Armored Bug (dangerous)
| Armored Bug (dangerous) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Monster |
| Location | Skull Cavern |
| Floors | All |
| HP | 250 |
| Damage | 20-27 |
| Speed | 2 |
| XP | 1 |
Switching the Skull Cavern into its invaded state swaps the Armored Bug for this heavier version, and the change is drastic. The ordinary insect dies to a single hit from the right blade; this one carries two hundred and fifty health behind the same plating, and it hits hard enough to end a careless run. The immunity stays as well, so a weapon without the Bug Killer enchantment still rattles harmlessly off its back. Every kill counts towards the cave insect goal at the Adventurer's Guild, and the drop list stays the same, which makes these bugs a slow but generous target for anyone already fighting through the invasion.
Behaviour
Nothing about the flight path changes. The bug tracks a fixed vertical line, bounces off the first wall or stone it meets and comes back, paying no attention to the farmer at all. The threat is purely positional: standing in the lane when the bug arrives costs a large bite of health, and the deep floors of an invaded cavern leave little margin for that.
Health is what turns the fight into a decision. Two hundred and fifty points take real time to grind down even with Bug Killer applied, and the Mummies and Royal Serpents on the same floor do not wait politely. A run aimed at floor one hundred is usually better off stepping around the bug, breaking the stones that pen it in to give it a longer lane, and dropping a staircase.
A run aimed at eradication credit is a different matter. The bug cannot fight back if it is approached from behind, so a blade with Bug Killer and a Ruby Ring or two will clear it without a scratch. Patience is the only cost.
Location
These appear in the Skull Cavern on every floor while the Skull Cavern Invasion order from Mr. Qi is running, or whenever the statue at the cavern entrance is left switched on. The order asks for floor one hundred inside seven days and pays forty Qi Gems, and the statue afterwards lets the harder cavern be turned on and off at will. Mummies, Royal Serpents and the toughened purple Slimes arrive under the same switch, so these bugs are never the main problem on a floor.
Drops
The drop list matches the ordinary Armored Bug, which is the quiet advantage of farming the harder cavern: the same Bug Meat at roughly three kills in four, the same one in ten chance of a ready-made Bug Steak, and the same slim odds on an Ancient Seed, a Dwarf Scroll I or the elusive Dwarf Scroll IV.
Bug Meat is the piece to hoard. Five Bait from one lump keeps a Fiberglass Rod and a row of Crab Pots working, and the Desert Festival trades a Calico Egg for more. The Bug Steak is an emergency meal that heals out of proportion to its energy, which suits a cavern where food runs out faster than health does.
White Algae turns up now and then and belongs in a soup pot. Because these floors sit far below the bottom of the Mines, every bug also carries the universal long shot at a Diamond or a Prismatic Shard, and a Prismatic Shard is exactly what the Forge wants for the next enchantment.
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 type finish Gil's list, and both armoured varieties count alongside Bugs, Cave Flies, Grubs and the mutant pair from the Bug Lair. The Insect Head sword is the reward, with replacements sold by Marlon.
Dangerous monsters keep the experience value of their ordinary counterparts, so grinding these for Combat levels is a poor trade compared with clearing an ordinary floor. The reason to kill them is the eradication list, the loot and the Qi Gems that come with the order itself.
A Burglar's Ring is worth equipping before any invasion run, since it rolls every item on the list twice and these bugs are slow enough to make each kill count.
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 |