Pestilent Bloat rewards controlled movement more than constant attacking. Keep the central pillar between you and the boss while it moves, dodge the shadows of falling hands, then use its shutdown to deal melee damage. Leave before it wakes. For a first Normal Theatre of Blood clear, an extra safe down is better than losing players to one greedy hit.
This guide covers a learner team in Normal Mode, after Maiden. It does not assume speedrun run-bys, a Scythe of vitur or a tick-eaten stomp. Agree on an experienced caller before entering; the caller should decide when the group enters, attacks and leaves.
Before the door: equipment and one clear call
Bring your strongest suitable melee slash weapon and a Salve amulet. Bloat is undead, so the Salve effect is valuable here; an enchanted Salve amulet is a sensible melee choice. Imbuing is not required to gain its melee effect. Do not substitute a ranged or magic setup just because you used it at Maiden: Bloat strongly resists those styles.
Equip the amulet before entry rather than searching your inventory during a down. A defence-draining special weapon can help the team, and a crystal halberd can provide a final heavy hit, but neither gives you permission to extend the damage window. Check the attack delay of the weapon you actually have. A halberd special late in the down can leave you moving too late.
A run-by special while Bloat is walking is an optional experienced-team technique. It is not the learner opening. Arrange your inventory so that food, run and your escape option are easy to reach. Start with enough health to survive an error instead of relying on a reactive brew after a stun.
The room in four decisions
Cue | Your action | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Bloat is walking or running | Stay out of its line of sight behind the central pillar | Flies can damage you every tick and spread through teammates |
A shadow appears under your route | Move to a clear tile without exposing yourself to Bloat | Falling hands deal damage and stun |
Bloat shuts down | Approach and attack with the team | This is the main damage window |
The caller says leave | Stop attacking and get behind the pillar | A late hit can turn into a stomp and flies |
Movement: use the pillar, not the player in front
Bloat follows a path around the central structure. Watch the boss itself and keep the structure between it and your character. Do not assume that following another player automatically keeps you hidden: they may have moved earlier, changed direction or taken a deliberate advanced route.
When Bloat sees someone, its flies can spread to other players who are in that player’s line of sight. Being hidden from the boss is therefore not enough if you remain exposed to a teammate carrying flies. If the group is hit, move into cover and break that chain; do not cluster together to eat in an open lane.
Protect from Missiles reduces fly damage by only 25%. It does not make walking beside Bloat safe. Attacking the moving boss also deals half damage, so a learner gains little by trading health for hits outside the proper window. Keep your camera far enough out to see the next corner and the boss’s approach.
Bloat can reverse direction. It also begins running in the middle of its health range, moving two tiles at a time; below 40% it may walk or run. Do not carry an early-room walking rhythm into the next lap. If it turns, stop committing to your old route and regain cover. The useful question is where the boss is now, not where it was when you clicked.
Falling hands: read the ground while moving
Once Bloat falls below 90% health, falling hands become part of the active movement phase. A looming shadow marks the landing tile. Being hit deals substantial damage and stuns you, which can leave you unable to escape the approaching boss.
Keep run enabled and choose short, clear movements near corners. A long click around the room can carry you through a newly marked tile or into sight when Bloat turns. Avoiding one shadow by stepping into the boss’s lane is not a successful dodge. Look for a clear tile that also preserves the pillar as cover.
If a teammate is stunned, call it immediately. Do not run into the same landing tile or stand exposed beside them. The group still needs to avoid fly chains; a second player taking damage rarely fixes the first player’s position. Recover your own cover, then reassess the next down.
The down: arrive, attack, leave
Bloat’s shutdown lasts 32 game ticks, or 19.2 seconds, but its stomp occurs on the 30th tick. That duration is not a promise of 19 seconds of attacking for every player: running into range and weapon delay consume part of the window.
A player already close can often fit more attacks than someone entering from the door. Do not copy another raider’s hit count if your starting position or weapon speed differs. Follow the learner caller’s conservative exit rather than counting five hits as a universal rule. Have the pointer ready on the route back to cover before your final attack.
The stomp can deal 40–80 damage and restores drained Defence. For learners, the plan is to avoid it, not tick-eat it. Leave even if the boss looks nearly dead unless the caller has explicitly committed the team to finishing. Watching a large hitsplat appear is not worth remaining in danger for another attack cycle.
If you arrive late, shorten your damage sequence. If you misclick a special, leave on time anyway. If Bloat survives, regroup behind the pillar and repeat the process. Do not keep chasing its last few hitpoints around the active room.
Common errors and the next-attempt fix
Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Several players take flies together | A visible player spreads flies through the group | Break line of sight with both Bloat and the exposed player |
A clean down ends in deaths | The group stays for another attack | Use an earlier shared leave call |
A player is hit while following the team | A long route crosses hands or loses cover after a turn | Watch ground shadows and make shorter clicks |
Damage feels weak | Wrong amulet, wrong style or attacks while active | Check the Salve and melee setup before the next entry |
After Bloat: buy for your Nylocas role
The first Normal Mode supply chest is available after this room. Purchases use points; this is not Entry Mode’s bandage system. A four-dose stamina costs one point, a prayer potion two, and a brew or super restore three. Unspent points carry forward to the later chest after Sotetseg.
Check your team’s stamina-sharing arrangement before buying. Nylocas involves movement and style changes, so arriving with no run plan can make your assigned role harder. Keep enough space to handle the setup you need next. Do not copy advice to discard an amulet without checking its value and your own inventory plan; the practical requirement is to change out of the Bloat-only setup when appropriate.
Normal ToB deaths are dangerous, including for Hardcore accounts. If the whole team wipes, retrieval costs 100,000 coins; another dangerous death before reclaiming can destroy stored items. Ordinary teleports do not provide the usual escape inside Normal ToB. Prepare the raid’s escape crystal before entry if you intend to use that exit.
Your completion checkpoint is straightforward: Bloat dead, supplies checked, stamina agreed, and each player ready for their Nylocas style. Improve movement and the shared exit before trying to remove an entire down from the kill.
For equipment functions, team assignments and raid-wide death rules, use our Normal ToB preparation guide alongside this encounter walkthrough.
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