Crypt of the NecroDancer enemy guide: warnings, distance and attack beats

Edition: Steam PC base game (app 247080), primarily Cadence, solo, normal rules, with AMPLIFIED, SYNCHRONY and character DLC disabled. Ports, mods and other characters use separate conditions.

Verification scope: Official announcements checked through v4.2.1 (2025-12-16). Public sources compared on 2026-10-04. The installed build, Japanese in-game display and a complete playthrough have not been tested. Older guides are used only for basic base-game behavior.

Sources checked: 2026-10-04

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Read enemy cycles together with the current state

Every two beats does not mean you always get two beats after spotting an enemy. For enemies already moving, changed by a hit or approaching from behind cover, judge from the current warning.

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Read enemy cycles together with the current state: 6 entries
What to observe	What to check	Assumption to avoid
Action order	In ordinary solo play, your on-beat basic attack precedes the enemy's attack.	Do not assume moving outside reach or landing a nonlethal hit is also safe.
Cycle	Every beat, every other beat or every few beats	Spotting an enemy does not necessarily mark the start of its cycle.
Warning	Raised arm, staff, shaking or charge preparation	Do not decide the next action from image color alone.
Position	Reach in cardinal directions, diagonals or a firing line	Not being adjacent does not always mean safety.
Weapon	Reach and your position after attacking	Do not treat a Rapier's advance like a Dagger attack.
Terrain	Water, ice, coals, Ooze and walls	Do not reproduce a dry-floor example without accounting for the terrain.

These are representative enemies for normal Cadence, not a catalog of every enemy, variant or DLC. English names are included to help distinguish colors and official names. The action-order explanation concerns basic attacks, not every internal operation, co-op interaction or special effect.

Enemy answer 01

Enemy answer 01Close

Zone 1: distinguish stationary, back-and-forth and irregular movement

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Zone 1: distinguish stationary, back-and-forth and irregular movement: 6 entries
Enemy / variant	Beat / action landmark	Attack position / example input	Mistake to avoid
Green Slime	Normally bounces in place	Check other nearby enemies before attacking from an adjacent tile.	Do not call it completely harmless in situations involving forced movement or other effects.
Blue Slime	Moves back and forth across two vertical tiles every two beats	Stand to either side of its vertical route and attack when it enters reach.	Do not stand ahead in the next tile of its vertical path.
Orange Slime	Circles a square route every beat	Attack from outside the loop when in reach.	Do not mistake the same type called yellow by some sources for a separate enemy.
Blue Bat / Red Bat	Blue acts every two beats; red every beat. Cardinal movement is irregular.	With a Dagger, adjust your position from farther away rather than walking adjacent in pursuit.	Do not assume it will fly in the same direction again.
Skeleton	Every two beats; moves after raising its arms	Once adjacent, input an attack if your damage will defeat it.	From farther away, a directional input becomes movement.
Yellow / Black Skeleton	Similar to an ordinary skeleton; loses its head when weakened	After its head falls, leave its straight movement path.	Do not pursue the remaining body assuming the first hit killed it.

Sources describe slime circling direction differently, so no fixed left/right sequence is used. Observe the loop itself. A skeleton after losing its head is in a different state from its earlier alternate-beat pursuit.

Enemy answer 02

Enemy answer 02Close

Zone 1: enemies whose state changes with proximity

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Zone 1: enemies whose state changes with proximity: 5 entries
Enemy / landmark	What happens	Response	Exception / check
Ghost	Fades when faced and approaches when your back is turned	Spend beats digging a compatible wall with your back turned, then turn to attack when it approaches.	Do not try to land an ordinary attack while it is faded.
Monkey	Approaches every beat and grabs you, restricting movement	Defeat it before the grab. If caught, shake free with directional inputs.	Check other enemies behind you first; escaping restraint may take more than one input.
Chest Mimic	Shaking chest; activates when you become adjacent	After moving adjacent to wake it, step away before attacking.	Do not mash attacks immediately upon activation.
Wraith	Appears suddenly and approaches every beat	Respond toward the observed approach direction when your current weapon reaches it.	Prioritize its visible position as well as sound.
Zombie / Zombeat	Moves back and forth along the same straight line every two beats	Attack from the side of its path.	Do not move in front of its next destination.

Digging examples assume an ordinary shovel, a diggable wall and no hazardous floor. They may not work with other wall types or shovels that move you.

Enemy answer 03

Enemy answer 03Close

Zone 2: watch shields, area attacks and pulling

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Zone 2: watch shields, area attacks and pulling: 6 entries
Enemy / landmark	Beat-by-beat behavior	Position / response	Check after failure
Armored Skeleton	Alternate-beat behavior like a skeleton; shield protects the front	Aim at the side or rear. A weak frontal hit may only push it.	Has the shield broken or the facing changed?
Armadillo	Rolls into a charge when it spots you on a cardinal line	Bait it into a straight line, step sideways and attack after an obstacle stops it.	Do not assume an ordinary attack safely defeats it while rolling.
Golem	Every four beats; crouches just before acting	Attack from reach on its resting beat and leave before the next move.	It may break through a wall to approach you.
Mushroom / Purple Mushroom	Spores hit all eight surrounding tiles; normally every four beats, purple every three	Leave its surroundings when it shakes, then approach after the attack.	Diagonally adjacent tiles are also in range.
Mole	Approaches underground every beat, surfaces beside you and then attacks	Confirm that it has surfaced before attacking.	Do not assume a ranged weapon can hit it underground.
Skeleton Mage	Staff glows every other beat; pulls from two tiles away in a straight line	Check the pulled-to tile and adjacent enemies first.	Will moving one tile closer put you in another enemy's range?

Knockback, freezing and shield-ignoring attacks change ordinary examples. Damage thresholds for breaking shields are not given as a single number across color variants.

Enemy answer 04

Enemy answer 04Close

Zone 3: check facing and floor left after a kill

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Zone 3: check facing and floor left after a kill: 6 entries
Enemy / landmark	Behavior	Position / response	Check after failure
Fire / Ice Beetle	Every other beat; shell blocks ordinary attacks while present	Watch it shed its shell when you approach, then attack.	Do not step into the coals or ice made by the shell.
Skeleton Knight	Approaches every beat; a hit ends its mounted state	After dismounting, check the shielded enemy's facing again.	Do not assume the first hit killed it.
Goblin	Flees when faced and follows when your back is turned	Turn your back and spend beats digging; turn and attack when it enters reach.	Do not chase into a new group of enemies.
Yeti	Moves and attacks surrounding tiles every four beats	Leave the surroundings of its destination before approaching.	Do not overlook surrounding snow, including diagonals.
Hellhound	Every other beat; can approach diagonally	Confirm adjacency, defeat it and avoid immediately stepping onto its tile.	Do not treat the hot coals left after death as ordinary floor.
Fire / Ice Slime	Circles a diagonal route every beat and leaves floor after death	Attack from outside the route and keep a return path.	The floor differs before and after the fight.

On hot coals, even repeatedly attacking or digging in place can be dangerous. Watch the entry and landing so you do not stack movement or attack inputs while sliding on ice.

Enemy answer 05

Enemy answer 05Close

Zone 4: parrying enemies and enemies that change your position

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Zone 4: parrying enemies and enemies that change your position: 6 entries
Enemy / landmark	Behavior	Response	Exception / check
Apprentice Blademaster / Blademaster	Parries an adjacent hit and retreats, charges next beat, then leaves an opening	Hit from adjacent, dodge sideways, then attack the opening.	There must be open floor to the side. A color variant may survive one cycle.
Warlock / Neon Warlock	Moves every other beat; swaps your positions when defeated	Check its floor and surrounding enemies before killing it.	A ranged kill does not guarantee a safe destination.
Harpy	Approaches over obstacles every other beat and attacks from adjacent	Check where it lands and intercept it.	A single wall between you does not guarantee safety.
Ooze Golem	Places Ooze under you when hit	Once it becomes smaller, reposition onto dry floor.	Do not mash attacks or digging while on Ooze.
Goblin Sentry	Flees when awakened and digs through walls to open new rooms	First decide whether to defeat it or retreat from the newly opened room.	Do not become absorbed in pursuit and expose more uncleared rooms.
Pixie	Contact heals; defeating it causes an explosion	Distinguish it from other enemies and avoid catching it in wide attacks.	Are you attacking when you want to heal?

Statue effects differ by shape. This guide does not tell you to approach every statue when you cannot distinguish it. Do not proceed assuming knowledge of all statues and variants.

Large-enemy answer

Large-enemy answerClose

Minibosses: avoid straight charges, breath and raised clubs

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Minibosses: avoid straight charges, breath and raised clubs: 6 entries
Enemy / variant	Action landmark	Attack / dodge example	Dangerous assumption
Green Dragon	Approaches every other beat	Hit on a resting beat and move out of reach on its moving beat.	A hard wall will not necessarily protect you indefinitely.
Red Dragon	Prepares fire along a horizontal line and releases it on the next beat	Move above or below the line; alternate attacking and retreating.	Do not respond to the fire warning by only fleeing horizontally.
Blue Dragon	Telegraphs a fan-shaped ice breath	Read the facing and expanding area, then retreat outside it.	Do not assume a single firing line like the red variant's.
Minotaur	Charges along cardinal straight lines	Bait its path, dodge sideways and attack after an obstacle stops it.	Do not assume a soft wall will stop it.
Nightmare	Approaches every other beat and darkens the surroundings	Secure a retreat while you can still see, then intercept it.	Do not run into unexplored space after it becomes dark.
Ogre	Approaches slowly and lifts a club	Leave the straight line of the swing, then attack its opening.	Being one tile away does not mean it cannot reach you.

This table does not cover every large enemy or upgraded color. Beat state can change immediately after summoning or breath attacks, so prioritize the current warning over a memorized interval.

Action-example answer

Action-example answerClose

Action examples: separate tiles you can hit from tiles enemies will enter

These practice examples assume dry floor, an ordinary Dagger, normal Cadence rules and no other enemy approaching from the side. They are not button sequences to repeat blindly in every situation.

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Action examples: separate tiles you can hit from tiles enemies will enter: 4 entries
Practice situation	Initial setup	Next action	Success check
Blue Slime	Move to either side of its vertical back-and-forth route.	Attack from beside the route when it enters reach.	You are not standing in its vertical destination.
Red Bat	Keep a distance beyond your Dagger's reach.	Adjust position using safe-floor movement or digging, then attack only once it becomes adjacent.	You have not walked adjacent yourself and received its movement.
Shielded skeleton	Distinguish the shielded front from open floor to the side.	Check its facing after it acts, circle to the side and attack within reach.	Damage is dealt rather than only knockback.
Sword-wielding enemy	Leave floor for escape on either side.	After the parried hit, step sideways and attack the opening after its charge.	You can spend a beat dodging instead of advancing in pursuit.

Rapier lunges, wide weapons, forced-movement boots and hazardous floor change the starting conditions. First fix the weapon and enemy in a practice facility, then add exceptions one at a time.

Four-beat practice example

Four-beat practice exampleClose

Four-beat practice example: check both positions on every beat

An illustrative setup with one Green Dragon, ordinary Dagger, dry horizontal corridor and no knockback or similar effects. Start with yourself at 0, the enemy two tiles right at 2 and empty floor at 1. Begin on the beat when the enemy will move next, with one wall above or below you that an ordinary shovel can dig.

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Four-beat practice example: check both positions on every beat: 4 entries
Beat	Your input	Your position	Enemy position after its action	What to check
1	Dig the diggable wall above or below.	Remain at 0	Approaches from 2 to 1	Digging spends one beat without moving you; the enemy becomes adjacent.
2	Input right to attack.	Remain at 0	Rests at 1	Within Dagger reach, so the input attacks rather than advancing.
3	Step left once.	0→−1	Approaches from 1 to 0	Retreat without attacking and keep one-tile adjacency.
4	Input right to attack.	Remain at −1	Rests at 0	The attack matches its resting beat.

This is an editorial schematic derived from published alternate-beat pursuit, Dagger and digging rules, not a sequence measured from a recording. If the enemy starts on a resting beat, the table's phase shifts. Stop and reassess for another enemy, hazardous floor, a wall preventing retreat, breath or recoil.

What to record when it fails

When reviewing a death recording, check the preceding beat as well as the enemy that killed you. Recording the following four points helps distinguish a mistaken enemy cycle from an invalid input.

Write down the enemy type, color and zone.
Check weapon type, material, current damage and equipment that changes movement.
Note your position, the enemy's position, floor and walls.
Check whether the last input became an attack, movement, digging or no action.

Replay features are available from v3.0.0, but footage alone does not establish an unknown internal processing order. Keep DLC, mod and custom-rule recordings separate from ordinary base-game verification.

Frequently asked questions

Why did an every-other-beat enemy attack immediately?

Spotting it does not necessarily mark the start of its cycle. Read its warning, previous movement and any state change after a hit to judge its next active beat.

Can a ranged weapon always kill enemies without approaching?

Long reach is separate from whether an attack can connect. Check exceptions such as shields, underground states or recent activation, and enemies that change your position when killed.

Why does the same response fail with another character?

Movement, attacks and rhythm rules vary by character. This article uses Cadence as its baseline and does not apply its examples unconditionally to special characters or co-op.

What if an enemy is not in this table?

Check DLC and mods, enemy color and its in-game name. This article covers responses to major base-game enemies, not a complete bestiary.