Stardust Anomalies/The Prototype

The Prototype is a pre-hardmode miniboss that can be spawned using a, which can be purchased from the Merchant after the Eye of Cthulhu has been defeated.

Spawn
The Prototype can be spawned in any location at any time with a. This is currently the only way to spawn the miniboss.

The Prototype will chase the player until the player dies, at which point it despawns. It can also despawn if the player is a certain distance away from it for some time.

Behavior
When active, The Prototype will stay above the player, travelling to and from the far ends of the screen to the other side, while periodically shooting a laser straight down. It will sometimes spawn at the end of its path, always spawning them in groups of two. It will not spawn more Dark Probes until all currently active ones have been defeated (defeating only one will not prompt more to spawn). Much like the Servants of Cthulhu, the Dark Probes, with their low health and defense, are mainly meant to support the player during the fight, dropping one heart each upon death. Sometimes, The Prototype also spawns clusters of Portal Cores, which damage the player when touched.

The Prototype doesn't visibly transform when it reaches half health, but its attack pattern slightly changes. During its "second phase", the boss constantly summons small bombs, throwing them upwards. These bombs will fall down, exploding when coming into contact with solid tiles or the player.

Tips

 * Even though The Prototype targets the player nearest to it, the targeting feature only determines which player's screen it travelings around. This makes its attacks slightly imprecise, making them effortless to dodge with minimal movement.
 * The Prototype will always stay above the player, making the fight difficult without a ranged weapon. Make sure to bring a bow or gun with quick firing speed, as the miniboss moves extremely quickly, and a viable melee weapon to take out the Dark Probes. Furthermore, neither The Prototype nor the Dark Probes have an immunity to any debuffs, making the best choice of ammo or weapon one that inflicts constantly damaging debuffs, e. g. Flaming Arrows or Frostburn Arrows.