Horny Cavegoat

The Horny Cavegoat is an organic enemy in CrossCode. They can be encountered in Bergen Trail, particularly during quest.

Appearance
The Horny Cavegoat is a large cyborg goat, similar in appearance to the weaker Horny Goat except for its fur color. Its front half is mainly organic, with shaggy black fur, long metal horns, and red eyes. Its backside is robotic, with a segmented metal shell and powerful legs connected by circular joints painted red.

Combat
The Horny Cavegoat is quite similar in combat to its weaker counterpart. Its main attack is a powerful Heat-elemental kick. It will turn around and kick any player attempting to engage it in melee, and it will occasionally run up to the player in order to kick them, in both cases dealing high damage and substantial knockback. It also has a ranged attack, in which it paws the ground for a moment, and then shoots its horns at the player. The horns are Heat-elemental and slightly homing, ricochet off walls, and pass through the player, dealing substantial damage when they do so. Immediately after shooting its horns, the Horny Goat flashes red for a short period of time while it regrows them. While hornless, it is weak to damage and will be stunned if hit with a charged Ball. At all other times, it is shielded from behind and resistant to damage from the front. The Horny Cavegoat has an additional attack it can use if found near a Bomb spawner, in which it will use its Heat kick on the bomb, causing it to shoot at Lea. If it is itself hit by a bomb, the Horny Cavegoat will be briefly off-balance, allowing it to be broken but not stunning it.

Strategies
The Heat element is highly beneficial here, as the Cavegoat is both weak to Heat and uses exclusively Heat attacks. Any Melee attack against the Horny Cavegoat will cause it to turn around, exposing its shielded behind and preparing to hit the player with a kick, which isn't easily disrupted and is fast enough to cancel most Combat Arts. Due to this, using Melee attacks is not a recommended strategy against it. Ranged attacks are also a less-than-optimal solution, as the Horny Cavegoat's substantial health and natural damage reduction mean that taking it down with Balls would take a very long time. The best way of dealing with them is to exploit their natural weakness. After they shoot their horns, quickly stun them with a charged Ball, which will give you time enough to deal substantial damage. Alternatively, if you are close enough, you can run up and melee them without stunning them. Be sure to watch out for their thrown horn. They deal substantial damage, and will often bounce off something and come back, allowing a single horn to get multiple hits on an unwary player, particularly in enclosed areas. If bombs are involved, try to stand between two goats and dodge, so the bombs hit the other goat, putting it off-balance. Pay attention to any goats near the bomb spawner, as the damage from the bombs is substantial.

Locations

 * Bergen Trail
 * Rising Path 4 (as part of quest only)
 * Horncave 1
 * Horncave 2
 * Horncave 3

Development Notes
The Horny Cavegoat first appeared in Early Access v0.8.0, when several new quests were added to Bergen Village.