totem

giant · 3 variants

The totem is one of the four giants in Asteroid Pong: a figure behind the table with 2 or 4 limbs hanging from above, one per lane, that drop onto the table. You hit the limbs while they're planted and then score in its goal until the core is empty.

Asteroid Pong totem giant with limbs hanging over the table lanes — The in-game 3D model: tap "view in 3D" and spin it with your mouse or finger.

How to beat the totem

Wait for it to drop. A limb marks a spot with a ring, drops after 0.9 s and stays planted for 2.8 s. Only during that window is it solid and hittable.
Shoot while it's planted. When it lands it pushes nearby balls away; then you have almost 3 s to send the ball at it before it rises again.
Leave the gaze lane. Every live limb fires a laser down its column: watch the lane marked on the floor and the mark on your row, and move.
Score on the core. With every limb broken, «core exposed!» appears: each goal in its goal takes 1 health (2 with the giant ball). Each cleared phase opens a finisher.
On the great stomp, find the free lane. Your row splits into 4 lanes and only one stays free.

Totem attacks

Every giant is fought the same way: break its limbs, then score in its goal. Limbs can only be hit while they touch the table. They are split across every phase except the last; when the last one breaks, the core armor drops («core exposed! score in its goal») and from then on each goal in its goal takes 1 health (2 with the giant ball). If you score earlier, «break its limbs first» shows up and it does nothing.

dropA limb marks a spot with a ring, drops after 0.9 s pushing nearby balls away, stays planted for 2.8 s and rises again.

gazeRed. Every live limb fires a laser down its column. It has a 1 s warning (1.3 on easy): get out of the lane. If it hits you, your paddle is stunned.

lanesEvery limb but one drops at once, each in its own lane. It needs at least 2 idle limbs to use it.

great stompYour row splits into 4 lanes and only one stays free. Last phase only: the first one at 7 s and then every 20 s (26 on easy). The floor of your row turns red and blinks; the hit lands after 2 s (2.6 on easy, 1.6 on hard). If it catches you, you lose a life.

Attacks go in order and loop: in phase 1 it only uses gaze; in phase 2, gaze and lanes; in the last phase, both (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 totem has 2 phases at level 5 (limbs and core) and 3 from level 15 (the limbs split over two phases, then the core).

level	phases	limbs	health per limb	core health
level 5	2	2	3	4
level 15	3	4	5	6
level 25	3	4	7	8

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: the 3 variants

The totem has 3 variants, and every run also mixes parts procedurally:

mask: a frown, eyes and a mouth grille; its limbs are pistons.
face pole: three stacked faces with wings; weights hanging from chains.
forge: an anvil with a lit furnace; hammers on jointed arms.

The mix: 60% of the time it keeps its own variant's head (otherwise another one's), 45% it adds a limb style (solid, hydraulic, bony, floating, tentacled or chained), 40% spikes, 35% a halo, and its size ranges from ×1.0 to ×1.3. The name is built from 2 or 3 syllables, a number and the variant, plus the style if it rolled one: for example «kraxen-42 · hydraulic face pole».

It stands behind the table, 20% bigger than its base size, with one limb hanging over each lane. On death it breaks into beat waves to the music, with triangular ripples.

When it appears

This giant 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 broken limb. 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.

Ω version. From level 15 of the campaign (or after your first boss beaten in boss rush), this giant can show up as the secret boss Ω with a 4% chance: golden, with 30% more health, and beating it gives +100 coins and a special reward.

Frequently asked questions

When can I hit the totem's limbs?

Only while they're planted on the table: they drop 0.9 s after marking the ring and stay for 2.8 s. In the air the ball doesn't hurt them.

How do I dodge the great stomp?

Your row splits into 4 lanes and only one stays free. Spot it as soon as the floor turns red; you have 2 s on normal.

Why don't my goals hurt the totem?

Like every giant, you have to break all its limbs first. Once «core exposed!» appears, every goal in its goal takes 1 health.

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Describes version 0.8.26 · 2026-10-09