rings
boss
The rings are one of the four bosses in Asteroid Pong: a floating polyhedral core surrounded by rings of nodes that orbit over the table. You clear the rings with the ball first, and only in the last phase does the core drop to the table where you can hit it.
How to beat the rings
- Clear the outer ring. In phase 1 only the nodes of the outer (bigger) ring count. They spin around the core: aim where the node is going to be, not where it is.
- Then the inner one. From level 15 there is a second, smaller ring spinning the other way. Each phase the rings spin 30% faster.
- Stop the needle on every finisher. Clearing a ring opens the finisher: a perfect center takes half the health of the next phase.
- Hit the core when it drops. In the last phase the core comes down to the table and swings side to side: only then does it take damage. Follow its swing and send balls to the center.
- Find the eclipse gap. When your row turns red, the only free gap is far from you: head for it as soon as you see it.
Rings attacks
Attacks go in order and loop: in phase 1 it only uses ring of fire; in phase 2, ring of fire and satellites; in the last phase, all three (at level 5, with 2 phases, phase 2 is already the last). From phase 2 it always adds a table alteration, and in phase 1 half of the time. The table alterations it can use are:
- inverted controls: your controls are reversed for 4 s. At most once per phase, with a 25 s cooldown (40 on easy).
- side gravity: for 6 s the balls accelerate toward one side (the «gravity →» or «← gravity» sign tells you which), up to 1.7 times their speed.
- meteor shower: from level 15, several meteors fall (one more each phase), each with its warning reticle. See threats.
- vortex: the table spins 90° one way, 90° the other, 180° or tilts about 60°, for 6 s. Your controls follow the screen and arrows appear beside the paddle (see controls). In the retro view it only turns ±90°. The last phase always has it in its list.
Phases and health
The rings have 2 phases at level 5 and 3 from level 15: one ring per phase and the core last. Each ring has 4 to 7 nodes.
| level | phases | rings | health per node | core health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| level 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| level 15 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| level 25 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 13 |
On easy all health is multiplied by 0.7 and on hard by 1.15 (rounded). It attacks roughly every 2 to 3 s, faster each phase and at higher levels; on easy it waits 30% longer and on hard 10% less.
Every time you empty a phase, except the last, a finisher opens: a perfect shot takes 50% of the health of the phase that starts, a good one 30% and a weak one 12%. When the last phase drops below 30%, the final finisher comes: perfect center = boss destroyed; good, 70%; weak, 35%.
A boss level lasts 90 s (110 on easy) and every hit on a piece adds +1 s; the clock freezes during the intro and the death. There is no frenzy in this level.
What it looks like
A floating polyhedral core with another polyhedron inside and a halo with 5, 6 or 8 sides; around it, over the rival half of the table, one or two rings of nodes spinning in opposite directions. Colors are rolled each run (main color magenta, red, purple, cyan, orange or green; secondary amber, white, yellow or pink) and the pieces can be wireframe octahedra, cubes, tetrahedra, icosahedra or dodecahedra.
On death the game goes into slow motion and the boss breaks into beat waves: circular rings that pulse out to the music.
When it appears
This boss shows up on boss levels, every 5 levels, and it may not appear in your run at all. At the start of every run 8 archetypes are shuffled into one deck shared by bosses and giants: rings, serpent, fortress, mutant polyhedron, colossus, spider, hecatoncheir and totem.
- Levels 10, 20, 30… belong to a titan, so in the campaign bosses and giants appear on levels 5, 15, 25 and 35: four of the eight, always different. From level 45 the order repeats.
- The first boss never repeats the archetype of the first boss of your previous run, except in the daily challenge, which uses the seed of the day.
- In boss rush you start at level 5 and jump 5 levels at a time: the 1st, 3rd and 5th boss come from this deck; the 2nd, 4th and 6th are titans.
- It never appears in endless or in 2 players.
It enters rising from below the table with the «warning · boss» banner, its name and its phases. The intro lasts 4.2 s; hold (tap, space, OK or A) to skip it.
Rewards
Beating it gives points, coins and a life, and its music stays in the jukebox for good.
- points
- 500 for the core and 300 per node. On death: 2,500 × (level ÷ 5), that is 2,500 at level 5, 7,500 at 15 and 12,500 at 25. When the level closes: 500 × level + 20 per second left.
- coins
- 20 + 5 per 10 levels (20 at level 5, 25 at 15, 30 at 25), plus the level coins: 4 base, +3 if you lost no lives and +2 if you had 30 s or more left.
- lives
- +1 for beating it and +1 more if you lost no lives in the level (max 7). See lives and shield.
- jukebox
- Its own theme (166 to 176 BPM) goes to the jukebox, at its original tempo and downloadable as MP3.
- bestiary
- It is saved in the bestiary (the last 48) with its photo: you can spin it, watch it die and play its theme.
- achievements
- It counts toward the boss achievements and toward «collector», which asks you to beat all 8 types.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I damage the rings core?
The core only takes damage in the last phase, when it drops to the table. Before that you have to clear the node rings, outer first and then inner.
How do I dodge the eclipse?
Your whole row turns red except one gap far from you, always wider than your paddle. Move to the gap as soon as it shows: you have 2 s on normal, 2.6 on easy and 1.6 on hard.
What are the obstacles spinning in my half?
They are the satellites, one of its attacks: 2 or 3 obstacles that orbit in your half for a few seconds and deflect the ball. They don't hurt you, but they change the bounces.
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