Hovering Inferno¶

The Hovering Inferno is Incendium's final boss — a Touhou-inspired, bullet-hell encounter with 700 HP (350 hearts) and 20 armor defense points. It is one of the most mechanically demanding fights in modded Minecraft, requiring mastery of movement, timing, and pattern recognition across two distinct phases.

How to Summon¶

The Hovering Inferno is summoned at the Infernal Altar, a domed structure found in the Infernal Dunes biome.

Obtain a Nether Star. Kill the Wither to get one.
Travel to the Infernal Altar. Locate the dome structure in the Infernal Dunes.
Find the lectern at the center of the altar's interior.
Throw the Nether Star onto the lectern. Drop the item (press Q / your drop key) while aiming at the lectern. Do not right-click to place it.
The Hovering Inferno spawns and the fight begins immediately.

Re-Summonable

The boss can be summoned as many times as you like, as long as you have a Nether Star for each attempt. Deaths are not permanent setbacks — farm another Wither and try again.

Pre-Fight Checklist

Before throwing that Nether Star, make sure you have:

Full Netherite armor (Protection IV or Fire Protection IV)
A high-damage melee weapon (Sharpness V / Smite V)
A bow with Power V and plenty of arrows
Golden apples (enchanted if possible)
Fire Resistance potions
Slow Falling potions (critical for Phase 2)
Ender Pearls for emergency repositioning
Totems of Undying in your off-hand

Phase 1 — Spell Cards¶

In Phase 1, the Hovering Inferno teleports around the arena and cycles through 13 different attack types in randomized combinations. The attacks grow more complex and layered as the boss loses health. Your job is to deal damage between attack windows while dodging everything it throws at you.

Attack Types¶

The boss draws from the following attack pool, mixing and chaining them unpredictably:

Shulker Bullet Barrages — Waves of homing shulker bullets fired in spreading patterns. Move laterally to lead them into walls, or destroy them with well-timed melee swings.
Fireball Volleys — Clusters of Blaze-style fireballs launched in bursts. Strafe continuously to avoid them.
Fire Patterns — Ground-level fire that spreads in geometric shapes (lines, circles, spirals). Jump over them or find the gaps.
Summoned Minions — The boss spawns Desert Blazes and other mobs mid-fight. Kill them quickly before they overwhelm you.
Evoker Fangs — Lines of snapping fangs that erupt from the ground, similar to Evoker attacks. They deal significant damage — dodge sideways.
Combination Attacks — As the boss's health drops, it begins layering multiple attack types simultaneously. Shulker bullets and fireballs together, fangs and fire patterns overlapping.

Damage Windows

The Hovering Inferno pauses briefly between attack sequences. These gaps are your damage windows. Close the distance and land melee hits during pauses, or fire arrows when the boss teleports to a predictable position. Do not overcommit — getting greedy costs health you cannot afford to lose.

Dealing with Shulker Bullets

Shulker bullets are homing, but they are slow. Sprint in wide circles around the arena to lead them into the walls and floor. If a bullet is about to hit you, a shield can block it. Hitting them with a melee weapon also destroys them.

Minion Management

When the boss summons Desert Blazes, kill them immediately. They add ranged fire damage that makes dodging the boss's own attacks far harder. If you let minions accumulate, the arena becomes a death trap.

Attack Scaling

The 13 attack types are not all available from the start. Early in Phase 1, the boss uses simpler single-type attacks. As its health drops below ~50%, it begins chaining attacks together and using its full repertoire. The final stretch of Phase 1 (below ~25% HP) features the most complex combinations. Stay focused — this is where most failed attempts happen.

Phase 2 — Last Stand¶

When the Hovering Inferno's health is depleted in Phase 1, it does not die. Instead, it enters Phase 2 — Last Stand.

The Rules Change¶

You Cannot Deal Damage

In Phase 2, the Hovering Inferno becomes completely invulnerable. You cannot hurt it. It slowly loses health on its own over time. Your only objective is to survive until it dies.

The Attacks¶

Phase 2 has two primary mechanics:

Dual Rotating Lasers — Two beam attacks rotate continuously around the arena:
- One laser sweeps at feet level
- One laser sweeps at head level
- Crouch to dodge the head-level laser. Jump to dodge the feet-level laser. Time your crouches and jumps to let both pass over and under you.
Shulker Bullet Flood — The arena fills with shulker bullets throughout Phase 2. They come from all directions and in much higher volume than Phase 1. Constant movement is mandatory.

Survival Strategy¶

The Crouch-Jump Rhythm

The two lasers rotate at a consistent speed. Once you learn the timing, you can establish a rhythm: crouch as the head laser passes, jump as the feet laser approaches. Practice this timing — it is the core skill of Phase 2.

Slow Falling Potions

Slow Falling is extremely valuable in Phase 2. It extends your jump duration, giving you more time in the air to avoid the feet-level laser. It also makes your movement more floaty and forgiving. Keep multiple Slow Falling potions ready.

Stay Moving

Do not stand still. The shulker bullets will converge on your position. Sprint in circles around the arena's perimeter while performing the crouch-jump laser dodge. The outer edge of the arena gives you the most reaction time for incoming bullets.

Totems of Undying

Bring as many Totems as you can. Phase 2 is a war of attrition — even with perfect play, the density of shulker bullets makes taking hits nearly inevitable. A Totem in your off-hand is your safety net.

Phase 2 Duration

The boss loses health at a fixed rate during Phase 2 regardless of your actions. The phase lasts approximately 60-90 seconds, but it will feel much longer. Stay calm, maintain your rhythm, and trust the process.

Drops¶

Upon death, the Hovering Inferno drops 1 of the following 5 items (randomly selected):

Drop	Type	Description
Firestorm	Weapon	A devastating fire-based weapon
Trailblazer	Bow	A custom bow with unique enchantments and effects
Prismatic Shield	Shield	A shield with multi-element defensive properties
Necrotic Shield	Shield	A shield with undead-themed defensive abilities
Infernal Feather	Utility	A rare crafting component

Infernal Piece — Elytra Upgrade¶

Infernal Wings

In addition to one of the five random drops, surviving Phase 2 rewards you with an Infernal Piece. This item is used at a Smithing Table to upgrade a standard Elytra into Infernal Wings — an armored Elytra variant that provides defensive stats while retaining full flight capability.

This is one of the most powerful items in Incendium and the primary endgame reward for defeating the Hovering Inferno.

Farming the Boss

Since the Hovering Inferno is re-summonable, you can farm it to collect all 5 drops and additional Infernal Pieces. Each attempt costs one Nether Star, so you will need to defeat the Wither each time as well. This creates a natural endgame loop: kill Wither, obtain Nether Star, summon Hovering Inferno, collect loot, repeat.

Quick Reference¶

Stat	Value
Health	700 HP (350 hearts)
Armor	20 defense points
Location	Infernal Altar (Infernal Dunes)
Summon Cost	1 Nether Star
Re-Summonable	Yes
Phases	2 (Spell Cards + Last Stand)
Unique Attack Types	13 (Phase 1)
Drops	1 of 5 items + Infernal Piece