Malignus has four selectable Boss monsters: the Cinder Demon, Dread Lich, Baleful Eye and Sunken Horror. You choose one at the start of a new dungeon, and its abilities grow with the treasure you bring home.
The Baleful Eye and Dread Lich have the most published information: a full stat block, visible abilities or upgrade names, and official UI screenshots. The Cinder Demon has strong official combat footage but no published upgrade names. The Sunken Horror is the least documented of the four.
These are press-kit build numbers
The stats below come from the official press kit's New Dungeon screenshot, captured during development. Balance can change before or during Early Access. We update this page when Mossbomb publishes new data; we do not treat a screenshot as a permanent tier list.
Side-by-side comparison
| Boss | Listed stats | Known abilities / upgrades | Best for (editorial) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinder Demon Front-line fire bruiser | Battle 10 · Cruelty 6 · Hunt 5 One stat not shown in the public screen | Flaming Steps, Ring of fire, Death blast; upgrade names unpublished | Players who want a direct, battle-heavy boss and a fire-themed throne room. |
| Dread Lich Occult summoner | Battle 5 · Hunt 5 · Occult 10 · Cruelty 8 | Souls, Bound skeletons, Necrotic Aura; eight named upgrade nodes | Players who want a caster/summoner boss and a lore-heavy dungeon. |
| Baleful Eye Ranged area controller | Battle 6 · Hunt 10 · Occult 8 · Cruelty 8 | Corrosive Bite, Annihilation Ray, Corrosive; upgrade names unpublished | Players who want a ranged boss with a visible cooldown to plan around. |
| Sunken Horror Area denial horror | Cruelty 10 · Occult 8 · Battle 7 One stat not shown in the public screen | Dread aura, Tentacles, Hoard scaling; upgrade names unpublished | Players who want an area-control horror and are comfortable waiting for the full kit. |
Levels, treasure and upgrade points
Boss power is tied to the hoard. The official Baleful Eye boss-select screen states that each Boss reaches level 2 at 5 treasure and level 5 at 30 treasure, and gains 2 upgrade points per level. The Dread Lich's level-5 panel says “Your Boss is at the maximum level.”
5
Treasure to level 2
30
Treasure to level 5
2
Upgrade points per level
This is a “raid first, defend second” incentive: stealing treasure makes the Boss stronger, but the same hoard attracts larger invasions. The exact interaction between treasure spent, treasure stored and Boss level is not fully documented.
Boss profiles
Cinder Demon
The blade that leaves the floor burning
The Cinder Demon is one of Malignus's four selectable Boss monsters and the most direct of the group in official media. Its published stat line leans toward Battle, and the screenshots show it fighting inside a ring of fire, setting a burning trail across the throne hall.
Dread Lich
Souls, skeletons and a phylactery
The Dread Lich is the occult specialist among Malignus's four bosses. Its official UI shows Occult 10, a soul counter, bound skeletons and an eight-node upgrade tree that includes Deep Reservoir, Necrotic Aura and Phylactery.
Baleful Eye
A flying artillery piece with an eye for treasure
The Baleful Eye is the boss with the clearest published ability list. The official New Dungeon screen shows its full stats, a 15-second Annihilation Ray and two always-on traits: Corrosive and Flight.
Sunken Horror
Dread aura and tentacles in the dark
The Sunken Horror is the most visually distinct of Malignus's four bosses and the least documented. Official media shows a tentacled boss spreading a dread aura in its sanctum, but the public kit does not publish an ability list or upgrade names.
How to choose a boss
The listed stats are the best public signal, but they are not a tier list. A Battle 10 boss is not automatically better than an Occult 10 boss; they push you toward different dungeon plans. Read the stat spread as a design direction:
- Battle: the Boss's direct combat weight. Cinder Demon leads the published Battle values at 10.
- Occult: the Dread Lich's standout at 10, and the Baleful Eye's 8. The public material does not state exactly how Boss Occult interacts with your spellcasters and lore production.
- Hunt: the Baleful Eye leads at 10. What a Boss uses Hunt for in practice is not documented; do not assume it is a ranged accuracy stat.
- Cruelty: the Sunken Horror leads at 10. Minion Cruelty governs overseeing, wrangling and torture; a boss Cruelty stat may or may not interact with those jobs.
For a first run, pick the fantasy you want to build around: a fire bruiser, a soul-summoning lich, a flying artillery eye or a tentacled area-control horror. Then use the beginner's guide to put the supporting systems in place.
Sources
Sources for this page
- 01Malignus press kit and fact sheet — Mossbomb
Fact sheet, development history, feature list, character and creature art, screenshot captions, and permission for press and content creators to use the kit's media in coverage of Malignus.
- 02Official Malignus interface screenshots — Mossbomb
The press kit's 'Screenshots with the interface' set documents the New Dungeon flow, boss select, minion stats, duties, grumbles, behavior settings, trap build menu, wiring, Dark Arts, boss upgrades, prisoners, altar and overworld map. Used for observations that are not spelled out in the store copy.
- 03Mossbomb — the studio making Malignus — Mossbomb
Developer site. Confirms the November 13, 2026 Early Access date, $19.99 Early Access price, $29.99 planned 1.0 price, monthly updates, demo status, platforms, co-op and headline features.
- 04Malignus on Steam — Valve / Mossbomb
Store description, Early Access Q&A, tags, supported languages, features, system requirements and the storefront's November 12, 2026 date display.
Accessed 1 November 2026. Full source log and verification notes: Malignus Wiki sources.