Horny Goat

The Horny Goat is an organic enemy in CrossCode. They can be encountered in Bergen Trail.

Appearance
The Horny Goat is a large cyborg goat. Its front half is mainly organic, with shaggy brown 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 Goat's main attack is a powerful 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 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 Goat is capable of following Lea anywhere, but it will quickly lose interest if she gets too far away from it.

Strategies
Any Melee attack against the Horny Goat 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 Goat'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.

Locations

 * Bergen Trail
 * Old Plateau: X1
 * Off Road 1: X1
 * Spike Heights: X3
 * Rising Path 4: X3
 * Rising Path 5: X2

Development Notes
The Horny Goat first appeared in Early Access v0.3.0. It was originally referred to as a Herpy, but its name was changed shortly after.