Knowledge Demon

Boss
Health
379/399 HPAlways 379. 399 from Ascension 8.
Gold
10075 goldAlways 100. 75 from Ascension 3.Always 75. 100 below Ascension 3.
Found in
HiveBoss, alone, 1 in 3 from the boss pool.
debuff
Knowledge Demon379/379/399/399Knowledge Demon

Turn 1

How to beat Knowledge Demon

  • The fight is three four-turn cycles with a curse each, then three-turn cycles without.
  • Disintegration stacks if chosen repeatedly, so three of them is 21 damage every turn. Take it once at most, and only if your deck cannot afford Mind Rot.
  • Sloth is the worst pick for cheap, fast decks and nearly free for decks that play a few big cards. Waste Away is the opposite.
  • Ponder heals 30, so burst matters more than chip damage.
  • With 379 HP and Strength every cycle, block the three-hit turn and race.

Notes

  • Boss of the Hive act, alone, 379 HP (399 at Ascension 8+).
  • The curse choice is a blocking card-select screen; a dead player is skipped.
  • Disintegration offers 6, 7, then 8 whatever you picked earlier, and the heal scales with player count, not Ascension.

Changes by version

  1. 2 Jul 2026Bug fixPlaytest
    Repeatedly clicking Knowledge Demon's Curse of Knowledge move in the Bestiary no longer causes its animation to stop playing
  2. 9 Apr 2026Bug fixBeta branch
    Fixed Knowledge Demon background music not playing finale when you defeat him
  3. 5 Feb 2026Ponder move Strength3(4)2(3)Internal playtest
    Ponder move Strength gain decreased from 3 to 2 (4 to 3 with Ascension)
All 32 patch notes29 older
  1. 29 Jan 2026HP387(399)379(399)Internal playtest
    HP decreased from 387 to 379
  2. 8 Jan 2026ChangeInternal playtest
    No longer has his Have a Taste move; it is now skipped in his turn order
  3. 18 Dec 2025ReworkInternal playtest
    Reworked Knowledge Demon banes with variable Disintegration damage
    Disintegration damage56Internal playtest
    Disintegration damage increased from 5 to 6 and minor damage buff
  4. 4 Dec 2025NerfOrichalcumInternal playtest
    Disintegration now triggers after effects like Frost Orbs and Orichalcum
  5. 13 Nov 2025Bug fixSlothInternal playtest
    Knowledge Demon's Sloth power now properly refreshes its displayed card counter at the beginning of your turn
  6. 30 Oct 2025BuffInternal playtest
    Buffed Knowledge Demon
  7. 23 Oct 2025Bug fixInternal playtest
    Fixed state divergence related to Knowledge Demon's Ponder move
  8. 9 Oct 2025ReworkInternal playtest
    Reworked Knowledge Demon's banes
    Bug fixWeakInternal playtest
    Knowledge Demon's Have a Taste move no longer incorrectly applies Weak
  9. 25 Sep 2025SoundInternal playtest
    Add missing slap SFX to Knowledge Demon's slap attack
    Bug fixInternal playtest
    Knowledge Demon status cards no longer let "show upgrade" in inspection preview
  10. 11 Sep 2025SoundInternal playtest
    Added SFX and BGM for Knowledge Demon
  11. 4 Sep 2025ReworkInternal playtest
    Reworked Knowledge Demon
  12. 14 Aug 2025TextInternal playtest
    Removed Knowledge Demon's dialogue for now
  13. 24 Jul 2025Bug fixVigorInternal playtest
    Fixed an issue where Vigor power only applied to the first hit of Knowledge Demon's multi-hit attack move
  14. 10 Jul 2025Bug fixInternal playtest
    Knowledge Demon's intent no longer overlaps with the relic bar
  15. 3 Jul 2025BuffInternal playtest
    Buffed Knowledge Demon
  16. 26 Jun 2025BuffInternal playtest
    Buffed Knowledge Demon
  17. 12 Jun 2025ChangeMind RotVigorInternal playtest
    Changed Knowledge Demon's Mind Rot affliction: now gives Knowledge Demon Vigor
  18. 1 May 2025ReworkInternal playtest
    Reworked Knowledge Demon
    DamageMind RotStrengthInternal playtest
    Mind Rot now deals damage on play instead of giving Knowledge Demon Strength
  19. 25 Apr 2025ChangeInternal playtest
    Changed Knowledge Demon
    ArtInternal playtest
    Added Knowledge Demon animations
  20. 27 Feb 2025ChangeInternal playtest
    Reordered moveset
  21. 30 Jan 2025DamageStrengthMind RotInternal playtest
    Changed Knowledge Demon; Damage values tweaked; now only gains 1 Strength from Mind Rot
    Bug fixInternal playtest
    Knowledge Demon's Curse of Knowledge power description now correctly reads "every third card" instead of "every other card"
  22. 23 Jan 2025ReworkInternal playtest
    Reworked enemies
  23. 16 Jan 2025Bug fixDoomInternal playtest
    Fixed softlock when defeating Knowledge Demon with Doom
    Bug fixInternal playtest
    Fixed softlock when you kill the Knowledge Demon as he is trying to say something
  24. 9 Jan 2025ChangeInternal playtest
    Changed Knowledge Demon; Now back to only tracking draws during the turn and not the 5 cards at the start of each turn; reworked moveset; reworked Info Hazard
    InterfaceInternal playtest
    Knowledge Demon now tracks how many cards you need to play visually in his power
  25. 12 Dec 2024ChangeInternal playtest
    Majorly reworked Knowledge Demon
  26. 5 Dec 2024ReworkInternal playtest
    Reworked Knowledge Demon
  27. 19 Sep 2024Bug fixExhaustInternal playtest
    Knowledge Demon affliction no longer affects Exhaust pile
  28. 23 Aug 2024Bug fixInternal playtest
    Knowledge Demon no longer tries to afflict cards in limbo
  29. 16 Aug 2024AddedInternal playtest
    Added new Act 2 bosses: Insect Repulsor and Knowledge Demon

Internal playtest notes are from before the Early Access release. Names and numbers in them can differ from the game today.

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