Terrible beginning and really lucky ending is all you need for this boss, except for the first part.
I got no tips for you, this boss is bullshit, brace yourselves.
In all seriousness, I always struggle on hard worm bosses, and that's why I hated Astrum Deus so much during my first playthrough.
Malice Eater of Worlds turned out perfectly for me, but Malice Destroyer is the opposite of that. The reasons are:
- High amount of damage if you've beed struck by his head, which follows...
- ... RIDICULOUS amount of agressiveness post-30% of hp, I can't express enough how agressive he becomes, and it's really hard to dodge his head, because...
- ...for some mysterious reason he can speed up to 999 mph whenever he wants to, I don't even understand what causes it, and some attempts were ruined because of this dumb mechanic. If you want to forbid the player from running away - make the boss more tougher, add some DR whenever the distance between the player and the boss becomes large. It won't be so infuriating as the 999 mph one-shotting machine.
- Timed DR is a good idea on paper, it keeps boss alive for some time so the player can't shred him to pieces within the first 20 seconds. But on practice it turned out like "You have no reason to damage the boss, since it can't be possibly killed within one and a half minute, so the only thing you can do is to wait, and then one-shot him with rage+adrenaline". The good rework would be the one that gives a reason to damage the boss, but not shred it fast enough. I think this can be done with some math shenanigans.
- Laser walls at the beginning are fine and even epic, especially when you manage to dodge them, but the unstoppable laser spam from both sides which happens post-40% is just stupid. Also there are infinite Probes with their own lasers. If you combine it with everything above, it becomes clear that you can't possibly dodge everything consistently enough, and all you need is to get lucky. I don't like bullet hell bosses because of that - the luck factor is way too high.
Actually there's one good thing about this boss - everything pre-40% is really good because you can control what's going on, you can play around some attacks, you can think of some strat, etc.
Ok the rant is over, here are some tips:
- At the start of the fight, Destroyer fires two tight laser walls. To dodge them constistently, you need to:
1. Summon Destroyer and move as fast as you can up and horizontally (0:16 - 0:21, I know it's not the start of the fight, but it's the same thing).
2. He will follow you and eventually reach you. At that moment, move below him and run towards his tail (0:22 - 0:28). If done correctly - laser wall woudn't even touch you. Do the same for the second laser wall. After that, the fight begins.
- Try to move in a wide donut-shape pattern, or in an infinite sign pattern. Make sure that you're ALWAYS below or above the horizontal body of Destroyer, and you're always running. The lasers won't hit you (0:58).
media.discordapp.net/attachments/358680303591620608/915574378375303218/destr.png
Post-40% it becomes hard to keep on going, since Destroyer gets angry and tries to one shot you with his head.
- Clear the Probes with an AoE weapon, it's really important. Don't hesitate to stop damaging the boss and clearing the Probes.
- Simply get lucky and shred the last 30% with rage+adrenaline. Good luck.