IDNTG - Horror

Horror is a playable enemy that was first added back in update 34. They are unlocked by killing the rare enemy Hostile Horror, who can only be summoned once per run by not destroying radiation cans two levels in a row. Horror's strengths lies in having better odds at seeing optimal mutations over other mutants through their passive, and once reaching ultra their rad beam becomes essentially a third weapon the player can use either to stack up damage against enemies and bosses or as a defensive measure to erase bullets while retreating. This gives Horror a rounded-off balanced build that makes them a consistent character across the board to play as because of how they can work well in many different builds and situations.

Upon reaching loop Horror uniquely has three ultra mutations to choose from instead of two. This is where Horror really shines as two of their options makes their power increase significantly in ways that any inexperienced player can utilize. Anomaly flattens levels in Loops 1 & 2 making it one of the most powerful ultras in these locations, while in general just speeding up gameplay by quite a bit. Meltdown while not very flashy makes the rad beam much more reliable to use in early loops, but more importantly is a great mutation in deeploop for those learning rad management or simply doesn't want to keep one eye on their rad meter every boss fight. These options make Horror very accessible to new players, and for more experienced players offers gameplay that is much quicker and more casual.


	Horror
	Unlock	Defeat Hostile Horror
	B-Skin	Beat Hyper Crystal as Horror
	Weapon	Revolver
	Active	Radiation Beam
	Passive	Extra Mutation Choice

Abilities

Active: - Fires a beam that uses radiation from the player's rad bar as ammunition.; - The rad beam can no longer be used once out of rads; leveling down will never happen.; - Every little particle does 1 damage to enemies & props alike.; - Continuously holding the rad beam down will consume rads at a faster rate, widening the beam as well as its damage.; - Rad attraction is disabled during rad beam usage with a cooldown for about one second after using the beam, though any rads directly walked over are still collected.; - This also applies when an exit portal is opened, though rads may inch toward the player if actively holding down RMB.; - Enemies & props will give all rads fired into them back upon death/destruction.; - Rads that are fired into a wall or erases projectiles are lost forever.; - Radiation beam will erase any normal projectiles, any that are normally effected by melee too.; - Any explosive projectile on the enemy team will instantly detonate when the rad beam makes contact, including explosives that are deflected.; - Rad beam will simply ignore any explosive projectiles fired by the player.; - Shields completely negate the rad beam, simply causing those rads to be wasted.
Passive: - Every level up normally has 4 mutations, Horror will always see an additional 5th slot.; - Horror has a pool of 3 ultras to pick from, instead of the usual 2.; - Can still only pick 1 mutation/ultra, Horror will have the same number of mutations as any other mutant normally.; - Crown of Destiny will let Horror choose from 1 of 2 mutations, rather than just the 1.; - Additionally, Crown of Destiny will remove Last Wish from its possible mutation pool on any other character, but does not apply to Horror for some reason.
Thronebutt:: - Continuous usage of beam will heal Horror.; - Roughly 1 HP is healed for 1 second of beam time.; - Beam now grows at a much faster rate, and rads are consumed roughly 30% faster.; - Continually using an entire ultra rad beam will give 8 HP total; 11 HP if running meltdown.; - If just trying to get health back, rad beam can be spaced out where anytime 1 HP is regained. Even without meltdown full health can be regained while just using 75% of a full ultra rad meter.
Ultra A: Stalker: - Rads that drop by enemies & rad canisters will additionally shoot out pellets in random directions that can damage other img/enemy/props for 1 damage each.; - Pellets are on the players team meaning it cannot damage the player/their weapons, and shields simply erase them instead of deflecting.; - This works similar to rad beam where it can also erase enemy projectiles if coming in contact with.; - Similarly, they will proc IDPD nades on non-beta versions of the game. On betas, this is fixed and will no longer proc them.; - The amount of pellets is equal to 60% of the rads dropped. So if an enemy drops 10 rads, it will spawn 6 pellets.; - This is rounded down, meaning that enemies that only drop 1 rad will not spawn any pellets. (Freaks and Maggots); - Any rads put into enemies by Horror's rad beam will also add to this total.; - Props do not spawn pellets even if they drop rads by default, or if Horror uses their rad beam on them.; - IDPD Explosions will erase pellets, meaning that vans that explode with rads in them will instantly erase their pellets.
Ultra B: Anomaly: - When the total amount of HP of all enemies on a level is lower than 140, will automatically kill every enemy remaining.; - While this will automatically destroy vans, vans themselves will not count to the total HP of a level.; - It is possible for anomaly to proc multiple times in a level for any enemies that spawn in after the first anomaly proc.
Ultra C: Meltdown: - Doubles the rads that the Ultra bar can hold from 600 for 1200.; - Does not double rad beam if held down as it grows at an exponential rate, however it does provide more time.
Other Perks: -Horror's rad beam/stalker pellets will be green or purple to respectively match their A-Skin and B-Skin.

Preloop Guide

Horror does not particularly stand out in preloop and is fairly average, not having a chance to shine until loop. This is because their active is an ability that is best to not use until reaching ultra in order to not lose precious rads, and also because reaching ultra significantly raises their capabilities.

Until hitting ultra, rad beam should be a tool that is used sparingly. While img/enemy/props will give rads back when killed/destroyed, any beams from the rad that is either missed or used on bullets will be lost forever which will add time to leveling up. However, trading a few rads in order to avoid getting hit by a few bullets is a pretty good tradeoff. Using rad beam in preloop should be mostly reserved as a panic button; whether about to get hit or out of ammo this essentially functions as a third weapon to get out of a pinch. This also applies to Horror's Thronebutt.

As for Horror's passive, having an extra mutation to choose from is a nice boost as he's much more likely to have a good set than other characters. After getting a full set of mutations the passive will no longer serve any usefulness for the rest of the run, overall just serving as a way to make Horror's runs generally more fortuitous.

Destiny on Horror is unequivocally the BEST character for any form of destiny abuse. There is a more in-depth guide on how to take advantage of Crown of Destiny here(link later), but essentially Horror has a few things that makes him unmatched.

Passive allowing for 2 mutations from destiny instead of the normal 1 makes getting an amazing set far more likely.
Active can be used to fill vaults easily, so any bad vault spawns are almost always a non-issue.
Rad beam also makes it so Horror won't accidentally level up for easier destiny abuse.
Loop starving can be slightly risky at times but trivialized by Horror's active.

Along with this, Horror also benefits from being able to abuse multiple other set mechanics (link later) such as ultra skipping or vault skipping for daily challenges. In other words, the more one knows about set mechanics in the game the better Horror is as a character.

Loop Guide

Upon reaching ultra the player has three options for their ultra instead of two as one last perk for Horror's passive. Each of these promote different styles of play, though one of them falls pretty short even early on.

Stalker is not recommended. It falls short of the other two ultras by a longshot, as having chip damage on enemies is something that is only slightly useful. On any non-beta versions of the game this can even be a negative as stalker pellets can proc idpd grenades meaning that there can be unexpected damage taken. In the betas this is fixed, and Stalker is definitely worth trying at least once there to see its effects on gameplay; areas it works the best in generally is very open areas where there are lots of rads to spawn pellets but not many enemy projectiles to get in their way(such as Caves).

Anomaly is one of the best ultra mutations in L1-L2 not just for Horror, but even compared to the rest of the characters. The reason for this is that this will always instakill the last few enemies in a level which will reduce Horror's chances of dying. This also makes them more likely to enter the next level with higher health/ammo, and a more full rad meter if being used, because the last few enemies are instakilled. In some circumstances IDPD can be skipped entirely which are often the most dangerous forces to deal with in a level; going so far as to instakill them all on 0-1.

Scarier Face should be a mutation center to an Anomaly build, and if leaning entirely into this ultra then it goes well with Crown of Luck. Though any crown is fine, it should be noted that it's slightly less useful while running Crown of Blood, this is still a powerhouse ultra mutation regardless.

Anomaly has a few minor downsides to take note of. None of these should be reason enough to skip Anomaly, just useful to be aware of and work around.

When Anomaly procs vans will explode from it, which can be lethal to the player if they happen to be too close.
The exit portal spawn location will be very hard to predict which can result in the player sometimes getting sucked in unexpectedly and miss out on chests/weapon drops.
If on a score run(going for kills) Anomaly will still contribute to the kill count, but a few kills may be missed as a result of the ultra.
If doing HQ Abuse strat(visiting IDPD HQ then leaving for kills) then Anomaly will almost certainly HQ-lock the player as vans will almost always spawn after the Anomaly proc.

The final ultra, Meltdown, lets Horror lean entirely into either using ultra weapons or their rad beam as an extra weapon. This is a fairly vanilla ultra compared to the other two, but doubling the rad capacity lets Horror use a ridiculous amount of rads. This makes using ultra weapons in loop far more viable(as regaining rads is an uphill battle usually in L1-L2), or if running normal weapons the rad beam can be used even further as a defensive/offensive tool. This is moreso a QoL ultra to make a run easier, and while it is outshined by Anomaly in the early loops it is still a pretty viable pick.

Rad beam as a whole can be actively utilized at this point of the game as there is no more leveling up to do; the exception is if an ultra weapon is being used, rads should instead be conserved for that weapon. Rad beam can be used offensively and defensively throughout any level otherwise, but it should be used sparingly when IDPD spawn because rad beam can proc IDPD nades, which can instantly end a run without Boiling Veins/Strong Spirit. As IDPD will only throw their grenades if the player is not in the line of sight, rad beam should only be used when IDPD are in the mix if it's an open area. If it's an area that is more close quarters Horror is better off using their normal weapons.

As a defensive tool, some rads should always be held onto as a sort of panic button when very low on health/if Spirit is dropped. Rads will be lost to any projectiles the beam hits but this is more than worth the tradeoff in order to recover ammo/health and should be used in tandem with whatever weapon is being held.

As an offensive tool, rad beam can be used pretty liberally until an ultra weapon is got, though some rads should always be conserved for unexpected Spirit drops/if actually finding a desired ultra weapon. The most optimal way to utilize it is in areas where it'll be a guarantee to damage enemies(4-1 is the best, and very useful on the start of desert levels). However this is not a tool that needs perfect optimization; losing some rads while using it against Mom/The Throne/Throne 2 is still very useful and rebuilding rads is a very simple matter.

Thronebutt being able to heal Horror sounds useful, however his rad beam is used significantly faster meaning that using rad beam offensively/defensively becomes less viable. Not only that, but it does not synergize with any run using ultra weapons(making it near useless in meta) because rads are a precious resource while running them. This puts Horror's Thronebutt at an awkward spot and is easily outshined by any other healing mutation. The best time to use it is either to expend rads to quickly regain HP if near death, or if needing to recharge Strong Spirit (11/12 HP) since HP drops is unlikely at high health. Bloodlust is far better in both of these situations, but if the weaknesses of TB is actively kept in mind this mutation can still be a net positive to a run, it just pales in comparison.

While Horror's passive has run its course by this point of the game, because of it the player should be running a much more optimal set. So while ultras largely define how Horror's run will go, it is usually assumed that he will have a fairly strong set to boot.

Meta Guide

Horror's active should largely be left unused in deeploop, aside from the multitude of IDPD nades around that can be proc'ed, the player will always be running an ultra weapon and these rads will just take away from that. Horror's gameplay is fairly standard, but the deciding factor is whether to run Anomaly or Meltdown.

Stalker is a very bad idea in any non-beta version as IDPD freaks are walking time bombs and anytime they are killed explosions can instantly happen. In beta it becomes actually runnable but the gap between it and the other two ultras is still too great for this to be viable in meta, if taken it should be viewed as an ultra that make levels slightly safer to clear as chip damage will make enemies die slightly sooner.

Anomaly does not scale by loop always being the same fixed number, while health scaling for enemies means that with every consecutive loop it becomes a little bit less useful. This does not mean it falls off though - it is still a popular pick between meta players because it significantly speeds up a run. Besides trivializing the early loops, running Anomaly will significantly speed up a run. This is because IDPD Freak respawns becomes pretty infrequent to occur as Anomaly will be proc'ing before they have a chance to respawn. This is especially true in situations where sometimes an enemy (such as a Freak or Raven) ends up in an obscure corner of the level that would normally need to be hunted down, will just die without their existence even being known.

0-1 and 2-? will instantly be cleared by Anomaly, and levels such as Scrapyards and Labs can always be cleared quite a bit earlier due to there being mostly low HP enemies in these areas.

Meltdown means that Ultra Shovel can be used twice as much before rads run out. This is not an ultra mutation that is necessary - anyone experienced with deeploop will almost never find themselves in situations where they run out of rads in the first place because they will be practicing proper rad management. This means that Meltdown to experienced players is also a QoL ultra, allowing for the player to go into autopilot mode and not bother looking at their rads. Also in situations where a fight against Big Bandit, Mom or Throne 2 starts to go poorly having an excess amount of rads is a very welcome sight.

Anomaly is a very good tool for players looking to reach Loop 3 for the first time, while Meltdown is a very good tool for players learning proper rad management. Both ultras serve as powerful additions to Horror's set and the ultra picked should ultimately reflect the player's preference. Whether to speed up a run by quite a bit, or to have boss fights be much more lenient with Ultra Shovel spam.

Because Horror's passive is only used at the start of a run and active should be avoided when running an ultra weapon, they run as a fairly vanilla character and so strategies around specific bosses should just be referred to within the main meta guide. (Link Later) The biggest difference is dependent on the ultra being ran, in which case the advice above should be abided by for specific ultra gameplay. Ultimately, Horror is a character that is a very good pick for players getting familiar with meta to dive into, but at later stages of gameplay serves as just a nice addition rather than outright superior, thus often putting him in the middle of the pack for meta rankings.