Encountering unkillable monsters during a tense rogue-lite run instantly ruins an otherwise brilliant build. In the spellcasting indie title by By Witchlight, multiple players have reported encountering The Magus Circle invincible enemies that disrupt progression across various stages. When hostile units refuse to take damage, the battlefield quickly gets overwhelmed by monsters that cannot be cleared. Dealing with The Magus Circle invincible enemies is critical for surviving high-stakes runs, especially when you have wagered resources or invested in complex meta-progression upgrades.
The Magus Circle is an Action indie vampire-survivors rogue-lite where magic is art, and players actively draw arcane sigils to cast spells. Players take on the role of scribing mages charged with protecting humanity's greatest ally, The Magus Circle, amid a cosmic war. The game features 20 unique spells augmented by 600 possible upgrades, 4 unique planets with colossal bosses, and 6 playable mages who each bring their own unique skill trees, abilities, and emotional baggage. Meta-progression systems let players unlock familiars, wager winnings with Odds, concoct potions, grow a garden, collect tarot cards, and explore the manor to discover secrets hidden inside the Circle. However, encountering invulnerable foes can bring these runs to an abrupt and frustrating halt.
This comprehensive guide analyzes the root causes behind these invulnerability glitches, breaks down developer patch notes, reviews player forum reports, and highlights practical workarounds to keep your runs functional.
Understanding The Magus Circle Invincible Enemies Bug
Community members have highlighted multiple scenarios where foes become completely immune to incoming damage. Rather than an intentional difficulty modifier, these occurrences stem from mechanical scripting conflicts, stat calculation overflows, and lingering spell status effects.
According to community reports on the Steam forums, one prominent manifestation appears specifically on Level 2. Players running builds with high-damage spells, such as Ice Spear, have noticed that certain enemies spawn with seemingly near-infinite health pools. When hitting these monsters with Ice Spear—which deals percentage-based damage—the floating damage text displays enormous multi-digit values. Specifically, a player reported that on Level 2, 1% damage from the Ice Spear did many digits of damage to these spawned invulnerable enemies without killing them. Despite absorbing massive statistical damage, the enemies never lose health or perish.
Beyond frustrating the player, this invulnerability issue frequently leads to catastrophic performance drops. Because the game engine continuously spawns additional waves while older monsters refuse to despawn, the sheer volume of entities overwhelms system resources. Players have confirmed that these overcrowded screens often cause outright game crashes, wiping away run progress before an extraction or boss defeat can occur. For instance, players playing as the mage Ram with Ice Spear experienced crashes directly linked to having too many unkillable enemies lingering on screen at once. Other related stability and entity issues discussed by players on the forums include bugs where the Leviathan boss health bar remains stuck at dead while the boss fails to despawn, as well as extreme lag caused by upgrades such as the Archmage Pylon upgrade.
The title supports Windows (Windows 7 SP1+, Windows 10, Windows 11 on x86/x64 architecture with 4 GB minimum RAM and 8 GB recommended RAM), Mac, and Linux platforms, requiring 500 MB of available storage and DirectX 10, 11, or 12 capable graphics. When entity limits are breached by unkillable mobs, even systems meeting or exceeding recommended hardware specifications face major frame drops or application crashes.
Spell Interactions and the Poppet Doll Immunity Glitch
Another significant cause of unkillable monsters stems from conflicting status effect combinations. Player testing has pinpointed severe interactions involving specific characters, gambler modifiers, and status-inflicting upgrades.
The Matcha and Poppet Curse Synergy
A detailed community report documented a severe immunity glitch occurring during a run with the mage Matcha. In this scenario, the player had stacked a +150% burn modifier acquired through Odds' gambling wagers while playing in Yawn. While casting spells like Fireball, Ink, and Exsanguinate, the player had a combo of Poppet and Exsanguinate, and gained the ability to put curse on enemies with Poppet.
Under normal circumstances, the Poppet places symbols on target enemies, dealing damage as marks are applied. However, community reports reveal that when an enemy was burned to death while Poppet put curse on them, the target entered an unkillable state. The player reported that despite casting over 10 Exsanguinate spells and inflicting massive burn on the enemies through Ink and Fireball, the enemy simply refused to die. This interaction effectively created unkillable enemies that persisted indefinitely despite heavy continuous damage.
Boss Arena Lockdowns
Invulnerable entities have also manifested inside dedicated boss arenas. Players have reported sudden invincibility triggers while fighting in the enclosed rectangular arenas that appear during major encounters.
During these fights, both the colossal encounter boss and the surrounding trash mobs have abruptly stopped registering any incoming damage. One player noted that this issue randomly occurred during a boss encounter without even having Firestorm equipped. Because the rectangular arena physically confines the player until the encounter concludes, an invulnerable boss creates an inescapable softlock, leaving the player with no choice but to abandon the run.
Official Developer Responses and Patch History
Developer By Witchlight has actively communicated with the community regarding combat anomalies and performance issues. On the Steam discussion boards, in response to a player reporting that the Poppet doll and curse interactions caused an enemy to become immune to death, Lune replied, "Looking into it!"
The studio has pushed hotfixes to stabilize combat and clean up backend scripting errors, supported by a Very Positive community review rating of 203 positive and 27 negative reviews out of 230 total on Steam. Players tracking updates can verify ongoing maintenance directly via the The Magus Circle Steam Community hub.
Changes Implemented in Hotfix 1.0.3
The 1.0.3 hotfix released on September 25 focused on resolving issues with extraction and errors stacking up over runs that led to late-game struggles. It introduced direct balance adjustments and code corrections:
- No more star-shaped shielded enemies (listed under balance changes).
- Fixed Exsanguinate getting stuck without exploding.
- Fixed Poppet Master upgrade.
- Fixed accidental extractions and extraction errors.
- Fixed Riptide.
- Fixed the ending sequence failing to reset.
- Fixed various spell effects getting stuck on screen.
- Better logic on picking up chests (resolving chest pickup bugs).
- Jam now pauses when you pause the game.
- Fixed forcing Milk until Matcha unlock.
- Fixed incorrect number of rerolls and ability charges.
- Mana Efficiency displays properly now.
- Fixed missing Steam achievements and certain achievements unlocking too soon.
- Potion craft tutorial fixes.
- Balance tweaks: Exsanguinate area of effect reduced by 25%, Ink base area increased slightly with decreased scaling on Inky Area, and Prismatic Gale no longer costs mana.
- Enhancements: New spell scrolls became acquirable by exploring the hub.
Changes Implemented in Hotfix 1.0.4 and Beyond
Following Hotfix 1.0.3, the developer released Hotfix 1.0.4 on September 27 to fix several annoying bugs and progression blockers:
- Fixed getting hardlocked at the end of the first flashback.
- Fixed DOUBLE MILK in flashback 4.
- Fixed spell descriptions with large decimal numbers.
- Fixed Move Speed display in the Stats Page.
- Fixed Coffee commending you for failing to craft a potion.
- Enhancements: Odds' bets now display the anima bonus they provide, and Odds' door is not signposted for players who skip the cutscene.
In an official announcement titled "Plans for Future Updates," the developer acknowledged that programming errors created unexpected hurdles, apologizing for issues caused by poor programming skills and outlining the roadmap of larger optimizations:
- Drawing optimizations and fixes.
- Late game performance updates by limiting enemies, effects, and damage numbers.
- A physics overhaul that optimizes all interactions of spells and enemies.
- Improved clarity and impact of meta-progression systems like tarot, potions, and scribing.
- Balance changes to spells not just by changing numbers but by tweaking behavior.
- Map 3 and Map 4 fixes to map generation to prevent dead ends and reward exploration.
- A way to gather information on how to collect ingredients.
These ongoing patches indicate that while specific causes of The Magus Circle invincible enemies have been identified and adjusted, broader systemic fixes are actively being developed.
Troubleshooting and Workarounds for Players
If you encounter immortal monsters or want to minimize the risk of bricking a successful run, following structured troubleshooting practices can help safeguard your progress.
- Avoid Over-Stacking Conflicting Damage-Over-Time Effects: Until the physics and status overhaul is fully released, exercise caution when combining heavy burn modifiers from Odds' wagers with rapid-detonation spells like Exsanguinate and Poppet curse effects.
- Monitor Level 2 Spawns: When navigating Level 2, pay close attention to mob health bars. If a monster absorbs multi-digit Ice Spear hits without losing health, avoid grouping more monsters around it to prevent performance degradation and crashes caused by excessive entity counts.
- Utilize Movement and Kiting: Because rogue-lite runs require mobility, kite invulnerable regular foes toward map edges rather than lingering in place, giving you room to continue farming other targets or searching for exits.
- Adjust Input and Accessibility Settings: The Magus Circle supports drawing tablets, touch screens, mouse controls, and gamepads. If you use a drawing tablet with Microsoft Ink, ensure the Microsoft Ink setting is disabled so your drawn sigils register correctly. If drawing causes wrist pain or input recognition issues (such as players struggling to draw the four-pointed star to extract after defeating a Leviathan boss), take advantage of the game's built-in accessibility settings that allow you to slow down or freeze time while drawing, or enable the button press mode to cast spells without timed drawing inputs.
- Watch Out for Known Progression Bugs: Be aware of other community-reported softlocks, such as chests continuously granting infinite spells and upgrades on Steam Deck, leveling up circles failing to proc, or losing scrolls on spells already owned.
- Verify Steam Game Files: Combat glitches can sometimes worsen if update files fail to download cleanly during rapid hotfix releases. Right-click the game in your Steam Library, select Properties, open Installed Files, and choose Verify integrity of game files.
- Report Unresolved Softlocks: If a rectangular boss arena locks your character in with an invulnerable entity, note your character, active tarot, and current spell upgrades before exiting to share reproduction steps on the official Steam forum.
Summary of Known Invulnerability Triggers
The following table summarizes documented scenarios where unkillable enemies appear, the spells involved, and the current status based on developer updates and player reports.
| Trigger Scenario | Observed In-Game Symptoms | Associated Spells & Modifiers | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 2 Extreme Health Glitch | Enemies spawn with massive health pools; 1% Ice Spear damage shows multi-digit numbers without killing. | Ice Spear | Under developer monitoring; late-game enemy count limits planned. |
| Poppet Curse Stacking | Marked enemies hit by fatal burn damage enter an unkillable state. | Poppet Doll, Exsanguinate, Fireball, Ink, Burn wagers | Hotfix 1.0.3 applied fixes to Exsanguinate and Poppet Master; further physics overhaul in progress. |
| Enclosed Boss Arenas | Bosses and trash mobs stop registering damage inside rectangular barriers. | Various spell loadouts | Lune replied "Looking into it!" on the Steam forum thread. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do some enemies refuse to die in The Magus Circle?
Most unkillable mobs result from backend interaction bugs rather than intended gameplay mechanics. Known causes include health calculation errors on Level 2, conflicting curse timings between the Poppet doll and high burn damage, and detached hitboxes during enclosed boss arena phases.
Did Hotfix 1.0.3 fix The Magus Circle invincible enemies?
Hotfix 1.0.3 directly addressed several contributing factors by removing star-shaped shielded enemies, fixing Exsanguinate detonation hangs, and patching the Poppet Master upgrade. However, the developer has confirmed that a broader physics overhaul is still in development to resolve lingering combat edge cases.
Can Ice Spear cause monsters to become invincible?
Ice Spear does not directly cause enemies to become invincible, but its percentage-based damage scaling exposes the Level 2 health bug. When enemies spawn with glitched health calculations, Ice Spear deals astronomical numbers across multiple digits without depleting the target's actual health bar.
What should I do if a boss becomes invincible in the rectangular arena?
Because the rectangular arena restricts movement until the encounter ends, an immune boss creates an unavoidable softlock. If neither the boss nor accompanying minions take damage from any spell, pause the run, exit to the main menu, and verify your game files on Steam before attempting a new run.
