The Hag (Weald)
The Hag is a unique boss encounter situated in the Weald, occupying ranks 3 and 4 behind her massive "Into the Stew" pot (which occupies ranks 1 and 2). The core mechanic revolves around her Into the Pot! ability, where she targets one hero and places them in the cauldron. While inside, the hero suffers HP damage (7.5% - 12.5% of max HP per turn). If a hero hits 0 HP while inside, they are spat out onto rank 1 at Death's Door. The pot has high resistances and roughly 25-50 HP depending on difficulty; however, attacking the pot is often a trap. To maximize efficiency, you should ignore the pot unless a hero is near death and focus all damage on the Hag’s low-PROT backline.
The Hag acts twice per turn and utilizes several dangerous abilities. Meat Tenderizer is an AoE attack that deals moderate physical damage and increases Stress. Season to Taste deals low damage but applies a significant debuff (-Accuracy and -Dodge), while Taste the Stew allows her to heal herself and deal Stress damage. To counter these, prioritize heroes with high backline reach. The Arbalest is elite here, using Sniper Shot for massive crits against the Hag and Battlefield Bandage to pull heroes off Death's Door. The Highwayman should utilize Pistol Shot for consistent rank 4 pressure, or Duelist's Advance to set up Riposte, which triggers every time the Hag uses her AoE Meat Tenderizer.
Resistances and Weaknesses: The Hag has low Blight (40-80%) and Bleed (50-90%) resistances but extremely high Stun and Move resistance. Exploiting her Bleed weakness with a Hellion (using If It Bleeds) or a Houndmaster (using Hound's Rush) is highly effective. For Stress management, bring a Jester to use Inspiring Tune, or use camping skills like the Houndmaster's Therapy Dog or the Hellion's Revel before the fight. To mitigate her debuffs, equip Medic’s Herbs or trinkets like the Focus Ring (+ACC) and Sun Ring (+DMG/ACC). For specific hero buffs, the Arbalest's Restring Bow and the Highwayman's Clean Guns camping skills provide the flat damage bonuses necessary to end the fight before the pot claims a victim.
