The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man
Portrait
Sprite
HP	50
Zone	Crystal Forest (West Zone)
Reward	• 3 Gearbits • Zeliska

“ Twisted, broken, a creature filled with anger and deep, wretched pain. ”

The Hanged Man is the Boss of the Crystal Forest, to the West.

Attacks

Jumping Slashes

• Deals 1~2 DMG.
• This is The Hanged Man's first attack at high HP.
• Homes in on the player with 2 jumping strikes in quick succession, then halts.
• First slash deals 1 DMG, the second one deals 2 DMG.
• This move is done three times in a row.
• Performs 3 jumping strikes when brought down to 50% HP.

Crystal Shockwave

• Deals 2 DMG.
• Lines of crystal spikes shoot outwards, like the Crystal Brute's attack.
• Stabs the ground 2 times in a row after losing 50% HP.

Zeliska

• Deals 1 DMG each bullet.
• Can be deflected with the Bullet Deflect sword ability.
• Aims at the player, then fires a progressively faster bullet.

Summon Crystal Knight

• Summons the Crystal Knight trapped in one of the crystals around the arena.
• The crystals can be destroyed by The Hanged Man's Jumping Slashes.
• Crystals do not regenerate.

Strategy

It's recommended that you bait the Hanged Man towards the Crystal Knights as soon as you enter the arena, so that when he slashes he destroys them. This will prevent The Hanged Man from releasing his knights.

Then as soon as he finishes his double (or triple swing combo) the player can move in for two strikes, and then quickly dash away before being struck.

A less risky strategy involves using the Dash Attack or Phantom Strike Ability to attack through the Hanged Man. If using Phantom Strike, the player must dash immediately afterwards to avoid subsequent attacks. The Hanged Man will not dash as far towards the player in subsequent attacks, possibly due to having to reverse direction. This is rather useful in the early stages of the battle before he starts doing a third strike in his Jumping Slash, although it can be done only twice without the purple outfit.

When The Hanged Man stabs the ground, the player can preemptively dodge the Crystal Shockwave by predicting their movement after they first spawn. The player can then shoot the Hanged Man, or use a Med Kit.

After Jumping Slash or Crystal Shockwave, he will then use his Zeliska to shoot 3 orbs at you. If the Drifter possesses the Bullet Deflect ability, this can be used to the player's advantage.

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At this point he will probably be defeated, and you victorious.

Lore and Story Analysis

Extract from the Monoliths found in the Western region, see more here.

It’s been so long since the Great War, no one remembers. Adventurers and Drifters have come through the Crystal Forest disturbing the Hard Crystals and causing the Raccoon soldiers, and The Hanged Man to reawaken.

Imagine his surprise when The Drifter, a Blue-skinned, walks in his arena. He thought he had defeated his species many centuries ago, perhaps the years inside and enhanced by Hard Crystal have driven him insane. Either way, he attacks the Drifter, enraged at the past actions of his species.

• The Hanged Man: he symbolizes the tarot card, a suspension in time which pertains to his centuries trapped in Hard Crystal. It could even be he trapped himself and his army in crystal as a way to prolong their life and wait out the armageddon. It also symbolises a pursuit of knowledge and selfishness. This backs up the theory that he was one of those who commissioned or created the Immortal Cell.

Gallery