Bear is one of the 31 Playable Characters in the game Castle Crashers. Their magical attacks are Non-Elemental and their starting weapon is the Club.
Bear's specialties are advanced combo locking and ultimate juggling.
Contents
Information
Background
Bear is first seen riding on the back of Catfish, the Bear uses a telescope to detect the player(s) to let the submerged Catfish's fist punch them. When defeated, the Bear riding the Catfish sinks with it and dies. It is then seen as the primary enemy in Tall Grass Field. They seem to be the native tribal people of this land. It is seen primarily using wind balls and tornadoes to attack the player. Beating the Bear Boss in this level allows Rammy to be collected. Two Beefy Bears start "windmilling" towards the player(s), this attack can quickly kill anyone that is close to it on both Normal Mode and Insane Mode. After awhile the Bears (1 normal, 1 Beefy) come back as resurrected enemies for the Necromancer in the Necromancer's Room in the level Wizard Castle Interior. Finally, they can be seen at the end of the game, when your character is riding on the crystal, mourning the death of the Catfish, with one of Bears flopping over on the ground.
Involvement
Bears worship the Catfish. They are seen, as mentioned before, mourning the death of the Catfish, when their deity is killed.
Description
A bloodied, white bear with a mark on its forehead, a red tail, and ostensibly appears to not have anything on besides limb armor.
Magic
Splash Attack
"Tornado"Element: Non-Elemental
Max Hits: Based on max mana amount and how long the button is held for (approx. 12-15 seconds)
Damage/Hit: Base Melee Damage
This unique spell isn't really a Splash Attack at all. It would be more accurate to call it an advanced melee attack that drains mana. First, the button must be held down for the effect to continue, it will cost normal spell mana to start and then continue to drain mana slowly and steadily as long as you are holding the button. Second, it doesn't actually damage enemies in front of you, it turns you into a wind tornado that can be freely steered around, and you must touch enemies to hurt them. Not only that, but it is the only Splash Attack that can be blocked.
This spell initially deals damage using your Magic, then continues dealing damage which depends on your Strength. It will continue to apply hits as long as it is overlapping an enemy. When it connects, it pops enemies up into the air, so it can be used to knock an enemy up and then juggle them repeatedly for as long as you can keep yourself overlapping them. It doesn't move very fast though, so it is best to trap an enemy against a wall if you want to keep hitting them with it.
Despite what some may believe, the player is not invincible while in Tornado form.
There's an odd bug with it too: when the Tornado finishes, you cannot use any attack buttons until you come to a complete stop. If you keep running around right after the Tornado ends, you will be locked out of doing any attacks until you stop completely or jump and then land. This bug does not occur if you start the Tornado in mid-air and then land during it.
Weapons' special effects do apply, such as Critical Strike. The only character that shares these characteristics is the Saracen.
Magic Projectile
"Wind Ball"Element: Non-Elemental
Damage: Base Magic Damage
This attack fires a ball of wind and deals damage.
Air Projectile
"Tornado"Element: Non-Elemental
Max Hits: Based on max mana amount and how long the button is held for (approx. 12-15 seconds)
Damage/Hit: Base Melee Damage
This unique spell isn't really an Air Projectile at all. It would be more accurate to call it an advanced melee attack that drains mana. First, the button must be held down for the effect to continue, it will cost normal spell mana to start and then continue to drain mana slowly and steadily as long as you are holding the button. Second, it doesn't actually damage enemies in front of you, it turns you into a wind tornado that can be freely steered around, and you must touch enemies to hurt them. Not only that, but it is the only Splash Attack that can be blocked.
This spell initially deals damage using your Magic, then continues dealing damage which depends on your Strength. It will continue to apply hits as long as it is overlapping an enemy. When it connects, it pops enemies up into the air, so it can be used to knock an enemy up and then juggle them repeatedly for as long as you can keep yourself overlapping them. It doesn't move very fast though, so it is best to trap an enemy against a wall if you want to keep hitting them with it.
Despite what some may believe, you are not invincible while in Tornado form.
There's an odd bug with it too: when the Tornado finishes, you cannot use any attack buttons until you come to a complete stop. If you keep running around right after the Tornado ends, you will be locked out of doing any attacks until you stop completely or jump and then land. This bug does not occur if you start the Tornado in mid-air and then land during it.
This is an invaluable Air Projectile in Bear's Magic because it allows for Bear to amount to two extra hits on a mediumweight juggle. The options that this Air Projectile has, makes it very versatile in many Juggling techniques. Including, but not limited to lightweight Tornado Juggling, heavyweight Tornado Juggling, mediumweight Tornado Juggling, "Turtlenado" (
), etc. This allows Bear to touch of death any enemy in the game.
Weapons' special effects do apply, such as Critical Strike. An advanced use of Juggling, named Spellweaving, can use this Air Projectile for flashy techniques. The only character that shares these characteristics is the Saracen.
Elemental Infusion
"Armor Pierce"Element: Non-Elemental
Damage: Base Magic Damage^2 + Base Melee Damage^2
Use 
/ 
to perform. This attack pierces armor, and it deals two times normal damage. That means it deals as much damage to a Barbarian or Thief on Normal Mode as it does to a Stove Face or Cult Minion on Insane Mode.
One distinct thing that Bear and Saracen can do is after pressing / , they can start up their respective "Tornado" and "Sandstorm" Splash Attack to reset the hit counter, faster than any character that has to use a second / to Drill Spin, but just as fast as Blue Knight and Iceskimo.
Magic Jump
"Pillar of Wind"Element: Non-Elemental
Damage: Base Magic Damage
Leaps up with a windy effect that damages overlapped enemies.
Strategy
Overview
Bear is essentially a refined King with a purposeful niche that has a high learning curve, very high execution requirements, and is extremely difficult to master. He has a decent time in Insane Mode. Recently, Bear and Saracen's extremely difficult techniques ultimately amount to two extra hits on a mediumweight juggle.
Castle Crashers
Bear takes ages to set up well, but this can be sped up by maximizing Strength first, in many playthroughs. Has a hard time in some levels, easy time in several. The best starting weapon character along with Iceskimo.
Arena
Bear is a powerful character in Arena. However, he has a difficult reset unlike Royal Guard and Conehead.
Unlock Path
| Start Character | Unlocks | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Red Knight | Skeleton | Bear |
Gallery
Trivia
- It ostensibly appears to be that Catfish is the Bear tribe's pet or god.
- In the end credits, the Bears can be seen mourning over the grave of Catfish with one Bear rolling in front of the grave.
- When you kill Catfish, you can see the Bear who was riding said Catfish floating, face down, in the water.
- Though much of The Bears' society seems to center around the acquisition and accumulation of fish, they are never seen consuming any. If The Catfish is indeed worshipped by them, they could have rules limiting or even forbidding the consumption of fish.
- Seeing as how The Bears are commonly depicted with blood stains on their fur, it is likely the pawprint marks on their foreheads are drawn in blood.
- Bear, Saracen, and Hatty Hattington are the only characters in the game to have a dynamic Air Projectile.
- Bear and Saracen are the only characters that use "Tornado"-type Splash Attacks and Air Projectiles.
- The Bear seems to be the only character besides The Red Knight whose Magic Element is associated with storms.
- When the Bear has been poisoned, his tornado turns green until the effect wears off. When the Bear is set on fire, the tornado turns reddish-brown until the effect wears off.
- The Bear's "Tornado" Splash Attack and Air Projectile comes out faster than the Saracen's 'Sandstorm" Splash Attack and Air Projectile allowing for higher damage per second.
- On the Tall Grass Fields level, a Thief can be seen wearing the Bear banner. This could suggest that the Thieves have joined forces with the Bears, or made a deal with them.
- Every hit from Bear's "Tornado" Splash Attack and Air Projectile can only hurt the Evil Wizard in its red shield.
- Bear's "Tornado" Splash Attack and Air Projectile, along with the Saracen's "Sandstorm" Splash Attack and Air Projectile, can be blocked.
- Since Bear's starting weapon is the Club, he, at Level 1, can switch to a different weapon and switch back to the Club.
- Bear's initial weapon is best for tank melee purposes. This is also helpful in NG+ Speedruns of Castle Crashers.
- Defeating the Catfish as Bear will unlock the Traitor achievement.
