Armored Bug
| Armored Bug | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Monster |
| Location | Skull Cavern |
| Floors | All |
| HP | 1 |
| Damage | 8 |
| Speed | 2 |
| XP | 1 |
The Armored Bug is the Skull Cavern's practical joke. It carries a single point of health, yet an ordinary blade cannot kill it. The plating on its back turns every swing into a dull knock and a zero, and the bug drifts on along its lane as though nothing had happened. Only a weapon forged with the Bug Killer enchantment breaks through, and the first hit from one is enough. Clearing them out matters for two reasons: they count towards the cave insect eradication goal at the Adventurer's Guild, and their drop list hides an Ancient Seed, a Dwarf Scroll and the rare Prismatic Shard.
Behaviour
An Armored Bug patrols rather than hunts. It flies in a straight vertical line, turns when it meets a wall or a stone, and flies back the way it came. It never gives chase and never reacts to being struck. All of its damage comes from a collision, and only the front of the bug hurts, so a step into its lane is the one mistake worth avoiding.
That makes the encounter a matter of footwork. Crossing the lane between passes is safe. Breaking the stones around the bug widens its patrol, which stretches the gap between passes and leaves more room to run for the ladder.
Bug Killer is the only way to finish one off. The enchantment doubles damage against grubs, flies, bugs, spiders and rock crabs, and it strips this bug's immunity as well. Enchantments are rolled at random at the Forge on the tenth floor of the Volcano Dungeon, and every attempt costs a Prismatic Shard and twenty Cinder Shards, so an insect-killing blade usually arrives as a lucky side effect of fishing for something else. Until one turns up, the sensible answer is to walk around.
Location
Armored Bugs belong to the Skull Cavern and turn up on any floor of it, from the first drop down to the deepest run. They share that ground with Serpents, Mummies, Iridium Crabs and Iridium Bats, which is the real danger: a bug that cannot be killed is standing in the way while something that can kill is closing in. Monster Musk doubles the number of monsters waiting on a Skull Cavern floor, so a musk run meant for Serpent or Mummy credit tends to produce a crowd of these as well.
Drops
Bug Meat is the usual prize and comes off roughly three bugs in four. It is worth keeping rather than selling, because one piece crafts five Bait, and baited tackle makes fish bite faster on a Fiberglass Rod and lets a Crab Pot work at all. Villagers find it revolting, so none of it should end up in a gift box.
A Bug Steak appears about one time in ten. The recipe is already known at Combat level one, and the dish is unusual in healing far more health than its energy value suggests, which makes it the cave diver's emergency meal. White Algae shows up occasionally, worth saving for Algae Soup rather than the shipping bin.
The rest of the list is for collectors. An Ancient Seed and a Dwarf Scroll I come off one bug in two hundred, and the much rarer Dwarf Scroll IV one in a thousand. All four scrolls donated to the Museum earn the Dwarvish Translation Guide, which is what makes the Dwarf worth talking to. Once the bottom of the Mines has been reached, every monster in the game carries a slim chance of a Diamond or a Prismatic Shard, and these bugs are no exception.
Items this monster can drop when it is defeated, with the chance of each.
| Item | Image | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Seed | 
|
0.5% |
| Bug Meat | 
|
76% |
| Bug Steak | 
|
10% |
| Dwarf Scroll I | 
|
0.5% |
| Dwarf Scroll IV | 
|
0.1% |
| White Algae | 
|
2% |
| Diamond | 
|
0.05% |
| Prismatic Shard | 
|
0.05% |
Notes
Eighty cave insects of any kind complete Gil's goal on the Adventurer's Guild wall, and Bugs, Cave Flies, Grubs, Mutant Flies, Mutant Grubs and Armored Bugs all count. The reward is the Insect Head, a sword that swings quicker than its tier suggests, and Marlon keeps a second one behind the counter for 10,000g afterwards.
A Burglar's Ring makes the hunt pay twice as well, since it rolls each item on the drop list a second time. The ring itself comes from five hundred Dust Sprite kills, so most farmers reach the insect goal long before it.
One quirk is worth knowing. A bug pressed against a wall or another solid object while the farmer is standing in the same spot can lock in place for the rest of the day, which is harmless and occasionally convenient.
All Monsters
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
| Name | Image | Location | HP | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armored Bug | 
|
Skull Cavern | 1 | 8 |
| Armored Bug (dangerous) | 
|
Skull Cavern | 250 | 20-27 |
| Bats | 
|
The Mines & Skull Cavern | 24, 36, 80, 300,; 268, 277 | 06, 07, 15, 30, 13, 14 |
| Blue Squid | 
|
The Dangerous Mines | 310 | 18 |
| Bug | 
|
The Mines | 1 | 8 |
| Bug (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 250 | 15-16 |
| Carbon Ghost | 
|
Skull Cavern; The Dangerous Mines | 190 | 25 |
| Cave Fly | 
|
The Mines | 22 | 6 |
| Cave Fly (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 266 | 13-15 |
| Duggy | 
|
The Mines | 40 | 6 |
| Duggy (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 280 | 8 |
| Dust Sprite | 
|
The Mines | 40 | 6 |
| Dust Sprite (dangerous) | 
|
The Mines | 280 | 13-15 |
| Dwarvish Sentry | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 300 | 18 |
| False Magma Cap | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 290 | 15 |
| Ghost | 
|
The Mines | 96 | 10 |
| Grub | 
|
The Mines | 20 | 4 |
| Grub (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 265 | 12-13 |
| Haunted Skull | 
|
Quarry Mine; The Mines random dungeon floors | 160 | 15 |
| Haunted Skull (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 310 | 19-26 |
| Hot Head | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 215 | 18 |
| Iridium Crab | 
|
Skull Cavern | 240 | 15 |
| Iridium Golem | 
|
Wilderness Farm | 430 | 15 |
| Lava Crab | 
|
The Mines | 120 | 15 |
| Lava Crab (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 340 | 19-26 |
| Lava Lurk | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 220 | 15 |
| Magma Duggy | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 380 | 16 |
| Magma Sparker | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 310 | 15 |
| Magma Sprite | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 220 | 15 |
| Metal Head | 
|
The Mines | 40 | 15 |
| Metal Head (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 280 | 19-26 |
| Mummy | 
|
Skull Cavern | 260 | 30 |
| Mummy (dangerous) | 
|
Skull Cavern | 445 | 38-55 |
| Mutant Fly | 
|
Mutant Bug Lair, Skull Cavern | 66 | 12 |
| Mutant Grub | 
|
Mutant Bug Lair | 100 | 12 |
| Pepper Rex | 
|
Skull Cavern | 300 | 15 |
| Putrid Ghost | 
|
The Dangerous Mines | 500 | 25 |
| Rock Crab | 
|
The Mines | 30 | 5 |
| Rock Crab (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 272 | 13 |
| Royal Serpent | 
|
Skull Cavern | 150 + (50 × tail segments) | 32-48 |
| Serpent | 
|
Skull Cavern | 150 | 23 |
| Shadow Brute | 
|
The Mines | 160 | 18 |
| Shadow Brute (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 370 | 22-32 |
| Shadow Shaman | 
|
The Mines | 80 | 17 |
| Shadow Shaman (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 310 | 21-30 |
| Shadow Sniper | 
|
The Mines | 300 | 18 |
| Skeleton | 
|
The Mines | 140 | 10 |
| Skeleton (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines, Quarry Mine | 655 | 16-18 |
| Skeleton Mage | 
|
Dangerous Mines, Quarry Mine | 355 | 20-25 |
| Slimes | 
|
The Mines, Skull Cavern, Quarry Mine, Secret Woods, Tiger Slime Grove, and Volcano Dungeon | Varies | Varies |
| Spider | 
|
The Mines (Shrine ON) | 200 | 15 |
| Squid Kid | 
|
The Mines | 1 | 18 |
| Squid Kid (dangerous) | 
|
The Dangerous Mines; Skull Cavern | 250 | 22-32 |
| Stick Bug | 
|
The Dangerous Mines | 700 | 20 |
| Stone Golem | 
|
The Mines | 45 | 5 |
| Stone Golem (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 283 | 13 |
| Truffle Crab | 
|
The Farm | 30 | 5 |
| Wilderness Golem | 
|
The Farm | 30 | 5 |