Mad Bovine
The Bovine is a monster in CrossCode. They can be encountered in Autumn's Rise.
Appearance
The Bovine is a large, four-legged creature with prominent bull horns. It is mainly covered in shaggy brown fur, except for its head area, which has thick armored plates colored gray with red markings.
Combat
During combat, the Bovine slowly follows Lea around, taking care to always face her. It has two attacks that it uses. The first is a ground stomp that can be used with no warning; it generates a powerful short-range shockwave that can damage the player even if they are on a higher ledge. Its second attack is a charge, and is made clear by it pawing the ground beforehand. It charges in a straight line until it either hits the player for substantial damage, or runs slightly past them. If the Bovine runs into an obstacle while charging, it will be knocked out and immobile for a substantial period of time. The front of the Bovine takes less damage and VRP's do less damage to it than to other enemies, even when attacking it in the back or the rear.
Strategies
The Bovine is nearly invulnerable to damage from the front, and since it turns to face Lea, typical attacking is of little use against them. The principal strategy to fight them involves standing in front of a wall and Dashing away from their charge attack, causing them to hit the wall and be knocked out. The player is then free to use Melee and Combat Arts to deal them substantial damage from behind. It is also feasible, particularly for low-level players, to lead them to charge into water, removing 25% of their health each time. Be sure to keep your distance from non-stunned Bovines, as their stomp attack can be used with next to no warning.
Due to the special strategies required to defeat them, facing Bovines with other enemies can be a challenging task. For inexperienced players, the best option will be to run; the slower Bovine will quickly fall behind and lose aggression. Alternative strategies are to quickly kill the Bovine with Combat Arts that bypass defense, or lead it to stun itself and concentrate on the other enemies while it is stunned. For multiple Bovines, try to separate them using their charge attack, so that you can deal damage to one before the other has the chance to reach you and use its stomp attack.
Rewards
When defeated, a Bovine awards 44 Credits, along with EXP related to your current level. They also have a chance to drop Bovine Skins or, rarely, Raw Steak (high combat rank only).
Locations
Five respawning Bovines can be found in Autumn's Rise. Five additional Bovines are found in the Enemy Rush challenge: three in Round 9, one in Round 11 and one in Round 17.
Development Notes
The Bovine was introduced along with Autumn's Rise in the first version of the Demo. It has appeared in all subsequent versions of the game except the Shortened Demo.