THE ARCHITECT
- ELITE
- GOODCO HQ
THE ARCHITECT is a named elite on GOODCO HQ, a place of staff.
The hero's old bench partner from before the layoffs, who went back to build GOODCO a superintelligence and cut a machine chip into his own skull to keep up with it. He calls flesh a rough draft and humans obsolete, and he means both.
The numbers
- BASE HEALTH190
- CONTACT DAMAGE18
- HITS EVERY0.70s
- SPEED20/s
- SIZE24 across
- CRIT CHANCE11%
- ABOVE THE HORDE+3 levels
- NOTICES YOU AT240
The monster at its baseline, before a venue has placed it. What it really fields on each difficulty is under “Where you meet it”.
Where you meet it
GOODCO HQ
It is placed by hand on GOODCO HQ and waits at its post until you come close.
| DIFFICULTY | LEVEL | HEALTH | DAMAGE | XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EASY | 4 | 190 | 20 | 244 |
| MEDIUM | 4 | 266 | 20 | 244 |
| HARD | 6 | 380 | 21 | 284 |
| NIGHTMARE | 45 | 665 | 42 | 8246 |
What to know
- ON SHIFTPotters about its post until something wakes it.
- THE ENTRANCECloses at 120/s until it has said its piece, then fights at its own pace.
- WHAT IT WAS CARRYINGA shift's pay, and only about one body in five is carrying any of it when it falls.
- WHEN STRUCKIt bleeds. A blow that overwhelms it bursts it, and there is a face among what lands.
Mechanics
Every dangerous move is telegraphed — it roots, it winds up, and you get the beat you need to be somewhere else.
- SEEKER VOLLEYIt roots for 0.7s first — the bearing LOCKS on where you were standing — then 3 bolts leave in a 26° fan, reaching 230 at 88 a second, each carrying 55% of its contact damage. They STEER after you, which is what makes them different from every other shot in the game: standing still does not work and neither does a sidestep. They turn slowly enough to be outrun, and a wall between you and them ends it. Once every 8s.
- SHOCK PULSEIt roots for 0.5s first, then throws a ring 52 out from itself: 60% of its contact damage, and a shove hard enough to put you back out at range. The shove is the point rather than the damage — it is answering the habit of standing on top of it and trading. A jump clears it, exactly like a slam. Once every 9s.
What it drops
Every kill pays one medkit, one repair kit and one XP scroll.
Its drops roll 25% better on the rarity ladder than the level's ordinary loot.
Guaranteed pieces by rarity: 1 magic. A rarity the monster's own level has not unlocked yet is skipped, so the same fight pays better on a harder rung.
Always drops
Story items
CORE KEYCARD
What it says
Spoilers for this fight, covered until you ask for them.
THE ARCHITECTMY OLD BENCH PARTNER. STILL SOLDERING TOYS IN A GARAGE? I BUILD MINDS NOW. A REAL ONE.
THE HEROTHEY DUMPED US BOTH FOR AN AI. YOU BUILD THEM A BIGGER ONE? QUIT. COME HOME. IT'S ROTTEN.
THE ARCHITECTQUIT? THIS 'ROTTEN COMPANY' GAVE ME PURPOSE. I AM BUILDING A SUPERINTELLIGENCE.
THE HEROLOOK WHAT IT'S DONE TO YOU. YOU CUT A MACHINE CHIP INTO YOUR HEAD. STILL YOU IN THERE?
THE ARCHITECTI CUT THE CHIP MYSELF. I'D DO IT AGAIN. FLESH IS A ROUGH DRAFT. HUMANS ARE OBSOLETE, YOU MOST.
THE ARCHITECTNO MORE TALKING, OLD FRIEND. NOW YOU WILL DIE.
Last words
THE CHIP... TAKE IT... IT WAS NEVER... MINE...
What this scene is part of — everything said and found around it — is its chapter of the story.