Overview
Man In The Moon is a major boss of The Moon region with 400 HP, making him one of the most substantial fights in Act 2. This encounter revolves around controlling the boss's two Moon Hands and using them to break his defences, rather than dealing direct damage in a conventional way. He casts Brace 10 on himself, which massively reduces all incoming damage until the Brace is removed.
Key Mechanics
Brace 10
Man In The Moon permanently applies Brace 10 to himself, which greatly reduces all damage he takes. You cannot win this fight by stacking burst damage against the Brace. Instead, you must use the Moon Hands to slap the boss and remove his Brace buff, opening a damage window.
Moon Hand Control
The two Moon Hands can be manipulated by attacking them from specific directions. Hitting a hand from behind (where the eye is located) forces it to dash all the way forward or release a captive. Hitting a hand from any other side turns it away from the attacker. When a hand moves to the centre and faces the boss, the next hit causes that hand to slap Man In The Moon in the face, removing the Brace buff and allowing normal damage.
Swallow Mechanic
When the boss's mouth opens, moving a durable cat directly in front causes it to swallow them. While swallowed, the cat takes damage each turn, but gains the Stop Hitting Yourself buff, which forces the Moon Hands to slap the boss automatically. This is a high-risk, high-reward tactic that can accelerate the fight if your swallowed cat can survive.
Recommended Team Composition
Ranged abilities and thrown items are extremely strong here because they let you rotate hands safely from a distance. Hunter and Mage builds feel very comfortable in this fight. You do not win by stacking burst damage; you win by managing angles. A tanky cat (Fighter or Tank class) is valuable as a potential swallow candidate to trigger the Stop Hitting Yourself buff.
Strategy
1. Focus on rotating the Moon Hands using ranged attacks. Hit hands from behind (the eye side) to dash them forward, or from other sides to turn them away from you and toward the boss.
2. Wait until a hand moves to the centre and faces the boss, then hit it with a ranged skill or thrown item to trigger the slap. This removes Brace and opens a damage window.
3. When the Brace buff is removed, unload your strongest damage abilities before it reapplies.
4. Optionally, position a durable cat in front of the boss's mouth when it opens to get swallowed and trigger Stop Hitting Yourself, which automates hand slaps at the cost of taking damage each turn.
5. Maintain AoE options in case the boss summons adds. Keep your healer ready for sustained output over this long 400 HP fight.