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Each Reaper in Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters is a unique challenge that requires careful planning and execution. They are all larger-than-life plague-ridden followers of Chaos, but none quite match the scale of Cruciatus The Generous. So large is this thing that the first reaction the fearless Grey Knights had was to retreat.
Retreat isn’t an option of course, and instead, you are forced to tackle this thing. Cruciatus is a Chaos Knight. A legendary bipedal war machine that’s fallen to Chaos. Its armor is thick and its guns are powerful. On the plus side, you have four Grey Knights, and Cruciatus doesn’t know who he’s messing with. It’s time to bring the Hammer.
Cruciatus' Stats
|
Stat |
Value |
|---|---|
|
Health |
55 |
|
Armor |
45 |
|
Movement |
8 |
|
Crit Chance |
0 |
|
Resistance |
0 |
Cruciatus is massive, and his stats highlight that. Cruciatus has a whopping armor value that makes him especially difficult to crack. This massive amount of armor hides a relatively squishy body, however. This, in theory, opens Cruciatus up to a few counters that can cut him down to size.
Cruciatus’ Attacks
Cruciatus has guns so large they could crush a building with their sheer heft. He’s also a monstrously large metal death machine. He can blast you from a distance and straight-up crush you in melee. He’s the complete package.
|
Attack |
Type |
Explanation |
|---|---|---|
|
Laser Destructor |
Blast Attack |
Cruciatus fires a Blast Area 3 attack and deals 8 damage to any Knights hit. This attack has Knockback and ignores cover. |
|
Laser Destructor Cover Shot |
Blast Attack |
Cruciatus fires his Laser Destructor at cover blocking his view of targets. This attack will apply Knockback. |
|
Heavy Stubber |
Blast Attack |
Cruciatus fires a Blast Area 2 attack and deals 4 damage to any Knights hit. |
|
Heavy Stubber Cover Shot |
Blast Attack |
Cruciatus fires his Heavy Stubber at cover blocking his view of targets. |
|
Thunderstrike Grab (Phase One) |
Melee Attack |
Cruciatus grabs a Knight. Next turn, he will smash them into the ground and deal 3 damage. |
|
Thunderstrike Grab (Phase Two) |
Melee Attack |
Cruciatus grabs a Knight. Next turn, he will smash them into the ground, Critically Wounding the Knight. |
|
Titanic Stomp |
Blast Attack |
Cruciatus stomps his foot and unleashes a Blast Area 4 shockwave that deals 4 damage, applies Hobbled to any Knight hit, as well as Knockback. |
Cruciatus is all about doing high damage over a large area. Just about all of his attacks follow this pattern, and being in the open, or being clumped together, is a recipe for disaster. This is especially true if you are unable to kill Cruciatus in a single turn. The counter to Cruciatus and his ranged arsenal is to hide behind cover. If Cruciatus can't get a clear shot, he will simply destroy the wall you are hiding behind. This is preferred to take taking a Laser Destructor to the face.
The only attack that is truly terrifying is his Thunderstrike Grab. This attack is annoying to deal with at the best of times since it removes a Knight from combat for a turn, but if he is in his second phase, that knight straight up gets Critically Wounded, which adds a further three turns of downtime. If he does it again to the same Knight, then they are out for the count.
Cruciatus' Passives
Cruciatus, like all bosses, is a pretty durable fellow, so he isn’t exactly weak to make Afflictions.
|
Passive |
Explanation |
|---|---|
|
Immunity to Afflictions |
Cruciatus is immune to Bleed, Crazed, Dominated, Immobilized, Panicked, Silenced, and Knockback. |
Despite being immune to almost everything, he remains weak to Vulnerability. Use this to your advantage.
Cruciatus’ Auto Abilities
Cruciatus has two Auto Abilities, and they both make fighting him a little bit harder. They more or less dictate how you can engage Cruciatus. That being said, they can be exploited.
|
Auto |
Explanation |
|---|---|
|
Heed The Challenge |
Cruciatus, when hit, will become Enraged. He will focus his attacks on this Knight on his next turn and try to destroy them. |
|
Titanic Stomp |
Cruciatus will counter the first melee attack each turn with a Titanic Stomp. |
Titanic Stomp is a pain to deal with, as it knocks your Knights back and slows their movement. This makes it difficult to stay close to Cruciatus since you will burn extra AP trying to close that gap. The trick is to trigger it with a Knight whilst keeping your other Knights further away.
Cruciatus has a third Auto that isn't listed here, or in-game. When a Knight shoots Cruciatus, he will instantly move towards them and do a Thunderstrike Grab. This attack bypasses the turn delay and just smashes them into the ground immediately. You can use this hidden Auto to get Cruciatus back into melee range without having to burn as much AP moving.
Preparing For Battle
Cruciatus is a tricky guy to put down, but there are ways of taking him out. His armor is his biggest strength, but also his biggest weakness. A few solid blows with the right modifiers, and this guy will go down like a sack of potatoes.
Squad Composition
When it comes to Squads, you have a few options. The tried and tested balanced squad works wonders here, however.
- Justicar
- Interceptor
- Purgator
- Apothecary
This squad is more than capable of taking out Cruciatus in a single turn, it just requires some specialist equipment to make it happen. If you don’t have that kit, then this fight might take a little bit longer.
Key abilities
When it comes to abilities, you want to make sure your squad is kitted out with these skills.
- Justicar - Honor The Chapter, Hammerhand
- Purgator - Sanctified Kill Zone, Astral Aim
- Apothecary - Warp Speed Biomancy
- Interceptor - Hammerhand
Honor The Chapter will provide huge amounts of AP for a single character, for very little cost. Hammerhand and Astral Aim are guaranteed Critical Hits. Sanctified Kill Zone will increase all of your damage, so always cast this before you start attacking. Finally, Warp Speed Biomancy will increase the damage your melee Knights deal when landing Critical Hits.
Stratagems
For Stratagems, you want to take Quicksilver first and foremost. This will grant one Knight +2AP and this will go a long way to ensuring the turn one kill. Aside from this, Gate Of Infinity can help your squad get into range without spending AP, which in turn, increases your damage output.
Equipment
For equipment, you want to take weapons that either add Armor Pierce or come with high Critical Hit Modifiers - ideally both. Cruciatus is especially vulnerable to Critical Hits as one of his Target Points increases the chance of you landing more Critical Hits.
You could also bring weapons that inflict Armor Break, as this not only reduces Cruciatus’ maximum armor but also deals extra damage when hitting armor. If you can’t ignore his armor, then focus on breaking through it.
Battle Strategy
Cruciatus seems like a nuisance to deal with, but in reality, he’s not too bad. If you have the right equipment, you can kill him without ever touching his armor. If you don’t then it’s a bit harder, but not by much.
The key thing to remember is that Cruciatus will counter both melee and ranged attacks with his Auto Abilities. The trick, however, is realizing he can only counter melee attacks once per turn. Because of this, you want to get up in his face and cut him down to size. You may be wondering why we have a Purgator then.
The order in which you attack is very important to maximize your damage. Firstly, you want to use Honor The Chapter, Warp Speed Biomancy, and Battlefield Medicine on your Interceptor. Warp Charge any ability you can to grant bonus AP. Once this is done, activate Quicksilver on your Interceptor, increasing his AP to nine.
From here, use Gate Of Infinity to teleport your squad close to Cruciatus. Have your Purgator cast Sanctified Kill Zone. After this, take your Justicar, and use Hammerhand on Cruciatus. Select the Target Point that increases your Critical Hit Chance by 15 percent. Cruciatus will counterattack and knock all of your Knights away.
To save AP on your Interceptor, use your Purgator and cast Astral Aim. Pick Hobbled to reduce Cruciatus’ movement speed. Cruciatus will counter this attack by moving up to your Purgator and trying to grab them. He may or may not make contact - it doesn’t matter either way.
From here, it’s a case of sending your Interceptor into melee and burning all of his AP and WP to deal as much damage as possible. If you are ignoring Armor, then Cruciatus will go down very quickly. If you aren’t, then you may have to use the remaining AP on your Justicar, Apothecary, and Purgator to finish him off.
Once Cruciatus is near death, he will rip off his mask and trigger his second phase. This will turn his Thunderstrike Grab into a seriously threatenng attack that you don't want to deal with.. Finally, if you manage to break all of his armor, Cruciatus will stagger, allowing a free Critical Hit. You can’t execute him, but this will give you a nice boost in damage nonetheless.
If you don’t kill Cruciatus in a single turn, then don’t worry. He may do a lot of damage, but he won’t be able to kill your Knights in a single turn. Repeat this plan, and he should go down. If you are concerned, then be sure to end your turn in cover to reduce damage taken. If you know you can’t kill Cruciatus in a single turn, then make sure you don’t activate his second phase, as he can instantly down a knight with his grab.