The Sleeper

"Blight had struck the harvest again that year, and the Miller was desperate. He came to me, hat clutched tightly in filthy fingers, stinking of sweat and manure. Seated comfortably in my observatory, surrounded by telescopes and other delicate apparatus, I recognized his misfortune as an opportunity, and I agreed to lend him my... expertise.

Slabs etched with certain celestial designs were erected around the perimeter of the Farmstead. The Miller, lamentably eager for some early sign of improvement, fixed his watery eyes intently upon the wilted fields and listless mill. My gaze, however, was cast skyward and I marveled at the limitless profanity of the stars, wondering what harvest might come.

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- The Ancestor

The Sleeper is a boss found within the Farmstead in The Color of Madness DLC. It serves as the second phase to Fracture, and is guaranteed to be encountered on the wave group after the Miller.

Behavior
The Sleeper has two incredibly powerful attacks: The Sleeper Awakens and The Sleeper Stirs. Both deal very high damage, target the entire party and inflict major stress in some way, either directly or through Horror. It has an equal chance to use either on any given turn, and since both attacks target the whole party there are no weights for targeting selection.

The first Sleeper encountered on each run in the Farmstead will always drop a Memory, which is used for construction of The Mill.

Strategy
The Sleeper is a powerhouse, designed to be a roadblock on the path to high numbers of Endless kills. Its extremely high damage and stress will almost certainly decimate a party within a few turns, though mercifully it only has one action per round.

Its high HP and 30% PROT make fighting the Sleeper a test of endurance. Its Bleed Resist is quite high (though not immune like Bone enemies or the Miller), but its Blight Resist is below average, making stacking powerful blights with multiple heroes like the Plague Doctor or Shieldbreaker potentially viable. However, over-time effects may take too long to defeat the Sleeper before the party is too damaged to continue.

The Shieldbreaker is additionally recommended for her ability to ignore the Sleeper's PROT with Pierce.

A highly effective strategy is a mark-based party, capable of dealing very powerful single-target damage, utilizing the Houndmaster's Target Whistle. Its PROT debuff (-30%) completely removes the Sleeper's defenses, and its extremely high debuff chance (170%) means it can land regularly even with the Sleeper's Resists. Use this to support an Arbalest or Bounty Hunter (particularly with the Planned Takedown and This is How We Do It camping skills for extra damage potential and consistency) and the Sleeper will go down quickly, though not without it getting at least one or two turns off.

The Sleeper's high accuracy, especially on The Sleeper Awakens, makes DODGE-centric parties far less effective, as it will still likely have a good chance to hit the party regardless.

A lucky stun buffed by trinkets, namely the Occultist's Hands of the Abyss alongside Demon's Cauldron, can save the party a significant amount of health in return for an opportunity to deal more damage. It will not work twice, however (because of stun recovery buffs), so if the opening arises, make good use of it.

Despite the Sleepers phenomenal damage output, it has a difficult time actually killing any party member if they are paired with a Vestal with her Divine Comfort skill, as it only acts once per turn. This means it is reliant on its relatively low chance Blight (or an unfortunate speed roll) to cause a deathblow. Holy Water and Resolve Level 6 will make nearly every Hero immune to the Blight from The Sleeper Stirs, and thus from dying in the fight. Until Affliction begins causing chaos, that is.

An important thing to consider when building a party to defeat the Sleeper is to have enough flexibility to make it through the waves beforehand, including the Miller. Build for endurance, particularly through stalling with powerful stuns like the Houndmaster's Blackjack or the Bounty Hunter's Flashbang and Uppercut.

Remember that dying in Endless mode is temporary, and fleeing is always available; if the party fails to defeat it, they will only be Refracted, not dead.