Overview
Zodiac is a gun-wielding cowboy cat who serves as the final boss in The Desert region. He brings a completely different challenge from Act 1 bosses: instead of summoning adds or using terrain manipulation, Zodiac is a crazed gunman who fires at anything that changes tiles. Moving a cat, pushing an object, or repositioning anything on the board triggers a shot. He carries a revolver with six shots per cycle, and trying to fire a seventh causes him to get confused and holster his gun, creating a brief reload window. The fight is a positioning puzzle that rewards cover use, summon tanking, and exploiting his reload.
Key Mechanics
Tile-Change Shooting
Zodiac shoots in the direction of anything that moves to another tile, including objects that have been pushed. He does not shoot cats that perform actions which do not move them to a new tile. This means ranged classes with basic attacks that do not require movement can attack safely without triggering shots. Classes with ranged basic attacks can largely trivialize this fight.
Six-Shot Revolver
Zodiac has exactly six shots in his revolver each cycle. After firing all six, attempting to fire again causes him to fumble, get confused, and put his gun away. This reload window is your safest opportunity to reposition, heal, and set up melee attacks. You can deliberately burn through his shots by moving summoned familiars or expendable units to force the reload.
Recommended Team Composition
A Thief, Hunter, Tank, and Cleric form a solid composition. Any class with a summon ability (Necromancer skeletons, Druid animal companions, Hunter pets) gains significant value here: summoned familiars can absorb shots and die without consequence, burning through Zodiac's six rounds. A Thief with smoke-screen or invisibility abilities can reposition without triggering shots. Debuff-focused Mages can stack bleed and poison while staying in cover, steadily draining Zodiac's HP without exposing themselves.
Step-by-Step Strategy
1. Enter The Desert with summon abilities or ranged basic attacks if possible. If you have neither, prepare a high-mobility Thief as a dedicated flanker.
2. Deploy familiars or expendable summons and move them to burn through Zodiac's six shots. Each familiar movement triggers one shot, bringing him closer to the reload window.
3. Stack bleed, poison, or burn on Zodiac using abilities that do not require tile movement. Debuff-based damage accrues while you stay safe.
4. Once Zodiac fumbles and holsters his gun after the seventh shot attempt, use the reload window to reposition, heal, and set up melee attacks.
5. Repeat the cycle: burn his six shots with expendable movement, then capitalize on the reload. Classes with ranged basic attacks can attack freely throughout without triggering shots at all.
Drops
Zodiac drops a random selection of weapons and items including explosive small bombs and multi-use tools. These high-value items make the Desert branch worth prioritising.