particles appear at the frog's mouth with an angry sign over its head.
* After 4 seconds it will spit a purple stream and spin 360°.
* Players with enough speed can outrun it (similar to Termite King spit).
* *This attack continues in phase 2 of the co-op.*

Tips:

* Players with lower speed need to start running as soon as the particles appear.
* The logs block the spit particles, but the vertical logs in phase 1 can be tricky to hide behind so it's often best to just run away.
* In phase 2, players can run under the frog to save time during this attack.

### Target tongue

* A target sign appears on top of one of the players. After about 6 seconds it shoots its tongue in the direction of the player. The tongue can hit non targeted players, but it can be dodged.
* Hiding behind the logs on the map and then dodging causes the frog's tongue to stick to the log, hitting itself with the log when pulling its tongue back and dealing 1% damage.
	+ Players need to be ready to dodge as soon as they see the tongue.

Tips:

* Be careful if another player is targeted! Players can be killed if the tongue touches them even if they are not targeted.
* Also, DO NOT just run around wildly. This can cause other players to get killed accidentally.
* Always try to go to the log so the frog will take 1% damage instantly. It really helps the coop to finish faster (and gets you higher personal damage).

## Phase 1 special attacks

### Flood (75% frog health)

When health is at 75%, it starts raining and a banner with a splash icon appears, announcing the attack. which lasts around 13 seconds. Players have 8 seconds to stand on a leaf before the whole map floods.

* **Leaves can only carry one ant**.
* There are 8 leaves, one for each player. If two players stand on a leaf, both players will die in the flood.
* Each player has a leaf that corresponds with their position in the game. Players in the middle positions (1, 3, 5, 7) need to be careful that they stand on the correct leaf because the positions are slightly off center. Players need to check the player positions map so they know where their leaf location is.

Tip: It's recommended to keep player names visible so that players can see other player's position.

### Matching flies (50% frog health)

When health is at 50%, a banner with two flies appear, announcing the attack. It lasts around 20 seconds. 8 flies appear, but only one is tangible for each player. Each fly will have a set color: black or white, and follows one player. Simultaneously, 8 white and black colored frogs appear around the pond, but they alternate colors. These won't attack players, and can be fed with the flies, but it will only work if frog is the same color as the fly when they touch.\*Successfully feeding a frog will make it flash green and disappear. An unsuccessful match will cause the frog to flash red and remain on the map. At least 7 frogs must be fed in order to advance into next phase.

* Players can touch the frogs, but they can't touch the flies or they will die.

Tips:

* If the players ant is not fully underneath the frog, the fly could touch it before touching the frog and cause you to die.
* Players cannot interact with other players' flies at all. Touching those flies will not affect you or the other player.
* Players can take their time on this special attack. It's better to go a little slower and get it right, than go fast and miss the match.
* Frogs change color every 2 seconds. Be careful, it can change color right before the fly touches the frog.

## Phase 2 Attacks:

--- Frog jumps out of the pond and moves to the next part of the map ---

Note: Poison cloud and Poison Spit continue through phase 2.

### Poison drops

Throughout phase 2 small puddles of poison will drop randomly around the map. They last for 10 seconds before disappearing. These can often block flower cannons or spit sources and can make running away from poison particles challenging. Players must avoid these puddles as they continue to battle the frog.

### Target poison puddle

* A target sign appears on top of one of the players, after 5 seconds a poison puddle will appear below that player however, the puddle will only become effective after 1 second, during which the player can leave the effect area without losing a life.
* These puddles are rectangular shaped and bigger than the ones that appear randomly around the frog. They remain on the map for 2 minutes.
* [NOTE]: This attack will occur simultaneously while the frog is doing other attacks

Tips:

* It's recommended to go to the edge of the map or as far away from the center as possible when the puddle is about to appear so that it doesn't become an obstacle for other players or block flowers or spit sources.
* Be careful of the frog's other attacks. It's easy to get caught in poison spit while trying to put the poison puddle on the edge of the map.

### Croak blast

Frog will inflate its air sacs near its mouth, then it will shoot a blast in a small area in front of it. This attack is quick and the frog usually changes directions suddenly, so pay attention at its mouth and be ready to run if needed.

Tips:

* Closer to the frog, the cone is smaller so when trying to dodge the attack make sure to go towards the frog and to the side of the attack. Trying to dodge it further away causes the player to have to move a further distance to actually get out of the area of effect.
* Super croak is a very fast attack. So do not finish filling spit or shooting the flower.

## Phase 2 special attacks

### Super tongue

The frog will jump out of the map and become very large. The frog will attack the players with its tongue 6 times in a random pattern. The tongue will kill any player that it touches. The map is split into 4 lanes that the tongue will attack in. A red color is shown on the lanes in the order that the tongue will attack. Once the red pattern has been shown, the frog will shoot its tongue across the map lanes in the same order.

* This pattern is randomly generated each time the attack happens therefore players must have a strategy to remember the pattern of attacks.
* There will always be 3 super tongue attacks during phase 2. They can occur before or after the 25% health partner cannons.

#### Strategy

This attack is very fast and a strategy is needed to help remember the pattern of attacks. Here are some strategies:

1. Two lane approach:

* Choose two lanes and just track those two. That way you only have to remember top or bottom. The goal is to remember what order the red rows appear in those two lanes only. Then if red row shows at top first, go below it to avoid the top.
	+ Example: If the pattern goes red top, red top, red bottom. The top is bad twice so move to the bottom row to start. Once the top has been hit twice, immediately move to the top row because the bottom will be hit next.

2. Find the least attacked row:

* Another helpful method is that there are four red zones. Number them top to bottom as 1-2-3-4 and say the pattern out loud as they appear. Then go to the spot that was hit the least (usually one is hit only once) and just avoid it based on the pattern.
	+ Example 1: Pattern = 1 3 2 3 4 1
		- Go to row 4 wait till 4th attack ended and move to row 3.
	+ Example 2: Pattern = 3 4 1 3 4 2
		- Go to row 2 wait till 5th attack and then move to row 3

3. Write it down/calculator:

* An easy way not to memorize the 6 numbers sequence is to have the zone areas in number 1 to 4 and write them down. Or if no paper, use the calculator to type quickly the 3 by 3 numbers.

Tips:

* If the player dies during this attack, it is best to stay in the lobby area until the attack is over to avoid being killed a second time.
* It's also recommended that several players prepare to spit when the frog is back into terrain after the attack, as it's given time to regenerate shield freely while off screen.

### Partner flower cannons (25% frog health)

**NOTE: The large partner cannons are the most critical special attack in the coop. There can be no fails and if a player dies before this attack, it is an automatic fail.**

When frog health is at 25%, a banner with the frog and a poison bottle appears, announcing the attack. The map is changed to only four big flower cannons in each corner. Two players are assigned to each cannon. After a few seconds, each flower cannon will show a random pattern above it that corresponds to the next attacks. Five purple projectiles will be shot toward the frog, but some of them are seeds and some are poison. Players must BLOCK the poison with their bodies and let the seeds pass.

* **Each player can only block once.** This means that players must coordinate with each other about who will block the first poison and who will block the second.
* The pattern is **random** and will be different for each co-op. Therefore, players must pay careful attention and remember the pattern of attacks that flash above their flower cannon.

If all players successfully block the poison shots then the co-op will continue as normal. However, if any player blocks a seed, misses blocking with their body or if a player blocks two poisons, the frog will send a huge spray of poison and the co-op will end with a failed co-op message.

##### Example

Here is an example using the above video:

* Aegis and Keelin are assigned the bottom right partner cannon.
* The random pattern for their cannon during this coop is: poison, seed, seed, poison, seed

* Keelin blocks the 1st shot (poison), they let two shots pass, then Aegis blocks the 4th shot (poison), then the final shot passes.

Tips:

* The pattern is **random** and will be different for each co-op and each cannon in the co-op.
* Remember this is a **partner** cannon. Corner players should block first but always double check before starting.
* Make sure to stand out of the way so you don't accidentally block the wrong shot.
* Also, players have to trust their partner! Lag and de-sync can make it seem like the other player is missing their shot when everything is fine. But, always track the entire sequence just in case.
* Players can only block once! If a player attempts to block two shots, the co-op will immediately fail.

### Final 25%

The final 25% of the frog health causes the time between attacks to decrease and the shield regenerates much faster. This means attacks happen much faster. The poison cloud particles will last a much shorter time but the target poison puddles and falling puddles can become real obstacles. The target poison puddles can make it hard to spit or shoot because the more people who die, the more likely each remaining player is to be targeted.

## Rewards

The rewards for defeating the Frog are:

* 1 red sage seed
* 250 honeydew
* 1 point on the co-op activity bar for obtaining the Frog creature
* There is also a very small chance of getting the Frog skin
* A no frog reward (it is currently unknown what this does)

## Video tutorials

Pocket Ants- Frog CO-OP Last 25%Partner Cannon and Super Tongue guidePocket ants- TheBlackArmy VS The FROG!!Full guideМини-гайд по лягушачьему пруду -- Pocket Ants -v0.0877-Guide with time stamps〘-6〙POCKET ANTS ➢ 🐸 TUTORIEL -FR- GRENOUILLEFrench guide
## Trivia

* When the Frog co-op was first released, you could avoid the super tongue attack by going all the way to the bottom of the second chamber and making your player ant horizontal. This only worked in v0.0900 and earlier versions. In future versions, the hit box on the bottom wall increased preventing this method from being used.

* The Frog Pond Coop was initially only available for testing and did not give any actual reward for winning the coop. This was so Ariel could balance and alter the way the fight functioned as well as fixing various bugs.