The bosses in rogue-likes are essentially a check for the player to see if they’ve either mastered the game’s mechanics, or have gotten good enough luck on the items they found and are powerful enough to go on to the next stage. In UnderMine, there aren’t really any unbalanced items or synergies players can take advantage of and ride out the game. Each boss will require skill and execution to make it through. Before you find yourself throwing yourself against a boss over and over, allow us to give you the strategies for success against each of the game’s first three bosses.
There are two types of bosses in UnderMine: Mini bosses and regular bosses. This guide will focus just on the first three of six main bosses.
Selt, Queen of Sand
You will encounter Selt on the fourth floor of The Mines by entering a specific hole marked by warning signs. Technically this boss can be skipped and you could just fight off the guards at the entrance to The Dungeon, though you will eventually need to fight her for unique rewards.
In addition to a few direct attacks, Selt also will spawn larva that will shoot webbing at you that can temporarily stick you in place throughout the fight. Deal with them early, before they even hatch if you can, so they don’t lead to you taking a bigger hit from Selt. If you have any AOE bonuses they will be very useful for this.
Selt itself can only be hurt by attacking the tail, but getting to close puts you in danger of taking contact damage. Manage your distance to attack at the maximum range possible. Be on the lookout for when Selt does her spin attack that sends out ripples of rocks. Back up when you see her winding up this attack to make the rocks easier to jump over. After this move Selt tends to move in straight lines across the room, which is a decent chance to get a few easy hits in.
When Selt buries herself underground you will see an indicator appear under your character show that she’s targeting you. Get ready to make a last second jump when she pops up to avoid her attack. Or, if you’re feeling brave, you can keep moving and drop a bomb between where you are and Selt will come up so she charges into it instead.
Once you deal the final blow Selt will drop Selt’s Egg blueprint, Selts Blood scroll, Selt’s Fragment, the Dungeon Key, and plenty of gold for your trouble.
Mortar, Charged Golem
Another boss you don’t have to fight if you’re not ready, Mortar shows up on the fourth floor of The Dungeon. Without the key you get from the boss, though progressing to the next floor will require you to take on a ton of curses, so facing the boss instead is much better in the long run.
To beat Mortar, you will need to destroy several different pieces of him. First will be the two arms that zip around the arena trying to slam down on you. Keep moving and wait for them to miss and hit the ground, pausing long enough for you to get some hits in. Repeat this until both arms are out of the picture.
Next up will be the lighting orbs that protect Mortar’s main body. Once the arms are dealt with they will start roaming around the room and electrifying the pools of water on the floor while a big beam moves back and forth. Make your way to the orbs, avoiding the water and jumping over the beam when it passes by, and take them out one at a time. Bombs are particularly strong against them. With all his defenses dealt with, you’re essentially free to finish off Mortar himself.
This boss will drop Mortar’s Fragment, Electrified Orb schematic, tons of gold, and the key to The Halls.
Noori, Spectre of Darkness
The third boss lies waiting at the final room in The Halls and should not be taken on until you have gotten significant upgrades to at least your damage and health stats. While it is possible to beat this boss, and all others, without taking any damage it is very unlikely. Noori only has a few attacks, but they hit hard and can be difficult to dodge if you’re unprepared.
Noori tends to open the fight by creating dark rifts near the player that hands will come through and deal damage. Stay mobile and jump to avoid the hands. This attack will get faster as the fight goes on, so pay attention to the cues and try and get the timing down so it will be easier to dodge later.
The second attack is two big orbs that will slowly pursue you. They’re not hard to avoid on their own, but can come at the same time as the rift attack making dodging them all quite challenging. If you get hit by an orb, not only does it deal damage, but also curses you.
Lastly Noori himself will move to one end of the arena and start launching waves of purple orbs. The further back you are, the easier they are to navigate and dodge.
The key to this fight is making sure as many of the torches are lit as possible before attacking. Each torch that goes out drops the percentage of damage Noori takes, and if all are out he will take no damage.
Noori drops Noori’s Fragment and the Othermine Conduit schematic.
