The boss fight: the Matriarch
A melee queen who never leaves your heroes alone. She leaps into the group, claws, spits acid and lays eggs that hatch into spawnlings. Her nest is a crater above an acid lake, and its geysers make no difference between you and her.
In short
- Where — in the menu, the PvE selector, then the free boss or the boss of the week, solo, in a duo or in a trio.
- Her — 10,000 HP, 30% permanent resistance, 5 MP and a 5-cell Leap: she comes to you.
- The brood — her eggs hatch into spawnlings; around them, the nest mires you (2 fewer MP next turn).
- Acid Spit — a pool that poisons anyone who steps into it or through it, for 3 turns.
- The geysers — they bubble for a turn, then erupt on everything standing there, her included.
- Limit — 50 turns at most: the damage dealt is what counts for the leaderboard.
The Matriarch
She starts from her brood chamber, at the top of the nest. She has 10,000 HP whether you are alone, two or three, and 30% permanent resistance: her chitin. She has no ranged damage spell: she comes to get you.
- Claw (4 AP) — 100 to 125 melee damage, twice per turn, never twice on the same target.
- Leap (3 AP) — she jumps onto a free cell in sight, up to 5 cells away, without following a path: holes don’t stop her. On landing, everything next to her takes 35 to 50 damage and is pushed back 2 cells. Every other turn.
- Rush (2 AP) — 3 extra MP, every other turn.
- Molt (3 AP) — her shell hardens: 35% extra resistance until her next turn. Every third turn.
- Brood (3 AP) — 2 eggs (3 later on) on free cells within 2 cells of her, as close as possible to your heroes. Every other turn.
- Devour (2 AP) — when wounded, she eats an adjacent spawnling and recovers 300 HP. Every other turn.
- Acid Spit (3 AP) — a cross-shaped pool, up to 6 cells away, in line of sight. Every other turn.
Her eggs and spawnlings
- The eggs don’t move and have only 60 to 80 HP. They hatch at the start of her second next turn: one spawnling each. Two eggs are already waiting when the fight begins. Their glow pulses faster the turn before they hatch.
- The nest — the 8 cells around an egg, veiled in purple. A hero who ends their turn there is mired: 2 fewer MP on their next turn. Break the egg, and the nest disappears.
- The spawnlings have 110 to 170 HP and 4 MP. Their Bite deals 26 to 34 damage and places a Parasite: at the third, the hero is immobilized (0 MP) on their next turn. Within 2 cells of their mother, her pheromones make them hit 30% harder.
- If she falls, her eggs and spawnlings fall with her.
Acid Spit
She spits a cross-shaped acid pool: the targeted cell and its four neighbours. It stays for three of the Matriarch’s turns and shrinks with each turn that passes. Any hero standing in it when it lands, stepping into it or crossing it — walking, pushed or teleported — is poisoned: 22 to 28 damage at the start of each of their next three turns. Only one acid poison at a time: going back in refreshes it, it doesn’t stack. The pool doesn’t stop your movement. Her spawnlings are immune to it.
The acid geysers
Seven acid vents hold the nest’s passages. Every so often, two of them (three later on) start to bubble: their nine cells pulse green. On the Matriarch’s next turn, they erupt: 140 to 170 damage to everything standing there — your heroes, her eggs, her spawnlings, and herself, whom the acid eats into more. The damage she takes counts toward your ranking.
Her stages
- The Brood — at the start of the fight.
- Frenzy — below 66% of her HP: 3 eggs per Brood, her Leap every turn, 3 geysers at a time.
- Starving Queen — below 33%: her eggs hatch on her very next turn, she gains 2 MP, Devour restores 450 HP, and the geysers bubble on each of her turns.
- At each stage, she roars: all your heroes are pushed back 2 cells.
The Nest
A hive crater above an acid lake. At the top, the open brood chamber; in the centre, an acid pit circled by a ring, only one cell wide in the south; to the west and east, two islets linked by bridges; at the bottom, the ledge where your heroes start, pierced by a pool. The void doesn’t block line of sight: she leaps over the pit while you have to walk around it.
How to beat her
- Break the eggs before they hatch: a few hits are enough, and the nest disappears with them.
- Don’t stay bunched up: her Leap hits everything next to her, and her Spit covers a five-cell cross.
- Don’t end your turn in the nest: 2 fewer MP is often the turn she catches you.
- Lead her into the geysers: push her, swap places with her, or wait for her where she will have to stop to claw you. The acid eats into her more than into you.
- Kill the spawnlings near her: they are her pheromones, her healing, and the Parasites that immobilize you.
The boss of the week
The Matriarch is the weekly boss from Monday 12 October 2026: the free boss and its paid version are then played against her. The rewards — ranking, prize pool and loot — are detailed on the Loot page.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Matriarch attack from range?
Not with damage: her Claw is melee. But her Leap carries her up to 5 cells, and her Acid Spit lays a pool up to 6 cells away that poisons anyone who steps in.
What happens if you let an egg hatch?
It becomes a spawnling: 110 to 170 HP, a Bite that places Parasites. Three Parasites, and the hero can’t move on their next turn. And a spawnling next to her is a 300 HP heal for her.
Do the geysers hurt the Matriarch?
Yes. They hit everything in their area, and the acid eats into her more than into you. That damage counts toward your ranking: luring or pushing her in is one of the best moves of the fight.
How do I avoid the acid pool’s poison?
Stay out of it: the poison hits anyone standing in it on impact, stepping into it or crossing it. It lasts three turns and doesn’t stack. The pool disappears after three of the Matriarch’s turns.
Does damage to eggs and spawnlings count toward the leaderboard?
No: only damage to the Matriarch counts, out of her 10,000 HP. Her eggs and spawnlings earn nothing, but letting them live costs a lot.