The roles of Plague Minions are greatly expanded in Plague of Shadows. They serve Plague Knight, aiding him in the quest for the Ultimate Potion. They often give gameplay hints, though they are quite goofy and somewhat incompetent. Comically, Plague Knight can blow them up in the Potionarium and other places where they can be spoken to. They are also present at the Armor Outpost after Plague Knight takes it over.
Plague Knight can potentially recruit Baz after defeating him under the rank of a Plague Minion, in which case he will appear in the Potionarium after donning a modified set of their standard attire.
Despite still serving Plague Knight, the Plague Minions and every other enemy found within the Explodatorium, are hostile towards him, having seemingly gone on a strike before being put back into line by the alchemist.
In King of Cards, a bespectacled Plague Minion can be met at the Crag of Joustus having sent here in order to track down an elusive creature known as Oolong.
Pocket Dungeon[]
In the Puzzler's Pack DLC of Pocket Dungeon, a Plague Minion replaces Mona at the Grotto in the Camp once she is unlocked as a playable Knight. The Minion then manages her minigame in her place.
Behavior and Tactics[]
Plague Minions toss their bombs in the air, which makes approaching them without getting hit tricky. They can also rectify the trajectory of their projectiles to hit with more precision their targets. They are particularly dangerous on a floor made of blocks as they can destroy the path and send their targets falling off.
They throw two bombs at a time to hit their target, but can and can also destroy Dirt Blocks when they explode. They can be found in the Explodatorium, Tower of Fate: Entrance, and Tower of Fate: Ascent. They have three hit points and deal one damage point. Upon death, they drop 2 red gems both worth 50 gold.
Variants[]
Bookworm Minion[]
Bookworm Minion are slim, wear glasses and are always reading a book. In the prequel Shovel Knight: King of Cards, one of them has been sent to the Crag of Joustus to capture Oolong and bring it back for study.
"Minion:Uh-oh! The Boss is on his way. We've gotta get back to the lab,
fast!
I don't wanna get
experimentedon!
" "Minion:Just hold [jump] to charge and Bomb Burst out of here! C'mon!
Hurryup!
"
A regular Minion at the far left side of the Plains
"Minion:Just hold [jump] to charge and Bomb Burst out of here! Oh! Also be sure to listen when someone is talking! You could miss something important!"
"Minion:Aw geez! Plague Knight! Uh, we really messed up! You left us in charge and we failed you!! Everything is going haywire, and there's an intruder afoot...
Watchout
!"
A regular Minion by Percy's catapult outside the Armor Outpost
"Minion:Mr Percy is calculating trajectories I love watchin' him work He's always right on target!"
A slim Minion standing at the invaded Armor Outpost
"Minion:Check out these palatial homes. So this is how the other half lives?"
A regualr Minion standing at the invaded Armor outpost
"Minion:You think that fancy shop does hoods? I've been thinkin' about having my blast-proofing taken off."
A fat Minion standing at the invaded Armor Outpost
"Minion:A new bomb combination can make all the difference in a difficult situation." "Minion:Percy gave me a great love tip. He's a master of romance!" "Minion:When your magic bar is orange, you'll have a blowout with the next cast! When it's red, you are blown out!"
Wandering bag Minions at the Potionarium/Armor Outpost
"Minion:I just learned that my Bomb Burst hurts nearby enemies. Now I can fearlessly blast through anything!" "Minion:Relocating underneath the Village was a genius move, boss! But I miss the Explodatorium..." "Minion:It's been great offloading all of my work-- I mean, cooperating with Mona! She really knows her stuff!"
Wandering bookworm Minions at the Potionarium/Armor Outpost
"Minion:How many times can you Bomb Burst in the air before touching the ground? It's exhilarating, right?" "Minion:I always carry a full stock of Health Tonics with me. I quaff a couple at the first sight of danger!" "Minion:No one knows the Magicist is helping us! She's really risking her neck!"
Wandering fat Minions at the Potionarium/Armor Outpost
"Minion:If you fall, try using the Vat Arcana to recover!" "Minion:You always get all sweaty and stuttery when you're working with Mona. It must be pretty stressful!" "Minion:Don't worry, boss. I'll keep walking back and forth here, just like you asked!"
Wandering slim Minions at the Potionarium/Armor Outpost
"Minion:Sometimes I like to save my second jump until
after
my Bomb Burst. It really helps me stick the landing!" "Minion:I won't forget our marker for secret areas; Cipher Coins embedded in the walls!" "Minion:I think I've got it! Powders make explosions, fuses affect timing; and cases change the trajectory!"
"Minion:The boss won't say much about our latest project, keeps yelling something about essences, who knows?"
Wandering bag Minion in the Tower of Fate after completing the Explodatorium
"Minion:Don't lose all your gold chasing your dropped bags! Sometimes ya' gotta hold onto the bags ya' got."
Regular Minion standing at the diner hall after completing the Explodatorium
"Minion:The Explodatorium is definitely our only headquarters, yup! You can always find Plague Knight there. He doesn't ever leave and go anywhere. I really promise!"
boss! To play this game, it's gonna cost 25 Gems. Sorry, no discounts, not even for you, boss!"
Not enough gems
"Plague Minion:
Uhhh
, we have a small issue here. You don't have enough Gems for this."
Explaining the rules
"Plague Minion:Alright, let's do this! I'm gonna conjure up some enemies, and you gotta stay alive. If you're not quick enough, boom!
Heh!
"
Ending the game with a low score
"Plague Minion:[x] points? Yikes, that's not so good. Can you try to get at least [LOWSCORE] points next time?"
[Points will be in singular form if only 1 was scored]
Ending the game with a medium score for the first time
"Plague Minion:Wow! [x] points! You're a natural! Here, have some Gems!"
Ending the game with a medium score again
"Plague Minion:Amazing, [x] points?! I dare you to beat [HIGHSCORE] points next time!"
Ending the game with a medium score as Plague Knight or Mona
"Plague Minion:Wow, boss! [x] points! Slow down, and save some points for the rest of us, huh?"
Ending the game with 100 points or above
"Plague Minion:[x] points!? I can't even count that high! You're unstoppable!"
Ending the game with 100 points or above as Plague Knight or Mona
"Plague Minion:[x] points!? Obviously, you're always gonna crush it. That's why you're in charge, and we're the minions!"
Talked to again after finishing a round
"Plague Minion:Wanna go for another round? That'll be 25 Gems, of course. It's always a blast!"
Talked to again after finishing a round as Plague Knight or Mona
"Plague Minion:T-that was pretty fun, right boss? How about another go? Don't forget, it's 25 Gems to play!"
Starting another game
"Plague Minion:Alright! Let me set everything up again, and let's see if you can top your best score of [x] points! I know you can do it!"
[Points will be in singular form if the best score is 1]
Trivia[]
Plague Minions are named "Arc Tossers" in the game's files.
In Plague of Shadows, Plague Minions NPCs can be blown up by Plague Knight. In some instances, they can only be blown up after they've been talked to.
The model for slim Minions is named "Female" in the game files. They also have a scrapped sprite with a more feminine figure. While the model's original name was not changed, Developer Nick "Woz" Wozniack stated that they later decided that Minions could be any gender, regardless of their model.
They are the only enemy NPCs to have a dialogue portrait displayed at the Tower of Fate, despite other enemies like Wizzems or Goldarmors having one in the game's files. They are also the only ones to not have a specific color associated to their name.
As of version 2.2, a minion was added at the start of the Plains in Plague of Shadows to repeat how to bomb burst.[1] He also makes reference to player skipping important dialogues, which led to his addition to the level in the first place.
Specter Knight's Cloak of Clemency uses a similar palette to their uniform.
