Last Ember bosses guide: every move, enrage and counter

Last Ember has five bosses that come on boss nights (the Stag, Moonfang, the Colossus, the Brood Mother and the Lantern Eater) plus a final boss, the Last Dark, at the end of an Expedition. In Survival a boss walks out of the dark every 5th night, or every 3rd with the Early Bosses twist. Every big move has a wind-up you can read, and at half health every boss enrages and learns a new move. Here is each fight in detail.

When does each boss show up?

Each map has its own boss order, used on nights 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25, then repeated.

Map	Night 5	Night 10	Night 15	Night 20	Night 25
Pinewood	Stag	Moonfang	Lantern Eater	Colossus	Brood Mother
Amberwood	Moonfang	Stag	Brood Mother	Lantern Eater	Colossus
Frostfall	Stag	Moonfang	Colossus	Lantern Eater	Brood Mother
Blackmire	Brood Mother	Stag	Lantern Eater	Moonfang	Colossus
Ashfall	Colossus	Stag	Lantern Eater	Brood Mother	Moonfang
Sunscar	Colossus	Brood Mother	Moonfang	Stag	Lantern Eater

The bosses take local names. The Stag is the Hollow Stag on Pinewood, the Amber Stag, the Pale Stag on Frostfall, the Rotting Stag on Blackmire, the Molten Stag on Ashfall and the Bone Stag on Sunscar. The Colossus is Stone, Frost, Moss, Cinder or Sandstone, the Brood Mother becomes the Mire, Dune or Rime Mother, and Moonfang is the White Wolf on Frostfall, Lord of the Ridge on Amberwood and the Scorched on Ashfall.

How tough are the bosses?

Boss	Base health	Speed	Base damage	Goes for
Stag	1,100	72	30	Survivors
Moonfang	950	112	24	Survivors
Colossus	1,500	44	34	Survivors
Brood Mother	1,050	56	20	Survivors
Lantern Eater	1,000	70	22	The fire and lit camps
The Last Dark	3,600	58	36	Survivors, then the fire

Those are starting values. Boss health grows 22% for every day past the first, so a night 10 boss has nearly three times its base health. Each extra survivor in co-op adds 35%, and Hard and Brutal multiply health by 1.5 and 2.1. Damage climbs 12% per day. Bosses cannot be knocked back, and freezes and stuns only hold them for a fraction of the usual time.

What happens when a boss enrages?

At half health every boss (except the Last Dark, which has its own phases) does the same four things:

It stops and roars, and a red ring closes around it for 1 second. Anyone still inside when it lands takes a heavy hit, so step out or dash through.
It gets 12% faster and hits 10% harder.
Every cooldown drops by 30%, so its big moves come more often.
It learns a new move, shown on a banner and with an Enraged tag on the boss bar.

How do you beat the Stag?

The Stag is a charger. When you are within range it rears up and roars for 0.8 seconds, then charges in a straight line at high speed for 0.7 seconds. It charges every 4.5 seconds (every 3.6 seconds on Frostfall). On Ashfall the Molten Stag leaves a trail of burning ground behind every charge.

Enraged: it turns and charges a second time right after the first, with a shorter 0.42 second wind-up.
How to win: the moment it roars, move sideways, not backward. A charge only goes where you stood when the wind-up started, and it runs past you. Between charges it walks like any other enemy, which is your window to unload abilities.

How do you beat Moonfang?

Moonfang is the fastest boss and fights with the pack. It has two moves:

The howl: it rears up for 1.1 seconds, then calls 2 wolves (plus one per extra survivor, plus one more when enraged) and sends every wolf within reach into a frenzy, 30% faster for 6 seconds. It howls every 12 seconds.
The lunge: at close range it drops low for 0.45 seconds and lunges every 3 seconds.
Enraged: it lunges three times in a row.
How to win: kill the summoned wolves quickly with area abilities (Timber!, Ring of Fire, Thunderclap or Deep Freeze), and fight near the fire or a lit camp so the pack is slowed by the light. Count three lunges once it enrages before you commit.

How do you beat the Colossus?

The Colossus has the most health and the slowest walk. It has two moves:

The slam: up close, its fists go up and a red ring with a 180 radius closes on the ground for 1.25 seconds (0.95 once enraged). The slam hits for one and a half times its damage. It slams every 4 seconds.
Rock throws: from farther away it tears up rocks and throws 2 at each survivor (3 when enraged). They land as smaller red rings after about 1.3 seconds. It throws every 8 seconds.
Enraged: six aftershock cracks open in a ring around it a beat after every slam.
On Ashfall the Cinder Colossus leaves burning ground where slams and rocks land.
How to win: ranged classes should stay well outside slam range and keep moving to dodge rocks. Melee classes can fight at its feet, but they have to step out of the ring the moment the fists go up. Once it is enraged, step straight back in as soon as the slam lands: the aftershocks hit a band farther out, so right next to it is the safe spot.

How do you beat the Brood Mother?

The Brood Mother keeps her distance. She backs away if you get close and circles at mid range.

Spit fan: a fan of 5 globs every 2.3 seconds (7 when enraged). The center glob leaves a poison pool for 4.5 seconds.
Brood: every 10 seconds she hatches husks (2, plus one per extra survivor) and a spitter (two when enraged).
Enraged: acid rain. Every 7 seconds three rings fall around each survivor she can see, and each leaves a pool behind.
How to win: melee classes need gap closers (a dash, Leap, Shadowstep or Shield Bash) because she keeps backing away; ranged classes can trade with her at her own range. The fan is aimed where you stand and the poison glob is the center one, so step sideways each time she spits. Kill the brood before it piles up, and once she enrages, keep moving between rain rings.

How do you beat the Lantern Eater?

The Lantern Eater hunts the light, not you. It heads for the nearest lit camp or the home fire and snuffs any torch within reach as it passes.

Drinking: it circles the edge of the light, then stops to drink for 2.4 seconds every 6 seconds, draining a camp's fuel or the main fire directly.
Summoning: every 11 seconds it calls wraiths (3, plus one per extra survivor, plus one when enraged).
Blinking: if it takes a big chunk of damage quickly (7% of its health), it vanishes and reappears elsewhere on the edge of the light, at most once every 5 seconds.
Enraged: a dark pulse. A black ring closes on it for 0.95 seconds, then hits hard and snuffs every torch nearby. It only pulses when someone is close enough to catch.
How to win: top up the fire before night 15 on Pinewood. Hit it hardest while it drinks, since that is when it stands still. Expect it to blink when you burst it: it reappears on the edge of the same light, so stay near the fire and it comes back to you. Have someone clear the wraiths before they reach the fire. The Warden's Lantern Flare and Sunburst hit wraiths far harder than anything else.

How do you beat the Last Dark?

The Last Dark waits at the end of an Expedition, in the Dark Heart: Ashfall's badlands under an eclipse, with one short 45 second day and then a night with no dawn. It has 3,600 base health and changes as it weakens.

Hands: every 5.5 seconds a ring opens under every survivor and lands 1.15 seconds later. Keep moving.
Eclipse: every 18 seconds it eats the light. The fire loses 14 fuel and every torch on the map goes out.
Shades: every 14 seconds it calls wraiths and lurkers out of the dark.
Below 60%: fire falls from the sky every 9 seconds, three rings around each survivor, each leaving burning ground.
Below 25%: it moves 30% faster and goes for the ember itself, stopping to drink from the fire whenever it is close.
How to win: build up fire during the short day, since every eclipse drains it. Keep moving so the hands and the fire rain miss, and save your ultimates for the last quarter, when it heads for the fire and has to stop to drink. Put your toughest survivor between the boss and the ember.

What are boss affixes?

In the Boss Rush from Rush II, on every boss in Expedition V and on every giga boss in the Ember Rift, bosses come with affixes:

Affix	What it does	Counter
Ironhide	Every 14 seconds it raises a stone shield worth 10% of its health	Break it fast: a broken shield stuns the boss for 1.2 seconds
Stormcrowned	Lightning strikes where survivors stand	Never stand still
Cinderborn	Leaves burning ground wherever it walks	Fight it away from your camps and the fire
Bloodbound	Heals three times the damage it deals to you	Let your tank take the hits, and kite it
Broodcaller	Calls help every 16 seconds	Bring area damage
Frenzied	A quarter faster, with big moves more often	Give yourself more room to dodge

What are boss totems and the Ember Rift?

In Survival and the Daily Challenge, a horned totem can rise in the wilds at dawn from day 2. Taking one is optional: each adds another boss to the next boss night, up to three extra, and every boss a totem calls drops two extra pieces of gear, the first rare or better.

In the same two modes, from day 6 (and every 5th day after, until someone beats it) a burning Ember Rift can open at dawn. It closes at dusk if nobody steps in. Inside, time stands still for up to two and a half minutes while three giga bosses come out one after another. Each has 2.6 to 3.6 times a normal boss's health, hits 30% harder and wears a random affix, and each drops epic or better gear. Beat all three and every survivor standing gets a legendary made for them.

What do bosses drop?

A rare or better piece made for every survivor still standing, plus one more piece for a random survivor. Nobody else can see or take your piece.
5 raw meat and 4 hides for the killer, which go to your Storehouse if you carry them home.
A pile of wood and 25 fuel for the fire.
150 survivor XP and a trophy for your Homestead's Trophy Hall. See the Homestead guide.

General boss tips

Fewer regular enemies spawn while a boss is alive, so clear the adds and the night gets quieter.
Bosses do not flee at dawn. If one is still alive, the day becomes a chase.
A dash makes you untouchable for a moment, and red rings do not land on a dashing survivor.
Bonus damage stacks: the Bosshunter boon, the Bane of Giants rare pick, Giantslayer and Stag trophies all add damage against bosses.
Want to practice? The Boss Rush sends all five bosses back to back, with a boon after every fight. Our maps and modes guide covers its five tiers.

Frequently asked questions

How often do bosses come in Last Ember?

In Survival, every 5th night: nights 5, 10, 15 and so on, in the map's own order. The Early Bosses twist makes it every 3rd night. In The Long Night a boss comes every 5th wave.

What happens at half health?

Every boss roars and drops a red ring around itself (step out of it), then gets 12% faster, hits 10% harder, uses its moves 30% more often and learns one new move.

What is the final boss in Last Ember?

The Last Dark, at the end of the Expedition in the Dark Heart. It has 3,600 base health, an eclipse that drains the fire and puts out every torch, and below 25% health it goes for the fire itself.

Are boss totems worth taking?

If your team is strong enough, yes. Each totem adds one more boss to the next boss night, up to three, and each of those bosses drops two extra pieces of gear, the first rare or better.