Maisie

Maisie is a mini-boss encountered mid-chapter in The Alley, a protective mother cat who fights alongside her five kittens. Representing the Tank class archetype, Maisie is less about raw damage and more about managing the swarm of kittens while dealing with her defensive swapping mechanic. The fight introduces players to multi-target priority management, teaching them to decide between focusing the boss or clearing adds.

Maisie's signature ability is swapping places with her kittens, which makes her deceptively slippery despite being a Tank archetype. She cries out whenever one of her five kittens is downed during battle, and when all kittens are killed, Maisie meows dejectedly and flees, ending the fight without needing to deplete her HP. The swap mechanic can actually be exploited: since she trades positions with kittens, your cats can attack the kitten she swaps with and deal damage to Maisie indirectly by keeping pressure on her shifting position.

At this stage of the game, a balanced party works best. Stunning Maisie is a viable tactic, as it prevents her from swapping and gives your cats a window to attack or kill a kitten without retaliation. Area-of-Effect attacks are ideal if you want to kill multiple kittens at once, but single-target pressure on Maisie herself is also effective since she has limited offensive output. Keep your Cleric or healing abilities in reserve rather than spending them on minor enemies before the fight, and enter with full HP if possible. Maisie is one of the more forgiving Alley mini-bosses, but underestimating the kitten swarm can lead to attrition damage that weakens your team for later encounters.