Malugaz the Corrupted

Malugaz the Corrupted is a two-phase boss found in the Forgotten Ruins. Unlike most bosses, he does not spawn with the world; instead, the player must locate his throne room, which generates roughly 300 tiles from the Core, usually deep inside a maze-like dungeon filled with Cavelings. A Malugaz the Corrupted Scanner can reveal the room’s location on the map. Once found, he is summoned by placing a Skull of the Corrupted Shaman on the rune in the center of the room.

Malugaz must be fought inside the Throne Room where he appears. If he is lured outside it, he teleports back and regenerates any lost health, and attacking him from outside the room will also cause him to heal. If all players leave the room, he returns to his first form and restores his health, so the fight must be committed to until he is defeated.

In his first phase, Malugaz alternates between two attacks. He throws 2–3 fireballs at a player, then either teleports or creates a lingering 3×3 fire area somewhere in the arena. His fireballs destroy walls and furniture, but not flooring. The fire on the ground lasts for 30 seconds on PC, and 15 seconds on console versions. Watering cans can extinguish these flames, which is especially useful in co-op when the arena becomes crowded with burning tiles.

When brought to zero health, Malugaz enters his second phase. He tears off his cloak and hood, reignites himself and the ground, and returns to full health. In this form he still teleports, but now closes in and fights with melee attacks. His attacks leave the same 3×3 fire tiles as before, and they also have a small area-of-effect impact when landing. His second-phase attacks can destroy walls, furniture, and tiles, making him much more destructive than before. If all players die during this phase, he reverts to his first form.

A few practical points make the fight more manageable:

• Close-range weapons are effective, especially the iron halberd or battle axe, because staying near him can help disrupt his fireball patterns.
• The arena itself cannot be altered, so movement and spacing are more important than terrain changes.
• In second phase, sidestepping is often enough to avoid his attacks, and dash-based mobility makes this easier.
• Fire on the ground is often the biggest threat in multiplayer, since it can block attacks and force the party apart.
• The floor flames disappear on their own, so surviving the area damage is often more important than trying to clear every tile immediately.

According to official lore, Malugaz is a collector of rare and valuable items and is not above stealing from other creatures living underground.