Librarian

The Librarian is the Fanatic enemy Lair boss within The Great Library, found in the Sprawl. Regular = Ignited =

"He teeters madly upon his ladder, reveling in the fiery destruction of human accomplishment!"

- The Academic

Description
Of all the frantic cultists who make up the Fanatic horde, the Librarian has fallen the furthest. When the denizens of the city surrendered their flesh and mind to the flames, the Librarian imposed himself as the zealous leader of the sect, burning his flesh until his bones lay bare. Seeing humanity's knowledge as impious, he has rejected his honorable duty to safeguard knowledge and culture, choosing to immolate the treasures he used to curate and protect. As he destroys the fragile work of centuries, he gets closer and closer to his own illumination, ready to set ablaze books and flesh alike.

The Librarian sits atop a moving ladder, attacking heroes by throwing burning book pages as projectiles. Taking advantage of the chaos and smoke created by the fire, he disorients and blinds the heroes, moving them out of position as well as inflicting them with Blind and  Vulnerable tokens. As he distracts the hero party, he continues to feed the conflagration by setting fire to bookstacks; should he manage to burn all of them down, he will then be able to use the raging flames to Ignite himself, as well as to engulf the heroes, heavily damaging and Burning them each round. It is in the player's interest to end the fight before that happens.

Combat Skills
The Librarian begins combat at the back of the enemy party, in rank 4; the other 3 ranks will be filled by bookstacks of various sizes. Each round, The Librarian will spend his first turn using Page Burner, damaging the bookstack immediately in front of him, dealing 1 Stress to a random hero. When Page Burner deals the killing blow on a bookstack, The Librarian will instantly follow it up with Burning Bright as a free action. During his other 2 actions, The Librarian will choose between using Smokestack in order to apply Blind and  Vulnerable tokens to a hero, Categorize to rearrange the hero party's order, or Mandatory Reading to deal damage and apply  Burn and  Stress to a hero. Out of the 3 skills named above, Mandatory Reading is the only one to not have a cooldown, so expect to see it the most often.

Once The Librarian burns all bookstacks and reaches rank 1, he will use Ignite! in order to heal itself and gain the ability to use Burning Bright unconditioned. From this point on, he will only use Burning Bright, cleaving the hero party and stacking Burn on them.

If The Librarian reaches rank 1 while any bookstacks are still alive, he will not Ignite, but instead use Burnout in order to move himself  back  while damaging and  Burning the heroes in the first 2 ranks

Strategy & Advice
The Librarian is a fight that starts slow and ends quickly. Book Stacks serve as an "enrage timer" of sorts, meaning the player ideally ends the encounter as quickly as possible before the boss reaches rank 1 to ignite. Once ignited, the boss will use Burning Bright for each of its 3 actions per turn, killing the party shortly after. On average, it takes the Librarian 6 or 7 turns to reach the front because of the random HP pools for the stacks. The Librarian will begin each turn using Page Burner on the Book Stack immediately in front of it, then use his remaining 2 actions on Mandatory Reading, Smokestack, and Categorize, with the latter being the least common of the 3 and only once during the turn. If there are remaining book stacks but the Librarian is in rank 1, he will use Burnout to reposition himself. Several Combat Items are useful against the Librarian. Ablative Powders and Burn Salve help mitigate the damage output, Milk-Soaked Linen and Holy Water remove the Blind Tokens, and Pyrotechnic Dazzler can do a combination of useful effects. The player will need a team that can reach the back ranks for consistent damage, as well as be able to do a lot of damage over a couple of turns once the boss is in ranks 2 and 3 to succeed.

Book Stacks:
Each time the player fights the Librarian, the Book Stacks that spawn on the field will have a random amount of HP, being either 15, 30, or 45. The stacks have 3 levels based on these increments, and Page Burner will reduce the stack by 1 level. The first action of the boss each turn will be to use Page Burner to advance its position to rank 1 and ignite. The player can destroy the Book Stacks as well to bring the Librarian closer, but this is not recommended with how dangerous his ignited state is. Since the stacks are always reduced by 1 from Page Burner, the player can do up to 14 damage to each level of a stack and not reduce it themselves. This is important for heroes such as Leper who can use Purge to push a stack behind the Librarian to move it out of position since the boss is highly resistant to being moved himself.

Hero Tactics:
Most heroes can do well in this fight, with the exception of Runaway who can struggle to help with damage. Runaway does have utility she can bring to the fight, but if possible it is often better to swap her with Bounty Hunter at the inn before heading to the Sprawl.

- Plague Doctor: PD does very well in this encounter. She has Blight that can reach the boss at all ranks, Battlefield Medicine to heal HP and cure burns, Indiscriminate Science heals and removes blind on mastery, and Categorize will always leave her in rank 3 or 4. Being a starter Hero and simple to use, Plague Doctor can be a go to choice for most team comps. Out of her Paths, Alchemist is the best for this fight because the other 2 (Surgeon and Physician) weaken her blights which are her best damage options. Even with this detriment, PD is still an overall great choice.

- Grave Robber: GR has a few tools to contribute to the Librarian fight. Poison Darts hits all ranks so reaching the boss will not be an issue, Shadow Fade and Lunge can help reposition the team after Categorize, Repartee can soak up several attacks from the boss with a chance to dodge them entirely, and she can keep herself alive with Absinthe if needed. In regards to Paths, Deadeye is the front runner due to ranged being an ideal source of damage for most of the fight. Nightsworn can do well, but it has a slow start with Librarian beginning the fight in rank 4 which is the least effective rank for Nightsworn to hit. Venomdrop is a bit tougher to get use of because Flashing Daggers runs the risk of damaging Book Stacks. Despite not being specialized, Wanderer Grave Robber can succeed by using Poison Darts each turn alongside the aforementioned Absinthe and Shadow Fade.

- Highwayman: HWM is a fantastic source of damage versus the Librarian. His ability to generate Dodge can extend his longevity, he can steal or destroy the Dodge tokens from the boss if needed, Riposte charges help keep up damage and remove Dodge from the boss or Blind from Highwayman, Take Aim is consistently strong damage that removes Blind, and Pistol Shot can stun if Librarian receives a dodge token which mitigates the incoming damage or blinds. If the fight goes awry and the Librarian ignites, Wicked Slice has a great chance of ending the encounter if the Librarian makes it to Death's Door. As for Paths, Sharpshot is the premiere HWM specialization for this battle. Rogue and Yellowhand will struggle much more to be effective by comparison, but Wanderer is a fine choice since it plays the same as Sharpshot in essence. Highwayman can go on any team and do very well for this boss. If the player wants to make use of the Pistol Shot Stun however, a consistent Combo source such as Jester or Occultist will be good partners.

- Man-at-Arms: MAA does not have a rank 4 damage option outside of Riposte, but his other contributions are still beneficial. His ability to taunt, guard, and take several hits safely makes him a great tank. Hold the Line and Rampart help keep MAA and the team in formation, with the latter also being able to move books and push Librarian into rank 2 for easier damage. Command is a boost to damage dealers while also removing Blind, and Crush can reach rank 3 for decent damage. For Paths, MAA does not have a bad choice. Sergeant can help mitigate damage by passing out Burn Resistance, Bulwark can get a second source of Taunt from Standfast as well as a better Stun chance, and Vanguard puts out the most damage.

- Hellion: Hellion is a combination of good damage and good survivability in this fight. The player will need to choose between having her start in rank 1 for Iron Swan, or rank 2 for If It Bleeds once the Librarian begins moving forward. The player can opt to use both of these abilities for damage at once, but it will require the other front line unit shifting positions to get Hellion where she needs to be. Man-at-Arms is the best choice for this, since his best abilities for this fight are usable in both ranks 1 and 2. Hellion can serve as a tank thanks to Toe to Toe, as well as using said ability in order to help reposition after Categorize, and her healing moves Raucous Revelry and Adrenaline Rush keep her healthy throughout the fight. Hellion's best damage abilities target the front ranks of the enemy formation, meaning her damage picks up near the end of the fight. This is both good and bad because if the fight is going poorly, she can help close it out with a big Howling End possibly, or the team is in trouble and her damage becomes a non-factor thanks to the Librarian's Dodge and Blind generation.

- Runaway: Runaway has the hardest time fighting Librarian due to her dependency on Burn to do ranged damage and Librarian's high Burn resistance. It is mathematically possible for Runaway to Burn the Librarian himself thanks to her Signature Item, Tar-Filled Colambre and Linseed Oil, however; the odds of finding said Inn Item are low and undependable. Because of these negatives, it is recommended that the player switches Runaway out for Bounty Hunter if he is available, or having other high damage options such as Sharpshot in order to offset the lack of damage from Runaway. She can still assist the team through skills such as Smokescreen and Hearthlight. Though the boss is highly resistant to burn damage, the books are not, which means that Backdraft is a possible damage option albeit a dangerous one because of the damage to the Book Stacks.

- Jester: Jester is a flexible unit in this fight. He can leverage damage turns with Encore, Blind the boss through Fade to Black, fix positioning with his song skills, and use Finale multiple times in the fight for good damage. Harvest and Slice Off are usable but less consistent given the high bleed resist of the boss. Stress is not a pressing issue throughout the fight so Jester can focus on other support skills or damage. Jester's only issue is the lack of rank 4 reach besides Finale, which means his first turns will be setting himself or others up.

- Leper: Leper is an interesting pick against Librarian. His reach is limited outside of Intimidate, yet he brings much utility to assist the rest of his team. Withstand and his self-healing skills will get him through turns safely, Intimidate can remove Dodge tokens from the boss or Weaken his hits, Reflection easily removes Smokestack Blind, and Purge is great in making sure the Librarian stays in the middle ranks where most heroes can do good damage. Most Librarian fights with Leper in it look like a combination of Withstand and Purge until only 1 Book Stack remains, after which Leper begins to use Chop repeatedly to close out the encounter. Leper's biggest issue here is not his reach, but his alphabetical arrangement. It is common for Categorize to put Leper in rank 3 (4 is rare, yet still possible if Bounty Hunter is hired for instance) for most teams, so the player will need to be aware of this and have a way to move the team around easily with abilities in order to keep everyone in order.

- Occultist: Occultist mainly serves as support against this boss. Vulnerability Hex can remove Dodge while applying Vulnerable for a followup hit, Weakening Curse and Daemon's Pull apply combo for heroes like Highwayman Man-at-Arms who can stun, and Occultist has a decent damage option for most ranks with Sacrificial Stab. Burning Stars does a substantial amount of damage, but it can be difficult to have it land through Categorize, Dodge, and Blind. Anamnesis and Malediction are not preferable for this fight. Anamnesis struggles against the high Bleed Resist of the boss, while Malediction expires too quickly for your team to capitalize on.

- Bounty Hunter: BH is a fantastic unit to bring. His high HP will last through most of the fight easily, he has multiple stuns, and he has good damage that does not require a mastery investment. Bounty Hunter can also Taunt or Guard to help protect the team as well. Caltrops is the only subpar move due to the Bleed Resistance of the boss. A ranged setup with Hurlbat and No Escape are good and usable, but an important note is that since Bounty Hunter is first in the cast Alphabetically, Categorize will put him in rank 1 regardless of what team he's on.