The Herald, Curator, and Tyke Boss Strategies

Safe rule: Stop attacking whenever a shield makes the boss immune, solve its projectile-return mechanic, then use the opening. The Herald starts behind a shield, but The Curator and Tyke can take damage before their shields appear. You know the painful version of this trip: your backpack is packed like a tiny museum gift shop, one more reward will make the run glorious, and then a laser burns the whole business plan. Slow down when the arena changes. A clean extraction with a clever stack of relics is still the real win.

Test conditions: PC, Version 1.0 Hotfix 1, default difficulty, standard story encounters. Boss Rush is not covered. Hotfix 1 had already fixed the Scarabastion bug that could make Will invincible during boss fights. Console patch numbers may differ, and another difficulty or later balance patch may change damage and the length of safe openings.

Recommended Boss Loadout

Melee weapon — recommended: Bring an upgraded weapon you already handle well. Fast weapons fit short openings, while heavier weapons reward one clean hit at a time. Neither type is required.
Gun — recommended: Use it for safe chip damage and for hitting Tyke while he flies.
Armor and healing — recommended: Favor maximum-health or defense upgrades and bring as much healing as your current progression allows.
Run perks — recommended: Damage, defense, healing, and dependable status effects can help, but no random perk is required for these mechanics.

If you reach a boss door with little health, no healing, and a backpack full of valuable relics, leaving is the sensible merchant play if extraction is still available. Bank the haul, buy a useful permanent upgrade, and return. Heroic accounting does not require dying beside the receipt.

The Herald — Kalina, Day Realm

The Herald has purple shield segments above its health bar. Normal weapon damage does not hurt the boss while those segments remain. Stand behind a purple bomb, face The Herald, and use Will's backpack attack to send it into the shield. The opening shield has six full segments; later reshields can be shorter if a damage window ends before the next phase. Follow the visible bar instead of assuming every cycle needs the same number of returns.

Cue	Safe response	Safest punish
One or more fire shockwaves spread across the floor.	Face the nearest wave and roll through it as it reaches Will. Do not keep retreating until the next wave traps you at the wall.	Reset near the middle and prepare the next purple-bomb return.
Red circles mark incoming cannon blasts.	Walk out of the marked area and save the roll unless several hazards overlap.	After the blast zone clears, stand behind a purple bomb and send it toward The Herald.
The Herald charges a sweeping fire laser.	Use either central barrier during Phase 1. After one barrier is destroyed, watch for the beam to return from the opposite direction. With no cover in Phase 3, roll through the beam as it reaches Will.	Wait for the sweep to finish, then return a purple bomb from a clear lane.
Small fire shots fill the open lanes in later phases.	Strafe through clear space and roll only when a shot closes your route.	Use brief gun shots while moving, or line up the next bomb.
The shield reaches zero and The Herald is stunned.	Close the gap at once, but watch beneath Will for closing red circles.	Use one compact melee combo. Leave the circles before they converge, because their explosion can restore the shield.

Phase 1: Both barriers remain. Avoid marked blasts, shelter from the laser, and return one purple bomb for each visible shield segment. If the first stun does not push the health bar to the next phase, treat the reshield as another cycle, not a failed attempt.

Phase 2: After roughly one-third of The Herald's health is gone, one barrier is destroyed and a wave of regular enemies enters. Clear the enemies so they cannot crowd a bomb-return lane. The boss also adds small fire shots, and its laser can sweep back from the other direction.

Phase 3: Near the final third of the health bar, the last barrier disappears and another enemy wave enters. Clear the adds, favor the middle of the arena, and dodge the laser instead of racing beside it. If healing is gone, skip casual chip damage and wait for the full shield-break opening. The boss cannot charge interest on patience.

The Curator — The Gallery, Exhibition Wing

The Curator fights on a moving elevator with an electric grid and side guns that cannot be destroyed. Unlike The Herald, it begins vulnerable. Damage the stacked body until the lowest section gains a purple-black glow, then knock that section away with the backpack attack. Shield immunity begins after that transition.

Cue	Safe response	Safest punish
An electric line marks The Curator's route.	Move off the line before the charge. Do not roll along the marked path.	If nearby hazards are quiet, take one or two hits during the windup or just after the slide stops.
The Curator moves with a ring of pink blades.	Give the marked route extra room because the blades widen the dangerous area.	Fire the gun after the movement ends, or use a short melee string if the side guns are quiet.
The outer floor lights up or side guns prepare laser lanes.	Leave the electrified edge and move toward an open lane. Roll across a sweeping beam, not beside it.	Fire after the beam passes. Do not chase the boss onto a lit tile.
The lowest body section glows purple-black.	Move beside that section and face away from the rest of the stack.	Use the backpack attack to knock the section free and trigger the next phase.
The Curator raises a shield and drops purple bombs.	Normal attacks do no damage during this immunity period. Stand behind a bomb, face the shield, and send it back. Abandon a bomb if it is about to detonate.	Close in when the shield falls, then use a short melee combo.
The main body slams down and a circular shockwave expands.	Roll through the ring as it reaches Will.	Turn back for one or two hits, then reset before the next wave.
A detached section links to an arena gun, charges along a marked line, or rotating beams fill the floor.	Stay away from the electrified edge, step off marked travel lines, and move with the open gap between rotating beams.	Attack whichever body section is safely reachable; the separated pieces share the boss's health.

Opening phase: The elevator moves while The Curator follows lit grid lines. Use the warning before each charge or the short stop afterward to damage the stack. When the lower section turns purple-black, knock it away with the backpack.

Shield phase: The elevator pauses and The Curator becomes immune behind a shield. Return the purple bombs until the shield falls. A missed bomb explodes into a small ring, so roll through that ring or move away rather than forcing a late return. Once the shield is down, punish between body slams, shockwaves, and rotating lasers until another section becomes knockable.

Final phase: A separated section remains active while the elevator and side hazards return. The loose section can link to an arena gun and electrify the outer floor, then charge along another marked line. The main body can add slams or rotating beams. Both sections share the health bar, so shoot the safer target instead of crossing a laser maze for the prettier combo.

If you lose control, stop attacking and spend one full pattern moving to open floor. With no healing, use gun shots after slides and beam passes. With weak perks or low damage, repeat the shield cycle and never chase a purple bomb through an active beam. Small profits still count.

Tyke — The Gallery, Treasury Halls

Tyke is the movement exam. He flies, opens laser portals, drops area attacks, and later breaks the arena into separate platforms. The Rectifier spear is recommended only for repeat clears, not required. Its recipe needs a Broken Rocket, and that material comes from defeating Tyke, so it cannot solve the first fight. Bring your preferred melee weapon and keep the gun ready for his flight patterns.

Cue	Safe response	Safest punish
Tyke summons two enemies at the start.	Keep both enemies on one side of Will and clear them before more hazards arrive.	Shoot Tyke first, then use melee on the adds to recharge gun ammunition.
Red paths appear from laser portals.	Leave a straight marked line before it fires. Later sweeping or tracking beams should be rolled through as they reach Will.	Fire at Tyke after the beam crosses your lane.
Tyke glides across the arena while dropping circular explosions.	Move across his flight path instead of following behind the blasts.	Use the gun while he flies. Save melee for a landing or stun.
Nine warning circles appear on the floor.	Step into a clean gap before the circles fire their vertical blasts. Be ready for the pattern to repeat.	Take one or two gun shots only after the circles lock into place.
An electric shockwave expands, or a marked grenade lands and creates another wave.	Roll through the wave as it reaches Will.	Shoot during Tyke's recovery, then stop before the next ring.
Tyke raises a shield and throws a large purple orb.	Normal damage will not break the shield. Use the shown attack or deflect input to return the orb.	When the shield breaks and Tyke is stunned, use your safest full melee combo.
A wall of pink projectiles crosses the arena.	Walk through the widest gap. An early roll can carry Will into the next row.	Fire after the final row passes.
A platform glows purple during the broken-floor sequence.	Move off it before it disappears. Begin gap rolls near the center of the platform.	Prioritize the platform marked for the orb. Attack only after landing safely.

Phase 1: Tyke uses the full arena. Clear the two summoned enemies, avoid the straight portal lasers and nine-circle blasts, and shoot during his jetpack passes. When his shield and purple orb appear, return the orb to stun him. That stun is the clean melee window.

Phase 2: Tyke splits the floor into four platforms, and Will must roll across the gaps. Return the purple orb once; Tyke sends it back toward a marked platform. Roll to that platform and return it again to break the shield. Afterward, expect tracking portal beams, grenade shockwaves, flight lines, and the pink projectile wall.

Phase 3: The safe floor first shrinks to one platform. After the portal attack, the arena becomes a nine-platform grid. The final orb rally takes two return sequences before Tyke is stunned, and later returns leave fewer safe platforms. Purple platforms are about to disappear, while the orb's destination is marked. Move from center to center and accept a missed damage window rather than rolling from a corner into the gap.

How to Rescue a Bad Attempt

After a missed dodge: Stop attacking. Reach the middle or the largest safe platform and read one complete pattern before spending another roll.
When healing is low: Heal during a stun, phase transition, or quiet moment after clearing adds. If no healing remains, favor the gun and skip risky melee openings.
With poor perk rolls: Lean on shield breaks and arena mechanics. Damage perks shorten the fight; they do not replace its required mechanics.
With low damage: Expect more attack or shield cycles. End each melee combo early enough to escape the boss's recovery attack.
After another loss: Sell a safer haul, buy one useful permanent weapon, armor, health, or healing upgrade, and return with the weapon you handle best. One calm business day can fund the clear.

None of these plans promises a no-hit run, and timings may shift with difficulty or later balance patches. The goal is a repeatable clear: read the cue, survive the attack, take the safe profit window, and bring Will home with both the boss reward and the merchandise.

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