Timing is everything in PONOS’s chaotic masterpiece. You’ve probably spent hours grinding through Legend Stages, finally unlocked Urs, and now you’re staring down one of the most annoying red enemies in the game: Professor A. It’s a classic question that pops up in the community constantly. Does Urs outrange Professor A in The Battle Cats?
Short answer: No. Long answer: It's complicated because of how "Effective Range" works in this game.
If you just look at the raw numbers, Professor A hits at 500 range. Urs, in her base form (Urs & Fenrir), sits at a standing range of 450. On paper, the anteater wins every single time. He’s going to lick your legendary unit into oblivion before she even gets a chance to swing. But if you’ve played this game long enough, you know that the stats page only tells half the story. The interaction between these two is a masterclass in how movement speed, animation frames, and Long Distance (LD) mechanics actually function when the stage gets hectic.
The Brutal Math of the Professor A Matchup
Professor A is a menace. Honestly, he’s one of those enemies that makes you want to close the app. He has a 100% chance to slow your units, and his attack frequency is high enough that he can effectively "permastall" anything he outranges. Since his range is 500, he creates a massive "no-go zone" for most mid-rangers.
Urs & Fenrir, despite being a Legend True Form candidate later on, starts with that 450 range. That 50 overlap is a death sentence in a vacuum. If they both walk toward each other on an empty stage, Urs will stop to attack, but she’ll already be inside the Professor's tongue-flick radius. She gets slowed. She gets chipped down. She dies.
But we don't play Battle Cats on an empty stage.
Why Urs Still Struggles
Even when you consider Urs's Omni-strike or her True Form (Ururun's counterpart in the late game), the fundamental problem remains. Professor A is a backliner. Urs is more of a mid-range generalist with some decent bulk, but she isn't designed to out-snipe the snipers.
You have to look at the "Point of No Return." In Battle Cats, a unit stops moving the second an enemy enters its search range. Since Professor A sees Urs at 500 and Urs sees him at 450, he always gets the first move. In a game where the "Slow" ability can ruin your frontline's positioning, letting Professor A get that first hit is usually the beginning of a fast defeat.
How to Actually Beat Professor A Using Urs
Wait, if she’s outranged, why do people even talk about using her here? Because of the frontline.
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The Battle Cats isn't a 1v1 fighter. It’s a tug-of-war. If you can keep a steady stream of Ramen Cats or even a high-level Eraser Cat in front of Urs, you can manipulate the spacing. Professor A has a single-target-ish feel but he actually does small area damage. If he is busy hitting a Meatshield that is pushed right up against his face, Urs can sometimes sneak into her 450 range if the Professor is in his "backswing" or "attack reset" phase.
It's risky. Super risky.
The Role of Knockbacks
Urs has a decent ability to knock back enemies. If you manage to get a hit off—perhaps because a different unit like Ururun Wolf or a Cyberpunk Cat pushed the Professor back—Urs can move forward during that window. This is the "aggressive push" strategy. If Urs moves into her 450 range while Professor A is reeling from a knockback, she can start her attack animation.
If she lands a hit, she might knock him back again. This creates a loop where the outranged unit actually wins because the long-range unit never gets a chance to reset its stance. But let's be real: relying on Urs to outplay Professor A through pure RNG knockbacks is a recipe for a headache.
Better Alternatives for the 500+ Range Gap
If you’re struggling with the "does Urs outrange Professor A" dilemma, you might be trying to force a square peg into a round hole. There are units specifically built to handle that 500+ range bracket that won't leave you sweating over frame data.
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- Cyberpunk Cat: The king of long-range support. He stays way back at 1200 range and slows the Professor from across the map.
- Super Galaxy Cosmo: With a range of 850, he makes Professor A look like a melee unit. Just watch out for that long animation.
- Mina (Awakened): Her LD (Long Distance) allows her to snipe backliners while hitting the frontline.
- Aphrodite: If you're lucky enough to have this Uber, she’s the hard counter to almost every long-range nuisance.
Honestly, Urs is better suited for stages with high-health Traitless enemies or when you need a generalist who can take a hit. Against Professor A, she's usually just expensive fodder unless your timing is impeccable.
The True Form Factor: Does it Change the Range?
When you finally evolve Urs into her True Form, Urs & Fenrir, you might hope for a range boost. Some units get a massive range buff upon evolving. Unfortunately for Urs fans, her primary utility increases in damage and health, but she doesn't suddenly become a sniper.
She remains at that 450 mark.
This is a design choice by PONOS. They want Professor A to remain a specific type of "stat check" for players. If every Legend unit outranged him, he wouldn't be a threat. By keeping Urs at 450, the game forces you to think about crowd control, freeze, or "rush" tactics rather than just out-ranging everything.
Managing the "Slow" Debuff
The real reason the range difference hurts so much isn't just the damage. It's the Slow.
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When Professor A hits Urs, she isn't just losing HP; she's stuck. If your frontline dies while she is slowed, she can't retreat effectively, and she can't push forward to close the gap. It's a localized soft-lock. To counter this, some players use "Slow Resist" or "Slow Immune" units as the primary attackers, but Urs doesn't have that luxury.
Actionable Strategy for Your Next Stage
If you are determined to use Urs against Professor A, stop trying to outrange him. Instead, follow these steps to maximize her survival:
- Freeze the Anteater: Use units like iCat (if there are other Reds) or Healer Cat to stop Professor A in his tracks. If he isn't attacking, the range doesn't matter.
- The "Sync" Method: Wait for the Professor to finish an attack animation on a Meatshield before spawning Urs. This gives her a few frames to walk into her 450 range and start her swing.
- Prioritize Knockback: Pair Urs with Sniper the Cat (the power-up or the unit). If you can keep the Professor in a constant state of "hitback," Urs can stay in her sweet spot.
- Check the Support: If there are minions in front of the Professor, Urs's Omni-strike can actually hit him even if she is targeting a Squirrel or a Snake. Use the "peons" as a bridge to reach the backliner.
Ultimately, Urs is a fantastic unit, but she is objectively outranged by Professor A. Don't rely on her as your primary solution for this specific enemy. Use her for the heavy lifting against the frontline, and bring a dedicated sniper to take out the Professor from a safe distance.