Devourer of Light

Version 0.10.3, by SkyLiN3. A separate boss content mod for How to Fish, powered by BossMakerAPI. Install both the API and this mod to add the encounter.

Devourer of Light replaces an eligible Anglerfish catch with an 18,000-base-HP miniboss: four phases, telegraphed attacks, bounded charges, native sea-creature support and the game's original boss bar. It reuses the installed Anglerfish mesh, animations, AI, physics, hitboxes and drops. No game assets or assemblies are redistributed.

Requirements and installation

• BepInExPack 5.4.2305.
• BossMakerAPI 0.10.3 and this content mod at the same version on every peer.
• The exact audited How to Fish 1.0.12 build (25127368) is the primary target; 1.0.11 (25065888) is the secondary reference target. General API recognition of 1.0.10 is not approval for this encounter's newer rod/surface hooks.
• The host's declared gameplay settings apply temporarily to clients; their local CFG files remain unchanged. Opted-in menu edits apply to future bosses; existing encounters retain their captured balance.

Use a Thunderstore-compatible mod manager to install this package and its dependencies: BepInEx-BepInExPack-5.4.2305 and SkyLiN3-BossMakerAPI-0.10.3. For manual installation, close the game, install the loader and API first, then copy this package's BepInEx folder into the game directory containing the game executable. Back up your mod profile and worlds before upgrading.

The installed files are BepInEx/plugins/SkyLiN3.DevourerOfLight/SkyLiN3.DevourerOfLight.dll and its adjacent SkyLiN3.DevourerOfLight.xml.

When upgrading an earlier test installation:

1. Close the game and back up your profile and worlds.
2. Move the old BepInEx/plugins/SkyLiN3.ElDevoraluz folder, or any loose SkyLiN3.ElDevoraluz.dll and its XML file, outside the entire BepInEx directory. Do the same for an obsolete BossMakerAPI.DevourerExample installation if present. Keep these copies as backups, not active plugins.
3. Install the new SkyLiN3.DevourerOfLight folder. Keep only one Devourer plugin.
4. Leave BepInEx/config/com.skylin3.howtofish.devoraluz.cfg and your saves intact. Update every multiplayer peer to the same new files before joining.

The old Spanish DLL name is legacy only. Renaming the assembly, DLL/XML and plugin folder changes no gameplay, balance or boss definition. The stable plugin GUID, CFG filename and boss/action IDs deliberately remain unchanged; this packaging cleanup does not add a saved-definition migration or repair historical mismatches described below.

Since 0.10.0 the mod uses the English public name Devourer of Light and migrates old ability-damage CFG keys to English with a backup; existing English keys win. Stable boss/action IDs, the plugin GUID and CFG filename are retained. Labels are part of the canonical manifest: rebuild and update every peer together. The same displayed version on an older candidate DLL is not enough to establish identical content. The 0.10.1 menu patch preserves 0.10.0 gameplay definitions, defaults and technical setting bounds; it introduces no additional saved-definition identity change.

How to summon it

Catch an Anglerfish with any rod and bait the vanilla game accepts. Each distinct, server-confirmed eligible catch rolls the configured chance: 12% by default, with no trigger cooldown or session activation cap.

The API looks for safe surface entry 8–12 m from the rod. It accounts for the scaled body, nearby terrain/boats and the native relocation check. On successful replacement, the owner's rod returns through the supported native routine; the boss does not wait at the original deep hook point. Rod return is attempted after replacement commits; a delayed or failed delivery does not undo the live boss or restore the consumed fish.

An occupied native boss slot, rejected compatibility gate or unsafe spawn can still prevent replacement, even at 100%. The original fish is preserved or restored when the transaction fails. Finish the existing encounter to free the global slot; the next distinct catch rolls normally. Dropping/re-hooking the same catch does not grant extra rolls, and failed rolls do not accumulate a guaranteed future spawn.

Configuration

Launch once to generate BepInEx/config/com.skylin3.howtofish.devoraluz.cfg:

[Encounter]
SpawnChancePercent = 12

The range is 0–100: zero disables catch activation; 100 forces the probability check to pass for testing, without bypassing other safety checks. Existing CFG files retain saved values, including an old 30% or 100% test setting. No local CFG is copied into the package.

The CFG also exposes base health, contact damage, ability-damage scaling and ten per-ability damage overrides. Movement, dash forces and timing are not exposed CFG settings. Read the English descriptions beside each entry. All 14 settings are declared for session-only host authority. A 100% host and 12% client can negotiate the host's effective chance without copying CFG files. Validated host edits now affect future catches and new bosses without restarting. Existing encounters keep their captured balance, even for late-joining players. Changes may briefly queue while a peer is joining. The API's included BepInEx/plugins/BossMakerAPI/docs/DEVORALUZ_CONFIGURATION.md lists keys, defaults, ranges and how multipliers combine. Other docs/ references below use that same installed API documentation folder.

Optional in-game settings

Install evansvl-ModMenu-0.3.6 separately to use its main-menu/pause-screen Mod Settings entry. Standard BepInEx controls discover this mod automatically; no hard menu dependency or third-party DLL is included here. Client controls show local preferences, not necessarily the effective host values. Check the log for update status. The 0.10.3 controls can be operated with the mouse:

Valid legacy values outside the UI range or step remain unchanged when loaded. For an old value absent from the choice list, the first explicit arrow click may jump to its first or last choice, not the nearest value. Verify your selection. Manual CFG editing retains the full technical range; multiplier text must use a decimal point. Narrower menu controls do not change host/save compatibility.

The menu author's page declares game 1.0.5. Its game member references were checked against 1.0.12, but complete opening/input/rendering verification on that build is not yet recorded. The boss also works without the menu. See the API's docs/MODMENU.md.

API startup-only options are separate in BepInEx/config/com.skylin3.howtofish.bossmakerapi.advanced.cfg and require a restart. The API's generic F8 listener is retired; summon this encounter through eligible Anglerfish catches. Voltfin's separate testing shortcut belongs to that tutorial mod, not this boss or the API.

Fight overview

Default base stats: 18,000 HP, contact damage ×1.35, scale ×2.1, mass ×1.6 and native corpse value ×5. Session difficulty can increase final health. Charges are bounded by travel distance, stopping margin and braking.

Earlier phase gates require minimum time and their signature ability, with a maximum failsafe and one phase crossed per hit. Blackout no longer prevents defeat: a lethal final-phase hit does not wait for its timer or signature. Supported hit/kill notifications wait for the server-confirmed accepted hit and actual death; they do not apply damage again or predict a kill before the boss dies. Poison-themed fields use periodic area damage, not a general poison status-effect system.

Support creatures use the English display labels Devourer Spine (Sea Urchin), Devourer Bolt (Eel) and Devourer Venom Anchor (Stonefish).

Telegraphs use lines, cones, fills, trails and layered effects. Gameplay, phase transitions and rewards are server-authoritative. Contact grace lasts 3.5 s after entry; it does not disable every damage source or make players immune.

The encounter uses the native miniboss bar and 900-second timer. UI mods that patch that original bar may also affect this encounter, but arbitrary UI-mod compatibility is not guaranteed.

An optional hook/stagger definition is present for integrators. Ordinary catch replacement and rod return do not hook the living boss: the stagger mechanic needs a separate server-side mod authenticating a real live-boss hook.

Rewards and corpse limitations

Native Anglerfish drops are preserved. Only the boss corpse receives the ×5 value factor; support creatures do not. A neutral base worth of 1,500 becomes 7,500 before native weight, cooking, casino, score/dynamite and rounding factors. This is not a guaranteed final sale price or an extra money/drop reward.

The runtime preserves scale during same-session pickup/drop. Devourer of Light 0.10.3 also opts into the API's supported corpse and living-encounter persistence. Matching content is required; casts in progress are cancelled, not replayed, and restored native value is not multiplied again. Native world-item eligibility and the 64-item cap remain. Re-saving without the API can discard its metadata. Read the API's docs/PERSISTENCE.md. Save/load and multiplayer were reported working by the user on 2026-09-21; Steam Cloud and every restore edge case are not covered by that report. Keep world backups.

The earlier 0.10.0 English rename changed canonical display data. A historical saved boss with a different definition digest is retained as unresolved data, not automatically migrated. Use a backed-up test world for this upgrade. New specimens retain their captured numeric settings so later balance edits do not retune saved encounters. The 0.10.1 menu changes preserve the 0.10.0 definitions and declared bounds. The 0.10.3 final-phase adjustment does change the main boss's definition fingerprint. Back up worlds and retain the previous kit; old mismatched boss records are not automatically migrated. A normal version update does not repair an incompatible historical boss record.

Troubleshooting and validation

• No spawn: verify Anglerfish identity, configured chance, a free native boss slot, accepted manifest and safe surface space. Look for the rejection code.
• Peer rejected: match API/content DLLs and assets, then inspect the setting-schema or effective-manifest diagnostic. Different local declared balance alone should not reject a peer. Do not disable compatibility checks.
• Unexpected health: check server difficulty as well as the boss CFG.
• Deep/blocked entry: keep the placement diagnostic, location and nearby island/boat context. Recovery is bounded assistance, not pathfinding or a guarantee that every shoreline has a safe candidate.
• Missing bar: inspect the native boss lifecycle and whether another boss owns the global slot.

Version 0.10.3 compiles with the API on both audited game references without warnings/errors; each managed regression suite passes 444/444 checks. On 2026-09-21, the user reported successful combat, multiplayer and save/load testing with 0.10.3. This is user-reported acceptance; individual late-join/reconnect paths, broader coastal placement, first-attack frame timing, menu interaction, all reward/restore edge cases and Steam Cloud are not exhaustively covered by that report. This is a 0.x beta; automated checks do not certify every native game scenario. Include game/build, host/client role, mod versions, relevant CFG and a sanitized BepInEx/LogOutput.log when reporting a problem. Do not include credentials or unnecessary personal paths.

Development used AI-assisted tools. Original code depends on the player's installation for native assets; no game artwork, audio or binaries are bundled.