The Illness has Spread
However, it's rather unorthodox, lacking much information, writing, and general content.
Also, we'll need some pictures in the gallery, as well as the summary.
The Illness has Spread is the Act 5 of Alpine Skyline. It is the finale of the chapter, meaning it can only be accessed after gaining the Timepieces from each mission in Alpine Skyline. In it, Hat Kid has to destroy the source of an illness that's roaring through the Skyline, infecting the Mountain Goats - the three Flowers.
Save the Day
For this mission, the goal is to get to the three flowers found towards each of the three peaks excluding The Twilight Bell's. After following the normal path for a while, there is a divergence that forces Hat Kid to a new segment of islands that house the flower of that area. For convenience, each flower is marked with a large visual cue similarly to Heating Up Mafia Town, where the destination to the flowers are shown on the screen.
As Hat Kid steps foot onto a new island that holds a flower, it will begin to perform some basic self-defensive attacks, such as releasing large seeds which detonate on impact to the ground, acting similarly to a barrage of mortar shots that Hat Kid must avoid. To further add to the defense is the presence of Sick Goats, the after-effects of inhalation of a flower's seeds by a normal goat. They actively seek out a player that is close, flailing as they approach them, dealing damage and high knockback.
Once a flower has been uprooted, a horn blows to signify the cleansing of one of the flowers, as well as knocking out any nearby goats under the flower's influence. From there, the following flower(s) begin to update their behaviors for better self-defense. A new attack is added, a large outcropping of thorny roots and stems which erupts from the ground indicated by a circle, as well as increased frequency of seed barrages. After all the flowers have been defeated, the illness is alleviated and the Nomads award Hat Kid with a Timepiece, as it was her actions which put an end to the event.
The infection prevents the usage of ziplines that lead to non-important areas such as the Twilight Bell, or the ziplines which leads to areas like the Birdhouse, Windmill or Lava Cake proper. As such, the progression of the level is quite linear when compared to the normal Alpine Skyline formula, but the ability to attack the flowers in any order is still present.
Collectibles
The Illnes Has Spread is an act belonging to the chapter Alpine Skyline. Due to its nature of being a vast, open world, many items can be found all around. A list of every available collectibles up on Alpine Skyline can be found here
Strategy
- An icon will appear on top of every single flower that has not been cleared out. If you're struggling with finding where they are, look for the icons, as they're always visible.
- The Infected Goats could be a dangerous threat, as they're very fast. Fortunately though, they cannot reach Hat Kid if she's high up.
- With this in mind, it'd be a great idea to try and make Hat Kid get to a rooftop or similar as quickly as possible. As her mobility allows for it.
- The flower's attacks could become overwhelming quickly. To combat this, the Timestop Hat is recommended, as it makes dodging much easier, and allows Hat Kid to get to the flowers more safely.
- The Ice Hat is also recommended as an alternative, as Hat Kid will get 2 invincibility hits in her ice statue form.
- Using the Timestop Hat, the Fast Hatter Badge is highly recommended, as it greatly reduces the Hat's long recharge time.
- If Hat Kid fell from a relatively high height, she'll flinch. This is not ideal, especially under the flowers' barrage and the Infected Goats.
- To counter this problem, you can equip Hat Kid with the Hover Badge, as it nullifies any flinching, allowing Hat Kid to continuously move forward.
Music
- Alpine Skyline at Night - An orchestral track, utilizing a lot of the Theremin, which will play from the start to end of the mission.
- Being a Boss Theme of A Hat in Time, this track contains the Boss Leitmotif.
Diary Entry
After each mission, Hat Kid will express her thoughts into her diary, which can be found inside her pillow fort.
What the heck was all that about? Those nasty plants flowered and infected the big goats or something?
All I know is they got REAL angry and things got REAL stormy and it was a bad time for everyone.
Achievements
Below is the list of achievements related to this act, a guide to any achievements can be found by clicking on its name.
Unique Achievements will have a border around their names.
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Alpine Skyline - All Clear! | Collect every Time Piece in Alpine Skyline! |
|
Personally, I prefer the Air | Do 5 homing attacks in a row, without touching the ground! |
Gallery
Trivia
- None of the Nomads in this misson will have a special reaction, nor dialogue to the apocalypse happening around them.
- The infected ropes is used in the various Death Wish challenges revolving around Alpine Skyline.
- Despite its unorthodox methods of attacking compared to others in the category, the flowers are counted towards the Bosses counter of the Camera Tourist Death Wish Candle.
- The thorny outcrop attack gained by flowers are very similar to the various attacks used by The Snatcher, down to the circular indicator and sound effects.
- They are also very similar looking to the plants found in Subcon Forest.
- The theme for this mission - Alpine Skyline at Night, is reused in Rock the Boat.
- This makes a lot of sense, as both missions are about Hat Kid saving everyone from the disaster she's caused herself.