After playing Colossus so much, I wanted to make a guide for this incredibly challenging game mode. This will be more than a simple overview and cover many nuances of this mode, so it will be entirely drawn out. If you decide to stick through to the end, I assure you will learn something to give you an Edge in Colossus. Enjoy!

Colossus is accessed from the menu after you beat the Colosseum. It is debatable that this is the hardest game mode in this already difficult game. You start in an elevator room, and there are two weapons you want to take: an Old Sword and a Challenger Sword. Once you pick them up and arrive on the First Floor, a spooky lightning bolt will strike, marking the start of your trials. Enemies teleport through small red portals, and bosses teleport in with a larger one to help separate the two. It consists of three floors, with two "elevators" that will activate once you step on them. Colossus, to put it simply, is Satan Incarnate 50 brutal waves of bosses and enemies; every odd-numbered wave consists of enemies, and every even-numbered wave is bosses. Occasionally, extra bosses will drop in a wave, making it harder for you. The 50th wave is two final bosses. The hardest part is how limited you are on hits; with a max of 11 revives, you can waste the entire run duration in most circumstances.

In this section, I will go over how you want to set up your arena and placement and how to react to wave circumstances. There will be videos on the bottom, for example.
Before I start this, I will disclaim that despite beating Colossus many times with this strategy, it is not the end all be all, and be bold with experimenting with your setup. Now for a long, boring explanation.


















Starting, I'm going to outline what "Brobash Blocks" is. Here is a picture of them above this text. Throw a Corrode Potion at the bottom of each 1x2 pillar on the First Floor. These blocks are Extremely Important for dealing with their namesake, Brobash. Keep them there at all costs, especially when you need proper equipment to deal with the lack of one. The next thing you will want to do is destroy these two blocks.






















While riding up the elevator, hit where the two red arrows point, or jump and hang on to them if you are uncomfortable with your timing. After that, these two under this text should also be blown up. This will allow easy access to the Second Floor.


























Fourthly, you will want some "Brobash Blocks" on the Top Floor, so do the same as you did on the First Floor.















Lastly, you want to blow up the set of two 1x3 floating blocks above the item block to prevent enemies from spawning on them.










Now, I'll review how to fight and what order I prefer. Start on the First Floor, and if you want to be safe, stick to the left or right sides so you don't get cornered by many beebles. After you clear it, ride the elevator up to the Third Floor and clear it out. Remember to blow up the blocks and check the item block, then go to the Second Floor and take care of the baddies there. Now for the boss waves, I like to sit on top of the Brobash Block or hang from the balls on the Bottom Floor. Once the bosses are dead, return to the First Floor if you can and repeat until done.

If there are two grounded bosses (Fire Goon/Mother Hound), I take care of them on the First Floor and go up to the Second if I feel I'm being cornered. If there are any flying bosses (Watchers/ Worm ) I take them up to the Top Floor if you can stand still without much danger guide the Worm in a fashion so it does not eat your Brobash Blocks, if one of your Broash Blocks is destroyed, you should stand opposite of the one left before a boss wave to avoid the Worm from breaking it. If Brobash corners you on the First Floor, consider using the balls on the far right and left to swing over him. Don't try jumping over him; it's a risk that does not need to be taken. Use a jump pot if necessary.

If there is a Brobash, always leave him for last. If you get Brobash with flying bosses, deal with the flying bosses on the Third Floor (Or Second Floor, but you must stay away from the sides; Brobash will stay under you while you brawl, but if you bring the fight to the sides of the Floor Brobash can have a chance to jump up and interrupt you). After they are dead, have Brobash jump up to your Floor. (This could take a while). If there is a ground boss(es), then make sure to run fast enough to get down to the Second Floor without Brobash following you. (Sprinting+short hops are the quickest). Once you get to the First Floor, stay in the middle while you take care of the ground boss (if there is one). If Brobash gets down there, you can get back up to the Second Floor with your method: hook, jump potions, or the ball. Once you're down with the ground boss, Brobash should just harmlessly run back and forth, trying to get to you while you duel it out. Be careful not to stray too close to the edges again, as this could cause him to fall. The last thing to say is that there are extra bosses. On any wave, an unexpected boss can spawn in a random location. If it is to happen on an enemy wave, just clear the First Floor or enough of it so you can fight the boss(es) without disruption; clear the First Floor while it is chasing you if you must. It can complicate things on boss waves as they could spawn above and surprise you while you ride the elevator and be on the other floors without knowing. Just be ready for anything.

To restate the order, you will want to take care of the bosses: first is flying (Watchers, Corrupted Watchers, and The Worm), then grounded bosses (Mother Hound and Fire Goon), and lastly, Brobash.



Here is a video example of how the first wave should go (plus a bonus Mother Hound). Disclaimer: my Colossus is slightly edited, but my general strategies will still work, so pay no mind to it throughout this guide

- Hound. Quite a simple enemy, unlike tower dogs, will be jumping around on spawn. Due to this, you mustn't get too close. A dog can randomly jump and ruin your day. Always always throw your sword at them instead of getting close.

- Rat. They are one of the easiest enemies here. There is nothing I can say about them. They stroll left and right; just be careful when slashing; throwing is always safe. You can throw your sword up if they climb the ceiling to save time. Just be careful; it would be shameful to die to one a late wave like 48 to them, eh?

- Worm. Oh boy, these jerks are very easy to deal with, until you forget they are there. They can spawn on any destructible block and are sometimes visible by two small orange pixels but often are obscured by grass, so try to be cautious, especially on the Second Floor. Please keep in mind that they can be anywhere.

- Blue Goon. Oh, golly, these guys are a very obnoxious addition to this game mode. Unlike most enemies, their touch is not lethal, only stunning you. Don't be fooled; being stunned can be just as bad. They are the only enemy with a ranged attack to compensate for the lack of contact damage. They will flay mines toward you at extreme speeds; only one can be on screen per goon at a time, and it will always be thrown in an arc (they are not too accurate). The mines stick to anything but other enemies and the elevators, and they can also be picked up and stored, neutralizing them until you throw them back out, although it's effortless to pick up a mine instead of a sword and go boom boom. Another tip I have is if you are doing a running jump with your sword out, the bottom of the hurt box will reach them, letting you take care of them without stopping. If you choose to take a break, any blue goons can make their way to lower floors and kill an AFK climber. Lastly, if one is to knock you off the side of the Second or Third Floor, hold down while spamming throw. Make it a reactionary habit.

- Pink Goon. The same points apply to this pink puffball that applied to this last enemy, except that he punches. The punch is quick and has caught me off-guard a few times, but it's not of much note. Be wary if you use Brobash's Scimitar; its lower range can get you killed against these boys.

- Beebles. Unlike the ones in the Tower, these will be easy. The best way to take them out is to item jump a sword while pressing down and left/right, whichever way is towards them. Your old swords, if used in this fashion, will almost always bounce off twice and kill them, making them a good alternative if you've thrown your Challenger Sword and cannot immediately get it back. You can also hang under the Brobash Blocks (see setup section) and repeatedly swing at them until they charge you, killing them. The running jump also works on these guys, like the golems.

- Beetles. In Colossus, Beebles are either a slight inconvenience or a 40-mile-per-hour threat, depending on whether or not you killed them before they had a chance to hatch. They hatch much faster and have more variation when they hatch than the ones you would find in the Tower (similar to the ones in Trials). The main strategy a climber might want to choose if facing a hatched one is to time your sword throws instead of slashing due to the near Arcane sabaton speeds they reach while in flight. This is especially useful when clearing the Second Floor. If golems are impeding your progress, most beetles will hatch and start flying before you can get a chance to kill them, so just throw your sword up and catch it from the lip of the Floor. Beetles also fly in wide, exaggerated arcs, so take advantage of their AI to rid this pest of the arena.

- Worshipers. Think of them as worms that attack less, have a bigger hitbox, and are overall less dangerous. I have nothing to say about them besides that they are the least lethal enemy in this game mode.

You'll find out very soon that the item box, despite the usefulness of the Challenger Sword, can be significant. So acquiring new hardware is something you'll be doing frequently, conveniently for you. You get one random thing every boss wave cleared, and it can give almost any item in the game with just a few exceptions. Jump into the mystery box block from below to get your prize.
WARNING: You will get useless items along the way, but the useful ones can aid you quite well. I'll cover all the valuable or note-worthy items; anything I would deem useless, I'll keep out.


Challenger Sword-Your starter sword. If you could put this sword into one word, it would be Reliable. My first victory was just with this sword up until wave 48. It has decent attack speed and decent range. I will go over sword mechanics that will apply to the rest of them in this section.
All Swords have "linger," which is the hitbox for the sword's swing, staying there a few extra frames; this is useful for Brobash, so I thought I'd mention it.


Old Sword-very basic sword, mainly used for backup when you've thrown your Challenger Sword and have to kill something without it, not much else to it; just throw them to the side as you get more equipment.

Brobash's Scimitar My favorite item, it has less range than the regular sword, but the swing speed HAS NO LIMIT! It is terrific at completely disintegrating The Worm and Corrupted Watchers to nothing very fast. It's also suitable for Fire Golem, as its throw physics takes him out extremely fast. It's not as proficient for other bosses, but all the same, it is possible to kill big boy Brobash with insane timing, be it dangerous or necessary. On top of all of this, it's fantastic at floor clearing, not only swinging super fast, but when thrown, it really flies; the Scimitar will also bounce instead of getting stuck in the ground, giving it even more versatility.


Ascender This giant Anime sword is by far one of the most valuable items in Colossus. It has many utilities, from killing bosses to editing the arena to being the sole reason many people kill the final bosses. It is almost necessary for dealing with wave 50. It has a sizeable charge-up swing that has a massive radius and destroys terrain. If jump is held, it will glow before spinning rapidly, and after a bit, it will start to live up to its namesake and let you ascend, gaining speed exponentially. Take any of the flying bosses to an upper corner of the arena. You can take care of charging while hanging on the ceiling and having the boss close. An important note is that you don't have to navigate the ceiling with your hands while doing this slowly. You can move quickly left and right if you let go of up while the sword is swinging—this is a helpful strategy for Worm due to his large health pool. You can spin for a few seconds on the ground instead before you get much lift to deal with any boss. This is especially useful for Brobash. If you are not careful, this can break your Brobash Blocks, but you won't need them with this item if you play your cards. You can fly up to the Second Floor if you run out of room. It is excellent for throwing on Fire Golem as it is less likely to fall off. This critical item has one other way of obtainment besides the item box, which is quite lucky for you, my friend. Just shoot an exiled blade with the wand at no price.

Z-blade- This mystical sword is most adept at floor clearing and is one of the safer. It has a slightly slower swing time than the Challenger Sword but has a massive radius that even reaches behind you. Something else special is that the amount of time the hurt box lingers to do damage is much longer than all the others. It also floats midair and travels towards you at all times. One trick you can do with it is get a hit on Brobash as he passes over the Brobash Block. The sword is already good for dealing with him; due to the extensive range, you can safely hit him whenever you swing.

Spear-Very basic, just a sharp pointy on a long piece of wood. It does full damage when thrown and is quite good at inserting on top of the golem; it is just as proficient at it as the Scimitar is at it...



Z-Ball- This spherical dunking device is limited in its uses. Once bounced up and down, it heats up and becomes deadly; it then cools down after a short while, and more movement keeps it heated. It's mostly good for clearing the First Floor or dropping on the golem. Besides that, there's not much else to it, dunk away.


Seed- The one actual use this item has is giving you golden berries, which is not helpful unless you want to craft as you have just enough to buy your last rev for 11, and the next being 12 is a far shot off. The blast berries can help place on the mystery block and have the final bosses running into them, as the berries won't blow up if laid on it.

Invulnerorb- A handy item to get. You can use the lengthy invincibility to tank the final bosses or use two to make an extra revive for just two berries. I prefer the first option, but either is excellent; hold down if you need to drop it so you don't waste it.

BoomerOrb- This item should be perfect. Besides the fact that it will bring mines back to you if any Blue Golems are around, it can also clip outside the Colosseum. Decently functional if used safely.

Winchshot/Hookshot/Elastogrip- The primary use of these would be navigating the arena and not much else.


Kingshook- Good for Navigation like it's a non-sword version, it's long throw is super helpful but can get you killed. Run in the other direction or hold down so you don't slide into enemies when thrown. It also has a more extended range.


Exiled Blade- Decently functional, long swing time, but can hit larger bosses multiple times, doing from 2-6 hits depending on the size of the boss. It is another item meant to be put on the Fire Golem soft head. If you shoot it with the vapor wand, it turns into an ascender, which is also very useful.


Vapour Wand-A good item for crafting the Gunboots or making Ascenders out of Exiled Blades, giving the crafter two will reward you with eight golden berries, not enough for an 11th revive but can help you craft without losing out on your 11th revive.




Gunboots- An exceptional item crafted with Arcane Sabatons, a vapor wand, and four berries. You'll miss out on revive for it, but it's completely worth it. It works just as it would in Downwell, sending down an explosive blast each time you jump, sending you upwards just a bit, up to 5 times before it needs recharge. If a flying boss is pursuing you up an elevator, you can spam this on them for good damage or have Brobash follow you up the wall in the middle so you can flak his head with your explosive foot blast.

-Watcher a flying eyeball with a hand of righteousness, they will pursue the Heretic player the second they spawn going through all terrain to reach you, stopping once in proximity with the player to rear their one hand back and lunge it at the player, you can dodge and retaliate to get in one to three swipes in. They take nine hits to kill and get "stunned," ceasing whatever they were doing every three hits, floating away from the player. Even if you are in their hands, if you get the third hit in, you won't die. If timed right, you can capitalize on their retreat and get an extra hit or two as they do so.

Be wary of their hand; it can go further than you think and lasts a tad longer than expected. Touching them will stun you for a very short amount of time. You can easily fight them alongside more Watchers, Corrupted Watchers, and the Big Worm.












Corrupted Watcher


A blighted version of the normal watcher with new moves up its sleeve, er, mouth? Preceding a hand for a large set of teeth. They rear back and launch forward at high speeds to where you last were a bit after they started charging. They have two extra hits, putting them at 11, making them a bit "tankier." they also lack a stunning feature. It would help if you tried to get 2-4 hits on them. Being in the air when they come at you is a good way to get an extra hit. You can fight them alongside other Watchers and the Big Worm without too much trouble. If paired with a watcher, look for your openings when they both recoil from their attacks. If they edge you to the side of the Third Floor, drop down to the second to keep the fight going.












Fire Goon This fiery Adversary is a spicy parody of the PInk Golem. His punches will shoot out lava in short range, and his jumps will expel lava in a vast, random radius. The primary strategy you will want to try is to first run at him with a low running jump, then slice him on the back, and lastly, throw your Challenger sword down on his head, along with the other swords, if you can. You can, of course, just throw your swords on him, which works just as well, maybe taking a little longer but safer. Something else you can do is go right up to him, not too close or far, and repeatedly let go and throw. Using the sword works, but throwing a good item on him is always safe. Be careful never to jump over him unless he is punching or just jumping, as he can spew out lava as you go over him. A small tip to help locate him is to hang from the side of the Second Floor to see if there's any smoke coming up so you know if it's safe to drop down.













The Worm Emphasis on The. It is much bigger than your average Worm and will eat through any destructible blocks it passes through, so try to keep it away from them if you have a chance; keep him out of the Second Floor by wrapping it around it to get up to the Third Floor, also have him avoid your ever valuable Brobash Blocks. It is very beefy, with 25 hits. He will become angry and charge back when hit, then swiftly charge forward a very short distance. You could get around 3 to 6 hits safely per charge. Be careful; getting greedy with your hits and getting killed by The Worm as he charges is very easy. You can safely fight him alongside the other two Watchers. Worm is also special, as he can never spawn as an extra boss.














Mother Hound

They are much like the tiny Hounds but 100% less sleep and 100% more bark, bite, and jump. She will pounce over the player or leap away from them, with considerable slide for some of their extended bounds. Use her massive jump cross under her if you need to, and if She is low enough, you can slice at her feet as she leaps over you, although it can be dangerous since if your head even touches her foot, you will die. She will also often Bark, pushing the player away quite forcefully. A Mother Hound may also try to fake you out by crouching down, acting like she's about to jump, but instead, she'll stay still. How clever!

She will almost always jump after taking damage, and they will take immediate and sudden knockback from your sword if you interrupt a midair pounce, making your sword a useful tool to back a Mother Hound off if you happen to be caught in a bad position Unlike the one in Colosseum it cannot perform a slide. ( Thankfully ) You can abuse the Brobash Blocks to safely cheese her and stick under the block while you wait for her to come to you; you can also slice through the block to get her if you want to be extra safe, you won't be able to employ this strategy every time as you may have to fight her in the middle to avoid a Brobash on the Second Floor, so practice fighting her in the open for good measure.

Brobash

This is going to take a lot to go over him, and if you didn't detect a pattern in this guide, I've brought up Brobash A Lot and with good reason. Brobash is why the "X is destined to die" shows up. He is the Supreme Naughty Boy, horrible in every way. He is already difficult to fight and his movement does not make it better, on top of having the second-highest health at a sizable 16 hits, on top of that he is nearly impossible to fight with other bosses. You can not Reliably jump over him without dying, making Brobash blocks of utmost importance, living without them requires you to have the right tools while still risky. Without them, you must cease fighting him to gain ground before he backs you against a wall. If you try to item jump over him, you will very quickly regret it. If he comes into close contact with an item, he will speed up considerably, and you will find yourself outran. This makes him, as I said before, a boss; you should only fight only.



Brobash has access to your selection of potions as well, randomly drinking jump potions to use for later. Doing so more often if he is below you, he will throw corrodes only if you are Above him. [/previewimg Another real fun thing he does is throw items and get a speed boost from it, so keep your arena clean. I suggest leaving your items on one of the indestructible cubes on either side of the top Floor. The way you will want to get hits on him is to time your sword swipes, do a low jump, and turn around to strike him, immediately running away. Your sword's range is similar, so be quick and precise. During the fight, Brobash may boast his mighty strength by stopping everything to taunt your weak inferior body, waving his sword in the air, and taking this chance to get a free hit or two on him. Remember to be careful, as he can swing his sword while taunting. After taking nine hits, he will fall unconscious and revive shortly after; he is invincible until he starts moving, so wait for him to be vulnerable. Do not try hitting him if he is climbing on a wall, as it's quite risky. Brobash can sometimes throw a corrode at the ceiling and damage himself, so that's cool. Another fun fact is that his name originates from the first two people to beat Chapter 1 in its beta: Tobash and Brapptrap.
Here is a video of his fight and how I lead him up to the second Floor

If you've gotten this, you've proven much of your worth, but there's still one thing left: two armored Brobash's that shoot lasers and have multiple fire-spewing attacks, that laugh in d e e p scary voices.


-The Colossus Master's. This pair of deadly adversaries is what will stand between you and victory. They are slower than Brobash but have the same AI with different attacks. Whenever they swing, all-be-it slower, fire will be sent. They will also charge, spinning their weapons to send out more fire in all directions and building up speed. They also can shoot lasers from their eyes. The two-on-one is unfair, so if you have an Ascender, lure one of them up to the Third Floor and hang it on the item box opposite to them, wait for them to stand on top of it, and start swinging your Ascender until it dies, if done right you won't have to waste any revives at all.

Worst scenario, you don't have an Ascender. If so, stick up on the Third Floor and throw whatever you have down at them. Throw swords you don't want, throw kegs, cakes, corrodes, anything you have to do at least some damage. If you have an unused exiled blade, leave it on the ground floor because it does multiple hits for every throw and can do hefty damage to either boss that touches it. You can stay in the middle of the Third Floor and wait for them to kill themselves with their corrodes. Anything at all you can think of. You don't want don't fight both at once, so try luring one up to the third Floor. If you leave your items everywhere on the Third Floor, they can stop them mid-charge and force them to laugh for free hits, hide from lasers on either side of the item block, or try to item jump above the laser if needed. If you have a Z-Blade, you can try to hit them through the item block like you might with an Ascender; the same goes for the exiled blade. If you have the Scimitar, go all out with it when you have invulnerability. Having invulnaorbs is also extremely helpful here. Just don't panic and try to do your best; if you fail, then try try try again. Good luck!!!