Harpies are a very dangerous type of enemy seen in Phoenotopia and Phoenotopia: Awakening. Along with Arcs (Trolls in Phoenotopia Awakening), they are one of the breeds of mutant supersoldiers that were created during the Great War as a prototype for the Phoenix Weapons; as such, they are extremely powerful and difficult to fight. There are also friendly Harpies that can be found in the Hidden Village/Terrelum.
Phoenotopia[]
Harpies are humanoid hybrids between a human and a bird. All enemy Harpies have pink feathers, though the friendly ones come in a wider range of colors.
One appears as a miniboss in the Phoenix Lab, having been cryogenically preserved there, and more are found in the Forgotten Forest as semi-common enemies. They are typically found in places with platforms at different heights.
They have very high health and a variety of dangerous attacks. When they are beneath Gale, they will try to fly up and will back off quickly when close to her.
In one such attack, they shoot 4 spreading needles from their feathers in an approximate cone. None of the needles are aimed directly at Gale, so this attack can easily be dodged if Gale is far away from a Harpy.
In another attack, they will fly up offscreen and then return carrying a Rollo Mine which they will try to drop onto Gale. With speed and precision, it is possible to use the Slingshot to shoot the mine and kill a Harpy while she is still holding it. This will also earn you the Harpy Backfire achievement.
In the final attack, they will divebomb at Gale, which does heavy damage but can be easily dodged by moving away as the Harpy comes down. A Harpy will signal a divebomb by flapping her wings faster and then pausing for a moment before commencing the dive. The Harpy will dive lower than Gale's position and then slowly fly back up, giving a window of opportunity for her to attack the Harpy. When hit by any of Gale's attacks, a Harpy will fall back and down slightly. Thus, Gale can, with good reaction time and careful planning, hit a Harpy multiple times successively.
Due to their high natural loot, and possibly much higher if they drop a Gold Bar, killing Harpies is an effective but risky method for farming Rai.
Harpies follow Gale more slowly than Gale runs. It is possible to run past them without having to fight them in the Forgotten Forest. They will return to an idle state at their spawning point when Gale exits their room. In the Phoenix Lab, a trick involving the Javelin, the Rocket Boots, and a sacrificial jump into the bottomless pit allows Gale to bypass the Harpy's room without fighting her.
NPCs[]
In the Hidden Village, there are friendly Harpies that appear as NPCs that Gale can interact with. Some will be suspicious of her due to her being human, while others will take a liking to her for various reasons. A pink-feathered Harpy, for example, takes a liking to Gale due to her matching pink hair. Another younger Harpy befriends Gale when learning that she too dislikes water.
Harpies like shiny objects such as gold bars. This is reflected in the game as certain Harpies in Hidden Village will give Gale sidequests asking her to give them Gold Bars.
Phoenotopia Awakening[]
In Phoenotopia Awakening, the Harpies' appearance and attacks are slightly tweaked. Their spreadshot needle attack is pretty much the same, but they also carry scythes that allow them to deliver a variety of melee attacks as they divebomb Gail. And when they fly off to grab something to drop on Gail, they now sometimes bring in rocks or crates instead of Mole Mines. Harpies no longer drop Gold Bars and instead drop a few RIN.
Similarly to the previous game, Harpies appear in the game's equivalent of the Phoenix Lab, E.D.E.N, as bosses in one section, alongside Trolls as well. They are cryogenically preserved inside tanks, and after one point they break free and fight Gail in the artificial biome room.
NPCs[]
The remake features NPC Harpies in Terrelum that live alongside Trolls. Several Harpy NPCs serve a important purpose of completition in the game. Pelna will teach Gail the technique Whirlwind once she defeats two enemy harpies in a special duel, and Alco will trade a Dream Ore for a Broken Wendigo Claw, which forms part of the large Trading Sequence sidequest line.
Gallery[]
