Revision 5

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.

In the released game the Deserter is the Resonant of the Central zone and the game's fire Resonant. It is fought in the tunnels beneath the Patterned Factory, and defeating it offers a choice between Ignite and Inferno, two fire-themed combat abilities. Remedy's launch patch notes use the same name.

Quick Profile

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.

In the released game the quest starts at the Patterned Factory in the north of Central, where steam that looks Patterned leaks from the building's pipes, and the quest description has Dylan wonder whether it could lead him to another Resonant. The route guides describe climbs to the roof, breaks in through a boarded-up door, clears the Hiss inside and then takes an elevator down to the tunnels beneath the factory, where scorch marks lead through a corridor of flames to the arena.

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 option unavailable unless the player re-picks later at the Mural in the Gap by spending a Reset Item. New Game Plus relaxes the restriction and allows more than one ability from the same Resonant on a single build. In the released game the Deserter offers two fire abilities: Ignite, which sets the Aberrant ablaze so its hits apply Burn and extra Falter, and Inferno, a series of short-range waves of fire. Guides also list an Untapped Lighter artifact and a Reset Item among the quest's rewards.

Launch Hotfix Changes

Hotfix 1.3.3, released alongside the game on September 24, 2026, reduced the Deserter's base health and the Falter (stun) level needed to set it up for an execution. The same change applied to the Dancer and to most regular enemies. Remedy did not publish the before and after values.

The Fire Resonant

Before launch, one full-game review mentioned a giant fire Resonant whose defeat unlocks a fire enhancement for the Aberrant that raises both damage and Falter output, without naming it. That is the Deserter: it is the only Resonant whose reward choice includes Ignite, the ability that sets the Aberrant ablaze. Fire is also the Mold's weakness, which makes Ignite a useful pick before heading into The Park.

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

The following were not covered by first-party material before release and have not yet been checked against the released game:

• Whether the encounter is required for story progress. Guides list it as a prerequisite for a later main quest, while another guide treats the factory's fire abilities as side content; Remedy has said only the first and last Resonants are fixed for every playthrough.

• Phase structure and exact health values. Hotfix 1.3.3 lowered its health and Falter threshold without publishing numbers.

• Who the Deserter was before it became a Resonant. Pre-release material did not reveal it, and this page does not cover the story beyond the fight itself.

This page will be updated as more is revealed.