Defense Abilities

Defense abilities provide bosses with damage mitigation, healing, scaling, and debuff mechanics. Each ability is configured as a behavior entry in the entity JSON with a code and attributes object.

Common Properties

These properties are shared by most boss abilities and can be included in any stage configuration:

Defense Strategy

Combine multiple defense abilities to create boss phases that punish greedy damage:

graph TD
    A[100% HP] --> B[Combat opens]
    B --> C[90% HP: Intoxication Aura
constant area pressure]
    C --> D[70% HP: Despair
slow players + debuff]
    D --> E[50% HP: Cast Phase
heal + reduced damage]
    E --> F[40% HP: Growth Ritual
full heal + size/speed up]
    F --> G[30% HP: Damage Shield
survive burst]
    G --> H[20% HP: Invulnerability
desperation window]
    H --> I[10% HP: Damage Shield
repeatable — final stand]

bossdamageshield

EntityBehaviorBossDamageShield — Boss activates a shield reducing incoming damage.

{
  "code": "bossdamageshield",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.3,
    "shieldMs": 5000,
    "windupMs": 200,
    "cooldownSeconds": 25,
    "repeatable": true,
    "incomingDamageMultiplier": 0.2
  }
}

bossdespair

EntityBehaviorBossDespair — Boss applies a despair debuff reducing player effectiveness.

{
  "code": "bossdespair",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.5,
    "cooldownSeconds": 30,
    "radius": 20,
    "durationMs": 8000,
    "walkSpeedMult": 0.5
  }
}

bossintoxicationaura

EntityBehaviorBossIntoxicationAura — Boss creates an aura that intoxicates players.

{
  "code": "bossintoxicationaura",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 1.0,
    "radius": 12,
    "damagePerSecond": 2
  }
}

bossoxygendrainaura

EntityBehaviorBossOxygenDrainAura — Boss drains oxygen from nearby players.

{
  "code": "bossoxygendrainaura",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.6,
    "radius": 15,
    "drainPerSecond": 8
  }
}

bossdamageinvulnerability

EntityBehaviorBossDamageInvulnerability — Boss becomes invulnerable to damage for a duration.

{
  "code": "bossdamageinvulnerability",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.2,
    "invulnerabilityMs": 4000,
    "cooldownSeconds": 30
  }
}

bossdamagesourceimmunity

EntityBehaviorBossDamageSourceImmunity — Boss is immune to specific damage sources.

{
  "code": "bossdamagesourceimmunity",
  "attributes": {
    "immuneDamageTypes": ["Fire", "Poison"],
    "immuneDamageSources": ["Fall"]
  }
}

bossdynamicsscaling

EntityBehaviorBossDynamicScaling — Boss HP scales with nearby player count. *(DISABLED)*

{
  "code": "bossdynamicsscaling",
  "attributes": {
    "baseHealthMult": 2.0,
    "hpPerPlayer": 0.5,
    "maxMultiplier": 5.0,
    "regenPerPlayer": 0.3,
    "playerDetectionRange": 80
  }
}

bosscastphase

EntityBehaviorBossCastPhase — Boss enters a casting phase: heals over time and takes reduced damage.

{
  "code": "bosscastphase",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.3,
    "castMs": 10000,
    "healPerSecond": 5,
    "incomingDamageMultiplier": 0.25,
    "animation": "cast",
    "loopSound": "game:effect/darkmagic"
  }
}

bossgrowthritual

EntityBehaviorBossGrowthRitual — Boss grows in size, speed and damage. Heals to full health.

{
  "code": "bossgrowthritual",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.4,
    "sizeMultiplier": 2.0,
    "speedMultiplier": 1.3,
    "damageMultiplier": 1.5,
    "lightningFlash": true
  }
}

Complete Entity Example

A boss that uses layered defense abilities for a 3-phase encounter:

{
  "code": "yourmod:fortress-guardian",
  "server": {
    "behaviors": [
      { "code": "health", "maxhealth": 2000 },
      { "code": "bosshuntcombatmarker" },
      { "code": "bossnametag", "attributes": { "displayName": "Fortress Guardian" } },
      {
        "code": "bossintoxicationaura",
        "attributes": {
          "whenHealthRelBelow": 1.0,
          "radius": 12,
          "damagePerSecond": 2
        }
      },
      {
        "code": "bossdespair",
        "attributes": {
          "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.7,
          "cooldownSeconds": 30,
          "radius": 18,
          "durationMs": 6000,
          "walkSpeedMult": 0.5
        }
      },
      {
        "code": "bosscastphase",
        "attributes": {
          "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.5,
          "castMs": 8000,
          "healPerSecond": 8,
          "incomingDamageMultiplier": 0.25,
          "animation": "cast",
          "loopSound": "game:effect/darkmagic"
        }
      },
      {
        "code": "bossgrowthritual",
        "attributes": {
          "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.4,
          "sizeMultiplier": 1.8,
          "speedMultiplier": 1.2,
          "damageMultiplier": 1.4,
          "lightningFlash": true
        }
      },
      {
        "code": "bossdamageshield",
        "attributes": {
          "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.3,
          "shieldMs": 5000,
          "cooldownSeconds": 20,
          "repeatable": true,
          "incomingDamageMultiplier": 0.2,
          "immobileDuringShield": true
        }
      },
      {
        "code": "bossdamageinvulnerability",
        "attributes": {
          "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.2,
          "invulnerabilityMs": 3000,
          "cooldownSeconds": 45
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

bossabsorb

EntityBehaviorBossAbsorb — Boss activates a shield that absorbs N hits without taking damage. After absorbing all hits — AoE explosion. If duration expires first — shield drops harmlessly.

{
  "code": "bossabsorb",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.5,
    "cooldownSeconds": 25,
    "maxTargetRange": 25,
    "absorbHitCount": 7,
    "absorbDurationSec": 8,
    "explosionDamage": 25,
    "explosionRadius": 10
  }
}

bossarena

EntityBehaviorBossArena — Creates a ring boundary around the boss's activation position. Players who cross the boundary take damage + get pushed back. Arena does not move with the boss.

{
  "code": "bossarena",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.6,
    "cooldownSeconds": 30,
    "maxTargetRange": 25,
    "arenaRadius": 15,
    "arenaDurationSec": 25,
    "boundaryDps": 10
  }
}

bossdebuff

EntityBehaviorBossDebuff — Applies a debuff to a target player. Supports blind, disarm, and silence.

{
  "code": "bossdebuff",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.5,
    "cooldownSeconds": 15,
    "maxTargetRange": 20,
    "debuffType": "blind",
    "durationSec": 5
  }
}

bossmimicattack

EntityBehaviorBossMimicAttack — Boss enters a mirror state reflecting damage back to attackers. Boss still takes reduced damage during mirror.

{
  "code": "bossmimicattack",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.5,
    "cooldownSeconds": 20,
    "maxTargetRange": 25,
    "mirrorDurationSec": 4,
    "reflectPercent": 0.75
  }
}

bossretaliation

EntityBehaviorBossRetaliation — Reactive ability. On receiving damage, boss absorbs incoming damage over a window. After reaching a threshold or when the window expires, releases it as an AoE burst.

{
  "code": "bossretaliation",
  "attributes": {
    "whenHealthRelBelow": 0.5,
    "cooldownSeconds": 25,
    "maxTargetRange": 25,
    "damageThreshold": 20,
    "retaliationMultiplier": 0.7,
    "retaliationRadius": 8,
    "windowDurationSec": 5
  }
}

bossvulnerabilitywindow

EntityBehaviorBossVulnerabilityWindow — After specified abilities complete, the boss takes increased damage for a configurable duration. Visual: golden aura particles.

{
  "code": "bossvulnerabilitywindow",
  "attributes": {
    "damageMultiplier": 2.5,
    "durationSeconds": 3.0,
    "cooldownSeconds": 5,
    "triggerAbilities": ["bossbloodprice", "bosscastphase"]
  }
}