Burble Hekelot is an interesting boss; during an optimal fight, you’ll more than likely completely bypass his main gimmick by preventing him from eating any Caterpulls. In exceptional cases, you may even be granted a pattern that allows you to slash him to bits before a single Caterpull manifests. Part of the reason for this is that his EX Skill, Energy Tongue, is woefully slow, leaving him exposed to easy punishes. In this fight, I aim to comprehensively showcase Burble’s suite of attacks while also engaging him using a minimalist approach. The stipulations are as follows: no dashing, no wall climbing or sliding, basic Z-Saber strikes only and most importantly, no attacking the Caterpulls.
These conditions make certain aspects of the fight irritatingly luck-dependent, however, thinking forward to predict the state of the battlefield and Burble’s potential movements a few seconds in advance can mitigate a lot of potential trouble. To use a pretentious metaphor, the battle is somewhat chess-like; in most cases, especially those involving Caterpulls littered all over the room, you have a few avenues to use for escape, but selecting the wrong one can lead to you getting trapped mere seconds later. Relying on instincts alone will get you nowhere, disciplined movement developed via extensive practice is the only way to complete this task. Constant assessment of the optimal route forward becomes mentally fatiguing very quickly; as you approach the end of the fight, it’s all too common to get flustered and lose concentration. With that said, here are the crucial details I noted during the process.
-The fundamentals of Burble: He exists in small, medium and large states; each form has attacks unique unto itself. He can only be hurt while small, striking him otherwise only reduces his size. Green Caterpulls grant him medium stature, while yellow or 2 green ones will fully bloat him. Burble’s growth can only be interrupted if you attack him before he eats a Caterpull.
-Every slash you connect while Burble is small sends him lurching backward as though he got struck by a charged Recoil Rod. This hit reaction is useful to intercept Burble’s jumps, especially when playing without the dash.
-Burble gains complete intangibility before he jumps up and shakes the leaves, thus, when he decides to summon Caterpulls, it can’t be stopped; you can only knock him down once the room starts shaking. A minute but critical detail: Green Caterpulls turn to face zero while yellow ones remain steadfast in their current direction; pay close attention to which ones are located where, it’ll help prevent contact damage as you navigate.
-Anytime Zero is between Burble and a nearby Caterpull, Burble may use a faster version of his tongue-lash to swipe it. Even though Zero isn’t the target, you’ll still take damage if you’re in the path. Luckily, the animation is quick, so jumping can evade the attack so long as you’ve got the prescience to see it coming. Keep in mind that Burble can also use his regular Energy Tongue, so making tricky jumps around Caterpulls may be required depending on your position. Thankfully, Energy Tongue is preceded by a short, in-place hop as a visual cue. Spring Kick can also be troublesome if you find yourself flanked by Burble’s buddies. Burble’s legs track Zero’s position, so slightly shuffling Zero to the side with proper timing can be enough to guarantee safety; there’s no need to make wide, lurching jumps if you lack the space to do so.
-The two attacks unique to Burble’s enhanced forms are his missile barrage and bubbles. Both sets of projectiles are subject to extreme degrees of uncertainty. Cutting through them with the Z-Saber and keeping Zero pristine requires varying degrees of luck depending on the battlefield conditions. When Caterpulls are crawling about, the demand for precision grows exponentially. Extending the Saber works wonders against the bubbles, but any nearby Caterpulls are liable to be struck, so measured usage of it is necessary. The missiles can either travel high or low, with the ideal pattern being a majority of them sailing over Zero’s head. Slashing at Burble to make him flinch is recommended if possible, otherwise, he can join the missiles as a makeshift projectile himself by jumping toward you. Be wary of Energy Tonuge as a follow-up to the missiles, it can easily catch you unawares since your focus will be geared toward cutting the projectiles down. A combination of jump and walking slashes was the most consistent method of avoidance I found, but if you’re unlucky, you’ll get 4 or more missiles launched at torso height, making escape dicey at best.
-Bubbles don’t deal damage, but even one sticking to Zero stymies his movement dramatically. Hitting Burble before or during the attack ceases the flow of bubbles.
Thanks for watching! Any comments and questions you may have are welcome as usual.