The Cursed Crone

The Cursed Crone is a boss enemy that appears in a special fight built around shifting attack patterns and a final Tic Tac Toe phase. She begins the battle aggressively by trying to ram the player, then cycles through several arena-wide attacks: she telegraphs a long line of impact points before raining slime from the sky, and later stands in the middle of the arena while summoning Spirit Ghouls. After repeating these patterns, she adds a whirlwind attack in which she remains near the center and releases spiraling winds that slowly expand outward. This phase lasts long enough to create a major damage window if the player can avoid the spirals.

As the fight progresses, she becomes more dangerous by moving faster, dropping more slime, and eventually forcing another round of Tic Tac Toe. At that point she surrounds herself with a shield that blocks all damage and makes the minigame mandatory. During this phase, she starts as a red X and the player must stand on a square until a blue O fully forms. While the board is active, skull projectiles spawn from the sides and can hit the player, so movement and positioning matter even though direct damage to the boss is impossible.

The Tic Tac Toe phase determines how the fight continues:

• If three blue O's are connected in a row, her shield breaks and she becomes vulnerable again. She then stands still for a short time, creating a strong opportunity to deal damage.
• If three red X's are connected in a row, three red projectiles appear and home in on the player, dealing heavy damage.
• If the game ends in a draw, nothing special happens and she returns to her normal attack cycle.

Even while her shield is active, the player can still gain Resilience by hitting it, so the phase is not completely passive. The fight is built around recognizing her attack tells, surviving the arena hazards, and using the downtime after successful Tic Tac Toe rounds to push damage. Over time, the fight becomes faster and more slime-heavy, so staying mobile becomes increasingly important.

According to trivia tied to her appearances, the first time the Crone can be seen is in Plains Cave during the fight with Runebound Chieftain, where she watches from the dais. She is also notable as the second boss to appear in another boss fight before being fought on her own, following the earlier case of the Ascended Wizard, who had already appeared as the Fallen Wizard and the Void Wizard before that.