Cuphead Moonshine Mob: Boss Fight Guide

The Moonshine Mob is one of the first two bosses that you can face in the DLC, as it is located in the cave below the main plaza. The boss in question is actually an entire gang of bugs ready to crush you. From spiders to anteaters, there’s quite literally an entire mob that you’ll have to go against.

You’ll be expected to dodge exploding bombs, slip past slimy tongues and even dodge dangerous music. Although it might seem confusing and overwhelming at the start, once you know what to do and what to expect in every phase, you’ll get the hang of it and clear the fight in no time. Before reading further, consider reading our Cuphead Beginners tips guide.

Therefore, let’s dive in and explore every phase of the Moonshine Mob in Cuphead.

Here’s a summarized look at the Moonshine Mob Boss in Cuphead:

Recommended Load Out For The Moonshine Mob

Before we get into the various phases of the boss fight, it’s important to be equipped with the right gear for an overall easier time in the fight. Ideally, you want something that can deal a lot of damage with just a single shot. The best shot that works for such cases is the Charge Shot. But if you’re comfortable with something like the Kablooey or Roundabout, you can use them too. You should just ensure that your primary weapon is something that is a hard hitter.

But there will also be times when you’ll need to counter incoming projectiles for which you can equip something like the Converge shot. But the Crackshot can also be quite good. For the second phase, you might find that the Chaser can be helpful. But it won’t be as effective in the first or the third phase.

As for your charm, something like the Smoke Bomb can help make the second phase easier. But you’ll also get the chance to parry many attacks so you can get the Heart Ring too. With that said, let’s see what the first phase is all about.

First Phase Of The Moonshine Mob

In the first phase, you will be going against a giant spider that tends to walk funny as he moves across from one end to the other of the screen. As the arena has three different platforms, the spider moves across all of them, sometimes going up, down, or walking about the same one.

There’s no exact way of determining where the spider will move next, but one thing that we’re certain of is his movements as he goes off-screen. Essentially whichever side he disappears into is the side from where he’ll return (but the platform can be different). What that means is that if the spider goes off-screen by walking out towards the left side, he will come back into the screen from the left side as well, but possibly above or below a level.   

Backup Call

Additionally, there are two different actions that the spider can perform as he’s returning back to the screen. Either he will walk out with a phone in his hand or empty-handed. If he walks out with a phone, he will eventually stop walking and call for backup. When he does that, an ant with a gun will walk in and shoot at you. If these shots are pink, you can parry them. But it is worth noting that these ants don’t appear only when the spider calls but can appear randomly too.

Explosive Bags

As for when the spider walks out with no phone, he will still stop as he’s walking. But this time, he won’t call for backup but instead take out a remote control and press the giant red button. Doing so will drop down bomb bags with spider webs on them. If you get close to these bombs, they will explode. But it’s actually worth getting close and moving away so that they explode and clear the screen; otherwise, you might get caught in them unintentionally.

Other Enemies

There are other enemies that also come on the screen that you must look out for. One of those is the flies that spawn multiple at a time. But you can take them down with just one shot or using a crowd control shot like the Chaser or Converge.

Additionally, the spider will kick a caterpillar in your direction. It bounces around as it tries to hit you. You can deal with the caterpillar using a powerful weapon like your Charge Shot.

The ideal method of dealing with the first phase is just being attentive to the screen and all of the mobs that appear on it. There are about 4-5 enemies that you need to avoid, all the while occasionally shooting the main spider boss with something that deals a lot of damage. You won’t get many chances of landing a shot which is why we’ve constantly recommended something that can deal a lot of damage in just one shot.

Second Phase Of The Moonshine Mob

After you defeat the spider, it’ll eventually fall off the screen. But using its web, it will call in the Tap-Dancing Lady Bug, which is part of the second phase of the Moonshine Mob boss fight in Cuphead. She will be on a gramophone that might seem like a nice musical touch but is a nuisance of its own. There are primarily three things that you need to worry about in the second phase, the Gramophone, the tap-dancing lady, and her minions.

Deadly Gramophone

The Gramophone might be the most confusing and the trickiest part of the second phase, as it will keep you on the constant run. There will be two sets of three sound waves. One set will move counterclockwise, whereas the other will move clockwise.

But you need to look out for when the soundwave begins to turn yellow. It will violently reverberate, and if you touch it, it will inflict damage on you. Your best shot of countering is to start moving in the same direction as the soundwave to avoid it. But if you have the Smoke Bomb charm, you can dodge through the wave as well.

Tap-Dancing Lady

The Tap-Dancing Lady is also another challenge. But you can rest assured knowing that she will only stay on the middle platform, so you only need to avoid her when trying to dodge all the other challenges. However, she’s quite fast as she tap-dances and sways from one end of the platform to the other. If you get caught in her kicking as she dances away, you can get in a sticky situation pretty quick.

So, we recommend that if you’re on the middle platform, try to jump up or down as quickly as possible. If you want to deal damage to her, it’s best to attack her from above or below. Furthermore, when you defeat her, she will fall. But as she’s falling, she can actually land one final attack on you as she falls all the way below the screen. So don’t stand too close to her during her descent.

Other Enemies

Lastly, you need to worry about the dancing lady’s minions. These include a police ant coming at you with a baton and an explosive TNT barrel with legs. But they’re relatively easier to deal with, and you can take them out with one shot. One of the barrels can be pink as well, allowing you to parry.

Third Phase Of The Moonshine Mob

After defeating the lady, you’ll finally make it to the third phase, where you’ll be faced against an Anteater. As it enters the arena, it will take out the middle and top platform. So, you’ll mostly be bound to the bottom platform and the edges of the middle and top platform.

While the Anteater is making his entrance, he will take off his hat to reveal the Snail Boss underneath. You should make use of this moment to land in as many shots as possible. Then move over to the right side as the first attack always comes from the left side of the screen.

Dealing With The Nose

Throughout the entire fight, the Anteater will poke its nose out from the side of the screen, which will appear on the opposite side. As it pokes, its tongue will stick out as well, which you can avoid by crouching. The tongue is pink, meaning it can be parried, but it is not advised to do so, considering how fast the tongue approaches you. Your main aim should be to land as many hits as possible on the nose and not the tongue.

If you’re trying to shoot the nose directly, your best shot is charging up a shot and firing straight ahead as the Anteater’s nose leaves the screen. So essentially, you’re shooting a number of times in hopes of landing one shot and dodging the tongue.

Ball Of Insects

But when you do dodge the tongue, try to drop the level below as the Anteater will bring out a ball of insects as it pulls its tongue back. The ball of insects bounces around the arena so try to take it out with something like the charged shot. Luckily for you, there can’t be more than two of these enemies at one time on the screen.

Once you take out the ball of insect, move to the other side of the arena as the Anteater shifts sides when using its tongue. Then repeat the same strategy of getting a shot ready and shooting as soon as you see the nose coming to get you. Duck and dodge the tongue and repeat the same steps. Eventually, you’ll get the Anteater!

Fourth Phase Of The Moonshine Mob

The fourth phase is not exactly a fully fleshed-out per se, but many players get confused about it, so it’s worth giving it its own section. After you defeat the Anteater, there will be a false knock-out screen that will try to trick you into believing that the Moonshine Mob boss fight is over in Cuphead. But in fact, there is still one enemy that you need to deal with, and that is the Snail.

It will try to land a sneaky attack on you by using its loudspeaker. But if you’re expecting the attack, it can be easy to dodge and finish him off with a simple charged shot.

Moonshine Mob Using Ms. Chalice

If you are trying to defeat the Cuphead Moonshine Mob using Ms. Chalice, there is one thing that you’ll have to keep in mind.

Ms. Chalice’s jump is not as high as the other characters. That is why when you’re trying to jump between the platforms, you need to double jump rather than single-jump. Although it might seem tedious, it can actually work in your favor. In the first phase, you can use her single jump to trigger the bomb bags on the platform above you. Then you’ll fall back down immediately, whereas the bomb will explode, dealing 0 damage to you.

Additionally, she can be helpful in the second phase. You can use her roll the same way that you would use the Smoke Bomb and avoid the deadly musical beams. Just make sure you’re pressing the dodge button while crouching to get the invincible roll.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to use her parry to avoid the Anteater’s tongue in the last phase. But you can chase down the pink pesticide clouds and tap-dancing moonshine barrels using her dash. So, in short, you can easily take out the boss even with Ms. Chalice.

With that, you know everything about the Cuphead Moonshine Mob boss fight. It can be tiring dealing with all the different enemies and especially the widely diverse phases. But hang in there, as when you complete the fight, you will be awarded the Distillery Dough, which ties in with the main story of the DLC.