Boss Design
In both Spinning Wheel and Celsus Dagger, bosses control their actions with state machines, considering phases, game mode, and relative player position into the probability weighting of their different attacking states.
In Celsus Dagger, bosses also stutter at certain health milestones, dropping healing pickups and allowing the player to breathe.
At half health the Executioner unleashes his axe, which trails the player until the end of the fight. On higher difficulty, the Executioner has two axes, and the second axe trails behind the first.
The Dark Heart has 3 attacks in his first phase, then gains another each phase beyond the first, of which it has 3. Each time the phase increases, the probability of the basic attacks decreases, until in it’s final phase when it only uses it’s new attacks.
One notable attack is it’s blood daggers, where it takes the blood particles that have been VFX for the entire game up to this point, and turns them against you.
The Twins are in interesting boss because they are 2 bosses in one, though the communicate with each other constantly. This is to make sure they attack in sync with each other no mater how long the boss goes on for, even when the size mechanics of Celsus Dagger changes the speed and duration of their attacks.
After Naganis stutters, he enters a special state where he becomes invulnerable and attacks with a barrage of fireballs.