Voidling

The  is an alternate final boss in Risk of Rain 2, added in the Survivors of the Void expansion. it is encountered in the depths of the void after reaching the.

Boss Encounter
The battle with the Voidling has 3 phases, largely similar to one another, with the Voidling having three starting attacks and gaining one extra attack per phase.

Phase 1
The Voidling will first appear once the player makes their way from the starting platform to the center ring of the Planetarium, attacking from the far side of the ring.

Homing Swarm
The Voidling charges up for a moment, then fires multiple bursts of homing bullets. These behave similarly to the attack, but fire multiple large volleys in many directions at any range. This attack can be very difficult to dodge, as hiding behind cover alone often isn't enough.

Laser Burst
The Voidling charges and fires a burst of multiple damaging lasers directly at its target, with the final shot creating a damaging area on the ground where it lands. This attack must either be taken cover from, or circled around faster than the Voidling can track.

Sweeping Beam
The Voidling lowers itself down and charges up a very thick beam horizontally before rotating two full times. The beam pierces through terrain and aims progressively lower as the Voidling rotates. The player must use their mobility to dodge it rather than relying on cover.

Phase 2
The Voidling retreats into a void rift, and the Planetarium will fill with damaging void fog. The player has to follow the Voidling through the void rift, which will lead to a small platforming challenge through the void. The void fog will constantly damage the player until they reach the end of the platforming segment, where they travel through another void rift to pursue the Voidling to a second arena.

Nullifier Black Hole
The Voidling rears up to nearly its full height before opening up its entire body, revealing a nullifier implosion sphere similar to a own death implosion. However, this attack is far larger and, unlike other void implosions, drags all of its enemies towards it with considerable force. Most deadly of all, it is instantly fatal on contact.

Like other void implosions, this attack ignores effects and. However, since it is a continuous attack that is fatal on contact, it also will kill the player again immediately after being revived by or the, effectively ignoring extra life items unless the player died right before the attack ends, or they have many extra lives to stall out the attack's duration.

Phase 3
The Voidling again retreats into a void rift, and same as before, the Planetarium will fill with void fog and the player has to chase it through another platforming challenge.

Void Fog
For the final phase, the Voidling will not clear the void fog in the arena, and instead constantly projects a bubble around itself, similar to the holdout zones in the or, where anything outside of this bubble takes constant suffocation damage. If the is active, Survivors must be inside the radii of both Voidlings' bubbles in order to avoid damage.

Captured Monsters
Throughout the final phase the Voidling will be supported by small monsters that have been captured in the Void, such as.

Aftermath
After the Voidling is defeated, the Planetarium's air becomes safe again and a large purple portal will appear. Entering the portal ends the game with a "Fate Unknown" screen similar to, albeit with a purple icon instead of a blue one.

Tips

 * Bringing lots of mobility items such as and  is essential as it will make both dodging the Voidling's attacks and chasing it through the platforming challenges easier.
 * Due to the Voidling's immense height and the dangers of staying close to it, medium-range and melee Survivors will suffer against it. Long-range items and equipment are especially important for Survivors who lack ranged skills or the mobility required to get up to the Voidling's body.

Version History

 * Survivors of the Void
 * (Undocumented) Added New Monster: Voidling

Trivia

 * There is a unique ending associated with defeating the boss in the game's files, but it is currently unused.
 * In keeping with the deep-sea theme of the Void and the monsters related to it, the Voidling's visual design seems to draw inspiration from ocean life, especially crustaceans. The Voidling in particular bears striking resemblance to the Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi).
 * Although the Voidling appears to walk, it is actually programmed as a flying enemy. Its main body flies around the arena, and its legs are purely aesthetic and simply "stand" on the nearest terrain; they even lack hitboxes entirely.