Model PX Slices Leganchor Apart with Two Shurikens
26If you ask anyone who has played ZX which boss is the easiest in the game, Leganchor is incredibly likely to make the top of the list. An overt weakness to FX Overdrive is his most glaring issue, but even if you hold back, Leganchor also suffers from having an attack pattern susceptible to manipulation via specific positioning, much akin to the flirtatious Guardian from which his powers are derived. I seek to inject a little flavor into this otherwise insipid jellyfish dish by trying for a 2-Shuriken win with Model PX.
As expected, even an otherwise unremarkable boss like Leganchor becomes a problem when attempting to win under such restrictive conditions, especially with how awkward PX’s Shuriken is to use effectively as a looping weapon. I’ve detailed this before, but here’s a recap of its three main issues: First, the damage of hits landed while looping isn’t boosted by Overdrive. Second, the Shuriken will disappear if it lands more than 5 consecutive hits without at least 1 frame where it contacts nothing. Third, the small range of combo values assigned to the Shuriken means that after roughly 32 damage is dealt, it loses it’s multi-hit potential.
Fortunately, Leganchor’s hitbox is structured such that the Shuriken won’t ever dissipate, despite the fact that it clashes with his anchors and face. Therefore, the third issue is most relevant here. Depending on the exact position you throw the Shuriken at, you’ll deal 27-31 damage before exhausting its combo values. You’d expect it to be an even 32 damage given that Leganchor’s weak point isn’t in the picture. I’m unsure exactly why this fluctuation exists, but perhaps some of the hits delivered to his anchors end up absorbing some of the combo values, resulting in less total damage.
Regardless, an ideal fight consists of getting as many cycles where the Shuriken deals 3 damage to Leganchor per intersection. Aiming to strike the spike on his top anchor had the highest probability of establishing a good orbit. Leganchor does change his elevation ever so slightly during the fight, which can change the number of hits dealt per intersection.
Concerning Leganchor’s attack pattern, the first two actions should be consistent. You should always see Icy Anchor followed by Death Stinger. Jumping between the anchors and spears while maintaining the Shuriken’s orbit takes a fair bit of practice. Despite Leganchor’s attack pattern being dependent on player position, there can be some divergence from this point, presumably because it’s impossible to guarantee that you’ll be in the exact same position every time due to constantly leaping over the Shuriken.
Normally, if you’re not unleashing a conflagration on him with Model FX, staying near the center is guaranteed to bait him into launching Ice Dragons. Here, that attack is the last thing you want to see. Keeping the Shuriken in play with the Dragons homing in on your position is not something I was able to figure out. Instead, try your best to ensure that you’re as far as possible from Leganchor after Death Stinger. With some luck he’ll launch Icy Anchor again, then follow that with Sea Mixer, at which point he should be at half health, letting you dash into the wall to avoid getting dragged into his turbines.
Luck plays a major role from here on. For this phase, you hope to see Icy Anchor and Sea Mixer used after firing your second Shuriken. The fun part here is that Sea Mixer bestows an excellent opportunity to accumulate damage on Leganchor. By deliberately getting caught right in the middle of the whirlpool and mashing directional inputs with a particular pace, you can keep Vent or Aile “frozen” between Leganchor’s spike and the Shuriken’s orbit.
The most pivotal moment comes after landing from the whirlpool’s grasp. At this point, the Shuriken will have lost its multi-hit properties, meaning that each point of HP Leganchor has remaining, which does vary, will give him 90 frames of invincibility. Here, he had 4 HP left on account of some suboptimal Shuriken cycles. Fortunately, I was the recipient of some exceptional luck, having Leganchor use Icy Anchor and Ice Dragons, buying me just enough time to get 4 hits while also barely evading the Dragons.
Thanks for watching! As usual, feel free to leave and comments or questions you may have.