← Play Archerogue · Game Guide
Killing a mid-boss or a final boss is what opens the next skill card. There is no XP bar.
The first minute is a short open: mid-bosses at 0:15, 0:30, and 0:45, then the first final boss at 1:00.
Every minute after that repeats this pattern:
Example: 2:15, 2:30, 2:45 mids, then 3:00 final. The first mid of the run is at 15 seconds, not at 0:00.
A mid-boss is a larger copy of a regular enemy. In the first minute the type is only Slime, Orc Warrior, or Skeleton Warrior. After 1:00 it can be any of the nine regular types.
The English name is the Growth Orb short name plus the enemy, for example Atk Slime or HP Orc Warrior. Killing it drops that orb and opens a skill choice.
They keep their type’s attack: Throwers still throw, Archers still shoot, Charge Goblins still charge, Dark Mages still plant circles, and Shield Orcs still use the same shield rules as the regular version. If you kite too far, a mid-boss is pulled closer so it cannot sit unused off-screen.
Mid HP is about one-third of a final boss at the same time, then rounded, then adjusted a little by type (Orc-family slightly higher, Goblin-family slightly lower). Boss Damage training applies.
Each full minute spawns one of four named bosses. The game avoids repeating the same one twice in a row. Killing it always opens a skill choice. Boss Damage applies; calamity shamans and event creatures do not get that bonus.
If you stay far away for about 0.8 seconds, any final can vanish and slam a large circle on your last position (about 1.2s warning). Leave the circle. That drop is on a 7-second cooldown.
Melee bruiser. Lined dashes (telegraphed), a shrinking orbit around you, a slam toward your position, and raised-axe shockwaves. Contact during dashes still hurts.
Survival: treat every line as a dash you must step off. Do not hug the body during slam telegraphs.
Ranged. Fan shots, spinning bullet streams, heavy lined bolts, and screen-edge barrages with small gaps. Stay mobile; standing still is how the fans connect.
Survival: watch for the safe gap in wall barrages and keep walking through the fans rather than reversing into them.
Fast dashes plus Clones. Clones have half the King’s max HP, last about 5 seconds, and dash on a line after a short aim. They drop no Gold.
Survival: respect clone lines the same as the King’s dash. Wide skills clean clones while you circle the King.
Jumps onto marked ground, spit bombs (some leave a 50% slow puddle), and extra dashes. Bombs telegraph on the floor before they land.
Survival: leave landing circles and puddles. Slow puddles make the next jump harder to dodge.
Final HP uses the same Slime HP curve as regular enemies, times 30, times a boss time factor that starts rising after the first minute (about +15% per extra minute). Mid expected HP uses ×10 instead of ×30 before type rounding. That is why bosses pull away from regular packs as the clock runs.
| Time | Expected mid-boss HP | Final boss HP |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00 | 4,800 | 14,400 |
| 10:00 | 14,099 | 42,300 |
| 20:00 | 44,275 | 132,825 |
| 30:00 | 160,500 | 481,500 |
| 40:00 | 685,000 | 2,055,000 |
Mid values in the table are the expected HP for a standard type at that time. The orc you actually fight is rounded and then adjusted a little by type, so a 10:00 Orc mid will not be exactly 14,100.