The Gardener

Last updated: Exalt Version 1.3.2.0 (Feb 2021)

The Gardener is an event enemy spawned during Valentine’s Day 2021 and for certain events. He drops a guaranteed portal to Belladonna’s Garden.

Stats
Combat
Drops
Tips

Stats

HP: 180,000 (+20% [36,000 HP] per player in Realm)
DEF: 10
EXP: 4,000
Location: Midlands, Highlands

Quest Monster
Immune to Stasis
Immune to Paralyzed
Immune to Stunned

Counts toward Humanoid Kills
Counts toward God Kills

Combat

Attacks

Damage	Condition effects	Speed (tiles/sec)	Range (tiles)	Comments
145	Slowed for 2s	8.5	≈15	Acceleration: -4.5 tiles/sec² after 1s Min Speed: 0 Shots pass through obstacles Shots hit multiple targets
150	Armor Broken for 2s	4.5	13.5	Shots pass through obstacles Shots hit multiple targets
125		4.5	≈14.5	Acceleration: 13.5 tiles/sec² after 1s Max Speed: 10 Shots pass through obstacles Shots hit multiple targets Ignores defense of target
125		6.5	26	Shots pass through obstacles Shots hit multiple targets Ignores defense of target
110		1.5	1.8	Shots pass through obstacles Shots hit multiple targets Ignores defense of target Shots are parametric Magnitude: 1.6
100	Dazed for 2s			Radius: 3 Throw Time: 1.5s
150				Radius: 3 Throw Time: 1.5s

Attacks (Bucket of Water)

Aesthetics	Damage	Condition effects	Speed (tiles/sec)	Range (tiles)	Comments
	100		8.5	8.5	Shots hit multiple targets Ignores defense of target
	100				Radius: 2

Attacks (Gardener Lawnmower)

Aesthetics	Damage	Condition effects	Speed (tiles/sec)	Range (tiles)	Comments
	120		0	0	Lifetime: 3s

Behavior

The Gardener will spawn in the Realm and be marked with a Quest Marker once all Cyclops Gods have been slain. He is found in a setpiece resembling a circular, flowered grassy area bordered by a dirt path. Once a player enters his setpiece, he will immediately begin his attack.
“What are you doing here?”

Phase 1 (100% HP)

Taunt: “One more step forward and you get wet!”
The Gardener cycles between rings of decelerating Slowing bubbles, Armor Breaking water bolts, and accelerating armor-piercing splashes in order. He will also frequently throw out a ring of six green water balloons around him that deal heavy AoE damage, cycling through 4 throw distances in order of increasing radius.

The Gardener transitions to Phase 2 at 70% HP.

Phase 2

Taunt: “It is very important to water the garden!”
The Gardener throws out a ring of Water Buckets that rotate around the perimeter of the arena, pulsing damaging blue AoEs and periodically firing water splashes towards the center of the arena. Note that there are two gaps in the ring of Water Buckets, opposite from each other (and thus two gaps in the converging bullet rings).

Meanwhile, the Gardener himself will be firing parametric water swirls that fly closely around him, while throwing six triplets of Dazing AoE pink balloons at the nearest player. After throwing six triplets of bombs, he will stop throwing for ~4 seconds before repeating the attack.

The Gardener transitions to Phase 3 at 33% HP.

Phase 3

Taunt: “Let me show you my watering cans!”
All Buckets of Water despawn as the Gardener throws out two golden Gardener Lawnmowers that orbit him in opposite directions at two different orbit distances, leaving behind trails of stationary water bullets. The Gardener will be firing a 2-way clockwise spiral of twin water bucket shots that pierce armor.

When he dies, all active minions despawn.

Reproduction

Spawns:
Bucket of Water (x10)
Gardener Lawnmower (x2)

Drops

Tips & Strategies

His regular bullets are rather trivial to avoid, but his water balloon bombs do devastating damage and cover a deceptively wide area. Predict where they will land and avoid them at all costs, especially since they have a tendency to overlap.

In Phase 2, rotating with the gaps in the bullet rings created by the Water Buckets will spare you from having to actively slip through the individual bullets. Beware of his rapid Dazing explosive barrage, however - decoys can help lure out his bombs.

In his final phase, staying close to him will both make you safe from the Gardener Lawnmowers as well as minimize how much you have to move to rotate with his spiral attack.