Jesters

The Jesters are new enemies introduced in Dark Deception: Unchecked Limitations. They make their first (and so far only) appearance in Crazy Carnevil, serving as miniboss-like enemies in Zone 3.

Appearance
The Jesters resemble blue versions of Chuckles the Clown, they, like him, wear jester outfits, masks, and jester hats and are long and slender in build. Unlike Chuckles, who glows a neon yellow, the Jesters glow a neon blue.

In their Frenzy Mode, the Jesters all glow crimson instead of blue.

Personality
The Jesters are cunning and tricky, loving to pull off pranks and mischief whenever they can. They are endlessly loyal to Malak. They laugh like maniacs, taking pleasure in the battle of life and death while they chase down Doug. They also are strategic and intelligent, as they can mimic other enemies flawlessly.

Powers
The Jesters can fly, teleport and manipulate reality. They can stretch their bodies to insane lengths and widths, can shapeshift into any form they desire, and are capable of using many different strategies. This makes them powerful foes.

Behaviour
The Jesters will randomly switch AI every 30-90 seconds. They will start with the Murder Monkey AI, relentlessly chasing the player down. After enough time passes, they will switch to a different AI.

The AIs they use are:


 * Murder Monkey AI (Always knows the player's location, will relentlessly chase them at an average speed. They will also drop banana peels on the ground that if slipped on, will cause the player to slide around the maze until hitting a wall, resulting in them being stunned for a short few seconds, and also taking minor damage. Fortunately, the player can disarm these traps by running over them with Speed Boost, causing them to turn to dust in the process. They will also ride roller-coaster carts down long hallways, which will not only stun the player on impact but also cause them to take quite a bit of damage, unlike the Banana Peels.)
 * Agatha AI (Does not always know the player's location, will relentlessly hunt them and accelerate at fast speeds when they see the player. They will also teleport to cut the player off and when a Clown Gremlin or a Zombie Clown sees you. Additionally, the Jester will use their teleportation ability more effectively to dodge the player's Primal Fear blast and Blow Dart projectiles.)
 * Gold Watcher AI (Always knows the player's location, moves extremely fast unless in the player's line of vision. They will also throw their axes from a distance, making them more lethal. This attack will damage half of the player's health and should always be avoided. Thankfully, the Jesters will always stop running while they're about to perform this ability, therefore giving the player the window of opportunity by distancing themselves away from them.)
 * Dread Ducky AI (Does not always know the player's location, will chase the player and attempt to either stun them with a ranged attack or hook them with their elongated tongue, which will drag them towards the Jester himself. In this case, the Jesters will morph their hand into a duck shape and begin mimicking the Dread Ducky dance. Additionally, the Jester can also fire a net at the player that immobilizes them, requiring the use of a speed boost to break the net, which looks similar to the red barriers.)
 * Clown Gremlin AI (Does not always know the player's location, will chase the player and alert nearby Clown Gremlins to the player's location. If too far away, they will morph into a clown car to catch up. If the player attempts to destroy the Jester through either Primal Fear or Pyrokinesis, they'll have a chance to explode into several miniature versions of themselves, mimicking the Clown Patrol ultimate from Monsters & Mortals. They also come in three different sizes: small, medium, and large. A large one splits into two medium ones, and a medium one splits into 2 small ones.)
 * Ghost Magician AI (Always knows the player's location, will relentlessly chase them and inflict a random effect when they catch them)
 * Reaper Nurse AI (Does not always know the player's location, will chase the player and cloak their bodies entirely, rendering them invisible to the naked eye. While searching for the player, they remain in their hidden state unless they either get into close proximity to the player, or they end up hindered by something, making them hard to detect from afar without the use of reveal shards and Telepathy. At close range, they will also begin to lob dodgeballs at the player to stun him, releasing a paralyzing gas in case they miss him.)

Due to this, it is relatively difficult to follow strategies, as the Jesters have a behavior purely determined by RNG. It's even worse in higher difficulties, where the Jesters can replicate some of the enemies' more advanced tactics introduced in Dark Deception: Unchecked Limitations, making them a literal hell to avoid.

Starting from the Alternate Zone 2 (where they are encountered much earlier), however, the Jesters no longer replicate other enemies' abilities and will float over the carnival in quest of tracking down the player. When they spot the player, they will launch a homing, indestructible smoke projectile and follow it around for a limited period of time. After 10 seconds, these missiles transform into destructible crystal balls that may be smashed into bits by utilizing the Marksmanship ability against them. They can't create another projectile while the one they just produced is still alive.

Trivia

 * The Jesters, along with Chuckles the Clown, are heavily inspired by Fizzarolli from Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss.
 * The Jesters are considered one of the trickiest opponents in the expansion due to their RNG strategy. It is advised to stick to short-term and immediate actions and plans rather than following a long-term plan and path since the Jesters can easily throw the player off guard.
 * The Jesters' poses when mimicking the Gold Watchers are JoJo poses. These consist of Joseph Joestar's pose, Caeser's pose, Jotaro's pointing pose, Dio's WRYYY pose, and Koichi's OP pose.
 * The Jesters, along with Chuckles, are not described by E in any shape or form
 * The Jesters, although serving the role of enemy, are considered minibosses due to their more advanced AI.

Lore
The Jesters are anomalous entities that are formed when a mortal in Crazy Carnevil is “purified”. They have the ability to constantly change their forms depending on the situation and can act like cartoon characters to avoid getting harmed. They are made out of a strange paste and lack organs. This paste can periodically dry to make instruments of torture and weapons for the Jesters to use. This paste also allows the Jesters not to be harmed when attacked by other denizens of this nightmare world. Their skin is both impregnable and translucent, and their internal structure appears to be swirling fluorescent gases of various colors that dimly glow in the dark. The color of the gas inside their bodies corresponds to their personalities. Despite their bodied being completely featureless aside from the internal gases, they tend to wear clothes that they either scavenged from dead clowns or bought.

The Jesters are highly sophisticated, reportedly being spotted operating complex machinery and effortlessly traversing the Circus in search of prey. Most do not venture alone; rather, they tend to hunt alongside their Clown Gremlin brethren. The distinguishing feature between hostile and friendly Jester is the ability to speak. Friendly Jesters are able to vocalize speech, while their hostile cousins can merely only produce audible laughter.

They also have a natural fear of mortals wearing business suits, doctors with needles, and bland green vegetables with the wielder threatening to make the Jester eat it. Jesters in fear have been noted to flee.