Alpha Crustoise

The Alpha Crustoise is a unique monster found in Lush and Primeval Forest planets, Desert, Stone, Toxic, and Volcanic moons, and in Birch Forest, Caniferous Forest, Crystalline Desert, Crystalline Swamp, Crystalline Volcanic, Deadwood, Flower Forest, and Silt Wonderland Sub-biomes.

This creature has several evolutionary advantages over it's more common relative the Crustoise. Firstly, this creature is quicker both in it's running speed and general movements, now possesses the ability to preform short, quick lunging hops toward a target. Secondly, the Alpha Crustoise is now capable of firing four needle sharp quills in rapid succession, each of which is coated in poison and may inflict the poisoned status effect. This creature is noted to have a quicker recovery time than normal Crustoise, being capable of attacking far more rapidly, and recovering from being a stun after striking a wall quicker. Lastly, upon death, the Alpha Crustoise explodes with force enough to damage or even destroy weaker blocks or those unlucky enough to be in it's vicinity a couple seconds after death. This explosion seems to originate from the shell it drops after death, acting similarly to a bomb.

While the same size as it's non-alpha counterpart, this creature is most easily identifiable at night time. The Alpha Crustoise always exhibits it's vibrant inner shell color even in the darkest of environments, being only slightly brighter than the more common Crustoise.

Luna's Lab Notes
~ Crustoise have chitinous shells whose colors change like a reverse rainbow as they age. Beginning life with a shell of pale violet, the first few years of this creatures life is as a palm sized Crustoiseling - vulnerable as it’s shell has yet to harden. The next few years the Crustoise’s shell shifts from pale violet through indigo and darker blue as it begins to harden. Eventually reaching a fluorescent green color, this is when the Crustoise begins growing more sturdy, and dangerous spines out of it’s back. At adult age, a crustoise turns a pale yellow color and begins to darken into a orangish brown color as it reaches complete maturity. Upon gaining a dark brownish orange outer shell, the outer layer of a Crustoise begins to split and soften. At this lifestage, most Crustoise begin seeking out large amounts of food to prepare to split their shell and grow a much tougher and capable outer layer. At this final lifestage, the Crustoise may spend years accumulating enough food to begins it’s transformation into an Alpha Crustoise. Only the toughest and most capable of Crustoise survive this final life transition as most are killed while their shells are weakened and they are susceptible.

~ Lastly, there is one rumored final stage in a Crustoise’s life. Of the Crustoise that become alphas, it is said that if one lives to be 300 years old, then an Alpha Crustoise sheds it’s powerful shell and grows to massive proportions over the course of a few days, at the end of which, a glistening dark crimson shell encases the now Elder Crustoise.