The Bestiary

Where: the Black Bears' raid on the Greymane camp, Hills of No Return. A scripted encounter.

The fight: it is possible to beat him here (clear the enemies around him first, then wear him down), but winning changes nothing: the same cutscene plays as when you lose, and no reward is given for it. (The Axiom Bracelet comes with the Ambush quest, not with a win.) Then Myurdin cuts Kliff's throat and throws the body into the river, which leads into the movement tutorial and the introduction of Blinding Flash.

Where: the City of Hernand, when you approach the group talking about Greymanes. He is a knight who wants to test himself against a Greymane, and the brawl is what gets Marshal Barden Middler's attention.

Fight: two health bars and the easiest boss in the game: slow sword swings and kicks that do little damage. Three light attacks followed by three heavy attacks interrupt him; back off to let stamina recover, run in, repeat.

Tactics: learn his Pump Kick mid-fight with Watch and Learn and use it on him. It needs distance to charge, and a hit leaves him wide open. Let him swing first, because his moves have long recoveries, and keep the shield up throughout: nothing he does costs too much stamina to block. Moves: Pump Kick (a double flying knee; watch his left knee), Double Slash (a wide sweep into an overhead, with a wind-up long enough to roll back out of).

Learn by observing: Pump Kick. Observation is the only way to learn it.

Where: the Goldleaf Guildhouse; entering it starts the cutscene and the fight. He is the leader of the Goldleaf Merchant Guild, removed at Shakatu's request.

Fight: a goblin boss with one bar, and a clear step up from Matthias. Perfect shield counters (the green flash) interrupt him; follow each with a quick combo and go easy on heavy attacks, which drain the stamina you need. His sword throws wide waves that can be blocked at a stamina cost. When he glows blue he is in super armour and cannot be damaged: stop attacking and get ready to block or dodge. With 40 or more meat the fight is comfortable.

Tactics: parry to cut his combo, hit twice, then meet the red-glint attack that follows with Force Palm to stagger him for burst damage. Roll sideways and keep distance from the Wind Slash. Upgrade armour and refine weapons before the fight (the Sword of the Wolf, Bekker Shield and Grey Wolf Bow with Bolton plate helm and armour and Canta plate gloves and boots make a sound kit), and use a Grindstone for the attack buff. Moves: Wind Slash Flurry (a wound-up combo he can chain into basic attacks) and Evasive Roll (a long roll to your blind spot after he has been hit for a while; raise the shield to lock on).

Learn by observing: Evasive Roll, or spend one Abyss Artifact.

Drops worth keeping: the Sword of the Lord, a quick-attack weapon for most of the story; it comes with Abyss Gear that keeps it potent for a long time.

Where: the top of the Frozen Soul Mountain; walking up to the tree in the middle of the open field starts the fight, so prepare first. He kills the Count at the Greymanes' hiding place and wounds Andrew before you track him through increasingly frequent ambushes.

Fight: three full bars; bring 40+ Grilled Meat. Phase 1 is shield counters and combos, with shield bashes between them. Phase 2 puts five totems on the field that all have to be destroyed while enemies and ranged attacks keep coming, so do not run in straight lines between them. Phase 3 is phase 1 again with new attacks; when he dashes about firing red projectiles, dodge sideways from the far end of the field.

Tactics: in phase 2 he is immune until every totem is down, and copies of him attack you all at once. Focused Shot or Charged Shot take the totems from range and keep you away from the copies. His melee strings hit several times, so parrying any one hit cancels the string; hold Block to lock on when he teleports. The Sword Wave fires up to four times: dodge sideways, never forward, or the next wave catches you. Moves: Shadow Strike, Sword Wave, Crescent Slash (a dash into three slashes; parry the first).

Learn by observing: Swift Stab, or raise Stab to Lv. 2.

Also: patch 1.00.03 made the ambushes on the way here easier.

Where: the Scholastone Institute, south-west Hernand. It comes through when Octavius is pulled into the Abyss and tries to stop you sealing the rift.

Fight: more puzzle than fight. Use Blinding Flash once to reveal the weak spot (the game shows a tutorial for it). Then double-jump over the centre of the plaza where the floor is missing (the wind lifts you up to the flying spectre) and hit it with Force Palm in mid-air; the easiest moment is when it hovers in the middle charging an attack. Its projectiles knock you down for fall damage; heal, and when Spirit runs out, refill it behind a pillar.

Tactics: three Force Palm hits, each taking about a third of its health; hold the block button while gliding so you lock on and land them. Its one listed move is Rain of Shadows, a spray of projectiles; use the pillars as cover.

Drop: the Key to the Spire of the Stars, which opens the Spire and its Abyss Challenge puzzles.

Where: Hernand Castle, at the banquet. The creature is Demeniss's "offering", and it escapes after the fight.

Fight: one of the hardest bosses in the game and by far the hardest to this point: a giant ape-like monster with three bars against which blocking and parrying do nothing. Dodge forward-right to get behind it, land three quick attacks, stop, dodge again. If it climbs the walls, shelter at the sides where it cannot drop on you. Phase 2 adds longer combos and the blue-glow super armour: the moment it stops taking damage, sprint to the far end of the arena and hide behind the last walls until the heavy attacks end, because staying close gets you killed. Phase 3 is mostly dodging, with Palmar Pills for the end. Preparation: at least four Health and four Stamina upgrades, refinement 4 or higher, and 100 to 200 Grilled Meat.

Tactics: learn Back Hang (a sub-skill of Grappling): from its side or back, after one of its attacks, it deals heavy damage per stab, though it cannot be spammed. Use the Axiom Bracelet to grapple to the walls and take high ground during the slams, or time dodge rolls away from them; play defensively in phase 3. Moves: Rapid Slam (both hands, rushing at you, ending in a body slam) and Body Slam (it hangs from a high wall and drops on you; dodge sideways, then Back Hang).

Also: he is the boss the five questions above are for; patch 1.00.03 adjusted some of his patterns.

Where: the Crow's Nest, in the Abyss, at the end of Chapter 5. His full name is Draven the Crowcaller, and the last encounter comes after the Spire of Soaring and the Crescent Skybridge.

Fight: two fights. The first, with one bar, is easy; the second has three full bars and he is fast and hits hard. Parry, then a quick combo, and heal while attacking. When he goes airborne, wait for his second mid-air dodge and then roll, which always clears the dive. Activate the fast-travel plate on the path in front of the tree before the fight, so you can leave for more meat and return.

Tactics: grappling moves build his stagger fast (Lariat Follow-Up lets you chain Lariats), and a charged Turning Slash in the stagger window does the damage (the Leather Helm of the Fallen Kingdom adds 35% to Turning Slash). His Shadow Dance is three teleporting strikes from the air: when his blades point upward, triple-jump with Aerial Force Palm and the whole move misses. In phase 3 his melee flurries can be blocked cheaply, and a block opens a grapple. Moves: Shadow Dance, Cross Slash (a dash and leap into a crossing cut; blockable, then grapple).

Learn by observing: Aerial Roll, free if you watch him use it in Chapter 5; otherwise an Abyss Artifact after Flight Lv. 1.

Drops worth keeping: the Tauria Curved Sword, a heavy-attack and crowd-control weapon for the rest of the story.

Where: Deepfog Basin, north of Calphade Farmhouse. The chapter page's step is "In Ashes: infiltrate the Black Bears' base and defeat the Black Bear Captain".

Fight: the Whistling Arrows the quest hands you can kill him in one shot. Keep your distance, because his super-armour leap closes gaps and interrupts your shooting. No drops. Not every boss list counts him.

Where: Calphade Castle, City of Calphade, at the end of Chapter 6. He is the traitor who took the castle; Oongka and Marquis Lanford handle the forces outside while you go after him.

Fight: the first boss with a shield, one bar. Equip the Tauria Curved Sword, take Nature's Echo, and spam heavy attacks: they damage him through the block and interrupt him after three hits, after which light attacks land.

Tactics: use Nature's Grasp on the broken pillars in the room and carry one as a blunt weapon: a hit knocks him down and takes roughly a quarter of his health. Keep distance and pull him toward the pillars, since his own attacks break them; the last hit of Demon Fangs brings most of the room's pillars down at once. Moves: Demon Fangs (tower shield planted, mace wound up, dark spikes thrown at you and then around him), Wild Swing (a three-hit advancing mace combo that eats stamina if blocked; run, or roll away from the swing).

Where: inside Pailune Castle, near the end of Chapter 7, in the Lonely Jackals quest. He is the leader of the Jackals; when cornered he uses an Abyss Artifact to wreathe himself in lightning, and after the fight he escapes even after losing an arm.

Fight: two bars with a full transformation after the first, lightning damage throughout. Dodge rather than block. He teleports constantly, so wait for a missed combo or a pause in the teleporting, then quick attacks. The second phase teleports and attacks almost without stopping; keep dodging, land light combos and heal at the same time.

Tactics: the combo for stagger is two heavy attacks, Force Palm, two heavy attacks, then two Lariats with Lariat Follow-Up; when he staggers, a charged Turning Slash (with the Momentum abyss core) for burst. In phase 2, Nature's Snare Lv. 3 returns his Double Lightning Bolt and a Force Palm afterwards cancels his follow-up; Focus mode slows time and refills Spirit; Blinding Flash cancels the super-armour moves nothing else stops. His hits build a lightning stun of about four seconds; reach Lightning Resistance Lv. 5 with gear and food and you are immune to it. Moves, phase 1: Lightning Shower (seven projectiles, three volleys; return them), Blade Combo (a parryable flurry). Phase 2: Double Lightning Bolt, Great Lightning Sword (two overheads that end in three lasers in a line; dodge the swings, then once more sideways).

Also: Awakened Ludvig is sometimes listed as a separate boss; he consumes an imprisoned human to transform.

Where: Ashclaw Keep, in the night assault (the chapter page's step is "Defeat Myurdin"). He too turns to an Abyss Artifact, this time for fire, and when it fails he backs into the fortress, where Ludvig shoves Kliff into a pit.

Fight: two bars with a transformation; fire in the second phase. Phase 1: parry and heavy attacks with the Tauria Curved Sword. Phase 2: lava attacks. Dodge, and never let stamina run dry.

Tactics: heavy-attack combos into a Lariat combo take a big piece of the first bar; grappling skills stop working in phase 2. Wear fire-resistant armour, stay away from the flammable barrels, and roll out of the lava springs he raises immediately, since they burn over time. Moves: Slam (a long wind-up into a ground slam, with spikes toward you in phase 2; dodge sideways at the slam), Bear Slams (a short warp, then repeated slams that summon charging bears), Molten Slams (lava first, then slams on your position).

Where: Kingshield Mountain, by the end of Chapter 7. You play Oongka for this fight; see the chapter page for what that means for the rest of the chapter.

Fight: one bar, lightning. It is the first time you control Oongka: no shield, but he blocks and parries with his weapon, and he can dual-wield two one-handed weapons. His starting two-handed axe is too slow. Equip two swords (the Sword of the Lord fires waves) or the two purple axes already in the inventory. Parry, then light combos. You arrive here low on food after the run of fights; the woods around the arena have animals to skin, and there is a cooking pot in Beighen village just to the north.

Tactics: Oongka's Quick Grab, timed against his attacks, works as a parry: it knocks him down and builds stagger. When he summons the great lightning sword he does a wide three-hit sweep; dodge in the opposite direction to each swing. One listed move, Great Lightning Combo. No drops.

Where: Fort Ironclad, first part of Chapter 8. He can be met outside the fort too, but vanishes once he has taken enough damage there. He is much easier than the Chapter 7 bosses; the traps in the arena are the only thing to mind.

Fight: a human with a spear, one bar, and arrows firing from the walls. His dangerous move is a super-armour chain of stabs; dodge continuously until it ends. Dodge rather than block in general, and land combos while healing.

Tactics: parry his melee to cancel the combo and answer with heavy attacks; Focused Insight (Focus Lv. 3) slows time and prompts the parry if the timing is hard. The Skyward Slam cannot be blocked or parried, so dodge sideways. When your left hand glows red during his charging run, Blinding Flash cancels it, and the Blinding Flash Finisher closes the gap with stagger damage. At the start, lure his attacks toward the wall traps so he destroys them for you. Moves: Carnage Rush (halberd spun, then dashing thrusts across the arena), Triple Uppercut (three rising swings while advancing; circle him once the halberd points down), Skyward Slam.

Drop worth keeping: the Golden Vanguard, the two-handed spear to put in Damiane's hands for Lucian Bastier.

Where: Thornbriar Fortress, second part of Chapter 8, after the siege towers come down. Like Gregor, he can be fought outside and disappears after enough damage.

Fight: a shield user with one bar who keeps summoning a ghost knight that slams the ground or shoots arrows, so the fight is partly a two-on-one with fewer openings. Heavy attacks with the Tauria Curved Sword and Nature's Echo, then lights, break his guard; when the blue ghost appears, dodge away. If you get stuck, cook better meat.

Tactics: blind him with Blinding Flash and follow with the Blinding Flash Finisher, over and over. It costs 5 Spirit a use, so bring Grilled Fruit for Spirit alongside Grilled Meat for health, and use Focus or Focused Insight to refill. The spirit summons cannot be parried and blocking them costs too much stamina: dodge for the duration. Moves: Cursed Calling (a war cry, shield raised then slammed down, spirits across the arena; a Force Palm as he starts shouting cancels the whole thing), Shield Charge (Blinding Flash cancels it when your left arm glows red).

Where: Demeniss Castle (no rewards are listed). After you view the Memory Fragment in the Duke's old office, Caliburn pulls Kliff out of the Visione sequence and attacks; Kliff is knocked unconscious trying to escape and is saved by Maegu and Woosa. The chapter page covers the sequence as "The Blood Coronation: the Old Office and Gabriel Caliburn".

Where: the Spire of Clockwork, last part of Chapter 8; you fight as Damiane, so equip her beforehand. The chapter page says the same: she plays Traitor alone.

Fight: two bars with a full transformation, and one of the more tedious fights: he blocks everything from the front, and the awakened form teleports without pause. Upgrade Damiane's starting armour a level or two and give her the Golden Vanguard from Gregor: fast, long-reaching, harder-hitting than the rapier, and it breaks his guard in a few hits. Dodge every attack sideways, circling him, never backward, because his floor fire runs out in a straight line. Phase 1: he is human, with shield and a mace that leaves fire on the ground; wait for a combo to miss, get behind him, hit until the guard breaks. Phase 2: he keeps teleporting and summons shadow demons that cannot be damaged; dodge them until they fade (many at once when the screen darkens), and hit him with quick attacks whenever he stands still. Arms held in front of his body is the tell for a counter: one hit, dodge sideways, then more.

Tactics: in phase 1 stay close and parry the melee (it is well telegraphed and staggers him), but dodge the fire-imbued attacks, which usually cannot be parried; the Shield Watcher skill turns her shield into a floating turret that cancels most of his moves while you recover Spirit. In phase 2, keep distance and lean on Smite (her heavy attack) for its range and damage, and since he always teleports behind you, fire Blinding Flash pre-emptively. Moves: Flame Combo (a three-hit fire combo ending in a leaping strike and a line of flame; side-step, or cancel it with a Shield Toss as he spins the mace), Shadow Strikes (he vanishes and sends shadow copies at you, ending in a ground slam; side-step all of it, or Shield Toss before he disappears).

Where: the Nest of Valor, atop the Spire of the Sun, reachable only from Chapter 9. He is an older man who looks like a Greymane.

Fight: a human with sword and shield and one bar, using a moveset much like Kliff's own, and hitting hard enough to kill in one or two strikes. Activate the fast-travel point on the floor in front of the fight first. The killer is his jump into a ground slam: watch the floor for the impact radius, dodge repeatedly, and keep dodging sideways for the aerial kick that always follows. Blocking is risky; dodge right, let a combo miss, then four heavy attacks and some lights while he is interrupted. If he kills you too fast, get more Abyss Artifacts into health and take weapon and armour to refinement 7 or higher.

Tactics: sweeps knock him off his feet and interrupt his combos; when he takes to the air for Meteor Kick or Force Palm, jump high and use Aerial Roll to get clear.

Learn by observing: Meteor Kick, or raise Unarmed Combat to Lv. 5.

Also: the small cave beside the arena holds the legendary sword Fated Shadow, a large upgrade for anyone still on a sword below +4 or +5.

Where: the lowest level of the temple in Serpent Marsh, after the trials and after every statue is fixed. The Path of the Disciple's three timed courses each give an Abyss Artifact just before him.

Fight: a fighter in a leopard mask who uses his fists: one bar, little health, but extremely fast and hard-hitting, so surviving his best attacks is the whole problem. The floor: Health Lv. 6 for at least 750 HP, refinement 6 gear strengthened at an Anvil and Grindstone, and the Tauria Curved Sword. Spam shield counters to break his guard, then a heavy combo and, if there is time, a light one; if the timing will not come, dodge behind him and punish misses. When he slows and glows purple he is summoning his spirit animal. Get far away; the purple projectiles can be blocked or dodged while you heal.

Tactics: a straightforward fight with few exploits: stay close, dodge to reposition behind him, and retaliate after his combos.

Also: one of the hardest bosses to this point, because his attacks are quick and powerful and an honest melee duel is a bad trade; use Abyss Gear skills such as Ground Surge to build his stun meter instead.

Where: the Hexe Sanctuary, Demeniss; every totem in the area has to be destroyed first, and once there you use Wait to pass the time and start the fight. The totems fall to Charged Shot, Turning Slash or Nature's Retribution, and she shows up at each one to try to stop you.

Fight: two bars. She shoots crows that fly in straight lines (dodge sideways) and summons minions that die in one hit. She teleports a lot; when she stands still, dodge her first attack, get behind her and land four heavy attacks and lights until she leaves. Trying to dodge everything makes the fight endless: heal through it and keep attacking. Phase 2 spawns minions much more often.

Tactics: do not ignore the minions; clear them with area attacks such as Ator's Orb or Crow's Pursuit, which can also interrupt her. Heavy attacks build her stagger for a Turning Slash (Momentum for damage; Greysoul Howling and Groundsurge add stagger), and the Blinding Flash Finisher cancels her attacks for 5 Spirit a use. Her Shadow Crows come after she teleports to your blind spot: stay by the tree in the middle and circle it.

Also: one of the chapter's easier bosses if you are patient.

Where: the Cloister of Enlightenment, Crimson Desert; the doors only open at Health 6, Stamina 6 and Spirit 5. He is the sage who has been guiding you, and the fight is a sparring match to prove yourself.

Fight: two bars, longsword. Perfect-parry his melee and he is stunned for four heavy attacks and lights. Phase 1's threat is the pillar routine: he leaps between the pillars around the arena and then onto you for huge, unblockable damage; dodge sideways repeatedly the moment he stops hopping. Phase 2 adds green lasers that go through the pillars and cannot be blocked; a single one is survivable, but three in a row must all be dodged, because one hit floors you and the next finishes you. Bring Palmar Pills; with around Health 10 and refinement 8+ armour you can take one laser at full health.

Tactics: enter Focus mode often to slow time and dodge into openings, especially when your arm glows red during Master's Slice (he perches on a pillar, dashes through the air and ends with a thrust).

Also: the sources disagree on how dangerous he is. PowerPyx warns that his phase-2 lasers can finish you; VULKK calls him quite easy compared with the rest of the chapter: everything is heavily telegraphed, and he is only slightly faster in the second phase, apart from an attack during which he cannot be damaged.

Learn by observing: Blinding Flash Finisher, or spend one Abyss Artifact.

Where: Regent's Rise, Delesyia (no rewards are listed). A flying mechanical mantis first seen inside the wreck of the Turbine airship.

Fight: one bar and easier than the bosses just before it. The yellow laser beams are the danger (several in a row can kill outright), while the melee does little; evade the melee combos, get behind it, heavy attacks with the Tauria Curved Sword and Nature's Echo, and dodge the lasers in wide circles. Some of its attacks cannot be parried, so dodging is the safer default.

Also: the melee is telegraphed enough to parry with practice, and it is the ranged attacks that will burst you down unless you catch them with Nature's Snare.

Where: the Aeronautical Research Base, Delesyia; it only spawns during Chapter 11's Brave New World questline. One of the three fortress bosses that guard the Fortress Keys; it is the easier of the two tank twins.

Fight: a fire tank with one bar and three moves chosen by your distance: up close it rams (massive damage), at mid range it scatters explosive shells, at long range it fires missile barrages. The method is to stay far so it always fires rockets, then use Nature's Snare Lv. 2 (Nature's Retribution) to catch them and throw them back: six to ten minutes, but safe; charge at least two segments of the Spirit gauge first. After some damage the top comes off and exposes a weak spot you are meant to climb and stab, but PowerPyx found that buggy in March 2026 (it got you killed when the tank drove off) and ignored the mechanic; Game8 and VULKK use it (below). The fortress also has to be cleared to 0% for the liberation cutscene; the key is in the big block with the purple marker.

Tactics: the same catch-and-return from distance, to fill the stagger bar without risk (bring Spirit food), and then the ending: climb it and destroy the exposed core, which finishes the fight at once even with 70% of its health left. Moves: Ram, Scatter Bombs (from about 15 to 20 metres; some explode on landing, some later), Bullet Barrage (from far away; the shots swing wide before homing in).

Also: the stun-climb-Pierce sequence on the core has a tight window, and the ram can one-shot you in melee range; it fires enough projectiles that stunning it with Nature's Snare and Nature's Retribution is easy.

Where: Valvegard Garrison, south-eastern Delesyia, behind a force field until liberated; you get in with Marni's Transporter from the Museum of Marni, unlocked during Strange Manor.

Tactics: the electric twin of Storm Crusher. Nature's Snare Lv. 2 shields you from its bombs and projectiles while it builds energy (it costs 2 Spirit a second, so raise Spirit and bring Spirit food); release it to stagger the tank, then climb on and use Pierce while hanging to destroy the exposed core and end the fight. Moves: Ram (repeated, with projectiles in several directions), Scatter Bombs (electric, exploding on contact), Ground Slam and Bullet Barrage (a red-marked slam, then homing shots that swing wide first).

Fight: the same three-move pattern and the same rocket-return method as Storm Crusher, with the same March 2026 warning about the weak-spot climb. Also: the lightning version has fewer projectiles to catch, which makes it the harder of the two to stun.

Where: Marni's Masterium, at the top of the mountain path. Its core is what the story needs from it; Blackstar becomes a permanently available mount afterwards, with a long summon cooldown that resets when you load a save.

Fight: a large golden dragon with one bar. Patch 2.00.00 (25 August 2026) split the battle into distinct phases, each with its own attack patterns; the walkthroughs below describe a single phase and may predate that change. It settles in the corners of the arena, and the corner tells you the attack: front-left is rocks and fire breath; back-left is explosives dropped from above, marked by orange outlines; on the right-hand wall its claw is exposed to melee while it breathes fire; climb the wall to avoid the flames, and this does more damage than anything else. Otherwise take the spears from the blue generators at the sides and throw them while it sits still. After enough damage it drops and is stunned for a few seconds; hit it with everything. Flying bugs and large robots join in occasionally; kill the large ones first.

Tactics: the glowing blue pillars hold Marni Disruptor Special Ammunition, electro-spears you can throw as often as the pillars recharge. Each hit builds the stagger meter; when it fills, Golden Star goes down and you switch to melee and your best skills. Moves: Fireball (the ground glows red where it lands), Fire Breath (it braces against the wall first), Summon Mechanical Allies, Insect Suicide Attack (roll away from the insects).

Also: with Nature's Retribution it is not much of a threat.

Where: Light and Darkness, in the Abyss, the first of the three final fights. Reaching him needs any completed chain of Abyss puzzles to open the gates into Dimensional Bonds.

Fight: a human boss with three bars who keeps summoning shadow copies of himself to slash and stab at you; most of the fight is dodging them. He also floats up to shoot a bow and sometimes vanishes to drop explosives, which are easy to avoid. When he stands still, dodge behind him for a heavy combo and lights, then dodge the next wave of copies. Phases 2 and 3 use the same attacks but spam the copies harder, leaving less time to hit him. His jumping sword attack takes most of a health bar; with refined gear and a high health stat the rest is tankable while healing. 100 Grilled Meat, as usual.

Also: he hurts and he is evasive, attacking mostly through the clones; parry him when he does attack himself. He grows more aggressive through his three phases, and the clones start copying his stronger attacks.

A warning first: do not pick "Give Up" on the death screen and do not close the game during this fight. It respawns you far away and the gate to Corrupted Caliburn cannot be entered again; the fix is to reload the manual save from before Caliburn and beat him again.

Where: the Umbra Abyss, straight after Caliburn, who appears to become Myurdin and retreats into a last Abyss area.

Fight: two bars, and far stronger than the Myurdin of Chapter 7: he uses the strongest attacks of the whole story, many of which kill in one or two hits. Parrying is too inconsistent against his magic; dodge behind him after a miss and combo. The worst attack is red lasers from the sky: catch them with Nature's Snare Lv. 2 as he charges them, and be ready to dodge the jump attack that comes two or three seconds after they stop. He sometimes vanishes and turns up elsewhere in the arena, or stuck on the rocks in the middle; find the red dot on the minimap. Kit: 100+ Grilled Meat, several Palmar Pills, Health 10, high refinement, and a Defence stat over 100 helps. He hits harder in phase 2.

Also: a bigger jump in difficulty than anything before it, Caliburn included. Myurdin, possessed by Umbra, borrows attacks from earlier bosses (Myurdin's Groundsurge, Hexe Marie's Crowstorm and the Cursed Knight's spirit knights among them), and both phases are full of moments where he cannot be damaged, which lead into attacks that can one-shot you.

Where: the Umbra Abyss, immediately after the Avatar. You fight it from the dragon's back. If you die here you do not refight Myurdin, and Umbra's health does not regenerate.

Fight: a huge winged figure with two attacks, rocks and lasers. Fly close enough for your fireballs to reach the eye at its centre but no closer, or a shockwave throws you back; stop pushing forward and strafe left and right to slip the lasers. When the yellow stun bar under its health fills, jump off, glide toward the eye, air-dash to reach it and hit it with Force Palm (much like Tenebrum) for about half a bar. Two or three rounds end it, and the ending follows.

Also: nearly impossible to lose. Stay at fireball range until pushed away; after the stun you dismount automatically into a glide with unlimited stamina; Aerial Roll to the core and Force Palm it, twice over. If you miss or cancel the glide (which cannot be restarted), the pause menu offers a reset that puts you back on Blackstar with full health and keeps the damage already dealt.