This article is a stub
It lacks sufficient information and needs to be expanded. You can help by adding more content.
The Deserter is a Resonant shown in exclusive gameplay footage released in August 2026, and the second Resonant to be named ahead of launch after the Dancer. It is a towering figure whose molten body looks barely held together, and the fight against it takes place inside a factory that the encounter leaves on the brink of exploding. For the wider boss class, see the Resonants page.
Quick Profile
Field | Detail |
|---|---|
Type | Resonant boss |
Class | Major boss |
Silhouette | Massive molten frame with red-hot pipes protruding from it |
Element | Fire and magma |
Arena | Factory interior |
First shown | Exclusive gameplay footage, August 2026 |
Combat Profile
The Deserter fights by turning its own arena against the player. It pours out streams of lava that pool on the factory floor and make whole stretches of ground lethal to stand on, so the fight keeps pushing Dylan out of position and forces him to re-approach from somewhere else. Alongside the lava it throws flaming projectiles at range and stabs at close quarters with the red-hot pipes jutting out of its frame.
Footage of the encounter shows the pressure ramping as the fight goes on. Early phases leave room to watch and learn the tells; later phases give less ground and demand near-constant movement. The underlying loop is unchanged from the rest of the game: melee strings with the Aberrant build the combat ability resource, an ability spend opens a window, and the window pays out in melee damage. There is no parry, so reading the wind-up and moving is the defensive layer.
Reaching the Fight
The approach shown in the footage runs through several stages before the boss appears. Dylan clears groups of Hiss outside, solves a puzzle to get the factory open, then fights more enemies on the first floor before the Deserter itself becomes the problem. The structure follows the pattern the studio has described for its zones: combat, environmental puzzle, then a set-piece encounter.
Rewards
As a Resonant, the Deserter follows the standard reward rules. Defeating a Resonant offers Dylan up to three new combat abilities, and the player picks which one to take, with the unpicked options closed off for that playthrough. New Game Plus relaxes the restriction and allows more than one ability from the same Resonant on a single build. Which specific abilities the Deserter offers has not been detailed.
Aesthetic and Framing
The Deserter reads as a body that is losing its own fight. Its mass is described as barely holding together, with heat escaping through the seams and metal driven through it. That fits the framing the game gives the whole class: Resonants are remnants of people who once held great power and have been reshaped by the force loose in Manhattan, so the visual language of each one is a person turned into a hazard. Where the Dancer is quick and light, the Deserter is slow, heavy and environmental.
Unconfirmed Details
Where the fight sits in the campaign and which zone hosts the factory.
Whether the encounter is required for story progress or optional.
Phase structure, health values and difficulty scaling.
Which combat abilities are offered on defeat.
The Deserter’s identity before it became a Resonant.
Whether the name is final; the studio has previously noted that Resonant names in pre-launch material can change.
This page will be updated as more is revealed.