This rat-creature never sought the Gungeon for its treasures, but instead found himself cast here upon the tides of fate.
Born in the hold of a trading vessel, he was forced to steal for his family's survival, until a great tragedy befell his mischief.
When next the ship docked, he escaped and found himself alone on this planet. Here he wandered, until finally coming upon the Gungeon.
Stuck in its time loop, he made a nest and a name for himself while training daily. His martial prowess is undeniable, and in truth he likely possesses the skill to reach the Gun.
During his trials, however, he found his calling: being an ass to Gungeoneers. The Gun interests him not; in his eyes, he has no regrets, for he is King.
Alt Ammonomicon Entry
(If the player has only defeated his first phase)
This dashing thief is respected and feared throughout the galaxy, as the most accomplished and wealthy adventurer in the universe, and also the true High King of the Gungeon.
His moniker refers to both his cunning and to his near limitless resources, which he earned through countless successful attempts at conquering the Gungeon, though he has no regrets to slay.
So mighty is he that pilgrims travel from across the stars to leave offerings to his glory, increasing the magnificence of his great hoard.
Many have tried to best him in combat, and all have failed.
Drunkard Dialogue: "Did you visit an old friend, deep beneath the mines?
That bothersome rat... He took much from you, I see. Did you repay him in kind? ...I must admit, few will shed a tear for him."
This article is about the Resourceful Rat's boss form. For the Resourceful Rat's NPC form, see Resourceful Rat.
Resourceful Rat is a boss added in the Advanced Gungeons & Draguns Update, found at the end of the maze in the Resourceful Rat's Lair. He is an exceptionally difficult boss, consisting of three different phases, with phase two being a mech he created out of all the items and guns he has stolen.
Upon entering the Rats bossroom, the rat will be found seated upon a throne of stolen items. After briefly speaking to the player, he will descend from his seat and begin the fight. Randomly throughout the battle, the grates in the corners of the arena will spew circles of poison goop.
Description Throws stationary mousetraps around the arena which will damage the player when stepped on. Tips These traps are considered projectiles until they land, and as such can be harmlessly destroyed by the swing of Blasphemy or impacting a Guon Stone. Using a Blank will trigger the mousetraps, setting them off prematurely and harmlessly even after they've landed.
Description Fires two clockwise spirals of cheese outwards, starting facing south and making a full 360 degree turn. Tips This attack is easiest to dodge while standing below the rat, as the player can walk right to avoid the beginning of the spiral, and left to avoid the end.
Description Stands in the center of the room and summons three waves of cheese slices that travel from the edges of the room towards him, combining them into a large cheese wheel above his head, then bursts the cheese wheel, sending another burst of cheese outwards. Tips This is always the first attack used by the Rat. If the large cheese wheel is destroyed after coalescing (for instance with the use of Blasphemy or Casey) it will not be able to split into any projectiles.
Description Fires several waves of extremely fast-moving kunai towards the player with small gaps in between. Tips The path of kunai are telegraphed by red lines on the ground. This attack is easiest to dodge by standing completely still in a safe position between the telegraphed paths of travel.
Description Summons a long whip of bullets spanning the entire room and spins it several times. After several rotations, the whip splits into individual bullets which travel loosely along their last trajectory. Tips This attack requiresdodge rolling.
After the first phase is defeated, a hole will appear in the center of the arena in which the Resourceful Rat will retreat to. The player must fall down the hole after him to reach the second phase.
Phase 2
In this phase, the Resourceful Rat pilots a stationary mech and has a new set of attacks. The two weapon systems on the mech's shoulders can be damaged and destroyed, exchanging some of its attacks for different, easier ones.
Description Fires a single laser from its cockpit, sweeping it across the room in an arc. The laser can travel left to right, or right to left, and leaves a trail of fire goop at its end. Tips This attack can be easily dodged by rolling through the laser, however the fire it leaves may complicate future attacks.
Description Fills the room with two rotating rings of smaller circles, the inner one moving counter-clockwise while the outer ring moves clockwise. The space between these smaller circles is filled with bullets. If the player stands within one of these circles, the ring will periodically close in around them. Tips If the player enters a circle at the top-right of the room, by the time they reach the top left of the room, the attack will end. The ring closing in can be easily avoiding by dodge rolling within the circle.
Description Fires a barrage of missiles from its 'ears' that curve towards the player. These missiles burst into more bullets upon hitting a wall. Tips The Rat cannot use this attack if the player has destroyed the drum clip of the mech. If this attack is particularly difficult for the player, they should endeavor to destroy the drum quickly.
Description Creates a cluster of bullets in the shape of a crosshair which slowly follows the player. This crosshair rotates and moves very close to the player, forcing them to dodge roll while running away to avoid its sweeping arms. After a few moments, the crosshair will slow to a halt, and a large bullet will fall in from the sky- bursting into a large ring of many bullets that travel outwards. This impact destroys the crosshair. Tips The expanding bullet ring is the easiest part of this attack to dodge, as it can be rolled right through. The crosshair, however, can be extremely difficult due to how closely it follows the player. The player should endeavor to run from the crosshair in as straight a line as possible, while rolling in time with the spinning arms. Any significant turns while fleeing may give the crosshair a chance to catch up and deal damage.
The Rat cannot use this attack if the player has destroyed the 'tailgun' cannon on the back of the mech. If this attack is particularly difficult for the player, they should endeavor to destroy the tailgun quickly.
Description Spawns a large crowd of Mousers around the edges of the boss-room, which run towards the player and attempt to deal contact damage. These mousers will linger until they are killed. Tips Mousers have extremely low health, and can be killed in a single shot by most guns, by a Blank, or with the damage from a dodge roll. While not dangerous on their own, this crowd of mousers should be dealt with quickly, as they can linger indefinitely and interfere with the precise dodging needed for other attacks.
Description Jumps up and down, releasing three elliptical waves of bullets which travel outwards with a short delay in between. Tips This attack is easiest to dodge by standing below the mech, and rolling left and right. Rolling straight through the waves is not advised, as the player will likely hit a subsequent wave upon landing.
Description Fires four blinking lasers from its cockpit that target the ground near the player, idly drifting back and forth around their position. These lasers do not deal damage to the player directly, instead leaving trails of fire goop at their ends. Additionally, these lasers will periodically generate a single bullet at their end which hangs in the air for a moment, before lazily launching at the player. Tips While the lasers themselves are not harmful, the end of the beams should still be avoided, as a projectile could spawn at any time. Additionally the lasers add a level of visual noise to the attack that can make it difficult to spot projectiles. The fire generated by these lasers will linger into the next attack, potentially making it more difficult to dodge.
Description Scrapes the ground in front of it with its right foot, leaving a red scar. This mark will dissolve from the end back, firing walls of bullets towards the player. These walls are irregularly ordered with a gap in between. Tips The Rat will only use this attack if either the drum clip or tailgun of the mech has been destroyed. If the player finds this attack particularly difficult, they should avoid destroying either weapon. This attack can be weaved through using the gaps between the bullet walls, however these gaps sometimes fail to line up neatly, potentially making this attack far more difficult.
Description Stomps its left or right foot, sending a wave of bullets horizontally that fills the area to the left or right of the mech. These bullets slow to a halt, and drift gently- disappearing after a few moments. Tips The Rat will only use this attack if the player is standing horizontally to the mech, either the left or right. This attack is not necessarily difficult, but it makes the upper left and right of the boss-room dangerous places to linger. It is easiest to avoid by simply remaining in the lower half of the boss-room, preventing it from triggering.
Phase 3
In this phase, the player faces the Resourceful Rat in a game of Punch-Out!!. The Resourceful Rat will drop various pickups, items, and guns whenever successfully hit, which can be picked up after the fight. The Resourceful Rat has three health bars of increasing difficulty that must be depleted in order to defeat him. If the players healthbar is depleted, or the timer on the mech reaches zero, the fight will end. The player will not die if they are defeated in the Punch Out, however being knocked down by the Rat will prevent the player from beating further loot out of him.
Some attacks have frame windows where punching the Rat will parry his current attack, cancelling it, earning the player a star, and usually stunning the Rat. Most parry windows are indicated by the Rat flashing yellow for a brief moment. The stars earned from successfully parrying one of the Rats attacks can be used to perform super punches, which do a considerable amount of damage, and earn the player greater rewards.
Each 'sub phase' of the Punch Out uses a different set of attacks. See the below attack organizer for specifics on how each attack functions, and how to avoid or parry each one.
Sub-phase 1 can Taunt, Punch, and Uppercut.
Sub-phase 2 can Combo, Lunge, Tail-whip, and Heal.
Sub-phase 3 can Combo, Lunge, Tail-whip, Heal, Brass Knuckles, Pirouette, and Ammo Toss.
Description The rat does not make any attempt to attack the player while taunting, and as such no action is required to dodge. The taunt does however have an optional parry window- which earns the player a free star.
Using a super punch with at least two stars or more during a taunt will deal maximum damage, and skip to the next phase.
Description A regular punch, indicated by the rat drawing back his arm. The rat will either punch to the left or right. This attack can be dodged by ducking, side-stepping, or blocking, and has a parry window near the end of the telegraph. Parrying the attack will cancel the punch, temporarily stun the rat, and earn a star. In order to dodge the punch by side-stepping, the player must be sure to side-step towards the Rat's readying fist, for instance if the Rat punches to the left (using his right arm, from the players perspective), the player must step right. Side-stepping the wrong direction will guarantee the player takes damage.
Description An uppercut punch, indicated by the rat crouching slightly and angling either his left or right fist upwards. This attack can be dodged by ducking, side-stepping, or blocking, but unlike a regular punch cannot be parried. In order to dodge the punch by side-stepping, the player must be sure to side-step away from the Rats raised arm, opposite to the way they might dodge a regular punch. Side-stepping the wrong direction will guarantee the player takes damage.
Description A rapid-fire combo of punches, consisting of three regular punches in a row from alternating fists, and ending in an uppercut. Each individual punch can be dodged like its standalone version, and the player must chain appropriate dodges to avoid the attack, including ducking, side-stepping, and blocking. Each regular punch in the combo also has a parry window. Parrying the punch will stop the punch, end the combo prematurely, temporarily stun the rat, and earn a star.
Description The Rat leaps to the back of the mech, out of attack range, and winds up for a devastating lunging tail-whip attack. This whip must either be ducked under or parried, with the parry window appearing at the end of the wind-up and start of the lunge. The window for this parry is slightly wider than the tell implies. Parrying this attack will cancel the lunge, temporarily stun the rat, and earn a star.
Description The Rat spins around, smacking the player with his tail. This attack must be blocked or parried, with a parry window at the very start of the spin maneuver. Unlike all other parry windows, this parry opportunity is not indicated by a yellow flash, and does not give the player a star. It does still cancel the tail whip, and briefly stun the rat. If the player uses a super punch during this attack, it will deal maximum damage, and skip to the next phase immediately.
Description The rat pulls out a piece of cheese, shoving it into his mouth to heal a large amount of health. The Rat can only use this move twice per phase, and only if he is missing health. No action is required to dodge this maneuver, however there is a very brief window to parry the cheese, on the exact frame of the rat stuffing it into his mouth. Parrying this heal will cancel it, preventing the rat from healing, and earning the player a star. If the player parries too early, the rat will retaliate with a small punch of his own, dealing a small amount of damage and briefly stunning the player. If the player parries too late, it will have no effect. The retaliatory smack from an early parry does not reset the players star count.
Description Winds up a powerful brass-knuckle punch with three swings of his arm, before striking. This attack has a parry opportunity at the end of the third arm rotation, and otherwise has no other way to avoid taking damage. Parrying this attack cancels the punch, stuns the rat briefly, and grants the player a star.
Description Pirouettes in place, spinning around and whipping the player with his tail repeatedly. The rat makes four rotations, slapping the player four times in a row. Each one of these tail smacks must be blocked independently. If the player blocks all four tail slaps, the rat will become dizzy, and be briefly stunned. This attack has a parry window at the very beginning of the spin. Parrying this attack will cancel all four tail slaps, briefly stun the rat, and earn the player a star.
Description The Rat leaps to the back of the mech, positioning himself at the back left or right corner. He may jump back and forth between the two back corners before settling on a position, and lobbing an ammo box at the player. This ammo box must be ducked under, or side-stepped opposite to its direction of travel. Punching the ammo box behaves like a parry, sending the box back at the rat and dealing damage. Unlike a normal parry, this is not indicated with a yellow flash, does not stun the rat, and does not earn a star. Parrying the Ammo Box cannot kill the Rat, as it will always leave him with a tiny amount of health.
Description The Rat takes a swing at the player with Casey, which must either be ducked or blocked. The Rat will only use this attack immediately after the player ends phase 1 or 2 of the Punch Out with a super punch.
The rat can be hit with left or right punches from the player during openings in his attacks, usually directly after a parry or dodge, or whenever he lets his guard down. Punching the rat while his guard is up will cause him to block, and will not deal damage. Spamming punches while the Rat is blocking will exhaust the player, leaving them slow and vulnerable.
After landing a hit on the Rat, the player can usually land three or four more as the Rat is taken by surprise. Alternating between left and right punches allows the player to land more hits before the Rat regains his footing and goes on the defensive.
In co-op mode, the Cultist is unable to participate in the Punch-Out, appearing tied up and helpless on the mech.
Rewards
The rewards of the Resourceful Rat's boss-fight are attained entirely during the Punch Out phase, beaten out of the rat with sequential punches.
Items and Guns
He will drop;
A tier gun or item at the end of sub-phase 1.
A tier gun or item at the end of sub-phase 2.
An or tier gun or item at the end of all three phases.[1]
A , , or tier item, gun, or pickup after being punched 5-8 times at the start of the fight.[2]
An tier gun or item when hit with a super punch for the first time.
Rat Keys
Up to six Rat Keys can be attained by performing various feats throughout the Punch-Out fight. These special keys are required to open the Rat Chests in the room after the boss-fight, and other special locked doors. There are six total keys, and seven locks which require them, meaning that even with perfect performance, other methods such as the Trusty Lockpicks are required to open all rat locks.
One key is earned by punching the Rat for the first time.
Each phase of the Rat will drop an extra key if it is finished off using a super punch, potentially rewarding 3 extra keys.
One key is earned by defeating all three phases of the Punch-Out, winning the fight.
A sixth, extra key will be dropped by the Rat upon defeat if all three phases of the Punch-Out were defeated using a 3-star super punch.
Notes
Items and guns dropped by the Rat will not be taken by Bowler in Rainbow Mode.
The Rat will not drop more than 3 Glass Guon Stones during the Punch-Out. Any reward drops which would be a Glass Guon Stone past the 3 stone limit are replaced by a Half Heart.
An old, unused version of the Resourceful Rat bossfight existed in the games files since release, long before it was officially implemented in the Advanced Gungeons & Draguns Update. This version of the Rat included a different boss splash screen portrait, different boss behaviours, and a different bossroom layout.
The unused rat will chase the player around the room, rapidly firing small pellet-like bullets at the player with no breaks to reload. Shooting at this version of the rat will prompt him to dodge roll in a seemingly arbitrary direction, briefly interrupting his attack, but not actually rendering him immune to damage. Periodically, he may also perform a shadowy dash which moves him a set distance in a seemingly random direction. He has no other attacks, but a great amount of health.
Its boss-room is a long vertical hall, separated into three distinct chambers. The fight always starts in the lower section, which contains no special hazards.
After one third of the Rats health is depleted he will retreat into the second section, which is bordered by a pit.
After two thirds of the Rats health is depleted he will retreat into the third section, which contains flame and spike traps in the corners.
This iteration of the Rat has a different Ammonomicon Entry, which read as follows:
This mysterious Gungeon menace styles himself "The Resourceful Rat," and is surely the biggest annoyance the Gungeon has ever seen.
Living for the spite of Gungeoneers, and thriving by stealing their loot, this rat has accumulated a hoard of Gungeon artifacts.
Having made a home for himself below the Oubliette, the Resourceful Rat utilized the Gungeon's ever changing layout to construct a maze to frustrate Gungeoneers seeking vengeance.
As mentioned in the above description, the original Resourceful Rat fight was accessed from a floor below the Oubliette rather than the Black Powder Mine.
This old rat iteration was a first pass over the boss behaviour, and never intended to be the final version- thus why it was fully overhauled in the final release.[3]
Defeating the Resourceful Rat in punch out unlocks a golden boxing glove trophy in The Breach.
If the player dies to the Resourceful Rat, the Ammonomicon page showing their death stats will be vandalised by the Rat, with drawings depicting the Rat, cheese, knives, bombs, and a fat head presumably to represent the Gungeoneer. In addition, instead of correctly stating that the player was killed by the Resourceful Rat, the death page will instead list one of a handful of unique messages either glorifying the rat or insulting the player. These options are;
"Your very slow reflexes"
"Your sad lack of skill"
"Your head not being in the game"
"Your lack of commitment"
"Your misplaced ambition"
"Your hubris"
"Your pride"
"The Handsomest King"
"High Lord Gungeon"
"Someone better than you"
"The Richest Rat"
The death message "Your very slow reflexes" is a reference to the message death message "Your own slow reflexes", which is used as a fallback for any death that the game cannot attribute to an existing source, such as dying to a projectile from an enemy which has already died.
If the player defeats the first phase of the Resourceful Rat, they will unlock his Ammonomicon entry- however it will be an incorrect entry, written in the Rats own self-glorifying words. In order to unlock the true Ammonomicon entry of the Resourceful Rat, the player must defeat the second phase.
If the player defeats the Rat in all three rounds of Punch-Out, the Rat will give a speech detailing his backstory before dying. His dead body can then be kicked around.
If kicked down the hole in the center of the room, his body will appear in the treasure room after the boss, where it can then be kicked all the way to the Baby Dragun, who will eat it.
Use of the Super Hot Watch can allow massive amounts of momentum to be build up on the corpse, causing it to ricochet around the room uncontrollably.
Successfully defeating the rat in all three rounds of Punch-Out will make the Rat unable to steal from the player for the rest of the run, even without the Resourceful Indeed synergy.
If the player is defeated during the punch out, the rat will leave behind a mocking note before disappearing. The possible notes include;
"You made it through two rounds, but you couldn't go the distance. Have a consolation prize, Random Insult! -R.R."
"What a shame, Character Nickname! Maybe you'll get me next time, but you probably won't. -R.R."
"Nothing without your guns, are you, Character Nickname? Try again. -R.R."
Unlike most bosses, if one player is dead in co-op mode, defeating the Resourceful Rat will not revive them.
Bug - During rounds 2 and 3 of the Punch out, if the player attempts to punch the rat while he is attempting to eat cheese, he will retaliate, hitting them back. If this attack kills the player, the fight will glitch, restoring the players health and forcing the rest of the fight into slow motion.
Bug - The Rat's face card sprites during the Punch-Out!! phase bear compression artifacting and degraded visual quality not present in other sprites.
Trivia
The mech piloted by the Resourceful Rat in the second phase of his boss fight is modeled after Metal Gear REX from Metal Gear Solid. In that game, the protagonist Solid Snake battles his twin Liquid Snake while the latter is piloting Metal Gear REX and the two have a fist fight on top of it afterwards, much like the Punch-Out!! duel in the final phase.
The Rat's mech is referred to as 'Metal Gear RAT' in the game files.
The Punch-Out!! duel is referred to as 'Liquid Punch-Out' in the game files.
The Rat telling his backstory while lying on the ground before dying is likely a reference to Metal Gear bosses having a tendency to tell their story to the player before dying.
The ending sentence where the Resourceful Rat requests that you remove your mask to see your face with his own eyes is likely a reference to the death of Darth Vader from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, as well as being an insult towards the players appearance.
The boss splash screen subtitle "MASTER THIEF" may be a reference to the character Master Chief from Halo.
Gallery
Note that the compression artifacting present in the Rats Punch-Out!! face cards is an issue with the raw sprites in Enter the Gungeons files. Higher quality versions of these sprites do not exist, or are unavailable.
The death page of the Ammonomicon having been vandalised by the Rat
Blasphemy or impacting a Guon Stone. Using a 
Blank will trigger the mousetraps, setting them off prematurely and harmlessly even after they've landed.
