Moosataur

"Dumb like a moose, love! DUMB LIKE A MOOSE!"

- Bierce

Moosataur is a boss in Dark Deception: Unchecked Limitations. He serves as the mid-boss of 'Gory Greece' and shares the level with the Fallen Gladiators and the Pot o Gores.

Appearance
Moosataur resembles a giant humanoid in armour with gauntlets and a huge blade. However, where their head should be is a Moose neck and skeleton. Moosataur's antlers have some sort of flag on them and his hands and feet are human-like. Moosataur towers over Doug in height.

Personality
Moosataur appears to be prideful in his personality but is described as a bit of an 'attack first, ask questions later' kind of person. Regardless of his brutish nature Moosataur is very intelligent and sophisticated for a Moose. Moosataur appears to get along with both Gladiator factions and is endlessly loyal to Malak.

Powers
Due to his size, Moosataur possesses supreme physical strength and endurance, as he was able to survive running into sharp spikes at full speed without getting impaled. Moosataur also possesses some form of dark magic and is very skilled with the blade.

Behaviour
Moosataur will attack the player through:


 * Slash: Slashes forwards in front of him, the player must keep their distance from him as this attack is very quick
 * Ram: Charges forwards at high speeds. Moosataur cannot turn around while doing this and will only stop on contact with the walls
 * Necromancy: Stabs his blade into the ground, causing zombie arms to appear around him that shoot up from the ground.
 * Lunge: Essentially an airborne slash jumps forwards and slashes, this lets him get closer to the player if too far away.
 * Swarm of Disciples: Summon a swarm of purple wisps that seek out the player and explode on contact. These projectiles can be destroyed through the Primal Fear ability.
 * Scorched Magma: Launches a barrage of six fireballs in quick succession; these are generally spread in an arc formation as they move forward. At close range, it can be a bit of a hassle trying to dodge all of the fireballs, but the fireballs can be safely jumped over if they have spread too much to be dodged conventionally. If the fireballs do not make contact with anything within seven seconds, they disappear
 * Hook & Chain: Fires a shotgun-like spread of chains from his grappling hook, which automatically pulls the player toward him, before proceeding to perform one of his attacks afterward. If the player is pulled into an upwards slope, even a very small one, they will be redirected straight up instead of towards Moosataur. This is telegraphed by him shouting “GET OVER HERE!”

Throughout the boss battle, the walls switch from normal walls to spiked walls. The player must trick Moosataur into ramming into the spiked walls. Getting Moosataur to ram a normal wall does absolutely nothing. Some walls will also open to release Fallen Gladiators that assist the Moosataur in combat. The player must get Moosataur to hit the walls 7 times before they can proceed, in which the Moosataur will knock itself out and drop to the floor in dizziness. The player now must proceed to Zone 3, the volcano.

Trivia

 * Moosataur's mechanic involving spike walls was inspired by Evil Glumbax from Skylanders Swap Force.
 * One of Bierce's death quotes when killed by Moosataur, berating the player for being "dumb like a moose", is actually taken from the "Bolognius Maximus" episode from Invader Zim.
 * In Outerspace Obliteration, the player can see Moosataur standing inside a blank, featureless white void in the middle of nowhere. This could be a reference to the "Room with a Moose" episode.
 * Moosataur is based on the Minotaur, but is a Moose instead of a bull
 * Coincidentally, Dark Deception was going to have minotaurs as one of the primary enemies, but they were scrapped alongside the alien cockroaches and zombies.
 * Moosataur was once imprisoned in a labyrinth much like the original Minotaur but was saved by Malak and taught how to navigate mazes. This may explain Moosataur's loyalty.

Lore
Moosataur is a phantom brute of myth, but a real being within the nightmares of Malak. Legend has it that it was a mortal but proud creature that terrorised mortals and slain thousands with its blade, its thundering footsteps making even the Earth itself feel threatened. Whenever it was spotted, entire villages had to be evacuated, and defensive forces sent straight away, but try as the humans would they were always unsuccessful in taking down this champion. Its tough skin soaked in blood, it looks up at the sky and bellows. But its legacy, as long as it was, was drawn to a close when the gods interfered. The being was imprisoned in an inescapable labyrinth for the rest of its life. Time went on and its flesh rotted away until all was left was a skeletal figure in gladiator armour. Its fury and rage kept it alive as it starved and growled, but eventually, it lost all hope it had of getting out after centuries and centuries past. But one day, a demon from a more modern age found it and took pity on it. Malak offered a deal with it, it serves him and he grants it the ability to escape mazes and terrorise mortals once again. The deal was accepted...