finisher
mechanic · bosses, giants and titans
The finisher is Asteroid Pong's special shot against bosses, giants and titans: when you empty a phase, a needle appears on the floor in front of your paddle and, if you stop it in the center, you take half the health off the next phase. The final attack is the reverse: in the last phase the boss paints your row red and you have to get out of the marked zone.
When the finisher appears
The finisher appears every time you empty one of a boss's phases (except the last) and once more when the last phase drops below 30% health.
How to land a finisher
To land a finisher, stop the needle as close as possible to the center of the arc.
- Watch the arc. It appears on the floor in front of your paddle with a needle swinging back and forth, and the game goes into slow motion.
- Stop the needle. Tap the screen or press space/Enter, ✕/A, □/X, △/Y or OK on the TV remote.
- Aim for the center. Dead center gives "perfect!"; a bit further out, "good"; far off, "weak".
- Don't wait too long. If you don't press within 4.5 s, it fires on its own as "no shot". The first time is a tutorial: you get 10 s and much stronger slow motion.
Meanwhile your ball stays in play and keeps hurting the boss. Enemy shots and lasers are cleared when the finisher opens.
Zones and damage
The closer to the center you stop the needle, the more health you take off the boss.
| zone | distance from center | phase finisher | final finisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| perfect | up to 9% | 50% of the phase's health | boss destroyed |
| good | up to 30% | 30 % | 70 % |
| weak | over 30% | 12 % | 35 % |
| no shot | no press in 4.5 s | 12 % | 35 % |
Except for a perfect final finisher, the finisher never takes a phase to zero: you always have to land the last hit with the ball.
Finisher and difficulty
Difficulty changes how wide the zones are and how fast the needle moves.
| difficulty | zones | needle |
|---|---|---|
| easy | 40% wider | slow (×0.85) |
| normal | standard | fast (×1.2) |
| hard | 20% narrower | very fast (×1.55) |
Final attack (red floor)
The final attack is each boss's most telegraphed move: the floor of your row turns red and, if it hits you, you lose a life.
- Only in the last phase: the first at 7 s and then every 20 s (26 s on easy), one at a time. "final attack!" announces it.
- The strip on your row turns red and flashes. The hit lands after 2.6 s on easy, 2.0 s on normal and 1.6 s on hard.
- If any part of your paddle is inside, you lose a life and get stunned. If not, you see "dodged!".
- The safe gap is always wider than your paddle: it can always be dodged.
The 8 final attacks
Each boss type has its own final attack shape, and there are 8 in total.
| final attack | who | shape |
|---|---|---|
| eclipse | rings, pulsar | Your whole row turns red except one gap, away from where you are. |
| charge | serpent | A red zone centered on you that follows you until 0.6 s before the hit. |
| main cannon | fortress, bastion | A narrower red zone centered on you that follows you until 0.6 s before. |
| collapse | mutant polyhedron, hive mind | The row splits into 5 lanes and 2 adjacent lanes stay safe. |
| punch | colossus | A wide red zone where you are; it doesn't follow you. |
| full web | spider, golem | The whole row turns red except two gaps, one on each half. |
| clap | hecatoncheir | Red from both walls; a gap in the center stays safe. |
| great stomp | totem | The row splits into 4 lanes and only one stays safe. |
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I don't stop the finisher needle?
After 4.5 seconds the finisher fires on its own as "no shot" and does minimum damage: 12% of the phase, or 35% on the final finisher.
Does a perfect finisher kill the boss?
Only the final finisher: stop the needle in the center when the last phase is below 30% and the boss is destroyed. Perfect phase finishers take 50% off the phase.
How do I dodge the final attack?
When the floor of your row turns red, move your whole paddle out of the marked zone before the hit: 2.6 s on easy, 2.0 s on normal and 1.6 s on hard.
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