Cancer
Cancer is a Root creature lying dormant in the Ashen Wasteland, and the Traveler's first encounter with a Root Spriggan, the most formidable among its kind. Rewards a material used to craft the Defrag mod when killed.
Behavior[edit | edit source]
Like the basic Spriggan, Cancer's abilities often create root growth, damaging targets when they emerge and slowing anything passing through. The growth can be destroyed with any damage or simply by dodging through.
At range, Cancer will engage in a combo of two stomps, creating root growth in several various ways:
- Encircle: Creates a ring of root growth around the Traveler's current position.
- Scattered Growth: Creates root growth in random spots across the arena.
- Seeking Growth: Sends an underground tendril that moves in a zig-zag pattern, leaving root growth in its wake. It will repeatedly adjust its trajectory towards the Traveler.
- Growth Barriers: Sends two underground tendrils with a large angle between, sectioning of part of the arena with root growth.
- Encircle -> Scattered Growth
- Scattered Growth -> Seeking Growth
- Seeking Growth -> Growth Barriers
- Growth Barriers -> Encircle
At medium range, Cancer may close the gap with one of two moves, either lunging forward while dragging his left arm close to the ground and into an uppercut, or by raising it and leaping forward, swinging the limb downward.
Once in melee range, Cancer can engage in two different attacks:
- The first is a backhand combo, first striking with its right, then the left, followed by it lunging forward and bringing his arms together.
- If its target manages to dodge out of the way around Cancer's side, the attack will be cancelled into a slam, creating a patch of root growth underneath them.
- In the second, Cancer slams it's head into the ground, creating two circles of root growth around itself in sequence.
After roughly 1 minute of fighting, Cancer will gain another gap closer:
Distorting and flickering red, it will rush toward the Traveler. If it gets close enough it will initiate the backhand combo, only to skip the first hit partway through the animation, easily throwing off dodge timings. This attack does however have a cooldown of roughly 30s, and will only be initiated from medium range.
During the red flickers, its entire body counts as a weakspot.
Fight Progession[edit | edit source]
Once Cancer reaches 80% remaining health, roughly every 40s it leap to the far end of the arena, triggering a massive shockwave. Sending Seeking Growth towards two large tendrils, it commands them to reposition, leaving lines of root growth in their wake.
- One tendril will reposition directly towards the Traveler's current position
- The other will choose a random spot along the arena's edge.
From now on, whenever one of Cancer's attacks creates root growth, additional rings will burst forth around the tendrils.
Depleting Cancer's health down to 33% sees it enter the final phase: Staggering and suffering instability for a short moment, the tendrils will likewise deteriorate. Cancer loses its shockwave jump, leaving the tendrils locked in their last positions permanently. Now, instead of creating growth when Cancer does, every 4s they will summon scattered patches in a much larger area around themselves.
Rewards[edit | edit source]
- Necrocyte Strand used to craft Defrag mod.
- Tome Of Knowledge
- Scrap
- Lumenite Crystals
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Along with the Root Mantis in Eastport, Cancer is one of the only Bosses that can only be fought before encountering the Elite variant.