Jakob

*This article may contain spoilers about the game*

 Level | E3M10

**Jakob** also known as the **Cult Leader**, is the penultimate boss encountered in The Nameless City, and the secondary antagonist in the game. His voice can be heard throughout the game as he taunts the player. He appears exclusively in E3M10: Dusk and serves as one of two bosses in the level. Jakob is the leader of The Cult and is apparently omniscient. Jakob's boss theme is *Keepers of the Gate*.

## Appearance

He appears as a man with black hair, brown eyes with bloody bags, white skin, and the Cult symbol on his forehead. He is dressed in a brown coat, grey pants, and brandishes a Super Shotgun. His eyelids appear to have been cut off, as shown by the bulging eyes and blood surrounding them.

## Encounter

Upon starting E3M10, Jakob will say to the player, "We're waiting." After successfully activating the portal and gearing up, the player will be teleported to an arena where Jakob stands at the opposite end, his back turned and surrounded by a forcefield of green energy. He then makes a short speech to the player: "At last... you've finally arrived. You shall be my final test." Once he is finished, the boss battle begins. If the player shoots Jakob with the Crossbow through the energy field, Jakob immediately cancels his dialogue and begins the boss fight.

## Tactical Analysis

Jakob moves very fast compared to other bosses before him. He moves around the arena by strafe hopping, which can make him difficult to hit at times. Jakob is also capable of switching between different weapons, being the Shotguns, Assault Rifle, Mortar, and Riveter. Jakob's attacks, combined with his speed and 5500 health, make him a formidable opponent.

Jakob has several different attacks. These include:

* Three-shot bursts shot from the Riveter.
* Three-shot bursts from the Mortar.
* Multiple successive shots from the Assault Rifle, between six to ten shots.
* Shots fired from his Shotguns, either three to four times.

Jakob's attack pattern is completely random, though he uses different weapons depending on proximity to the player.

Playing against Jakob is similar to playing against an opponent in Duskworld, with the exception of the boosted health, differing attack patterns, and a lack of hitscan damage. The main trick to beating Jakob is to move at the same pace that he does. Bunny hopping and strafe jumping will allow the player to dodge most of his attacks, however this must be done continuously throughout the fight in order to have an advantage. If using explosive weapons, prediction is key to landing a successful hit. Strong weapons like the Riveter and Mortar will deplete Jakob's health quickly, however ammo will be used up quickly if the player is not careful.

Upon lowering Jakob's health to 500, six Cultists will appear and start throwing fireballs at him while muttering "Unworthy..." to finish him off. Jakob will yell out to his traitorous disciples and attempt to shoot back at them, but ultimately fails. After killing him, both Jakob and the Cultists will explode into a shower of gibs. With Jakob defeated and the cult vanquished, the stairway to Nyarlathotep's arena opens.

## Quotes

Jakob's voice is heard throughout multiple levels in the game, where he either taunts the player or gives hints to the story:

* "Kill the intruder." (E1M1, upon starting the level)
* "My pet! You'll pay for that..." (E1M3, after killing Intoxigator)
* 'Hmm... Impressive." (E1M6, after the big fight)
* "They were... unworthy." (E1M7, after killing The Duke Brothers)
* "Are you prepared for what's next?" (E1M10, before entering the boss arena)
* "This... is only the beginning." (E1M10, after exiting the level)
* "Where do you think you're going?" (E2M1, after successfully acquiring the final key)
* "Another sacrifice?" (E2M3, upon entering the machine)
* [Cut] "He's in the machine, STOP HIM!" (E2M4, Entering the red key door chamber)
* "Show him." (E2M4, upon opening a room with three meat grinders and several Cultists)
* "Why follow... when you can lead?" (E2M4, before reaching the exit)
* "Go on. Take it. Taste the power." (E2M5, upon finding the Serum of Blistering Heat)
* "With his sparks, we take from men that which has never been taken before." (E2M8, after dropping down into a maintenance pipe hatch)
* "Do you see now? Do you understand?" (E2M8, after opening the gate that leads to the exit)
* "He drove them out, and invited us in." (E2M9, Overlooking the bottomless bone pit)
* "I was not afraid." (E2M9, overlooking the partial-spiral stairs)
* "*laughter* Most impressive!" (E2M10, after defeating The Guardian)
* "*laughter* I knew you'd come." (E3M1, after falling out of the portal)
* "Embrace the darkness." (E3M4, after falling and breaking your flashlight)
* "The closer they got, the more they suffered." (E3M4, upon entering the torture chamber)
* "*laughter* Welcome home. *continued laughter*" (E3M7, upon starting the level)
* "Look at all we've done together." (E3M7, upon picking up the yellow key)
* "Welcome back." (E3M8, upon starting the level)
* "So small... so powerless." (E3M8, upon entering the room with scaled up props)
* "Kill the intruder." (E3M8, upon entering the reprise of the starting room of E1M1)
* "Show us that you are worthy." (E3M9, before entering the teleporter into the arena)
* "Excellent, you may come to us." (E3M9, before exiting the level via blue portal)
* "We're waiting." (E3M10, upon finding the portal)
* "*laughter* At last... you've finally arrived. You shall be my final test." (E3M10, before starting his boss battle)
* "No! You can't betray me! MY DISCIPLES!" (E3M10, upon being brought down to 500 health)

Jakob's laughter can be heard multiple times throughout the game as well.

## Trivia

* Jakob is voiced by Andrew Hulshult, the composer of DUSK's soundtrack.
* Jakob's voice in the nameless city (Until you confront him in-person in E3M10) sounds extremely demonic compared to the previous episodes, where his voice sounds perfectly normal.
* When Dusk Dude comments on portraits of Jakob before bearing the symbol of the cult, he will comment "Appears to be a cult leader". But when interacting with portraits of his current appearance besides E3M10, he will only respond with three question marks.
* Although Jakob in the boss fight with him appears to have the Super Shotgun equipped, he never actually uses it.
* Jakob makes an appearance in the game FAITH: The Unholy Trinity (also published by New Blood), as seen in a hidden photo where he is pictured to the left of FAITH's main antagonist Gary Miller along with a third, unknown individual. A letter next to this photo details a somewhat respectful relationship between the two, but with a difference in goals they both went their separate ways. This perhaps links both games canonically.

## Gallery

* Jakob attacking.
* Jakob before attacking.