Crocodilian

"A hideous mutation, unnatural and abhorrent. Narration_cc_courtyard_crocodile.wav"

- The Ancestor.

Many decades ago, the Courtyard was built on top of a drained swamp; now that the once great and splendid gardens, luxurious halls and mansions are overgrown and crumbling, the wilderness of the Moor has returned to reclaim what men has taken from nature. Bit by bit, buildings are slowly sinking into the growing swamp, and plants and animals once driven from their ancestral homes are recolonizing the overgrown gardens.

But even nature itself is not safe from the blood curse; the sickness that has taken root in the Courtyard is now spreading into the swamp, and there is no creature great or small that is safe from its twisted influence. Of all corrupted and mutated creatures that lurks within shallow waters of the Moor, non are as feared as the Crocodilian.

Where this mighty beast came from, no one knows; some say it was always living deep within the swamps of the Moor, while others think that it must have been imported from some far away land by one of the nobles for his collection of exotic animals before it escaped from the menagerie. One thing is clear; this amphibious marauder must have had close contact with those tainted with the Crimson Curse, for it has mutated into something abhorrent: part crocodile, part insect.

Its strong reptilian legs are replaced with armored insect legs, black spines grow from its back, and the large hump on its back dotted with bleeding holes is a wretched hive for mosquitoes and other carriers of the Crimson Curse. Despite its size and ferocity, it is a master of ambushes, quietly slinking through brackish water and thick masses of reeds while using its insectoid tenants to distract its prey. Once its target is in reach, it lunges out of hiding to rip them to shreds with its monstrously powerful jaws.

Behavior
The Crocodilian is a miniboss appearing in several Courtyard missions. Despite the first mission being Apprentice Level, it's highly inadvisable to bring characters with low resolve levels; the mission plays host to your first encounter with this beast, and you won't see it coming until it's already engaged you in battle.

The Crocodilian will always use Swarming Corruption and Lurking Fear on its first turn; afterwards, it will use random skills. It is highly resistant to debuffs and Blight, but relatively vulnerable to Bleed, Stun and Move effects. When defeated, it will always drop one trinket from a Trinket Set.

Abilities
Teeth Rake deals medium-high damage and Bleed on a single hero, pulling them forward 2 ranks. It also has a high chance to inflict medium-high Stress damage. Swarming Corruption is the Crocodilian's main attack for spread damage, hitting the entire party at once. The damage is mild to moderate, but it comes with a high chance of Stress damage and an ACC debuff.

The Crocodilian has two moves to buff itself. Lurking Fear raises its damage and PROT while also moving it back one space (unless it's already at the back, in which case it moves forward). Submerge drastically increases its Dodge and heals it slightly, but it's also the warning for the beast's ultimate attack: Apex Predator. This deadly lunge deals devastatingly high damage on up to three heroes (two on Apprentice level), almost certainly bringing them to Death's Door; it also moves the Crocodilian to the very front of the enemy formation.

Strategy
The Crocodilian always begins in Rank 4, with a trio of VEGETATION-type enemies occupying the other three Ranks. It is unlikely for a hero to hit these plants due to their incredibly high DODGE stat, and even if a hit is successful, their vast HP pool and high protection prevent any foreseeable death of the plant; ignore them entirely while you focus on the Crocodilian.

With its very low Move Resist, managing the Crocodilian's Rank is not difficult if you have the right skills equipped; however, be prepared for it to move itself around with Lurking Fear. In general, you should try to keep the Crocodilian at the very front or back of the formation; it can only use Submerge (and thus, Apex Predator) from Ranks 2 and 3. Additionally, the Crocodilian is unable to use one of its other moves in the front or back of the formation; it loses Teeth Rake in Rank 4, and loses Swarming Corruption in Rank 1.

After using Submerge, the Crocodilian gains a high Dodge bonus. Instead of trying to hit it, it's better to prepare for the Apex Predator follow-up by recovering heroes from bleeding, increasing their dodge chance, buffing, protecting vulnerable party members or at least gaining riposte.

It is possible to quickly kill the Crocodilian with focus damage and stuns. Because the Crocodilian takes two actions per round, ripostes and attacks that inflict Bleed can help quickly defeat it.

Abilities
Apprentice =

Veteran =

Champion =

* Apex Predator will only be used after Submerge.

Highly recommended

 * Vestal - Stun (50% chance but still worth trying), heal and a party heal (can save multiple heroes from death door) makes her a perfect pick for the fight.

Safe pick classes
These heroes have abilities to reposition themselves and attack the back Ranks, allowing them to consistently deal damage despite the Crocodilian's use of Lurking Fear and Teeth Rake.
 * Grave Robber


 * Highwayman


 * Jester


 * Hellion


 * Man-at-Arms

Specific choices
These classes can be used for a marking team (see below) or as extra supports, but they are mostly unsuitable for this fight.
 * Hound Master
 * Arbalest


 * Occultist


 * Flagellant


 * Bounty Hunter


 * Plague Doctor - without blight, played as a support

Weak classes
Due to low range, poor damage output, and/or general immobility, these heroes are almost useless against the Crocodilian.
 * Leper


 * Abomination


 * Crusader


 * Antiquarian

Marking Team
A Marking team is a risky choice against this boss; the Crocodilian will spend most of the battle in the back two Ranks, making abilities like the ones of the Bounty Hunter nearly useless. Although the Arbalest can inflict heavy damage to the back Ranks, she can't reach the Crocodilian if it is pulled to the first Rank; conversely, she is nearly useless when pulled forward by Teeth Rake. Additionally, the Crocodilian is fast and takes two actions per round, which will cause Marks to wear off more quickly than usual; in turn, this forces your heroes to reapply the Mark instead of dealing damage or using other support abilities.

If you do want to try this strategy, an effective party composition would include a Bounty Hunter, either a Vestal or an Occultist, and any two of a Grave Robber, Hound Master, and Highwayman.

Trivia
One of the Crocodilian's attacks is named after an H.P. Lovecraft Story called "The Lurking Fear."