------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Winner of the GameFAQs FAQ of the Month for February 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________ __ __ ___ \______ \ _____ _______ | | __ ______|__| __| _/ ____ _______ ______ | | \ \__ \ \_ __ \| |/ / / ___/| | / __ |_/ __ \\_ __ \/ ___/ | ` \ / __ \_| | \/| < \___ \ | |/ /_/ |\ ___/ | | \/\___ \ /_______ /(____ /|__| |__|_ \/____ >|__|\____ | \___ >|__| /____ > \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ _____________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- ============================================================================== DARKSIDERS FAQ/Walkthrough Copyright (c)2010-2011 DomZ Ninja ============================================================================== Author: DomZ Ninja E-mail: domzninja[at]hotmail[dot]com Updated: 06/16/11 Version: 1.0 NOTE: This guide does contain spoilers! ______________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS ______________________________________________________________________________ See that series of numbers to the right of each section? If you want to find a specific section in the FAQ, press CTRL + F to open a search box. Type in the series of numbers for the desired section that you're trying to find and press Enter. Whabam! The search function will take you there in an instant. 1] - Version History.................................. [0100] 2] - Controls......................................... [0200] 3] - Walkthrough...................................... [0300] 3.01] Prologue................................. [0301] 3.02] The Crossroads........................... [0302] 3.03] Scalding Gallow.......................... [0303] 3.04] Choking Grounds.......................... [0304] 3.05] The Broken Stair......................... [0305] 3.06] Twilight Cathedral....................... [0306] 3.07] Drowned Pass............................. [0307] 3.08] Anvil's Ford............................. [0308] 3.09] The Hollows.............................. [0309] 3.10] Dry Road................................. [0310] 3.11] The Ashlands............................. [0311] 3.12] Iron Canopy.............................. [0312] 3.13] The Black Throne......................... [0313] 3.14] Eden..................................... [0314] 3.15] Final Preparations....................... [0315] 3.16] The Destroyer............................ [0316] 4] - Move List........................................ [0400] 5] - Wrath Abilities.................................. [0500] 6] - Lifestones....................................... [0600] 7] - Wrath Cores...................................... [0700] 8] - Artifacts........................................ [0800] 9] - Abyssal Armor.................................... [0900] 10] - Items........................................... [1000] 10.1] Items.................................... [1010] 10.2] Gear/Equipment........................... [1020] 10.3] Weapon Enhancements...................... [1030] 11] - Achievements.................................... [1100] 12] - Bestiary........................................ [1200] 12.1] Enemies.................................. [1210] 12.2] Bosses................................... [1220] 13] - Thanks/Credits.................................. [1300] ______________________________________________________________________________ 1] VERSION HISTORY [0100] ______________________________________________________________________________ FAQ/Walkthrough #46 ------------------- Version 1.0 (02/25/10) - FAQ/Walkthrough complete and submitted. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2] CONTROLS [0200] ______________________________________________________________________________ .-----------------------------.----------------------------------------------. | D-Pad | Select Weapons/Gear | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Left Analog Stick | Move, Dash (RB + Left Analog) | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Right Analog Stick | Move Camera, Aim (Click) | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Start | Pause | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Back | View Map, Summon Watcher (Hold) | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | X Button | Sword Attack | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Y Button | Secondary Attack | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | A Button | Jump | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | B Button | Interact | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Right Trigger | Use Gear | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Left Trigger | Focus on Enemy (Hold) | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Right Bumper | Block | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Left Bumper | Use Wrath Abilities | '-----------------------------'----------------------------------------------' ______________________________________________________________________________ 3] WALKTHROUGH [0300] ______________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: This walkthrough is based on the Normal difficulty. ============================================================================== 3.01] PROLOGUE [0301] ============================================================================== Like most games, a tutorial is first in line before getting to the fun stuff. If this is your first time, pay attention. A vicious foe stands on top of a downed bus as he summons tiny freaks to do his bidding. Kill the Minions that crawl towards you with your sword (press X). Once they are weakened, you can finish them off by pressing B for a fireworks show of blood and guts. The Minions aren't so tough, so use this time to get yourself familiarized with the game controls and mechanics. To attack, press X. Jump by pressing A (you can double jump) and block/evade by hitting the Right Bumper. Once you kill about six or so Minions, the monster known as Trauma will drop down from the bus and confront you himself. At this time, the game orders you to enter Chaos Mode. Comply by holding down the Left Bumper and pressing the Right Trigger. As War turns into a humongous fiery demon, you are pretty much invincible. Coast through the monster by using your swords to tear him to pieces. A meteor conveniently clears the road for you, so move forward. Exit Chaos Mode by inputting the same button command and approach the cars. War may look human-sized, but he possesses great strength. Pick up a nearby car by pressing B, then aim and toss it with the Right Trigger. Continue towards the giant golem creature in the distance for a short scene. If you exited Chaos Mode earlier, you should be able to reenter against the fight with the Angel Soldiers. Easily dispose of them and your Chaos Mode will run out for good. Follow the golem - the Tormented Gate - through the ruined city. Don't worry about the helpless people running amok; you're one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: just kill 'em! You'll run into a few Minions and Angel Soldiers along the way. The angels have devastating attacks, so try to block often with the Right Bumper. With the enemies defeated, a strange goo forms on the side of a nearby skyscraper. This is Demonic Growth, and you can use it to climb. Scale the building, then climb up the next set of Demonic Growth to reach the roof. In order to cross rooftops, locate the power line in front of you and jump to automatically grab it. Shimmy across. A large set of Demonic Growth forms on the adjacent building. Jump onto it and begin your ascent. Minions will be crawling on the growth ready to attack, so avoid them by holding down the Right Bumper and using the Left Analog Stick to shift in any one of the four cardinal directions. Quickly move up onto the roof, then finish off the demons. You can try attacking the Minions while climbing, but that process is slow and leaves you open for attack. As you enter the office building ahead, an exit is sealed off as Minions pour into the room. In order to open up the exit, you must exterminate all enemies. Drop down the elevator shaft and follow the hallway. Nearby, a winged demon will obliterate an unfortunate helicopter. I hope those are on our side... Slide down a wire to exit the building and encounter a few more Angel Soldiers. There are plenty of cars here, so use them to your advantage by chucking them at your opponents. Use your map (use the big map if you need to by pressing Back) and follow the street towards the red skull icon. This will take you to the area's boss. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Straga ---------------------- Straga is a gargantuan demon that wants nothing more than to reduce War to a bloody pulp. With the intimidation factor aside, he is not difficult at all. Straga can't move around all that well since the lower half of his body is submerged in lava, so he is a bit limited when it comes to mobility. For the most part, you'll be dodging cars left and right. Straga will dig deep in his bottomless pit of cars and begin throwing them your way like they are Hot Wheels. Lock onto the boss with the Left Trigger and dash to avoid impact. Next up, use the cars to attack the boss. If you are locked onto Straga, you should automatically hit him square in the face every time. Keep doing this until Straga falls forward. With his ugly mug in reach, jump in the air and slash away at his head. Straga will pull himself away after three his, then retaliate with his next attack. The demon will pick up the street entirely, tilt it twice, then slam the street to the ground. Stand on the street as he lifts it up the two times, then get ready to double jump as Straga drops it down. As the battle progresses, Straga will use a third attack (though it's just as easy to dodge as the other two). As the boss slams his fist in the ground, a stream of lava will roll your way. Just like the cars, sidestep the liquid hot magma. The only way to stun Straga is to toss cars back at him, so you will have to be patient and wait for him to use the cars on you first. Nevertheless, this is a painfully easy boss fight and doesn't require much skill. The process of stunning Straga, then slicin' his face up must be done a total of three times in order to end the boss fight - finish the job by pressing B when the game prompts you to do so. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Despite the early advantage, Straga gains the upper hand and takes care of War. After a cutscene, the prologue will end. ============================================================================== 3.02] THE CROSSROADS [0302] ============================================================================== Charred Council ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ You've been given a second chance, so don't mess it up! You can't do jack without a weapon, so head towards the pedestal on the right side of the area to locate the Chaoseater. Upon removing the blade from its pedestal, you will also learn your first Wrath Ability: Blade Geyser. Press Start to access your Gears & Wrath. Here you can assign abilities and items to one of four slots. Assign both your Life Essence and new Wrath Ability, then exit the menu. Next, approach the swirling blue geyser to retrieve some Souls. There are three main types of Souls: Blue Souls represent the game's currency, Green Souls replenish War's health, and Yellow Souls replenish War's Wrath. After absorbing a handful of Souls, War will be transported back to Earth. Seraphim Hotel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ruined hotel is filled with destructible items. Break them down even more by either slicing them apart or throwing them against walls. Most objects here yield Souls, so spend some time destroying all the cars and other items in the parking garage before moving on. On the other side of the ramp on the second floor is a chest that can be opened for 100 Blue Souls. Double jump across the ramp and walk forward. The next gap is out of your jumping range, so instead hug the wall and jump up to grab the upper ledge. Shimmy across the hole to the other side. This area is devoid of all humans, and instead their corpses have become ravenous ghouls. Wicked are slow-moving creatures like zombies in old school horror flicks and are generally regarded as fodder in this game. Use the Right Bumper to block their attacks and lock onto a single foe by holding the Left Trigger down. Slice through the first wave of Wicked and move around the perimeter of the garage. A vile creature emerges from the ground and, in an attempt at a kamikaze, destroys a portion of the floor. No worries! Just shimmy across the pipe overhead. Stupid monster. War's gauntlet will glow any time you're near an interactible object, such as a door. First, try grabbing the nearby Wickeds with War's gauntlet for head-crushing fun! Pry open the nearby door with B and use the Demonic Growth to reach the top of the shaft and a new room. You will encounter another fiery fat dude here, but this time he's ready to fight you like a man. Known as Fleshbursters, they get their name from their well-known trait of self destructing once their health is low. They are also capable of attacking with their grubby paws and breathing fire at you. Deal with the Wicked here first so they don't distract you (note: killing Wicked with your gauntlet rather than your sword yields Green Souls, so use this method of destruction if you're low on health), then target the Fleshburster. Avoid his slow attacks by dashing to the side and back, then retaliating as he pauses between attacks. When you see the Fleshburster glow and swell up, back away. Explore the room to find another chest with some Green Souls and go up the steps to find a block. Stand on the side with the handle and hold B to begin dragging/pushing it. Move the block towards the northern corner of the room, then use it to reach the high ledge. Shimmy across the pipe to reach the opposite side of the room. Kill the Wickeds here in the hallway and enter the next elevator shaft. Climb across the Demon Growth up one floor. The floor in front of you will give way, sending you to a new room. This room is heavily populated with Wicked. Begin killing as many as you can until the game interrupts you with a cutscene. A Gholen appears and eliminates the remaining Wickeds. This beast is a much tougher foe than the scraggly zombie dudes that preceded it. The Gholen will attack with its flaming fists in a number of ways. Normally, he has an overwhelming hook attack that'll knock you flat on your ass if you're unlucky enough to come in contact. The Gholen can also use a fist slam attack to create a red-hot shockwave. Finally, if you keep your distance, you will be susceptible to a long-range flame attack. Juggle between attacking the Gholen up close, then dashing away (a hit and run technique) and keeping your distance and pelting it with anything you can get your hands on. The game suggests you use your Wrath Ability, but it's up to you. Finish the Gholen off with an interactive execution to open up the exit. Pass through the doorway that was once blocked by a barrier. Defeat the remaining Wicked and open up the treasure chest here for some Green Souls. Approach the balcony for a scene. The Crossroads ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ War will be introduced to Vulgrim here. This chump basically serves as a merchant throughout the game, strolling around and offering items and other goodies for the price of Blue Souls. Talk to Vulgrim. He demands that you give him 500 Blue Souls. By now you probably have around 300, so get to work. This place is wide open and home to a lot of wrecked vehicles and other destructible objects. First, head south and drop down the hole to find a chest containing 100 Blue Souls. Climb up and start your way towards the northwest side of The Crossroads. Pass by the subway entrance and begin killing Wickeds. A Gholen drops in, so use the many cars here to quickly finish the monster off. The Gholen will probably bring you over the 500 blue Soul mark, but that doesn't mean we have to report back to Vulgrim already. There's still a lot of stuff to find here. The chest at the far north end of this street contains Green Souls. Descend the stairs into the subway. Well, it was once a subway. Grab onto the Demon Growth once you enter the waterlogged chamber and climb across the ceiling. Avoid the large blobs along the way. These creatures are called Lashes, and will whip you if you get too close. Avoid both Lashers to reach the treasure chest at the other end. Claim the prize of 200 Blue Souls. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ You can find the game's first Artifact in the waterlogged subway. Dive down into the murky water. Press B to descend and A to ascend. Search the bottom of the chamber to find a glowing green object; swim through it to obtain the Soldier Artifact. Exit out to the open and start checkin' out the eastern side of the streets. Phantom Guard Soldiers lurk on this side of The Crossroads. These guys aren't too tough and only have basic sword attacks. They are about as strong as the Angel Soldiers from the Prologue if you need reference. Enter the open building to find a treasure chest. Open it up for 100 Blue Souls. Return to the streets and make your way towards the hole on the east end. There is yet another chest down here, which yields some Green Souls. Continue dealing with Wickeds and Phantom Guard Soldiers on the east end of the area. Proceed down the lonesome street to encounter a second Gholen. Once he's out of the way, follow the street to find another staircase leading down. Behind it is a chest containing Green Souls. Next, head down the stairs, collect the 100 Blue Souls, then return to the surface. There's one last thing to do here. There are six fire hydrants scattered around The Crossroads. Destroy them all to make a hidden treasure chest appear near the south end of the area. This bad boy holds a whopping 500 Blue Souls, so don't miss out on the opportunity! Once ready, talk to Vulgrim and present him with your Souls. At the end of the deal, you are left with the Earthcaller. This horn can stun enemies with the Right Trigger, but also wake up Tormented Gates. Assign your new gear to one of the slots in the menu. Approach the stone slab behind where Vulgrim stood and use the Earthcaller. The Tormented Gate is awakened and lets War pass. Open the door to enter the library. Upon first glance, you will find a Green Soul-bearing chest next to you. Take the stairs on the left to reach a portion of the wrecked room. Defeat the Fleshburster and Wickeds here, then open up the treasure chest for 100 Blue Souls. Fall down to the bottom of the main chamber to find one more Fleshburster. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #1 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Your first Lifestone Shard is in reach. One of the reasons why snarky video game reviewers and analysts branded this game a Zelda ripoff: collect four of these shards to increase your overall health. Sound familiar? In the library's main chamber is a small pool of water (on the west side). Dive in and swim through the tunnel to emerge in a small chamber. The treasure chest here contains the Lifestone Shard. Return to the main chamber. Some Demonic Growth gives you access to the other side of the library. Kill the Wickeds and head into the hallway. Retrieve some Green Souls from the chest in the corner and open the door at the end. The second door takes you to the Scalding Gallow. ============================================================================== 3.03] SCALDING GALLOW [0303] ============================================================================== Scalding Gallow ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Destroy the car pileup near the entrance, then walk forward to find two Minions. After defeating them, jump up the ledge to the left and proceed up the staircase. Maneuver across the gap inside the half-destroyed building and open the treasure chest to receive 250 Blue Souls. You cannot reach the other side of the building, so drop down instead. Don't bother heading towards the central area; instead continue on the left side of the Scalding Gallow. Minions and Phantom Guard Soldiers roam around, giving you a fresh supply of Souls. Continue moving forward until you reach a small building on the right side of the road. Vulgrim appears inside, so as a result you are able to buy items off of him for the price of Blue Souls. Before chatting him up, open the chest next to him for 250 more Blue Souls. You can purchase the Scythe from Vulgrim, another main weapon, so that may want to be your first choice. ~-~ Wrath Shard #1 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Like Lifestone Shards, Wrath Shards require you to collect four in order to increase War's overall Wrath. They are easily just as important as Lifestone Shards, so keep your eye out for 'em. The first Wrath Shard requires no exploration. Simply purchase the Wrath Shard from Vulgrim for 2500 Blue Souls. ~-~ Wrath Shard #2 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- After doing business with Vulgrim, turn around and make your way up the Demonic Growth to find a chest containing a Wrath Shard. That was easy! There is nothing more you can do at this end of the Scalding Gallow. Backtrack towards the central area and cross the bridge. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Phantom General ------------- The Phantom General is basically an oversized version of the Phantom Guard Soldiers you've been slicing apart all day. He has only a handful of attacks and lets his henchmen do most of the dirty work. The Phantom General starts the battle off with a few basic attacks, like a simple slice of his axe. Not too difficult to avoid. The Phantom General's axe will sometimes glow red. The boss will then slam the hilt into the ground, resulting in a minor shockwave. All you have to do is dash backwards as you see the weapon turn bright red. Also, aside from staying on the offense, the boss does what no common enemy does and actually blocks your attacks! Most of the fight is spend dealing with Phantom Guard Soldiers than the boss himself. He will summon up to five soldiers and patiently wait until you decimate every single one of them. He'll even try to sound like a tough guy by spewing threats even though he never tries to commit them. Usually you will have to fight around two waves of Phantom Guard Soldiers before the Phantom General begins to attack you himself. Once weakened, the Phantom General will begin to use an ultra-powerful attack. The boss will wind up, then begin spinning around like a buzzsaw. It can knock you flat on your back if you aren't quick enough to avoid it, and he'll spin around four to five times, so repeatedly dash to keep away from the axe's reach. The fight is rather easy if you play it smart and don't get too carried away with attacking him. The Phantom General can catch you by surprise if you are too overzealous, so remember to block and dodge his axe strikes. Try to mix up Chaoseater and Scythe combos to catch him off-guard and wait for a button prompt to appear to finish the fight. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- After the bloody execution, follow the Watcher towards one of the gargoyles on the perimeter of the arena. Grab it with B and push it towards the middle to set it in its place to fix the stream of blood. Find the second gargoyle that isn't running and push it in its place. This will free Samael. Samael will give you orders on how to take care of The Destroyer. First, you must defeat four of his most loyal minions and retrieve their hearts. The closest one lies in the Twilight Cathedral, and Samael gives War a pair of wings to help aid him in his quest! After a double jump, hold down A to glide through the air. Backtrack across the bridge and look to the left. The floating blue orb in the middle of a hole is a Shadow Geyser. If you jump inside it, it'll shoot you high up in the air. Couple this with your new Shadowflight ability and you'll be able to cover large amounts of ground. Use the Shadow Geyser to reach the next platform and defeat the enemies here. Hop across the next geyser to enter a tunnel. Proceed through and kill the two Minions inside the cave. Hop up the next Shadow Geyser to be propelled to the top floor of the cave. Traverse along the Demonic Growth (destroy the Lasher along the way) and make your way across the ceiling to the other side of the lava pit. Take care of the Minions before gliding across the pit to reach a pair of Shadow Geysers. Double jump and hold down A as you glide through both of them. They will lead you across the long lava stream. Climb up the ledge ahead to exit the cave. ============================================================================== 3.04] CHOKING GROUNDS [0304] ============================================================================== Choking Grounds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Walk straight ahead past the enemies and enter the mausoleum to spawn another Vulgrim location. Stock up on any items, including the ever so useful Life Essence. If you're loaded on Blue Souls then you may want to also think about purchasing new moves for your two weapons. Exit and confront the Duskwings floating around outside. These foes are easy because if you jump in the air and press B next to them, you'll execute a one-hit kill. Any time you move past a tombstone you risk encountering an Undead Soldier. They rise from the earth in small groups to attack. They fight similarly to Phantom Guard Soldiers, so in other words they are weak on their own. Just don't let them surround you. There's a lot to explore here in the Choking Grounds. First off, go south from the mausoleum towards the stone wall. In the southwest corner of the area are three tombs lining the side of the wall. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ If you look very closely at the tombs that line the southwest end of the area, you may notice that the middle one looks a tad different than the other two. Face the north end of the tomb and you should be able to grab onto it with B. Grab on, then begin pulling the tomb to access a secret stairway. The underground tomb contains some Wicked, Undead Soldiers, but most importantly, a Soldier Artifact. Kill the enemies and claim your prize. Exit to the surface and pass the stone wall to the southern end. Move down a small flight of stairs to locate a treasure chest containing 100 Blue Souls. Eliminate the Fleshburster and the Undead Soldiers down the street and also smash the cars to retrieve some Blue Souls. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ There is a staircase on the northwest end of the cemetery that leads to an underground tomb. Kill the Fleshburster and Wicked before accepting the Soldier Artifact. Like the cars along the perimeter of the Choking Grounds, the tombstones also yield Blue Souls. More importantly are the cross-shaped tombstones. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #2 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Destroy all eight cross tombstones to make a treasure chest appear at the southwest end of the Choking Grounds. Open this chest for a Lifestone Shard. Continue searching the cemetery for Souls and other cool stuff. Go over to the east end of the Choking Grounds to reach another side street. Kill off the foes wandering around. Follow the street west, past the building, to find a chest containing some Green Souls. This time, follow the street east towards the Tormented Gate. Before awakening it, jump on the ledge lining the right side of the road to reach a chest containing 100 Blue Souls. Drop back down and now hug the left side of the street. You should find a deep hole near the base of a building. Drop down and follow the tunnel to reach the basement. Kill off the Undead Soldiers and Wicked, then open the chest in the corner for 100 Blue Souls. Shoot up to the first floor using the Shadow Geyser. ~-~ Wrath Shard #3 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- There is a Wrath Shard inside a treasure chest on the first floor of the building here. The only thing in your way from taking it is a Fleshburster and some Wicked. You won't be able to reach the upper floors of the building, as a strange structure is in the way of the Demonic Growth. Exit the abandoned building the same way you came in and approach the Tormented Gate. Use your Earthcaller to wake up the beast. Instead of just getting out of our way, the Tormented Gate gives War the ability to enter the Shadow Realm. Ugh, more work to do. Portals to the Shadow Realm are represented by orange circles on your map. The closest one is along the street where you found the chest containing Green Souls. Shadow Arena Challenges pit you against normal enemies, but your methods of destruction are restricted. In order to win a challenge, you must follow the commands given to you at your arrival. --- Shadow Challenge Arena ------------ Defeat 40 enemies within the time limit. This isn't too tough, considering all the enemies you start off against are Wickeds. Slice through the group of zombies with your Scythe and don't even bother using your grab attack to kill them - that takes too much time. I suggest the Scythe at first because it has a wide range and can mow down Wicked in a hurry. Once the numbers dwindle, switch to the Chaoseater. Phantom Guard Soldiers and Fleshbursters follow. Again, stick to the Scythe when you are surrounded and Chaoseater for one-on-one affairs. Avoid using executions because the animation takes too long, so just avoid using B for the challenge's entirety. Also use Wrath Abilities such as Blade Geyser against tougher foes like Fleshbursters. You should be fine during the three minute time period. At the end of every successful Shadow Challenge Arena, you are presented with two treasure chests each containing Green Souls and Yellow Souls. Destroy the eyeball gate, open the chests, then return to the Choking Grounds. The next Shadow Challenge Arena is also fairly close. It's close to the Tormented Gate, though on the south end. --- Shadow Challenge Arena ------------ Defeat 5 enemies using aerial combos within the time limit. Simple. The game even gives you step-by-step instructions on how to perform an aerial combo! Sheesh! Your best bet is to weaken each enemy first before trying to execute an aerial combo. For the Phantom Guard Soldiers, attack them on the ground until the button prompt appears over their head. Instead of going for the execution, lock on and hold down X to send them flying. Hit 'em once or twice to get the aerial kill. At first, the game gives you one enemy at a time, though this later increases to two. If you repeat this strategy, you'll win with absolutely no trouble. You should get a nice amount of Blue Soul bonus for this one, since you have a whopping three minutes to complete this challenge. Go to the Shadow Challenge Arena on the southeast corner of the area. --- Shadow Challenge Arena ------------ Kill 30 enemies using only War's instant kill attacks within the time limit. You're probably used to this method of killing by now, but this is the only way to go here. You can only dispatch of your foes by pressing B when the button prompt appears. The first eight enemies are Duskwings, which can be killed immediately by jumping in the air and pressing B. By jumping after each kill, you can eliminate all eight in succession without even touching the ground. The next group of opponents are Undead Soldiers, then more Duskwings. You know how to deal with the latter, but the former must be weakened (you know this already). The good thing about instant kills is that you can interrupt combos midway through by pressing B, so the second you see that red button appear over their head, hit B to do away with them. Honestly, this challenge is not that difficult. Just make sure not to kill any enemies by conventional methods. Whenever you see the button prompt appear, avoid finishing a combo and press B immediately. Five minutes is also pretty generous, so you can take your time if you'd like. The one (big) problem about this challenge is that you have to fight Gholens. You don't have to kill them, but they do appear. The good news is that other enemies will also appear, so you can avoid the Gholens entirely and focus on Duskwings and Phantom Guard Soldiers. This also comes in handy because you can avoid the Gholen's attacks during executions, because you cannot take damage during the instant kill animation. :) The final Shadow Challenge Arena is on the opposite end of the cemetery. --- Shadow Challenge Arena ------------ Kill 50 enemies before War's infected health depletes. This challenge features no set time limit, but your own life will be ticking away instead. The arena is filled with poisonous air that slowly drains your health away. The first wave of foes are Wicked. Don't bother extracting Green Souls from them with your grab attack, because you're not even hurting that much at all. Slice through them and the Minions that subsequently follow. Phantom Guard Soldiers soon follow, and they make up the bulk of the challenge's enemies. The trick about this challenge is to take your time and actually protect yourself and block attacks instead of charging in, guns blazin'. Use your Scythe's sweeping attacks and follow up with instant kills to help slow down the pace and avoid taking damage. A Gholen will appear near the end of the challenge. Again, you do not have to kill him, but doing so doesn't hurt. Use Wrath Abilities to take down the foe and when you execute your instant kill, it'll give you a lot of Green Souls. You can also just try to avoid it and focus entirely on the Phantom Guard Soldiers, but it's up to you. There are four chests around the perimeter of the arena. Two contain Yellow Souls and two contain Green Souls. Only use the chests sparingly. When you're down to about half health (one Lifestone has been depleted), use one of the Green Soul chests. Use the second one before killing the final enemy to receive a sweet Soul bonus. Once the final Shadow Challenge Arena has been completed, War will learn the Block Counter ability. Just before an enemy strikes, press the Right Bumper to counterattack. It requires timing, but practice makes perfect. Return to Vulgrim and use your crapload of newly obtained Blue Souls to purchase new moves and Wrath Abilities. Return to the Tormented Gate and wake his sleepy ass up a second time to gain access to a new area. You will also receive your first Weapon Enhancement: RAVAGER. Equip it to one of your two weapons, then move into the tunnel. Break apart the cars and open the door to your right. Walk through the drain pipe to enter a second tunnel. Destroy the cars and open the chest in the corner for 100 Blue Souls. Defeat the Duskwings before crossing the chasms using the Shadow Geysers. War will be sealed into the next room he enters as Phantom Guard Soldiers flood into the room. Eliminate them all to continue through the tunnels and to The Broken Stair. ============================================================================== 3.05] THE BROKEN STAIR [0305] ============================================================================== The Broken Stair ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ What better way to start off an area than by finding an Artifact? ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ At the start of the area, hug the right wall as you exit out of the tunnel. As soon as the side opens up, follow the trail of debris. The Soldier Artifact is pretty hard to miss as it's lying right on the edge of the upcoming cliff. Return to the street and lay waste to the Duskwings and Wicked. The four-way intersection ahead isn't much of an intersection at all, for the northern and eastern paths are dead ends. Instead, go south. Head down the stairs down into the cave below. Open the treasure chest in the corner for 250 Blue Souls. Yummy! If you follow the hanging blue amulets, they will lead you to another Vulgrim location. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #3 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Return to the previous chest in the cave. There is a pool of ice-cold water in the corner. Dive in and swim through the tunnel to emerge on the other end. Hop onto dry land to find a chest containing a Lifestone Shard. Dive back into the water and exit the cave. Enter the elegant building ahead and climb up the staircase. Take care of the pair of Phantom Guard Soldiers, destroy the furniture, then pry open the treasure chest for 250 Blue Souls. Looking out the hole in the side of the building, you will spot a line of Shadow Geysers. Use them to reach the entrance ramp of a destroyed overpass. Several Duskwings emerge from a nearby building. Kill them along with the Wicked lurking around. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #4 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- After disposing of the enemies on the overpass, make sure to turn around to find a chest behind a sea of cars. Destroy the cars to make a path to the treasure chest, then open it for another Lifestone Shard. Use the Shadow Geysers to navigate across the ruined highway. When you reach the third section of highway, a familiar foe will make his presence known. Remember the ugly monster found in the very beginning of the game, Trauma? Well this guy was pretty easy back then, but that's because we had the ability to transform into a giant flaming demon. We can't do that now, that's for sure. The Trauma starts at the entrance ramp and will throw cars at War. As it flies towards your tiny head, ready to crush your entire being, counterattack by pressing B just before the car hits you. Lock onto the Trauma with the Left Trigger and toss the vehicle right back. Of course, he will retaliate the same way. Repeat this process until he eventually reaches your location. With no cars available, you are left with just your weapons. Stay locked onto the Trauma and dash from side to side as he swipes at you with his sharp claws. Attack it just like any normal enemy and get ready to use an instant kill when the button prompt eventually appears. With the Trauma slain, continue to the next section of highway. Before you make your way to the distant building, don't miss out on the chest in the corner that contains 250 Blue Souls. Use the final Shadow Geyser to glide right into the open building. A strange force field seals off access to the roof, so instead use the stairs to navigate downward. The floor directly below you offers a few Wicked and 250 Blue Souls inside a chest. Drop down to the bottom floor to face off against a handful of Phantom Guard Soldiers. Once you have eliminated them, look around to find a fancy-looking chest. Open it to receive the Beholder's Key. Return to the top floor and use the Beholder's Key on the barrier to reach the building's roof. During the cutscene, War avoids the angels and takes hold of an Angelic Mount. Grand Theft Griffin! While riding the Angelic Mount, you can attack angels by pressing the Right Trigger. You can also use the Left Trigger to lock onto incoming foes. Use the Left Analog Stick to move and the Right Analog Stick to move your targeting reticule. The entire sequence is straightforward. Think of it as Star Fox, but with more demonic and angels and less prepubescent frogs. Once at the end of the sequence, Tiamat takes your Angelic Mount as a snack and War is left on the outskirts of the Twilight Cathedral. ============================================================================== 3.06] TWILIGHT CATHEDRAL [0306] ============================================================================== Twilight Cathedral ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On the far right side (the south end if you're looking at the map) is a treasure chest containing 100 Blue Souls. It's on a ledge below, so you will have to drop down to get it. There are two locations of importance outside the cathedral. To the left of the Twilight Cathedral entrance is a chest containing Green Souls. To the right is another Vulgrim location. Stock up on whatever you'd like, then enter the Twilight Cathedral. The Watcher will lure you over to a pedestal. Follow him and pick up the crystal blade. Carry this blade to the east end of the hallway. The angel statue next to the locked door is carved with open hands, almost as if she could be holding something. Place the crystal sword in the statue's hands with B to unlock the door, then go through. As you enter the next chamber, you'll see that Tiamat is having a bit of trouble subduing her lunch. Jump across the rock island to the other side of the foyer. The game will focus on a large monster hanging from the ceiling. Aside from killing Duskwings, there's nothing we can do here, so go through the door on the right. You will exit out into the courtyard. The northern doorway will be sealed shut as you are forced to deal with an army of Undead Soldiers and Duskwings. Once you slay every last one, the door will open back up. Go on through. Bomb Growths are growing out of the floor in this room. Bomb Growths are pretty much like sticky grenades or Plasma Grenades for Halo fans like myself. Pick one up with B, then throw it with the Right Trigger as it detonates. It'll stick to any surface, so throw one at the set of red crystals on the side of the wall. They will be destroyed and the path will be opened. Get the Green Souls from the treasure chest near the Bomb Growths and move through the hole in the wall. Climb up the side of the wall using the notches and jump to the ledge above. Turn around and jump to a nearby platform containing a chest. Open it up for Rage (this item restores some of your Wrath). Hop back over to the previous ledge and proceed through the hallway. You are now on the upper balcony of the courtyard. Open the treasure chest on the side of the wall to receive the Map. Turn towards the statue against the balcony and press B to push it off the edge and straight through the courtyard. Before entering the pit below, use the northern door. This is the upper portion of the foyer, as you can catch an up close look at the weird monster thing hanging from the ceiling. You'll also find a treasure chest containing 100 Blue Souls here. Return to the courtyard and drop down into the hole you created. Glide over the lava pit and defeat the Undead Soldiers here. Use the ledge to cross the giant pit ahead and deal with more Undead Soldiers. I don't know why but I have a lot of fun using the Earthcaller to push the enemies into the pools of lava. It's funny. :) ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ This Soldier Artifact is easy to miss because it's floating high up in the air. After crossing the pool of lava, you should end up on a patch of Demonic Growth. Instead of dropping down to the ground, move your camera so you can see the other side of the tunnel. You should be able to see the Soldier Artifact floating in the air. From here, jump from the Demonic Growth to snag it out of the air. More Undead Soldiers are waiting for you on the other side of the door. Slice 'em up and inspect the chest for a Beholder's Key. Take it all the way back to the courtyard; use the Beholder's Key on the blue force field on the opposite end of the courtyard. In the next room, hop over the lava pools to enter a circular room. An enemy that bears a striking resemblance to the Phantom General appears here. This guys is actually called a Conscript, and he is covered with shiny blue armor. Watch out for his crystal attack and swinging buzzsaw strike. Now that I think about it, he even has similar attacks as the Phantom General! Continue attacking to break his armor, then finish him off with an instant kill. Open the chest for 250 Blue Souls and replenish your health by absorbing the Green Souls found in the second treasure chest. Take the crystal blade all the way back to the foyer. Place it on the angel statue on the opposite end and go through the newly-opened door. It looks like Tiamat has finally finished off her lunch. There is another crystal blade resting on a pedestal, but a Goremaw lurks overhead. If you try to snag the sword, it'll reach down and gobble you up. Grab a Bomb Growth and toss it at the Goremaw to destroy it, then pick up the sword. Doing so will prompt the appearance of a Conscript and three Undead Soldiers. Deal with the three lesser foes first, then focus on the real threat. If you have gathered up some distance between your enemy, try picking up a Bomb Growth and tossing it at him to deal a nice amount of damage. After disposing of the Conscript, place it on a nearby angel statue to open up another passage. Don't head anywhere just yet, though. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #5 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- On the southern end of the room is a small opening that leads to a patch of red crystals. These can only be destroyed with a Bomb Growth, but it is too far away from the bomb for you to carry it through the opening before the bomb's detonation. Instead, use the window to your advantage. If you pick up a Bomb Growth and turn around, you will spot a hole in the southern wall that gives you a clean view of the red crystal. Click on the Right Analog Stick to aim, then throw the Bomb Growth through the hole and onto the crystals. With the crystals destroyed, proceed through the opening and take the Lifestone Shard. Head through the northwest door. You will end up on the left side of a large room. Use the Shadow Geyser to reach a balcony high above you. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Instead of facing the balcony, face the opposite way and jump into the Shadow Geyser. Float away from the balcony to snatch the Champion Artifact right out of the air. Return to the balcony and exit through the wooden door. Climb along the ledges to reach the other end of the balcony and continue around the perimeter of the room. At the end, push the stone block down to the ground. Drop down and push the block against the wall to the right of the Goremaw. Line it up with the ledges above so you can use the block as a suitable stepping stone. Climb up to the top and enter the door on your right. Back on the other end of the foyer, defeat the Undead Soldier and use the Bomb Growth to attack the giant Goremaw. It'll drop the stone structure it was holding, right through the floor. Drop down into the gaping hole you just created. Proceed through the dark tunnels of the catacombs. When you reach a large room, refill your health via the treasure chest in the corner and slash at the bound stone to receive the Crossblade. Test out your new toy on the Lavashrikes that appear. Enter Aim Mode (click the Right Analog Stick) and use the Left Trigger to target the beasts, then let your Crossblade fly. Once you've defeated the pests, switch to your normal weapons for the Undead Soldiers. Finally, a Rot Mauler enters the chamber. Stay away from the vile creature, as it spits poisonous muck at you if you get too close. Target the monster and charge up your Crossblade, then toss it at the Rot Mauler to deal some damage to it. Repeat this until the Rot Mauler takes a page from the Fleshburster and explodes. However, if a button prompt appears, press B to decapitate it. Even without its head, the Rot Mauler still lives. Step away and use your Crossblade one final time to destroy the monster. A glowing object takes your attention after the Rot Mauler bites the dust. Lock onto it with your Crossblade and hit it to open up an exit out of here. Defeat the Lavashrikes in this new room, then use the lever near the pool of lava. It's supposed to raise the statue from the lava, but the red crystals surrounding it is making its job very difficult. There is a Bomb Growth on the front of the red crystal, so lock onto it with your Crossblade and toss the weapon at the bomb to detonate it. The crystals on the front of the statue will be destroyed, but there are still some on the back of the statue. Jump onto the ledge to your left. As you make your way to the side of the statue, look behind it to spot a Bomb Growth stuck to the statue. One Crossblade throw away and the red crystals will be no more. Return to the lever and raise the statue from the lava. Hit the Crossblade target on the front of the statue to open up two doors. The door on the right is out of our reach, so settle for the other one. Use the Crossblade on the two Bomb Growths to destroy the support beam, creating a huge island for you to walk on. Drop down onto the ground and look around the bend to find a similar situation, although these Bomb Growths are not lit. You can imbue elemental powers into your Crossblade. For example, toss your Crossblade at one of the torches hanging on the wall to light it on fire. Lock onto one of the torches first, then the three Bomb Growths. Your Crossblade will be engulfed in flames, then ignites the Bomb Growths as you create another island for yourself. Nifty! You will end up on the other side of the previous room. Enter the door ahead. This room contains three angel statues, meaning that you are to find three crystal blades somewhere nearby. Open the chest at the north end of the room for some Green Souls, then use the Shadow Geyser to reach the doorway above. Destroy the two metal crates hanging from the wire overhead, then use the zipline to reach the other end of the lava pit. Two columns stand on either side of you; use the lever to lower them as one rises in front of you. Kill the two Lavashrikes and jump onto the column in front of you. Follow them to the southeast end of the lava pool. Hit the Crossblade target to rearrange the column level. Glide to the southwest end and hit the Crossblade target to raise and lower the columns again. As this is happening, jump onto the western column and look west to find another Crossblade target. Trigger it to make a column appear in the center of the room... containing Bomb Growths. Use the Bomb Growths to destroy the two sets of red crystals in the room. Jump to the blue Crossblade target on the southeast end and hit it. From here, hop across the columns to the northeast corner and jump into the open hole. Hit the Crossblade target inside and open the chest for 250 Blue Souls. Use the columns to reach the northwest end and jump through the hole in the wall you created earlier. Climb onto the notches on the wall, then use them to jump onto the cable floating overhead. Shimmy across the cable to reach the northern end of the room, where you can retrieve the crystal blade. Turn around and open up an exit using the Crossblade targets, then exit the room (you should be able to if you hit the Crossblade targets in the order that I gave). Return to the statue room and place the blade in any one of the three statues. Next, make your way to the western chamber. The camera pans out and gives you a nice tour of the room. It's pretty big. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Easy. Stand on the center of the bridge and look down to your right. The Soldier Artifact is floating on a ledge that can easily be reached if you glide on down. From the Artifact, maneuver across the stone gears to the other side of the room to find a dormant Bomb Growth. These are not lit, so you can carry them without fear of detonation. Carry it back across towards the other end of the room. There are some red crystals lying near the lava's edge. Toss the Bomb Growth on the crystals. There's a torch right next to the red crystals, so lock onto it before you hit the Bomb Growth to successfully detonate it. The crystals will be destroyed and the gears will be in place. Return to the dormant Bomb Growth and use the ledges and Demonic Growth to reach the top of the room. Turn the dial near the entrance of the room to rotate the bridge. Hop on and use it to reach the left side of the room. Here you will find dormant Bomb Growths, an active Bomb Growth, and red crystals to its right. In order to destroy the crystals, you must form a line of dormant Bomb Growths stretching from the active one all the way to the crystals. That way, when you detonate the active Bomb Growth it'll blow up each one until it hits the crystals. Proceed past the rubble and pull the lever at the end to make a Crossblade target rise at the western end of the room. Backtrack to the dormant Bomb Growth, pick one up, and hurl it across the room at the red crystals on the far side. Ride the bridge to the other side, then use the torch to light the bomb and open up the path. Turn the lever to make a second Crossblade target appear, then make your way to the west end of the room. Target both targets with one Crossblade throw to reach the crystal blade. Take it, open the chest for 250 Blue Souls, and leave the room. Place the second blade on a statue to make the final door open up. Inside, a nice treasure chest taunts you as it is lowered into the floor. Undead Soldiers arrive instead; defeat all three to make the chest appear again. Open it up for a Beholder's Key. ~-~ Wrath Shard #4 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- After killing the monsters and retrieving the Beholder's Key, make sure to open the treasure chest in the corner for a Wrath Shard. Backtrack to the previous room with the three statues. If you head back one more room to the spot where we rose the statue from the lava pool, you may remember a blue force field there. Use the Beholder's Key there and continue into the new room. Use the Crossblade to slay the Lavashrikes flying around, then cross the lava using the pillars to your right. Turn the dial on the side of the wall to make a column appear across the lava pit. Next, use the door to reach a boss chamber. Not Tiamat, but someone much uglier. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: The Jailer ------------------ This putrid, mutated fiend is luckily not as tough as he is disgusting. The Jailer has one main attack: he uses his free arm to swing one of the cages around in a sweeping motion. He's not exactly swift or agile, so this is very easy to avoid once you see it coming. As a result, The Jailer usually gives in and lets the Undead Soldiers deal with you. When The Jailer slams the cage into the ground, several Undead Soldiers will somehow be released. Dash away from the boss and let the soldiers follow, then kill them before The Jailer reaches your position. (it should take a while for that to happen). Use your Crossblade and Aim Mode to target the three yellow bulbs on The Jailer's enlarged shoulder. Hit all three in one throw to stun the boss. With the boss on one knee, run up and unleash a flurry of Chaoseater combos. Retreat when The Jailer gets back up, as it isn't too happy. The bulbs turn from yellow to red, and The Jailer goes into an all-out frenzy. He shuffles around, swinging his cage back and forth like a madman. He'll most likely take out a few of the columns in the room, actually making it easier to navigate the prison. Once The Jailer calms down, the battle will resume its normal schedule. Continue to repeat this process. The battle doesn't get any harder, but if you need any health there is a treasure chest containing Green Souls in the corner of the room. Stun The Jailer by targeting its fleshy bulbs, then whack away: do this a total of three times to win the fight. Finish off The Jailer (and his prisoner for good measure) with an instant kill. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- A gate opens up, revealing a lever. Pull it to start up an elevator as you descend to the basement. Toss a dormant Bomb Growth on the patch of red crystals, then ignite it using the single lit torch. Several enemies appear on the other side; kill 'em. There are many torches lining the walls of this room, but only one is lit. Use the lit torch to light the one closes, then use that one to light the next one, and so on. Eventually, light the torches lining the lava stream across from the elevator. Do this until you can go no further, then pick up a dormant Bomb Growth and throw it down the lava stream and onto the red crystals in the distance. Head through the opening you created and move around the bend. Before jumping across the lava stream to the other side, light a few more torches. Hop across the end; you should be able to reach the dormant Bomb Growth from here. Target the closes torch, then detonate the bomb to smash apart the crystals. Slice apart the Lavashrike, then shimmy along the ledges across the lava pit. Pull the lever here to make a rock island form along the lava stream, then run through where the red crystals once were. Pull the lever here to make a dial rise to an earlier room. Return to the elevator and ride it back up. By the way, if you lit every torch down here, a chest containing the BLOODTHIRST Weapon Enhancement appears next to the elevator. You might want to take the time to do this. The ride back up isn't so comfortable, as several Undead Soldiers join you. Defeat them, then pass through the prison to the room on the other side. Turn the dial here to make a second column rise from the flames. Cross the chasm and hit the two Crossblade targets here to open up a gate. Don't worry about the door on your right: go forward instead. A Conscript is waiting for you below. He and his two Undead Soldier buddies are pretty annoying, but you've read the script before. Deal with the little guys, then focus on the Conscript after. There's always a chest in the corner if you are in need of Green Souls. After kicking the Conscript to the curb, a Rot Mauler and two more Undead Soldiers try and put a stop to you. God, I hate Rot Maulers. Deal with them, then take the final crystal blade. But wait, there's more! Two more Conscripts drop into the room in an attempt to finally put you to rest. Yessir, I am dead serious. Bring the damn crystal blade all the way back to the statue room and place it on the third and final angel statue. The platform raises above to one of the cathedral's courtyards. You'll recognize the place. Before entering the door that opens up, instead climb up the stone block in the southeast corner of the room to reach the balcony above. Use your Crossblade to kill the Goremaw hanging over the northern door and proceed through. Follow the walkway towards a chest; open it for an ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE. If you fall down below, you will find two more chests: reap them for 250 Blue Souls and another special treat: a WRATH CORE. Exit to the courtyard. Keep in mind that all of Twilight Cathedral is open to you, so you are welcome to backtrack. If you are really in need of some stuff, you may want to consider returning to the main entrance to shop at the Vulgrim location. Otherwise, take the western door to the boss's lair. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Tiamat ---------------------- Tiamat is one tough customer, and she certainly means business. I really hope that you have at least one Life Essence at your disposal. For the first part of the boss battle, Tiamat lurks around the perimeter of the rooftop. She will occasionally stop to cough up a fireball your way; sidestep to avoid getting burnt. The only way to damage Tiamat while airborne is to use one of the many Bomb Growth lying around the roof. Unfortunately for us, they are dormant and must be lit somehow. There are two ways of doing that, both huge pains. The most conventional way - the same way we've been doing it so far - is to toss a Bomb Growth onto Tiamat. There are several torches surrounding the roof so target a torch, then the Bomb Growth to damage the bat queen. There are two problems with this: first off, you must be very close to Tiamat to pull this off, so she must directly be hovering over a torch for you to target her. This isn't very common. Secondly, she's constantly spewing fireballs that it's hard for you to pause, enter Aim Mode, select both targets, and let it fly. The second way to inflict damage on Tiamat is with timing. Just as Tiamat is getting ready to hurl a fireball, throw a Bomb Growth at her face. The fireball should be enough to ignite the Bomb Growth. Personally I find the timing window to be very small and I've never been precise with it. I prefer the first option. Either way, damage Tiamat with a Bomb Growth and she falls to the ground. Attack her unrelentlessly with your Chaoseater until she gets up. Now Tiamat will fly around the roof, but instead of pausing to shoot a fireball, she will divebomb you, her talons scraping the ground. Avoid getting ripped to shreds by the talons and wait until she calms down. Tiamat will start using fireballs again, so get back to the Bomb Growths. Keep your health in check: unlike some of the fights earlier in the game, there are no Green Soul chests to aid you, so use your Life Essence sparingly and don't get too cocky when using the Bomb Growths. Stun Tiamat with a Bomb Growth, then continue attacking. Do this twice more to ground the bat for good. With Tiamat on the ground, she will now use her large wings and claws... and tail for attacking! There are several scenarios to take into account in this next phase of the fight. If you are too far away, Tiamat will respond by shooting a series of fireballs your way. Blocking them is your best bet. If you stand up close to Tiamat, she will retaliate with her two clawed hands. Dangerous stuff. If you get behind Tiamat, she has no trouble sweeping her tail from side to side to knock you away. Finally, if Tiamat floats up in the air, back away before she does a cannonball down into the ground. Stay in front of Tiamat and block her claw attacks, then retaliate with a Wrath Ability like Blade Geyser. Sometimes you will stun the boss, leaving her open for attack for a quick few seconds. Also try using a charged up Crossblade attack to keep her distracted, then go in for the kill with your Chaoseater. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- War rips Tiamat's heart right out of her chest as you receive the Heart of the Chosen. You also receive a LIFESTONE for a job well done. Step into the blue portal to return to the entrance of the Twilight Cathedral. Vulgrim gives War some information on Serpent Holes, making the trek back to the Scalding Gallow much easier than the first trip. Talk to Vulgrim and spend any Blue Souls you've got, then press Y to venture into the Serpent Hole. Select "Scalding Gallow" to head there. The Serpent Hole is a few sets of stairs, so it isn't exactly a long or confusing journey. Scalding Gallow ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exit the store for a cutscene. The Watcher is dead... or not dead?! I don't know. I guess he'll still be chillin' with us then. Either way, War gets his Chaos Form back! Remember, to unleash your Chaos Form, hold down the Left Bumper and press the Right Trigger. Go across the bridge towards the southern end of the area. Pass underneath the building just north of the entrance to The Crossroads. If you look on the eastern side you can see a patch of red crystals growing on a pillar. Target the Bomb Growth conveniently attached to the crystals and ignite it with your Crossblade. The pillar will fall, granting you access to the chest on the upper level of the building. Open it up for an ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE. Proceed alongside the western end of the area to find a road branching out further to the west. Destroy the enemies lurking near the red crystal blockade first, then take a gander at your surroundings. The Bomb Growth latched onto the crystals is dormant, so use a nearby torch to spark the bomb. Pass beyond where the crystals once were to a tunnel. You will eventually be stopped by a Ravenous and a large wave of Phantom Guard Soldiers. Ravenous are very annoying enemies that look and act similar to Fleshbursters. They sacrifice the latter's kamikaze attack and instead steals Blue Souls from enemies around you. If you kill a foe, the Ravenous will sap them away before you can take them yourself. Ravenous have pretty much the same attacks as the Fleshburster minus the kamikaze explosion, but are much stronger and are far more durable. Now is a good time to use Chaos Mode to take down the big man and the little guys pestering you as well. The exit opens up after vanquishing all monsters. You will be taken to a giant silo with the broken fan being your platforms. Walk across the blade, then glide to the one on your left. Follow it to a hallway. Kill the two Phantom Guard Soldiers guarding the switch (hah, what else would they do!) and activate it to turn on the fan. Return to the silo and use the slowly moving fan blades to gain access to the western side of the room. From here, continue cutting your way through waves of baddies (don't forget to open up the chest along the way for 250 Blue Souls) to the Drowned Pass. ============================================================================== 3.07] DROWNED PASS [0307] ============================================================================== Drowned Pass ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A nice change of scenery. I didn't think I'd say it in a game like this, but the Drowned Pass is actually quite pretty. The Drowned Pass contains a network of underground channels; it's easy to get lost underwater, so consult to your map if necessary. I will be using it in this guide much more than any other previous area. From the start, walk forward and drop off the edge and into the water below. Deep Lurkers attack from underneath the water's surface. Remember that you can still attack while swimming. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Swim towards the northeast corner of the map: there's a small alcove on the map right near the entrance of the area. The shaded areas on the map show elevation, so the darker it is on the map, the deeper it is. Swim underneath the waterfall to reach a tiny cove containing the Soldier Artifact. Next, return to the main pool and dive down. Swim through the eastern tunnel to emerge on dry land on the far east end of the map. Defeat the three Phantom Guard Soldiers first, then focus on the Shadowcaster. These annoying, serpentine creatures can float in the air, leaving you restricted to airborne attacks. These monsters are also very quick in the air and can easily dodge your airborne attacks, leaving you further restricted to your Crossblade. Yeah, like I said, annoying. Stun the Shadowcaster with a charged-up Crossblade, then attack with traditional weaponry. The enemies leave you with two treasure chests. One holds an ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE while the other contains a measly 250 Blue Souls. Certainly doesn't sound special when comparing it to an Abyssal Armor Piece, eh? Swim back through the tunnel and head south to find two submerged buildings. Beware of the Deep Lurkers well, lurking around the dark corners of the ruins. You can access the upper floors, which are above the water. You will find a chest on one of the top floors of the northern buildings. Jump out of the water and into the room, then open up the chest for 250 Blue Souls. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Dive underwater and enter the northern building through the west side. Slip through the hole in the wall to enter a stairwell. Swim up the stairwell to reach a small room containing a Soldier Artifact. The northern building has all the goodies while the southern one has jack squat. Lame. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #6 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- From the southwest building, swim west to reach a secluded ramp. Slay the two Minions and the Shadowcaster. If you look across the gap, you will see a treasure chest in a small alcove. We can't reach the alcove, so instead jump into the water below. Swim below and strike the glowing blue target on the side of the submerged pillar to make it rise out of the water. Return to the ramp, then use the pillar as a stepping stone to reach the treasure chest. Open it up for another Lifestone Shard. Return to the water's surface and paddle your way to the southwest bank. The southern end of the area contains nothing but enemies, so there's no need to even waste your time there. There's a Tormented Gate here on the bank, but he can wait. We should still collect the rest of the items here before waking him up. To the left of the Tormented Gate is a ramp we can use to reach the upper section of the Drowned Pass (i.e. where we started off). Some Phantom Guard Soldiers drop down up ahead, so kill them and continue along the pathway. Follow the road until it forks. Go to the left to find a Vulgrim location at a dead end. Purchase anything that you'd like; otherwise return to the fork. Going north just takes you back to the entrance, and we've covered the map as much as we can right now, so return to the Tormented Gate and wake it up. S'more Shadow Challenge Arenas await. I never liked these things. Stay on the upper pathway and follow it all the way to the fork. This time, go right and drop down the hole to find a small chamber with a Shadow Challenge Arena. --- Shadow Challenge Arena ------------ Keep at least 1 Undead Soldier alive throughout the time limit. Okay, this is weird; the enemies are on our side for this challenge. There are six Undead Soldiers alive, and it's your task to keep them safe. Your attacks cannot hurt them, and at least one must survive throughout the duration of the challenge. The Phantom Guard Soldiers are easy, but once the Fleshbursters arrive you may want to solely focus on them. The Undead Soldiers aren't aware of their kamikaze attack so they may take some hits from that, but otherwise they are fairly competent fighters. Once the final minute strikes, get ready to enter Chaos Mode: Gholens and multiple Undead Soldiers. To differentiate between the two, your buddies have glowing blue orbs over their head. The next closest arena is in the eastern cove where you found the Abyssal Armor Piece. --- Shadow Challenge Arena ------------ Kill 15 enemies using environmental weapon attacks. This one can be frustrating if you use a basic approach. Don't immediately pick up one of the respawning cars and toss it at an enemy, because it won't kill them. Instead, attack the Undead Soldiers until the B button appears over their head, then use a car to finish them off. Make sure to lock onto the weakened enemy or you may miss or hit someone else. The challenge isn't that difficult when it comes to Undead Soldiers, but when Rot Maulers and ultimately Traumas are added to the mix, time turns against you. Five minutes seems like a long time, but it'll quickly drain away when you are forced to kill Rot Maulers and equally tough foes. I managed to win by ignoring the Rot Maulers and continuing to only kill the Undead Soldiers. Dive into the water and swim to the underwater ruins. Climb onto the southern building and use the stairs to reach the Shadow Arena on the top floor. --- Shadow Challenge Arena ------------ Kill 30 enemies using the destructive power of War's Chaos Form within the time limit. So the challenge is to use Chaos Form to beat enemies. Where's the challenge? Immediately begin by using Chaos Form to slay the punk-ass Phantom Guard Soldiers. Once your Chaos Meter depletes, it's back to your normal self. Now your score is only tallied if you kill enemies while in Chaos Form, so start hacking enemies to fill up your Chaos Meter (it refills as you damage foes). Try not to fill up your Chaos Meter by killing weak enemies like Phantom Guard Soldiers and Undead Soldiers. If you do, by the time you reactivate Chaos Mode you'll be left with tough enemies. Instead, target Shadowcasters and even Traumas to refill your Chaos Meter. That way, once you enter Chaos Mode, all it takes is one or two quick swipes to dispatch some weak chumps and increase your tally by the handful. You shouldn't have any trouble winning in the five minute time limit. From the roof, drop down to the southeast portion of the pool. Climb onto dry land and enter the drainage pipe to find the final Shadow Challenge Arena. --- Shadow Challenge Arena ------------ Kill 5 enemies using only block and projectile counter attacks within the time limit. Another five minute-long challenge. While you only have to defeat five enemies, this challenge can be tough if you are not good at counterattacking. I mean, that's the only way to win this challenge, so you better be somewhat decent at it. The game is not only nice enough to give you instructions on how to perform these attacks, but the enemies appear one or two at a time to cater to your very needs. This is all about timing, and since you only have to worry about two baddies at a time max, it can be rather quick to get the hang of it. To kill one of the Phantom Guard Soldiers, you must perform two counterattacks. This seems redundant, so weaken them first so that you only have to pull off one of these moves to finish them off. If you're a quick learner, you should taste success even quicker. And that's a wrap! Meet back up with the Tormented Gate to earn an ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE and the exit outta here. If you'd like, stop back at Vulgrim's location to buy some goods. Now would be a good time to purchase the BANE Weapon Enhancement if you haven't already. Otherwise, continue west past the open hole that the Tormented Gate left behind. Continue into the sewer and drop into the water to your left. Enter the submerged tunnel and slice apart the Deep Lurkers. Follow the tunnel to an exit leading to dry land. Climb onto the Demonic Growth and watch out for the Bomb Sacs before you double jump onto the zipline. Cross the gaping hole below, then drop down. A Vulgrim Location is to your left while the exit is on your right. ============================================================================== 3.08] ANVIL'S FORD [0308] ============================================================================== Anvil's Ford ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It won't take long to find Ulthane once we enter Anvil's Ford. Walk forward to find a hammer lying on the ground. Press B next to it to start a cutscene. Ulthane informs War that HE is the Black Hammer, not the measly weapon lying in the dirt, and challenges him to a fight. Ulthane is easy, but only because there is one way to damage him: Chaos Form. If your Chaos Meter isn't full, then attack him until it is. He has a simple punch attack and a shockwave move that are both easy to dodge. Once your Chaos Meter is full, activate him and smack him around a few times to end the fight prematurely. Ulthane and War put aside their differences for the time being in order to exterminate the area of pesky "pigeons". The game will keep score of how many angels War and Ulthane kill. If you win at this sadistic little game, you'll get an achievement, but nothing bad happens if you come out on the losing end. The angels all fly in the air, making it hard for you to target them. Ulthane, however, can use his hammer to knock them down to the earth. Once he does so, quickly locate the nearest angel and begin attacking. Once you see the button prompt appear, use your one-hit kill before Ulthane walks over and steals your kill. Eventually, Ulthane will lead you to a new area. Here you will begin fighting Angel Champions. These guys come equipped with sick armor and huge shields. Try to let Ulthane deal with them while you kill off Angel Soldiers. It'll be easy to tally up your score killing off weak enemies while Ulthane deals with the harder ones. Ulthane will then move north to another area. There is a chest in the corner of the area containing Green Souls if you need nourishment. More angels will appear here. This is a good time to enter Chaos Mode to help even up the score if you're trailing. Once the coast is clear, Ulthane will signal to you: press B next to him to be launched to the top of a building. Ulthane will stay below and defend against angels while you fight some on the roof. After a few angels are dead, the room will open up. Grab the Green Souls from the chest, then drop down below to find s'more Green Souls. However, DO NOT open this chest. Save it for later. Below, walk over to the Bomb Growth and pick it up. Toss it at the blue crystals across the way to destroy them. This brings down a huge section of a bridge, giving Ulthane a way to cross the pit. A Storm Warden will drop in unexpected. These dudes have huge-ass guns that fire electrical projectiles at you. They pack a punch, but are kinda slow when traveling through the air. Pick up a Bomb Growth and hurl it at the Storm Warden to stun him, then begin attacking now that he's grounded. Once the Storm Warden is finished off, pick up his gun. You can use the Redemption against its own users. Using this fancy weapon makes you basically a lock for winning this little challenge. The only downside is that you cannot block when holding it and you're really slow when lugging the big thing around. Ulthane will destroy a patch of blue crystals blocking your way, giving you access to a narrow end-around. My strategy is to go all out. Screw health, just soak up all the punishment you can take like a masochistic sponge and kick ass. Pick off the Angel Soldiers shooting you from afar with the regular fire (Right Trigger) and use charged up blasts (Left Trigger) to topple the Angel Champions. Take out the Angel Soldiers first because their long-range fire can be a real killer. Your kill score should skyrocket when using the Redemption, considering how it shreds angels apart and has unlimited ammo. While I suggest that you should be a little casual when it comes to monitoring your own health, I'm not saying that you still should not protect yourself. You can dash while holding the Redemption by pressing the Right Bumper, so try and avoid projectile attacks when you can. Continue attacking angels surrounding you. If there's no more, look to the right and help Ulthane out/be a jerk and steal his kills. Ulthane will tell you to hold on before breaking another set of crystals in front of you. By now you may be hurtin' pretty badly, so drop the weapon, run back to the building and open the chest for Green Souls, then run back. Now you're ready to take on more enemies now that you have been rejuvenated. Push forward and deal with more angels. After some killin', two Storm Wardens appear alongside some backup. Again, focus on the Angel Soldiers first, then worry about the two Storm Wardens. Ulthane will destroy another patch of blue crystals blocking your way. It's time to abandon the Redemption since you have to cross a gap to reunite with Ulthane, but that was the last batch of angels. Before jumping across, climb the Demonic Growth on the east end of your location. Open the chest up here for 250 Blue Souls. ~-~ Wrath Shard #5 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- From the plateau, work your way back towards the Demonic Growth. You should see another patch growing alongside a building. Latch on and follow it around the side of the building to find a sweet little cave and another Wrath Shard. As you trek up the mountainside, Ulthane will reveal a chest containing Green Souls. Go for it, then continue alongside the big man. At the top of the mountain, Ulthane will reveal the results of the game. If you win, then way to go! Have fun with a new achievement. Not only that, Ulthane gives you COMBAT LORE as a reward for a fair game. The fun and games may have come to an end, but we aren't out of the woods just yet. Uriel still has a bone to pick with War. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Uriel ----------------------- Uriel is a feisty chick, and it does not help that Ulthane is now sitting on the sidelines after he had no trouble massacring heaping piles of angels only minutes before. That jerk. This heavenly woman is much more agile than any other angelic enemy we have encountered before. She has a long sword and can string together combos when up close and also has a few devastating long-range spells. If you get too close, you are at risk for a two or three-hit sword combo that deals no damage if blocked. Uriel can also fly high in the air, then do a somersault before crashing to the floor, blade first. If you decide to keep your distance, Uriel will toss blue energy blades that look kinda like the Cutter ability from Kirby games. Uriel's final attack is a shockwave move similar to her overhead slam. She will rise in the air before plummeting to the ground. Either run far away or double jump before impact or else you'll be hit with electrical shocks. Whichever method you take, it won't take long to study and work around this boss's offensive strategy. Immediately use your Chaos Form at the start of the fight and unload on her to take away a chunk of her health right from the get-go. If you want to stay up close, use jumping attacks like Flipsaw and Spin Slash (or Air Grinder if you prefer your Scythe). A much preferred strategy is to use your Crossblade to knock Uriel to the ground, then run up and proceed to use whatever combos and Wrath Abilities you would like. Sooner or later, Uriel will submit to your awesome might and power. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ulthane sends you on your way after Uriel retreats. Walk forward and fall down the pit in the middle of the floor, then continue against the current of the stream. Along the way you will find 250 Blue Souls and 100 Blue Souls inside two treasure chests. Soon enough, the stream will lead you to an opening. Inside, follow the lonely hallway to The Hollows. ============================================================================== 3.09] THE HOLLOWS [0309] ============================================================================== The Hollows ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Right off the bat, you'll be introduced to the second member of The Chosen. The Griever drops down in front of a large grandfather clock and starts hissing and shrieking like a maniac. Boss battle... already?! Not quite. Pick up the Redemption off the ground. The Griever will shoot laser beams out of her mouth while her head strafes back and forth to cover the entire room. Dodge back and forth until the attack stops, then hit the clutch of blue crystals on her underbelly with a charged shot to knock her backwards. Do this a second time after avoiding a second laser attack to scare her off. The Griever knocks down the clock in her retreat, making a mess of the large room. Collect 100 Blue Souls from inside the chest behind the clock, then take the western doorway. Refill your health using the Green Soul chest, then open the next door to enter a long hallway. Use the Demonic Growth to cross the ruined hall and enter the door on the other side to reach another big room. If you couldn't tell already, The Hollows is basically a huge, abandoned train station. Pretty neat idea for a dungeon. Locusts will emerge from some piping and fly around; target them with your Crossblade, then dive into the water below. Submerge and deal with the Deep Lurkers underneath before exploring the northwest tunnel. Ascend to the surface once at the end, then climb along the Demonic Growth. At the top, pull the lever on the balcony to set ablaze the broken gas pipe. With the pipe lit, target it with your Crossblade, then do the same with the one next to it. Now with the second one ignited, use it to ignite the gas pipe at the southeast corner (next to the red crystals on the ledge above). Toss a dormant Bomb Growth at the crystals. We cannot blow up the Bomb Growth because we are out of reach, so instead fall into the water and swim back through the tunnel that led you to the lever. Grab onto the wire and start your way across. If there are Locusts in your way, slice 'em up as you cross. Hop onto the zipline and slide down to the red crystals, then destroy them to grant yourself access to a door. Head through. Just as you enter the room, you'll catch a small glimpse of a new monster sneaking its way out. Walk down the stairs and drop down on the ledge overlooking a pool of water. Open the chest for 250 Blue Souls. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Jump into the deep pool of water. Kill the Deep Lurker that's wandering around by his lonesome, then dive to the very bottom to locate the Soldier Artifact. To get out of here, return to the water's surface and locate the yellow and black-striped ledges. Use them to reach the top of the hole. From the water, head west down the hall to encounter the monster that fled the scene before. This is a Goreclaw: similar to Minions, Goreclaws have more health and are a bit tougher. Once you get used to these enemies, they'll be as easy to dispatch as Minions. Slay the first one, then take out two more to destroy the barrier blocking the door. More Goreclaws will attack here in the long shaft. Defeating them is easy, but things get a bit hairy when a Gholen smashes through a wall and confronts you. It wouldn't hurt to use Chaos Mode here to deal with the Gholen and the remaining Goreclaws. The barrier ceases, and the camera zooms in on a pool of water at the end of the room. Check the two alcoves for chests: you will find an ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE in one and Green Souls in the hole that the Gholen made. Jump into the water afterwards. Swim through the tunnel and deal with the Deep Lurker, then submerge when you see a ray of light coming from the ceiling. Jump out onto dry land. The door here is locked, so instead hop into a second pool of water. Fend off against the Deep Lurkers. Up ahead, the path is blocked off by a strong water current, so instead dive deeper to the bottom. Swim forward to reach an intersection. Go right to ultimately emerge in a tiny alcove; the chest here contains REAPER. This Weapon Enhancement is pretty good for collecting Blue Souls, so you may want to equip it if you're low on cash. Return to the water and head straight at the fork this time. This path will take you to another room; this one containing a lever and a couple of chests. ~-~ Wrath Shard #6 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Before pulling the lever in the room, open the treasure chest for another Wrath Shard. The second chest houses 250 Blue Souls. Yank the lever to turn off the propeller in the entrance of the underground tunnel. Now that the water current has been turned off, return to the passage and make your way through. You will find a Beholder's Key on the other side of the propeller. Return to the locked door and open it using the key. Attack the chained stone in the middle of the chamber to receive the Tremor Gauntlet. Now you can finally break pesky blue crystals! A Grappleclaw spoils the fun soon after. After a few seconds, more random enemies pour in. Attack the beast with your new weapon until it falls. Press B next to the dazed foe to jump on like a crazy, demonic cowboy. Move the Left Analog Stick around to have the Grappleclaw turn against its monster buddies until it throws you off. Remain attacking enemies using conventional tactics. You may want to stick with your Chaoseater; while the Tremor Gauntlet is powerful, it has an extremely short range. You may even want to switch back to your Scythe. If a Grappleclaw becomes stunned, then immediately use it to begin destroying other foes. Once the first Grappleclaw is killed, another one appears. Once the enemies stop pouring in, the barrier at the top of the room falls. Regain any lost health with the chest on the edge of the arena. Destroy the patch of blue crystals with your Tremor Gauntlet, then use the ledges to reach the chest at the top. Retrieve the Beholder's Key inside, then use it on the door on the opposite end of the room. Smash the crystals in your way and dive into the underground hallway, then follow it to another area. Once inside the lift station, the camera zoom in on a patch of crystals on the top floor. Looks like that is our destination. There are two treasure chests at the ground floor: one contains Green Souls and the other Yellow Souls (haven't seen many of those!). Climb up the stairs in the southwest corner to find a metal block. Grab onto it with B, then with your Tremor Gauntlets equipped, hold down Y and release. War will use a Shockwave Punch to knock the block down to the lower level. With the metal block positioned conveniently on the lift, use the lever to raise the lift. Once it stops, pull the block towards the gap in the railing on the right side of the lift. Grab ahold of the metal block so that you are facing east and use a Shockwave Punch to punch the block onto the middle lift. Glide over; the lift is raised already so no need to fiddle with the lever here. You might notice, however, that the eastern lift is too high to successfully transfer the block over. Instead, position the block next to the gap, then hop on top of the block. Shadowglide over to the eastern lift and use the lever to lower it. Drop to the ground and return to the western lift to reach the middle lift and the block again. Now you can Shockwave Punch the metal block onto the eastern lift. Hop over and raise the third lift. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Behind the eastern lift is an alcove containing the Soldier Artifact. Once you have it in your possession, you will have to drop down to the floor and go the long way to get back onto the third lift. The block can now be used as a stepping stone to reach the top floor of the lift station. Break the crystals and proceed through the tunnel. You can use B to rip apart the pesky Locusts here with your bare hands now that you have solid ground underneath you. Exterminate the Locusts, then use the wire to sling across the hole to the other side. Enter the subway tunnel and stay in the center between the two train tracks. The Griever is directly above you, and sometimes her pointy feet will smash through the ceiling and into the ground. She doesn't target the center of the tunnel, so weave between the support beams. The Griever continues using intimidation tactics on us, but they don't seem to be working considering we aren't backing down anytime soon. A few Goreclaws and Flamecallers pour into the tunnel from a nearby hole. Flamecallers are very similar to Goreclaws, but they sacrifice the latter's buzzsaw attack for a scorching-hot fireball attack. Enter where the enemies came from and destroy the crystals blocking your way. Follow the hallway and smash apart a second set of blue crystals to emerge back in a room we've previously visited (we found a Soldier Artifact here). Drop down near the water's edge and use your Tremor Gauntlets to smash the blue crystals in front of you. Doing so will create an outpour of water into the pit behind you, while simultaneously draining the water from the room north of here. Before entering the northern room, swim east to reach a chest containing the Map. In the northern room, climb the stairs on the west end of the room to reach a lever. Turn it to make the circular disc on the floor move west. Drop down and grab the end of the flatbed car on the center of the circular disc. Use a Shockwave Punch to knock the flatbed off of the disc and into a dark, neglected corner of the room. Notice how the four lights surrounding the disc turned red? It signifies that there is nothing on top of the disc. Now turn around and locate the subway car behind you. Go behind it and push it onto the disc (make sure the lights turn green so that it's on all the way). Backtrack to the lever and turn it once more to make the disc return to it's original spot - with the subway car now on top. Smash the blue crystals in front of the subway car, then Shockwave Punch it into that tunnel. Another Shockwave Punch will push it all the way to the end of the tunnel. Now you can jump onto the car and onto the Demonic Growth. Navigate through the hall and break the blue crystals here to end up basically at the entrance of The Hollows. All you have to do now is go east to reach the entrance. A Wraith Scout appears in the clock room in place of The Griever. While it makes sense that one would rather encounter one of these goons than The Griever, they are still very tough enemies. Wraith Scouts float in the air and carry duel-wielding blades that can slice War apart like a hot knife through butter. Against the first Wraith Scout, use the Tremor Gauntlet to corner her and keep her grounded. A second Wraith Scout brings along some Phantom Guard Soldiers. Kill them first, then focus on the Wraith Scout. A third and final Wraith Scout is accompanied by more Phantom Guard Soldiers and Goreclaws. Strategy? Just use Chaos Form and put them out of their misery. :) The barrier blocking the eastern door dissipates, giving us the option of going through. Obviously take it. Walk up the staircases to the upper balcony of the clock room. Grab 100 Blue Souls from the chest, then kick open the door to the balcony. To the right is a chest containing 250 Blue Souls; to the left is another set of blue crystals. Open the door behind it and jump into the water. There are two pillars submerged underwater; focus on the one on the far left. Dive underwater and hit the glowing blue target at the base of the pillar, then quickly return to the surface. Jump onto the pillar before it rises out of reach. Turn around and jump to the northern exit. Use your Crossblade to light the two unlit gas pipes, then follow the tracks south. A Phantom Captain will sick two Flamecallers on you. They are easy as pie, but the Phantom Captain is a major upgrade from the Phantom Guard Soldiers you have been dicing up since the wee early hours of this game. Still, he is no match for your bone-crushing Tremor Gauntlet. Walk towards the locked door and pick up a dormant Bomb Growth. Bring it back to the gas pipes and plant it on the red crystals. Light it using the gas pipes to destroy the crystals and create an open path. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #7 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Before you leave, sneak between the two subway cars on the side of the room to find a chest containing a Lifestone Shard. In the pump room, open the chest in the corner for 250 Blue Souls. Kill the Locusts and proceed north, past the two pumps, to a water-filled chamber. Dive in and swim through the northern passage. Jump out and use the striped ledges and the Shadow Geyser to reach the top. The lever here does not work due to the gears being clogged by the many crystals, so instead swim to the opposite side of the room. Deal with the Locusts and begin smashing the blue crystals with your Tremor Gauntlet. One reveals a dormant Bomb Growth spot. Throw the Bomb Growth across the pool to the red crystals. Look up and to the east side to spot a gas pipe. Lock onto the flame, then look to the west side to spot one that is unlit. Target it to light the pipe, then swim back across (don't forget to take the 250 Blue Souls from the chest). Climb up the platforms on the west end and smash the blue crystals to free one of the gears. Target the gas pipe behind the gear, then lock onto the one next to the lever to light this one as well. Now you can use the third gas pipe to ignite the Bomb Growth on the red crystals. Now you can use the striped ledges to reach the second gear. Destroy the blue crystal covering it, then return to the lever and pull it. The ceiling will open, dropping a gigantic spire through the floor. The gaping hole gives you a shortcut to the entrance to the pump room. Drop through the hole; the raised water allows you to reach the chest to get the Beholder's Key. Return to the main entrance of the pump room (where the bridge is). ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Once at the main entrance of the pump room, drop off the bridge and into the raised pool of water. Swim through the northern pipe, then float upwards. There is a tiny room above the pipe where you will find the Champion Artifact. Exit the pump room to return to the subway tracks. Do away with the Locusts and follow the tracks to the locked door; use the Beholder's Key to open it up. As you enter the room, a tentacle bursts from the wall and snags the subway car, twisting and contorting it as it tries to yank it through its hole. The Torture Coil eventually fails and retreats back into the hole. It won't be bothering us now that the subway car plugged the hole in. Grab the subway car next to you and begin pushing it south, using Shockwave Punches every so often. A second Torture Coil will grab the subway car and repeat the same process. While it's distracted with the car, run past. Knock open the chest for some Green Souls and enter the damp tunnel nearby. Two Grappleclaws drop in along with a wide variety of lesser enemies. Like in the past, use the Grappleclaws to your advantage to kill off the weaker opponents before finishing the wicked mounts off yourself. Cars are placed in order to help you, but they usually just get in the way. Two passages open up. Take the northern trail to find the Hoardseeker, which locates all chests on your map. There is a second treasure chest in the windy path, though it's protected by a Goremaw. Stun it with your Crossblade, then open the chest to retrieve 100 Blue Souls. Next, take the western path. Phantom Guard Soldiers and a Wraith Scout roam around in this tunnel. Defeat them, then pull the lever on the other end of the room to open a gate underwater below you. To enter the water, head to the northern end of the room and dive into the small pool. Swim through the open gate, then return to the surface and move onward. The large ravine is pretty barren, but fall down anyways. Proceed to the other end to find some crystals blocking a pipe. Destroy it to let some water flow in. Dive under and swim through the northern passage to emerge in a drainage pipe. Jump out and follow the pipe onto a ledge. Hop across to a platform and use the striped ledges to reach a second blocked pipe. Break it to send some more water into the ravine, successfully filling it up. ~-~ Wrath Shard #7 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Climb back up to the second blocked pipe (well it's not blocked anymore) and turn around. Leap over to the chest and open it for a Wrath Shard. Enter a cave near the eastern side of the ravine for some Green Souls, then climb up the tallest ledges to complete your journey across the ravine. Kill off the Locusts and keep on movin'. The sewer system will immediately take War to The Griever's lair. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: The Griever ----------------- This battle must be won with some intelligence. Walking up to The Griever and trying to attack the glowing blue crystals on her underside accomplishes nothing. Well, it gets you hurt, if you count that as an accomplishment. You must think of another strategy to damage this boss. There are patches of blue crystals scattered throughout the terminal. You must destroy them all to clear the train track leading to The Griever (who, by the way, does not move at all in this fight). Make sure to destroy the crystals closest to The Griever, since even smashing crystals can be a chore in this fight. The Griever's laser attack will harden the crystals if she hits them, leaving them temporarily unbreakable. Run up to the crystal the farthest away and use an aerial attack with your Tremor Gauntlet (aerial attacks destroy them in one hit while ground attacks take two hits) before she knocks you backwards with a ground pound. Continue breaking crystals while avoiding her laser beams. Things get annoying when there are only one or two crystals left. The Griever keeps hitting them with laser beams, leaving them indestructible. By the time they cool down, The Griever is ready to shoot them again. Try staying out in the open and not hiding behind the crystal. Lure The Griever away from the crystal and dodge/block the laser beam yourself. Once the attack stops and the crystals cool down, quickly punch them. Once the crystals are clear, run behind the flatbed car at the south end of the boss arena. Begin pushing it along the track towards the big boss. She can push your car backwards with a ground slam if you get too close. I suggest using a Shockwave Punch right around where the tunnel part of the arena ends and the actual room begins; you should have enough distance to connect. The Griever will shake it off and send the car backwards. She then begins slamming her head against the sides of the walls, sending large spires crashing to the ground. Dodge each and every one until the attack ceases, then try pushing the flatbed car forward again. Once the flatbed car is send crashing into The Griever a second time, she will fall to the ground. Run up to her and use your Tremor Gauntlet to destroy the crystals on her underbelly, exposing her real weak point. The Griever sicks a huge swarm of Locusts on you. If you are in need of health, use your one-hit kill to receive some Green Souls. Otherwise, use the Tremor Gauntlet's aerial attack to dispose of them in large groups at a time. The battle will then repeat itself. Hit The Griever with the flatbed to initiate her rock spire attack; hit her a second time to stun her. Now that the crystals cannot protect her weak point, have at it with your Chaoseater. To speed up the process, enter Chaos Mode and hack away at the weak point. If The Griever is still alive, she will summon more Locusts. Feast on them for health and repeat the process with the car again: the first shot pisses her off, the second time knocks her to the floor. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- After the execution, War receives Heart of the Chosen along with a LIFESTONE. Step into the blue portal to be transported back to Anvil's Ford. Anvil's Ford ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As if War doesn't have enough weapons, Ulthane crafts him a pistol. Ulthane is so badass. Now you can attack enemies from a distance using Mercy. Enjoy its unlimited ammo and use the Right Trigger to fire it. Exit Ulthane's house into Anvil's Ford. The crows here serve as good target practice for Mercy. Once you've pissed PETA off enough, return to the Drowned Pass. Drowned Pass ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Head to the Vulgrim location. We haven't met up with him in a while, so you probably have a boatload of Blue Souls ready to cash in. First things first, pick up the WRATH CORE that he has: it's expensive, but it is best to get it out of the way now. If you cannot afford it, then don't worry about it. We have better things to buy. Impact Rounds and moves for your Tremor Gauntlet come to mind. Once your little shopping spree is up, use Vulgrim to transport to a Serpent Hole leading back to the Scalding Gallow. Scalding Gallow ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return to Samael and give him the good news. Number three on our demon hit List is The Stygian, a massive worm that lives in The Ashlands. Samael gives War another neat ability to help him reach the Ashlands. With the nifty Chronomancer ability, War can activate Chronospheres to temporarily slow down time. Run back to the Vulgrim location and continue north. Defeat the Minions and destroy the blue crystals before heading into the drainage pipe. Use the Wicked lurking around as health boosts and continue through the pipe to a tunnel. In the entrance, you will find a chest containing 100 Blue Souls. Finish off the Wicked and Duskwings, then break the crystals leading to a side room. You will find your first Chronosphere here. There is also a lever here that opens a gate at the other end of the tunnel, but it is impossible to pass through the gate before it slams shut. The trick? Manipulate time with the Chronosphere. Press B next to the glowing blue Chronosphere to slow down time, then pull the lever to open the gate. With time slowed down, you should make it through. Use the cars here to deal with the Fleshburster, open the chest at the end for 100 Blue Souls, then continue up the stairs. At the top, open the chest for 100 more Blue Souls and climb up the ledges on the wall. At the top, jump away from you into a pipe. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Before moving through the pipe to The Dry Road, look behind you! This Soldier Artifact can be easy to miss if not careful. Proceed through the pipe to reach the Dry Road. ============================================================================== 3.10] DRY ROAD [0310] ============================================================================== Dry Road ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There are a few Wingrocks hanging upside-down in front of you. Treat them just like Duskwings, because they are basically just a palette swap of a Duskwing. You will find some more Wingrocks and Wicked in the street to the west. Save the cars for later, for some new enemies appear once you've dealt with the ones here. Fallen Angels will swoop down, two at a time. They actually are not very strong and act similarly to Angel Soldiers, minus the long-range laser beams. When they dive down to circle you, use a Hammer Smash (Tremor Gauntlet's aerial attack) to knock them out of the air. All angels are severely weakened when grounded, so the rest should be cake. Another pair arrives afterwards. The signs point north, but explore the western side of the street a lil' bit. It doesn't look like you can go far due to the road abruptly ending, but there are a few chests we can hoard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #8 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Hug the southern side of the road and jump up the jagged rock platforms to the upper portion of the street. Walk west while hugging the wall. A chest is neatly hidden behind a broken-down brick wall. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ From the Lifestone Shard location, look south/southwest to see the Soldier Artifact sitting there in plain sight. Navigate across the rocky terrain to reach it. You may spot a strange yellow orb floating around here in the ruins. Don't worry about it for now, since it has no use to us. Return to the street and follow it west until it slopes down and you're on the cliff's edge. You should hear the familiar clanking noise of chains; a tell-tale sign that a Vulgrim location is near. If you look across the hole you should spot a cave opening that is within gliding distance. Glide over to find the Vulgrim location, then return to the other side of the hole. Turn right and walk south alongside the edge to find a chest at the end containing 250 Blue Souls. Now that the place has been combed, go north underneath the underpass and into a tunnel. A Grappleclaw rounds the corner and smashes through the cars in front of you. The Wicked here make it difficult to target just the Grappleclaw, and dealing with each and every one before the monster is annoying, so just enter Chaos Mode and be done with it. If your Chaos Meter is blank, then rip apart the Wicked for health and deal with the Grappleclaw on your own. Destroy the remaining cars and walk forward. A Goremaw has a large block in its mouth. Hit it with the Crossblade or shoot it with Mercy to make it drop the block. Run up to the block and grab onto the ledge on any side of it, then wait for the Goremaw to pick it up again. Now that you are elevated, position yourself on the left side of the block and glide over to the ledge on the left. Open the chest here for CARNAGE, then drop down to the ground and shoot the Goremaw again. This time, position yourself on the right side of the block and glide to the other side of the tunnel. Pick up a Bomb Growth and toss it at the red crystals to destroy a roadblock. Now carefully walk to the edge of the platform and look down to find one beneath you. Drop down and glide over to the pipe across the pit. From here, jump onto the ledge and work your way to the opposite end (the north end). Leap off into the pipe here and be on your way. At the end of the pipe, look to your right and glide over to the Demonic Growth. Climb to the top and open the chest here for 100 Blue Souls. Glide back down to the pipe. Equip your Crossblade and lock on to the three Goremaws hanging over the wire. Hit all three with your Crossblade to stun them long enough for you to cross the wire. Once the Crossblade leaves your hand, glide forward to grab the wire, then immediately dash across to the other side. You should make it across. Climb along the Demonic Growth to reach the pipe across the way from where you initially started. Follow the pipe as it opens up back out into the tunnel. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #9 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Before continuing through the sandy tunnel, turn around and jump over the pipe you just emerged from. Walk back here to find some blue crystals. Break them with your Tremor Gauntlet to reveal a Lifestone Shard. There's another Vulgrim location up ahead if you follow the stairs on the left side, though you may not have many Blue Souls to cash in. Either way, activate the location and exit the tunnel to reach the dreaded Ashlands. ============================================================================== 3.11] THE ASHLANDS [0311] ============================================================================== The Ashlands ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The opening cinema shows you exactly what you'll be dealing with here in The Ashlands. Deadly sandworms and many Chronospheres to help you make it through in one piece. This place really reminds me of the beaches from Half Life 2. In a nutshell, if you don't want any trouble, then stay out of the sand (well, technically ash) as much as possible. Of course, that proves very difficult considering how The Ashlands is a giant desert, but we have to work around it by using the Chronospheres. If you enter the ash normally, an Ash Titan will gobble you up almost immediately. We have to cross the ash, but why don't we slow down time first? Lock onto the Chronosphere floating overhead with your Crossblade and activate it. Now that time is slowed down, walk forward into the ash. The ash here in The Ashlands is very deep and it's hard to keep your footing. You cannot dash, double jump, or glide when walking through the sand. You'll be going quite slow even while manipulating time, but if you make a beeline towards the rock ledge straight ahead, you will survive. Hop across the gap and walk up the slope to find a chest containing 100 Blue Souls. This will attract the attention of three Fallen Angels. Deal with them accordingly, then drop down and follow the path into a cave. The ceiling will begin rumbling uncontrollably, but try to ignore it and continue down through the hole at the end. Kill off the group of Stingers as the shaking continues. Probably just a gigantic Ash Titan swimming through the ash above us. Exit the cave. Up ahead is another barren area with a slice of bedrock taunting us from afar. The Chronosphere to our right is blocked behind a wooden gate and cannot be targeted like so. Follow the wooden plank on your right to reach a tower. It will open up, granting you access to the inside of the wooden tower. For now, pass by to find some Demonic Growth on the outside of the tower. Climb up to reach the top floor, where you will find a chest holding 100 Blue Souls. Return to the inside of the wooden tower and grab onto the Demonic Growth. Climb up onto the ceiling and work your way to the other side of the tower to find a lever. Turn it to lower the Chronosphere under the gate. Drop down to where you started and hit the Chronosphere; run (well, slowly trudge is more like it) through the ash and onto the rock. A few Phantom Captains and Phantom Guard Soldiers attack up here on the rock. Just as they round the corner, an Ash Titan will crash through part of the hill. Totally unnecessary, but it looks awesome. Destroy the enemies and proceed along the path. Along the way, another Ash Titan will destroy part of the pathway right in front of you. Like, I was practically hugging the thing when it leapt out of the ash to hinder my progress. Scared the crap outta me. Glide across to the other side; some Phantom Captains from a second tower will zipline down to your location. Finish them off quickly. FYI, knocking them down into the ash below kills them immediately. Ignore the dead end to the west and instead glide down to the base of the second tower. The drill is up and running unlike in the first tower, meaning that you will not be able to use the Demonic Growth in the tower's interior. Stay on the outer perimeter and proceed up the tower roof. Slay the Phantom Captain guarding the lever and yank it to lower the Chronosphere. Return to the tower interior and hit the Chronosphere with your Crossblade to slow down time. Now you can climb the Demonic Growth and shimmy to the other side without being at risk of getting struck by the drill's rotating blades. While on the other side, knock the Phantom Captain off of the tower and glide across to the Demonic Growth on the wall. Head across the bridge to reach the third and fourth drilling towers. After dealing with the enemies along the way, drop down from the third tower to the ground and use the Shadow Geyser to float up to the fourth tower. Inside, a patch of red crystals are growing below that need to be destroyed. Climb up to the tower's middle floor to find an army of Phantom Captains. Defeating them all will lower the barriers and give you access to a Bomb Growth. You will also notice a lever and a Chronosphere. For now, do not turn the lever. Instead, hit the Chronosphere to slow down time, then pick up a Bomb Growth. Fall down and walk into the tower interior, then toss the Bomb Growth onto the red crystals - this is possible now that time has slowed down. The crystals will be destroyed; return to the roof and turn the lever to lower the Chronosphere. Go into the tower and hit the Chronosphere to slow down time once again; now you can use the Demonic Growth to avoid the blades and cross the tower. Use the walkway to reach the middle floor of the third tower. Defeat the Phantom Captain and lower the Chronosphere to the bottom of the third tower. Fall to the ground, activate the Chronosphere, climb across the Demonic Growth. I think you know how to handle it. Once on the other side, use the Demonic Growth to reach the roof of the third tower. Turn the lever to disable the drill. Fall all the way down to the bottom and enter the hole that was being drilled through to slide down into a large underground lake. If you look around, you may notice an Artifact inside a hole in the wall just out of your reach. Face it, you cannot get it. Not for a long time anyways. Dive underwater and slay all the Deep Lurkers. It's a fairly big lake, but not much down here. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ At the very bottom of the underground lake is a Soldier Artifact. It's hard to not see the bright green hue when matched with the dark blue scenery of the lake's bottom. Emerge from the lake via the eastern exit and follow the path to the Goremaw cavern. This tunnel is filled with a good six or seven Goremaws. Smash the blue crystals to the left to reveal a metal box. Get behind the box and push it east, right underneath the first Goremaw (the green gooey patches accurately represent a Goremaw's location). Now that the Goremaw has grabbed the box, hit the Goremaw so it drops the box. Jump onto the box and face the northern end so that when the Goremaw snags it, you can jump and glide to the alcove on the north end of the cavern. Destroy the crystals to reveal a Chronosphere. Hit the Chronosphere, then drop down to the ground. Run all the way to the southwest section (you should be able to get underneath the Goremaws) to find several Bomb Growths. Activate the Chronosphere here, then pick up a Bomb Growth. Walk out to the center of the cavern and look up to find some red crystals growing on the ceiling. Toss the Bomb Growth at it to break the crystals. A piece of the ceiling will drop down just as three Fallen Angels emerge from a cave. It's time to fight these punks on our terms. Jump onto the slab of rock that fell, then up to the cave where the angels came out of. Lure them inside, then knock them into the water for an instant kill. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #10 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Before leaping into the water yourself, turn back around and head along the ledge. From here, continue east to another section of the tunnel. There is a high platform in the dead center of the area; use the Shadow Geyser to reach the top, then knock open the treasure chest for a Lifestone Shard. Don't worry about the treasure chest on the far east end of the tunnel. No matter how many times you try, you cannot glide over to it from here. Turn back around and head to the pool of water. Proceed into the water yourself and follow the water to some Demonic Growth. Climb up to reach the surface again. Follow the wooden walkway behind you to locate a chest containing 100 Blue Souls. Walk back around and follow the rock platforms inside. You will end up in a dungeon, and a Berserker above commands some grunts to go kill you. Like that's ever worked in the past before. The first wave consists of a few Phantom Guard Soldiers and Phantom Captains. The second wave is the same as the first, but throw in two Wraith Scouts. For the third and final wave, a Berserker joins another pair of Wraith Scouts and two Phantom Captains. You probably built up a full Chaos Meter from the first two waves of enemies, so use Chaos Mode now. Otherwise, use Stoneskin and focus on the Berserker first. His style of attacks will most likely kill the Phantom Captains himself. The Wraith Scouts are too nimble to target with the Berserker still running around, so worry about him first. There is a chest containing Green Souls in a corner, just as a heads up. Now that the coast is clear, ascend the ramp and exit the dungeon, then follow the cliffside. Cross a few bridges, defeat some basic enemies, and move on to a second ash field. Yeah, that entire area we just spent exploring was only one of three deserts. =/ The cave entrance behind you gets sealed off, so no backtracking for you! Destroy the Stingers ahead and proceed to the next ash field. The Ash Titan roaming around isn't particularly interested in you, meaning that you can successfully cross the ash field without the use of a Chronosphere. Use the wooden platforms as pit stops before crossing to the next one. Wait for the Ash Titan to move a fairly good distance away from you (pay attention to the yellow marker over it) before trudging to the next platform. Get a good start by double jumping and gliding to the ground, then walking the rest of the way. The Ash Titan doesn't pursue you as much as other ones, but that doesn't mean that it won't snack on you if you get too close to it. Once you have made it to the other side, collect the 100 Blue Souls from the treasure chest and proceed forward for a scene. Some barriers appear as two Phantom Captains and a few Phantom Guard Soldiers appear. Next, a Berserker and Devastator appear together. As you know, Berserkers are crazy tough individuals, but Devastators have a large cannon that can decimate you any which way you look at it. Defeat the Berserker first, then worry about the Devastator. While they only carry around a massive cannon, Devastators can retaliate if you get too close. They'll stick their gun in the ground and fire to create an energy wave. Kill the Devastator and steal its gun. Open the chest for some Green Souls and follow the eastern ramp that opens up. The Fracture Cannon you currently have in your possession can fire explosive shards. Fire a shard with the Right Trigger, then detonate it with the Left Trigger. It's a really neat gun. You'll find a few Phantom Captains ahead. Stick them with a shard, then detonate it to blow 'em up. You can fire four rounds at a time: try plugging the Devastator positioned high up on a ledge with four shards, then detonating them all at once. Continue along the bridge, killing waves of Devastators, Berserkers, and Phantom Captains as you go. It's not particularly hard to do, nor do you have to employ a specific strategy. Just good, mindless fun. The next area is a gigantic canyon filled with ledges, platforms, and alcoves. For now, walk down the bridge to be abruptly stopped by a Devastator. He destroys the bridge in the process, sealing you down here in this tiny platform. Use the Fracture Cannon to blow away the Devastator, and subsequent waves of random enemies. There are two Green Soul chests here if you need health. There are also a few Fracture Cannons lying around if for some reason you lose yours in the chaos. Eventually, bridges will be lowered so more enemies can come to your location. Additionally, three Devastators are positioned on ledges across the chasm. Target and kill all three, then begin across the bridges that were lowered for you. Along the way, you will find more Green Soul chests and Fracture Cannons. Enemies will come from in front and behind you, so listen to their grunts and occasionally turn around to see if there's anyone stalking you. Once you reach the very top of the walkway, drop your Fracture Cannon and glide across the gap. War will drop down below to a new location. Walk into the arena in front of you for a cutscene. An Abyssal Rider enters alone, as a one-on-one duel begins. The Abyssal Rider will use his horse to gallop circles around you while he casually slices the air with his blade. Dash to keep away from him and use Mercy to pepper in small doses of damage from afar. When the Abyssal Rider slumps over his horse and the horse goes from a gallop to a weakened trot, run up and begin slashing with your Chaoseater. Soon, some Phantom Captains and Phantom Guard Soldiers are added to the mix. Kill them first, then focus on the Abyssal Rider. It's best to stun him with Mercy, then go in for the big hits. I strongly advise you to not use Chaos Mode here, because we will need it in a few minutes. The next wave features two Abyssal Riders and a few Phantom Guard Soldiers. Grates in the arena floor will open up, revealing lava geysers. I don't really need to say it, but you should probably stay away from them. Again, do not use Chaos Form. Kill the ground forces and then focus on one Abyssal Rider at a time with Mercy to whittle the numbers down. Once one rider remains, finish him off with your trusty pistol. It's tricky, but sometimes a one-hit kill prompt will appear when the Abyssal Rider is getting ready to use his charge attack. When you see the horse neigh, run up and press B to cut its legs off. Gruesome! The final wave consists of a handful of Phantom Guard Soldiers and Phantom Captains. Oh yeah, and two Traumas! This is where you should activate Chaos Mode. If you are lucky (and quick), you should be able to eliminate both Traumas during Chaos Mode. Finish off the stragglers to stun the crowd. Oh, they're not done just yet... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Abyssal Gladiator ----------- The champ is here! The crowd was holding back on you, for they saved their toughest competitor for last. Just because he is the guy to beat doesn't mean you are going to have trouble beating him. The boss is essentially a beefed-up Abyssal Rider, and we've dealt with a few of them minutes before. The Abyssal Gladiator functions the same as an Abyssal Rider, but has one or two more attacks. Aside from the horse's charge attack, the Abyssal Gladiator will toss blue energy balls at you. If they miss you and connect with the ground, they turn into large blue geysers. The boss starts off with just one, but begins to toss more as the battle progresses. Also, the Abyssal Gladiator can slash you with his sword if he's close enough. Once you use Mercy to stun the Abyssal Gladiator, charge and use Blade Harpoon and your strongest Chaoseater combos. Remember to back away once he regains his composure, because his horse will retaliate with a ground slam. Keep on attacking the Abyssal Gladiator until a button prompt appears. War knocks the boss off his horse and lets the battle continue. I didn't really think that one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse would be so fair and noble. I was hoping for a nice cheap shot or something. Okay, the REAL boss battle begins. No, he's not very intimidating. No, he isn't ten times bigger than you. BUT, the Abyssal Gladiator is quite tough. What makes this different than normal sword combat is that you cannot block the Abyssal Gladiator's attacks. Not even his basic, two-hit sword slash. You are going to have to rely on your agility and timing to dodge and evade the boss's arsenal of attacks. His sword slash begins with a small, one second charge period, giving you enough time to get behind him and hack away. This boss is also pretty quick on his feet, as he can dash your own moves as well. He usually follows up on a dash with a move similar to your own Flipsaw attack. Lastly, the Abyssal Gladiator uses a blue geyser attack just like he did while on horseback. He will punch the ground and create a moving blue geyser that follows you for a short while. The number of geysers increase as the battle goes on. It's hard to give you a decent battle strategy, as all you can really do is perfect your sword skills. use Stoneskin, constantly dodge, try not to block as it doesn't work, and try not to get overzealous when attacking or else he will surprise you. There are two chests containing Green Souls on either side of the arena, so take the time to run away like a sissy and open one if need be. Also, Chaos Mode doesn't hurt if you filled your Chaos Meter already. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The fans are not pleased. And neither is the Abyssal Gladiator's horse, Ruin. War manages to tame the wild beast and the two become BFFs. The angry fans storm the arena, but you can now use Ruin to kill 'em off with ease. Simply ride around in circles and spam your sword attacks until the gate opens up. Ride all the way through the cave to reach the ash field again. Another good thing about reuniting with Ruin is that you can gallop along the ash fields with relative ease. Also, press the Right Bumper to dash momentarily. While running around in ash is fine and dandy, we still have an Ash Titan lurking around. But this time instead of cowering our fear, we can confront and eventually kill the beast. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Ash Titan ------------------- I can't really consider this a real fight, so think of it more as a mini-boss. The Ash Titan slithers underneath the ash, waiting for the right moment to strike like a viper. But you already know this, because we've witnessed their awesome power first-hand. The boss only has one attack, where it will lunge out of the ash and follow you with its head exposed. After the Ash Titan's mouth flares, it will dive forward in an attempt to swallow Ruin and War up. Right when you see the Ash Titan's mouth begin to twitch, dash forward. Even though it only has one attack, stay far away from the worm because running into it will cause you to fall off of your horse nearly 100% of the time, leaving you open for additional abuse. Run around to get the Ash Titan's attention, then lock onto the sandworm and wait for it to open its mouth. Fire at the throbbing yellow tongue inside with Mercy to harm the beast. If the Ash Titan gets too close, dash away from it; you could either slow down and collide with the Ash Titan's mouth, or it could try and use its dive attack. If it manages to hit you and you fall off of Ruin, press the Left and Right Bumper together to summon your horse pal. Once the Ash Titan has taken enough abuse, it'll fall to the ground. Gallop next to it and press B to eliminate the foe. It feels pretty good to finally kill something that's been stalking us for so long. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Wow, now that I think about it, that boss fight felt way too much like the one boss battle in Shadow of the Colossus... Proceed to the northwest corner of the desert. Face the rock platform to the right of the cave entrance and dismount Ruin. Jump onto the rock platform and grab ahold of the ledge. Pull yourself up and walk along the ramp to find a chest bearing 500 Blue Souls! Return to the northwest cave and proceed inside. Pick up a Fracture Cannon and go to work. Multiple random Phantom enemies will be positioned on the other side; you know what to do. A Trauma will appear with some backup, but we have a badass weapon to use against him. He should go down after a few sets of four shards. Aside from a bunch of cool stuff you can destroy for Blue Souls, there are also two treasure chests containing Green Souls and 250 Souls. A Trauma blocks the exit of the tunnel, so deal with him to enter a water-filled chamber. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Dive into the water to find a Soldier Artifact in the center, floating around midway down to the floor. It's a little trickier to find than the last one because of the rock formations down here, but do some searchin' and it'll turn up. Swim across to the other side of the pool and continue through the tunnel. There are several Phantom Guard Soldiers that'll get in your way, but they certainly don't pose a threat. Open the chest near the entrance to the third ash field and stop at the Vulgrim location in the side cave. Leviathan's Drift ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The third member of The Chosen is in this third ash field, so spend enough time preparing at Vulgrim's location before running off to do battle. Pick up a Life Essence and a Greater Life Essence for the road, then summon Ruin and ride into the ash field. Ugh, you can see the massive thing writing around in the distance like a skyscraper. This won't be pleasant... Before you can fight the boss, you'll have to cut through a small army of Phantom Guard Soldiers. After a handful bite the dust, the boss frees himself. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: The Stygian ----------------- Being the king of all Ash Titans, The Stygian is bigger, stronger, faster, and overall treated better than the other Ash Titans. Lesser demons have forged a metal helmet for their king, so targeting his fleshy tongue won't be as easy as you'd think. The Stygian starts things off by staying underneath the ash, then emerging only to charge at you. Use Ruin's dash to avoid the Stygian's giant head. After a few charge attacks, the boss will rise and coast around the ash field. Dash towards the boss and ride alongside it. Slowly gain up speed and begin attacking the side of the helmet once you make your way towards his head. Alternate between slashing the left and right side of the helmet. The Stygian doesn't do much during this stage other than slither around, and running into the side of the giant worm will not hurt you, so simply be patient and attack the helmet until it falls off. Now that The Stygian is a little upset due to its protection being gone, you will be able to harm the boss. After a few seconds of inactivity, The Stygian will rise in the center of the field and stick his head straight up. His primal scream summons five or six baby Ash Titans. These little guys are much smaller than The Stygian - and even normal Ash Titans - but can still be a nuisance. They can be killed with regular gunfire; no weakpoints to worry about, so gallop around in a circle as they tail you and follow through by using Mercy on them. If a baby Ash Titan gets too close, dash forward and continue shooting it until it dissolves away. The boss will reemerge once his offspring have perished. Now the worm will occasionally pop his head up and open up real wide, exposing his yellow tongue. Begin shooting at it while galloping away, dashing if the boss gets too close. Before diving back under, The Stygian will take one last lunge at you. You should get a nice amount of shots off during each opportunity. The Stygian doesn't really only has two attacks. Aside from lunging at you, mouth wide open, it'll also emerge from the ash and flop around in the air before falling back down, kinda like when a whale jumps straight up in the air from out of the ocean. If you stay locked onto the boss at all times, you should never get hit by this attack because if you are intelligent enough, you'll stay far enough from the yellow cursor. It's not rocket science. The Stygian will most definitely summon more baby Ash Titans before the fight ends, but the number of times may vary. This boss fight is painfully straightforward, as you shoot the boss's weak point when you get the chance. Otherwise, run for dear life and kill the occasional baby from time to time. I thought this fight would be much harder coming into it for the first time. I was wrong. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thanks for the heart, man. With the Heart of the Chosen and another LIFESTONE at hand, summon Ruin. Search behind The Stygian's prison to find a treasure chest that is easy to miss. Collect the 100 Blue Souls and ride back to the Vulgrim location. Enter the Serpent Hole leading back to Scalding Gallow. Scalding Gallow ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bring the third heart to Samael. He tells War to return to The Ashlands, and now that we have Ruin we can properly explore the rest of the area. The Ashlands leads to the Iron Canopy, home of the fourth Chosen. He also gives War the Soul Bridge ability. You can use Ruin to cross Soul Bridges, one of which being in The Ashlands. Use the Vulgrim location here to access the Serpent Hole leading to The Ashlands. The Ashlands ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now that The Stygian is dead, The Ashlands are devoid of all Ash Titans. Ride Ruin to the southeast corner of the ash field to find a rocky outcropping housing a swarm of Stingers and a chest. Destroy the bugs and open the chest for 100 Blue Souls. If you ride towards the western side of the ash field where the second drilling tower stands, the Soul Bridge will activate. We have one more chest to open up here, so lets do that now. ~-~ Wrath Shard #8 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Ride to the far north end of the first ash field. You will probably pass by a couple Abyssal Riders, but we don't need to fight them. If you locate on the map a wooden platform on the north end of the ash field (it looks like a circle with rays sticking out of it on the map), head east from there to find a cave opening covered in blue crystals. Break them and proceed inside the cave to locate the Wrath Shard. Return to the trail leading up to the second tower and pass it to the Soul Bridge. Use Ruin's dash ability to ride across the Soul Bridge to the other side. This cave is completely empty, so casually ride through to trigger a cutscene. Well, I thought it was empty. ============================================================================== 3.12] IRON CANOPY [0312] ============================================================================== Iron Canopy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ War has been captured by little creepy spider things, so I guess Samael held true to his word that War wouldn't have to do much in order to find Silitha's home. Tap B over and over to free yourself from the cocoon. The first chest here in the Iron Canopy is in a small nook north of where you start. Go around the corner to 100 Blue Souls. Go across the icy bridge to encounter a tiny creature scuttling around. Crush the Broodling by pressing B next to it and open the "door" nearby. Stomp on the Broodlings inside and destroy the blue crystals to your left. A Loom Warden hangs in the ceiling above the cable wire. You cannot hurt the creature just yet, so we must sneak past it. Pull the block underneath the cable and jump on top of it. Hit the Chronosphere on the ceiling to slow down time, then jump on the wire and slip underneath the Loom Warden. Drop down the hole at the end and walk down the street. Battle the Fallen Angel patrolling the road and cross the flimsy web bridge. As a testament to how crappy it is, the thing falls apart just as you reach the other side. Use the Demonic Growth to move around the edge of the building to a doorway. It's locked. Climb back across and head down the alley. Kill the three Fallen Angels flying around. ~-~ Wrath Shard #9 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- The alley is lined with wooden fences on the left side. They blend in to the surroundings and are hard to spot initially, but destroy them all with your Chaoseater. You will find a Wrath Shard behind one of them. The other wooden fence houses a chest containing Yellow Souls. Next, rip open the web door at the end of the alley. Oh boy, there is a lot going on in this building. There are three floors to the building, and you are currently on the second floor. Start off by carefully going across each wooden beam and destroying the Broodlings on the floor. If you find pulsing egg clutches lying around, cut them open to release more Broodlings. After exterminating the pest problem, drop down to the first floor. Kill off the Broodlings here and break the crystals to reveal a lever; pull it to make a Chronosphere rise up from below. Also look up to find an egg clutch stuck to the bottom of a metal beam. Use your Crossblade to slice it open and kill the creatures inside. This will free the metal beam and even it out. Finally, collect 100 Blue Souls from the chest east of the lever. In the center of the first floor is a support beam marked with beige notches you can grab onto. Use these to climb back up to the second floor, then use the next support beam to reach the third floor. Again, crush the Broodlings and the egg clutches, then move to the north end of the room. Jump on top of the hanging metal beam and notice how your weight pushes your end downward, like a see-saw. Weigh the beam down a little bit, then target the Chronosphere. Now that time is slowed down, run across the now-slanted metal beam to reach a chest containing a Beholder's Key. There's nothing more to do here, so leave. Backtrack to the locked door near the broken bridge and unlock it. In this next room, a Loom Warden follows your every move underneath the web floor. Also, a Goremow lurks above. Kill off the Broodlings hanging on the walls, then push the block underneath the Goremaw. Stun the Goremaw to make it drop the block... the impact will make the Loom Warden fall off the ceiling and to the ground below. Interesting... ~-~ Wrath Shard #10 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Climb onto the block before the Goremaw grabs it, then jump off to the rafters after being yanked up in the air. You will find another Wrath Shard up here. We have to drop to the ground floor and get around the pesky Loom Warden. We know how to at least, but now we just gotta do it. Cause the Goremaw to drop the block again to stun the Loom Warden. Enter the hole in the southwest corner of the room, then grab the ledge on the wall. Travel along the south wall, then leap to the platform and go up the stairs to exit the room safely. Three Undead Lords appear out of a portal in the alley. Like most enemies in this game, they are just an upgraded version of Undead Soldiers. Defeat the small band of Undead Lords and use the Broodlings as health supplements to open up a nearby door. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Before leaving through the open door, ascend the stairs in the western end. They lead nowhere, but if you look across the alley you will spot a Soldier Artifact on a high ledge. The Artifact is in gliding distance from the top of the stairs. Step down and head through the open door. The red crystals covering the later half of some Demonic Growth prevents you from exiting this room. Drop down to the floor below to find a Bomb Growth stuck on top of a block. Push the block onto the metal lift, then climb back up to the floor above. Pull the lever next to the entrance to raise the block to your level. Make sure to take the block off of the lift and move it towards the east end of the room, where the gap is a bit closer. Shockwave Punch the block to the opposite end of the room and push it onto the second lift here. Crawl across the Demonic Growth and kill the Lashers in the way to a second lever above. Now that the Bomb Growth block is within throwing distance to the red crystal, blow it up and continue through. In the next room, you are immediately sealed in as a Conscript and several Undead Lords are spawned. Use the furniture to stun the enemies while picking them off one by one. Save your Chaos Mode for when the Earthcracker appears. This massive hunk of rock is much more powerful than the Gholens we have been facing throughout the game, so Chaos Mode is specially reserved for this big lug. Once the barriers fall, you have two doors to choose from. Enter the southwest door to find 250 Blue Souls, then head through the eastern door. Take the time to kill each and every last Broodling inside this room. If you are patient and in need of health, stomping on every single one will give you quite a lot of health. It certainly adds up. Exit the room and climb up the Demonic Growth. The large orange barrier leads to the boss, but we clearly cannot access the boss room right now. Drop down to the left and open the chest for Green Souls, then cross the bridge. Like earlier, this one will also collapse. Go through the door. A locked door greets you immediately. Turn right and walk forward. We're gonna open that awesome treasure chest, right? Right?! Wrong. War falls through some flimsy floorboards below. Crush the Broodlings and descend the staircase on your left. Collect some Green Souls from the chest below and go through the doorway to find a bound stone. Enter the side room to find some Yellow Souls first, then slash the chained stone to receive the Abyssal Chain. A Loom Warden drops in, but now we can kill these suckers. Screw the Earthcaller: assign the Abyssal Chain to its slot. Use the Abyssal Chain to yank the Loom Warden's protective shell right off of it, then slash at its tender flesh to defeat the monster. A Blue Chain appears on the other side of the doorway. Go through and head up the stairs, then lock onto the Blue Chain. War can swing across Blue Chain and use Red Chains to pull himself to them. Since this is a Blue Chain, lock on and fire to begin swinging back and forth like Tarzan. Jump once you have enough momentum to reach the high ledge. Climb up the Demonic Growth and jump up to the ledge above you, then slide around to the platform. Drop down and use the Blue Chain to swing up to a room containing a Red Chain and a Chronosphere. Grapple to the Red Chain to find a chest containing an ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE, then return to the Chronosphere. Activate it, then use the Blue Chain behind you to swing past the two Goremaws above. After obtaining the Beholder's Key from the treasure chest, open the second chest for Green Souls and use the Goremaws to get across the fence back to the other side. Open the locked door with the Beholder's Key and continue through. You will end up in the boss door room. Grapple across the chasm using the Red Chains and pass by the boss door. Go south to continue backtracking. You will find the second Loom Warden inside this room. This one is accompanied by a large swarm of Broodlings. Your best bet is to use your Abyssal Chain to remove the Loom Warden's shell, then totally kick its ass in Chaos Mode. Two down, two to go. Continue west to reenter the room where you first met the Earthcracker. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Take the southern door in the Earthcracker room. Use the Red Chain to reach the Champion Artifact. Backtrack through the room with the lifts and back out into the alley. Climb back up the metal stairs that led you to the Soldier Artifact, but this time turn around. Look up and fire at the Red Chain to be pulled into a room containing three treasure chests. You will find Green Souls, 250 Blue Souls, and the Hoardseeker. Continue backtracking through the Iron Canopy. When you reach the third Loom Warden, knock it down from the ceiling and remove its hard carapace. Undead Lords will join in on the action, but try to focus on the Loom Warden as much as possible. Activate Stoneskin and use Blade Geyser to knock everyone back, then continue with a flurry of sword strikes on the Loom Warden. Use the northern passage to reach the door, then exit. Use the Red Chains to cross the remains of the first web bridge. Look familiar? This is the entrance to the Iron Canopy. Swing across the Blue Chain in the corner to reach three chests, then open 'em up for Green Souls, Yellow Souls, and 250 Blue Souls. Swing back across and enter the northeastern door to find the final Loom Warden. Knock it down from the ceiling with your Abyssal Chain to send it crashing through the floor. However, DO NOT jump down into the hole yet! Shimmy across the wire and drop down into the hole. Follow the street, looking up in the air the entire way, and you will eventually find a Red Chain. Grapple up to it to find a treasure chest with Rage inside. Return to the previous room and jump down into the hole the Loom Warden created. Defeat the beast to make a large barrier nearby disappear. Open the treasure chest for some Green Souls and enter the menacing chamber. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Broodmother ----------------- So we are given the chance of eradicating the piece of garbage that has been introducing the ever-so-annoying Broodlings to this world? THANK YOU. I am going to take great pride in this one. The Broodmother is close to being the easiest boss in the game. She only has two attacks that you must worry about. The first is when she begins to stomp on the ground with her pointy feet. After she stomps and has her eyes locked on you, she'll try to gnaw at you. It's really obvious because the preparation time for this move is very long and noticeable. The boss also takes time to pause and breathe in a gust of air. This air does not hurt you nor does it even create a vacuum that pulls you towards her. All it does is give you time to attack. Once you see the Broodmother open her mouth and inhale, aim at one of the cocoons hanging above and snatch it with your Abyssal Chain. Next, lock onto the boss and toss it into her mouth. With the Broodmother distracted, you will be able to run behind her and use the Tremor Gauntlet to break off the blue crystals on her back. This exposes her weak point, ripe for the attacking. The Broodmother takes note of this and will use her second attack. She will jump high in the air and come crashing down. The shockwave produces stretches across the entire arena, so the only way to avoid it is by jumping. Keep in mind that this attack is insanely powerful and can drain you of nearly an entire Lifestone in one shot. She will repeat this attack one to three times before calming down. The battle will repeat itself from here on out. Avoid her bite attack first, then toss a cocoon into her mouth. Run behind and use your Chaoseater on her bright red backside. Once the boss realizes this and uses her slamming attack, time your jumps and do the entire thing over again. It won't take many more attempts to exterminate the Broodmother. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- With all four Loom Wardens dead and the Broodmother no more, there is nothing standing between you in Silitha. Follow The Watcher through a door leading into a sewer. A Shadowcaster emerges from a portal and enters a nearby pipe. Break open the chest for Green Souls and follow him through the pipe. Typical bad guys; he leads you right into a trap. A Shadowcaster is joined by a group of Undead Lords. Keep the Shadowcaster at bay with a charged-up Crossblade while you attack the Undead Lords. Eliminate the Shadowcaster and finish off the large wave of Undead Lords. The last line of defense are two Grappleclaws. Activating Chaos Mode isn't such a bad idea here; otherwise focus on one and use him to kill the other. Classic betrayal, I love it. The barriers fall, so jump into the hallway. Follow it to a large chasm. Leap over to the Shadow Geyser to propel yourself high in the air, then turn around and glide behind you to end up above where you started. There is a chest here: open it for WAR'S GLORY. Equip it to your Chaos Eater; this Weapon Enhancement is part of the Legendary set, so it's really, really good. Equip your Abyssal Chain and float into the Shadow Geyser. This time, glide forward and grapple to the Blue Chain while in midair. Swing across the series of Blue Chains to reach a second Shadow Geyser. Glide into it to find yourself hovering in front of a second set of Blue Chains. Finally, use theses to reach the Demonic Growth on the other end. Drop into the room below. Two Constructs rise from the ground to fight. You oughta know that these guys are fairly strong, but c'mon, we were fighting them in the first dungeon. You should have little trouble against them. Some Fallen Angels come in afterwards, then finally an Earthcracker. Rack up your Chaos Meter if necessary, then unleash it when fighting the Earthcracker. Once the doors open, go south. Don't open the door just yet; look to the left to find the chest on the other side of the broken floorboards. Use the Red Chain to sling over to the chest and open it for 250 Blue Souls. Glide back across and go through the door. Grapple from Red Chain to Red Chain and open up the boss door. You ready? Welp, the boss door doesn't lead directly to the boss! Walk to the edge of the platform and jump to the Demonic Growth on the left. Climb across and up onto the ceiling, then face the Blue Chain. Drop down with B, then immediately grapple to the Blue Chain with the Right Trigger before you fall down into the pit of despair. Swing across to another patch of Demonic Growth. Refill your health with the Green Soul chest and open the web door to reach the attic. Silitha provides War with some interesting stories before the fight begins. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Silitha --------------------- Silitha just seems like a normal, giant mutated spider with the ability to talk, but she definitely has some tricks up her sleeve. Silitha has trouble standing still, as she constantly teleports around the attic like a damn monkey, giving you very small windows to attack. Plus, her teleportation skills also leads to the unpredictability of her attacks. If you get too close to Silitha, she will teleport somewhere else in a flash of purple light. Next comes several options. Most commonly, she will reappear directly above you and drop to the ground. If you are caught underneath, you will be left in a world of hurt. Sometimes Silitha will teleport in the middle of the arena and slash at you with her claws. Sometimes the boss will teleport onto one of the walls and walk around. She cannot attack you from here nor can you reach her, but it provides a short break in the madness and allows you to figure out your next move (which will probably be dodging more of her dumb attacks). As far as I know, that's all she's got. While it doesn't seem much, Silitha teleports faster and more often as you wear her down, leaving you virtually no time to stop between dashes. If you can, take the time to heal yourself with a Greater Life Essence if you're low on health or use Stoneskin. The only time you will be able to damage Silitha is when she ironically tells you to stand still. Whenever Silitha stops and begins spewing nonsense, walk up to her and press the Right Trigger (while locked on) to grapple up to her face with your Abyssal Chain. While airborne, begin slicing and dicing away at her ugly mug with your Chaoseater. The battle will near its conclusion when Silitha teleports on the ceiling and berates War some more. She will also summon a ring of Red Chains above you. These Red Chains will begin falling to the ground one by one, so quickly grapple up to the nearest one, then press the Right Trigger once more to reach Silitha. This will initiate the execution cutscene. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The final Heart of the Chosen is yours. Plus, a LIFESTONE! We can exit through the door here, but we have one final goodie to collect... Hit the Crossblade target on the floating pillar above you, then switch to your Abyssal Chain and grapple to the Red Chain hanging underneath it. The pillar will float back up to the attic where you started the battle. Once it stops, jump off to the floor. You may have noticed that Silitha crashed through two floors during her death. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ From the attic, jump and glide down to the floor directly below you. You'll find a Soldier Artifact here on the floor's perimeter. There is also a treasure chest holding 250 Blue Souls for you. Fall down to the ground level and take the door to exit the Iron Canopy. The Ashlands ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Summon Ruin and ride through the cave to make it back to the Soul Bridge. Backtrack all the way to the entrance to The Ashlands and use the Vulgrim location to warp back to the Scalding Gallow. Scalding Gallow ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Samael will feast on the final Heart of the Chosen, but not before a bit of conflict. Samael's a jerk and a half, but he still holds up on his end of the bargain. War will be teleported to a Serpent Hole leading to the Black Throne. ============================================================================== 3.13] THE BLACK THRONE [0313] ============================================================================== The Black Throne ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I absolutely loathe this place. I feel that you must be aware of this. Moving on... Walk down the stairs to the front door. Inside, step on the sun tablet on the floor to make a bridge be constructed right in front of your eyes. Cross the bridge and through the door. War will meet up with Azrael in the next room. After the scene, go east through the unlocked door. This next chamber is a bit complicated, as it is filled with several targets that will raise and lower parts of the walls. The diagram below is a mediocre depiction of the room. _________________ __________ | | .' `--| ______ | | _ __ | |______| | | | | | || | | | ____| |_| |__|| ___|---. | | | | | | |____ ____ ___ ______| | | | 3| | |5 | 6 | |__ __| | _| |___| |____ |______ <--- EXIT .-> __ | | | | | 1| | ______________| | | '._| 2|_______4________ | | | | '-.__________,--._________,--' | '-- ENTRANCE I'm gonna make this reeeeal easy for you, and simply list which targets you have to hit in order to get outta this stupid place. Ignore crystal #1, then walk south to find crystals #2 and #3. Hit crystal #2 with your Crossblade, then return to crystal #1 and hit that one. Go through the path that opens up east to reach crystals #4 and #5. Hit crystal #4 and take the southern opening to locate crystal #6. Glide south to find a chest containing 100 Blue Souls and then glide back. Use your Abyssal Chain to swing north to the staircase. There should be an open path at the top of the stairs. Go up and hop onto the platform overlooking crystal #5. Hit it with your Crossblade for another opening to appear west. Follow the walkway around the side of the wall to the southern end. Now we are on a ledge overlooking crystal #4. Hit it to open up the exit. Pretty much the entire north end of the room contains nothing and doesn't even need to be explored. Follow the hallway to the room's exit. A Wraith Soldier appears in this next room by herself, to quickly kill her off. She may give you a bit of trouble due to her ability to become temporarily invulnerable when her body turns clear and blue. Just wait for the Wraith Soldier to return to normal, then give her a beatin'. Up ahead are two lever. Pull the one on the left to make two panels in the distance flip. Turn the one on the right to make two more flip. The one closest to you flips, revealing a crystal target. Hit it with your Crossblade to make the panel farthest from you flip back over. Finally, turn the lever on the right once more to align some Blue Chains. Cross the chasm with your Abyssal Chain to the other side. Open the two chests for Green and Yellow Souls, then proceed through the door. Step in the center of the room to trigger the appearance of an army of Forsaken. These seem to be angels that were banished from heaven like the Fallen Angels, but of course more difficult to take down. After defeating the angels, a Grappleclaw appears alongside some Goreclaws. The final line of defense consists of more Forsaken and a Wraith Scout. Enter Chaos Mode and finish the job. The floor opens up, revealing a bound stone. Destroy it to acquire the Voidwalker, a nifty tool that allows War to basically create portals that can transport him between two points. It's an interesting piece of equipment, but has a somewhat high learning curve. Fire a shot at one of the orange tiles surrounding room. Create a second portal by shooting the orange tile on the high ledge at the east end of the room. Hop into the first portal to pop out of the second. Now that you are up on the ledge, head down the hallway. Create a portal on the lone window, then make a second one on the orange circle on the floor. If you hop through the first portal, you'll pop out of the second. However, you won't go high enough to reach the platform above. Disable both portals by aiming and pressing the Left Trigger. This time, hold down the Right Trigger to create a more powerful portal. Now when you jump through, you should spring high enough to reach the chest containing 100 Blue Souls. Turn around and look behind you to spot a portal tile on an inaccessible platform. Fire it to close the first portal you made and make a new one at this new portal tile. The second portal (the one directly below you) should still be active; jump down into the portal to be carried through the new one. Confusing, I know. Step on the sun tablet to make the portal tile next to you slide up on the wall. Interesting. Walk along the path to find a second portal tile and a Bomb Growth. Shoot the tile with your Voidwalker to open a portal; you should see some red crystals on the other side (if not, run back and hit the sun tablet to raise the tile). Toss a Bomb Growth through the portal. Objects can travel through portals too, so the bomb will destroy the crystals. Before the tile behind you lowers, jump through to grab a ledge where the crystals were. Again, if you are too late, hit the sun tablet again. Once up here, Step on the sun tablet in front of you to make a fast-moving bridge appear. Stay in the front of it before the back dissolves under your feet. Get to the other side and slay the Wingrocks that follow you into the hall. Use the Shadow Geysers to reach the upper level of the hallway. The door will close behind you, sealing you inside. Open the two chests for Green and Yellow Souls, then use charged up Voidwalker shots on the two portals. Jump into the one on the wall to be shot from the one on the ground to reach a ledge above you. Walk forward to a boss chamber. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Guardian -------------------- The Guardian is a very simple boss if you understand how to beat it, but that isn't too surprising because this is one of three Guardians here in The Black Throne. The nasty robot carries around a ball and chain and can rotate his hip around 360-degrees to perform a nasty spin attack. The only other attack the Guardian uses is an overhead slam. The ball and chain gives the Guardian a massive reach, so the best way to avoid getting smacked backwards is to use the portal tiles on the floor. There is one in each corner and one in the middle of the arena. Charge up a Voidwalker shot on one of the portals, then create a second portal on the tile diagonal from it. Now that you have both portals open, it's time to go to work. Jump in one of the portals to be shot out from the other one. Begin gliding towards the Guardian and press B when the button prompt appears. War will land on its head and begin slashing the red sphere on its head. This will temporarily disorient the boss; drop to the ground and attack the blue core located in its pelvis. Once the Guardian gets up, it'll glow red and use an extra-powerful spin attack. Frantically avoid it and create two more portals. Repeat this process a couple more times; the final time, you will have to perform an execution to destroy the Guardian. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Of course, the energy beam doesn't go straight back to Azrael, we have to use portals to guide the beam to him. I'm starting to hate this dungeon already. Make a portal on the window where the blue beam is shining on, then drop below to the bottom floor. Make a second portal on the window to make the beam shine through and into the blue orb across the room. This will open up a passage, which you should take. Go inside to find a lever controlling a lift, an orb, and another portal tile. Hit the tile with your Voidwalker, then return to the previous room. Deactivate the portal on the wall here, then look up to where you fought the Guardian. Create a portal up there so the beam passes through and hits the orb back at the lift. With the blue orb all charged up and ready to roll, turn the lever to activate the lift. You're back at the room where you initially found the Voidwalker, and the beam is once again activated. First off, open the two chests next to the locked door in front of you for 100 Blue Souls and some Green Souls. Face the beam and create a portal on the tile the beam is hitting. Hit the tile to the right of the portal to make the beam fire into the locked door, unlocking it. Don't go through just yet. We are going for a little detour. From the Voidwalker room, follow it just as if we were heading back to where we fought the Guardian. When you reach the room containing the Wingrocks and the sun tablets, ready your Voidwalker. Equip it, then step on the sun tablet. As the bridge forms, walk across and look to your left once you reach the middle. Fire a shot up at the portal tile, then continue across the bridge. Go backwards across the bridge again and drop back down the hole. Create a second portal here with the portal tile, then jump through. You will end up at the top of the duel sun tablet room, with another sun tablet in front of you. Create a bridge leading to the chest here to find the FURY'S EMBRACE enhancement. Okey dokey, return to the Voidwalker room and head for the unlocked door. Go through the door to find two Wraith Soldiers. Kill 'em; they will be followed by a Grappleclaw and some Forsaken. Kill them as well, then shoot the portal tile above the Blue Chain panel. Swing across the chasm with your Abyssal Chain and shoot the portal on this side to complete the chain. Ah, we're back at the lame wall-moving room. Go down the stairs and shoot the portal tile at the top of the wall, then look to the left of the staircase to find another portal tile at your level. Shoot this one as well. The beam should travel through the first hole in the wall, but will stop there. Look back at the ASCII map for assistance. Hit crystal #5 to raise the wall and align the hole with the beam, then go west and hit crystal #3 to lower the wall and align all the holes. The beam will power up an orb near the west end. Hit crystal #3 again to raise the wall and open the path for you. Before leaving, look at the north end to spot a portal tile. Shoot it, then hit crystal #1 to lower the first wall. Look at the top of the wall to find a second portal tile to use. Shoot a charged blast at this one, then hop through the first portal. You will be shot into an alcove; open the chest here for a Map, then drop down and leave. The first skull is activated at Azrael's location, and he will open up a new portion of the chamber. Use the two portals on the side of the chamber to get up to the ledge, then continue using the portals to gain ground. The door on the west side is locked, so face away from it. Jump onto the spinning structure in the middle of the room and walk clockwise around it. Once you reach the top, wait for it to take you to the unlocked door and jump off. Go through the door and ride the lift up. Phantom Captains will keep you occupied along the way: defeat them all and follow the tunnel to the next room. First things first, use Mercy and/or your Crossblade to kill every last Wingrock before moving. Now, wait for the bridges to form in front of you as you make your way across to a floating platform on the west end. This one is stable, so wait here for more bridges to appear in front of you. Before you move from here, fire a Voidwalker shot on the portal tile at the base of the eastern pillar, then at the one on the northern wall. Make your way across the winding bridge to the base of the pillar, then jump through to reach the exit. ~-~ Wrath Shard #11 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Before exiting the room, fire a shot at the portal tile on the northwest end of the room. It's far away, so you may need to adjust your position to reach it. Next, shoot the portal tile next to you. Voila. Slip through the portal to teleport to the western side room to get the Wrath Shard. Use the lever inside to open the gate and free yourself. Return to the door and proceed through. Fire a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile on the spinning pillar, then shoot one at the tile on the wall to the right. Face the second tile and peer through the portal. As the pillar spins away and around, you should see a portal tile while looking through the second portal. Fire through the portal and at the tile with your Voidwalker shot to activate this third portal. Walk towards the spinning column and wait for it to get close to you before jumping in. You will reach the other side of the hole. More enemies to fight! They're all familiar faces, so I don't need to tell you what to do here. When the coast is clear, open the chests on the side for Green and Yellow Souls and enter the door. The camera zooms in on a locked door high above you. Walk down the stairs to find the Beholder's Key. However, the ground begins falling apart and baddies show up. Defeat them as the ground crumbles beneath you, then go up the staircase. Three scales lower from the ceiling and two skull blocks appear on a walkway surrounding the circular room. Walk towards the two skulls and take a gander at the scales above you. Create a portal on the one lowest, then make a second one using the tile next to you. Push the skull block into the portal to drop it onto the scale, weighing it down. Do the same with the second skull block and the second scale. Jump onto the lowest scale, then glide on top of the middle scale. From here, aim up at the top scale and fire a Voidwalker shot at it. Then aim down and shoot a shot on the portal tile underneath where the skull block rests on the bottom scale. You'll successfully transfer the block from the bottom scale to the top scale. Jump on to the bottom scale as it moves up, then climb up to the top scale. Look down and fire a shot at one of the portal tiles on the side of the room, then shoot a second shot at the middle scale to remove the block from that one too. Quickly jump on top of the middle scale as it soars upwards. Repeat this process with the top scale to remove its weight, then ride it to the top of the room. Use the Beholder's Key on the door, open the two treasure chests for Green and Yellow Souls, then continue through. Ride the Shadow Geyser to the top floor and break the blue crystals along the way to receive the Hoardseeker. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #11 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Activate the portal tile on the floor, then slowly start walking north, looking up at all times. There is a well-hidden portal tile on a ledge somewhat out of sight. Target it and drop through the first portal to get up there. From here, climb up the step and collect the Lifestone Shard. Blast the portal tile on the floor and the one above the Shadow Geyser. Jump into the Shadow Geyser for a boost through the first portal and up into the air. Glide over to the chest containing 250 Blue Souls, then glide across the hole to the other end. Turn the dial to activate the lift up to the second Guardian. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Guardian -------------------- The second Guardian is exactly like the first one when it comes to attack. It can spin around and whack you with its ball and chain or use a slam attack to pound you into the ground. The four portal tiles are covered with metal bars, meaning you cannot target them with your Voidwalker. You must bait the Guardian into smashing apart the metal protectors with its overhead slam attack. Stand on a portal tile and wait for the boss to walk over to you. When it raises its hand overhead, get ready to dash out of the way. You can get it to destroy all four, but two will suffice. Once the metal bars are destroyed, create fully charged portals and use them to glide onto the Guardian's head. Press B when close enough to stab the red sphere, then drop down and attack its shiny blue core. This time, you must perform this a total of four times to execute the Guardian. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The second beam of light appears, and we must guide it back to Azrael. Hit the portal behind you and ride the lift down. Create a portal at the tile here to cause the beam to reflect off several mirrors. Run down the stairs and open the chest in the corner for some Green Souls. Quickly hit all three rogue mirrors with your Crossblade to line them up and hit the orb. Ride the lift down to the next area. Back in the scale room, shoot the portal tile opposite your location, then fall down to the bottom of the room. Use the skull block to lower the top scale down, then jump onto the bottom scale. From here, hop onto the top scale and look upwards to find the beam of light. Target the portal tile the beam is running into, then target the portal title on the ground on the east side. The mirrors on the scales should be lined up so that the beam of light powers up the orb and unlocks the door. Exit. Out here, do the same thing on this side that you did on the other side. First make a portal on the spinning pillar, then hit the second portal tile on your right. Now use this portal to target the third portal tile on the other side. The beam will line up with the orb on the other side once the pillars stop spinning. Hop through the portal to the opposite end and proceed through the door. Mirrors and Red Chains rise in this room. Shoot a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile next to you, then cross the first Red Chain to reach the chest bearing 100 Blue Souls. Switch to your Crossblade and hit the mirror next to you. Quickly switch back to your Abyssal Chain and complete your way across the room. Hit the last two mirrors to align all three. Lastly, create a second portal at the tile to complete the puzzle. Turn the dial to lower the lift. No enemies this time, just a smooth ride back to Azrael. We aren't finished just yet. Jump onto the spinning wall and take it to the southeast corner to find a Bomb Growth. Pick it up and throw it at the red crystals high on the spinning platform. With the crystals gone, shoot a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile behind it. Make a second portal using the tile on the inside and bottom of the spinning wall. Now just wait for the beam to align to activate the second skull. The room will be arranged a little bit more, so head to the southwest corner of the floor to find two more portal tiles. Fire a charged shot on the ground and then the one on the wall so you can propel yourself high into the air. Grab onto the ledge here and do the same with the following two portal tiles to reach an unlocked door. Grab the 100 Blue Souls from the chest to your left. There are two portal tiles nearby an a ledge that you can access using these tiles. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ The first portal tile is next to the chest, and the other is on the ceiling in the southwest corner of the room. Jump into the one on the wall to appear on the ceiling, then carefully float onto the ledge before you drop to the ground. Run forward and pick up the Soldier Artifact. This puzzle may remind you of the outer area from before. Turn around a fire a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile next to the chest. Then look across the pit as two columns rise and fall in the air. The one in the distance has a portal tile facing you, so use a charged shot and hit it. Next, turn back to the portal behind you. Look through and wait as the column on the other side of the portal moves up and down. You will see a portal tile on the side of this column too. Stand in front of the portal and fire a charged shot to hit the third portal tile. It's tricky since the portal tile will move up and down with the column, so you must have impeccable timing. Once you manage to hit the portal tile, the portal in front of you should close. That's normal. Shoot the portal tile again, and if the portal tile on the other side is not activate it, activate it again. Now jump through this portal tile and you should make it past the columns. Go down the spiral staircase to find a set of red crystals lying right on a portal tile on the floor. Make your first portal on the tile on the wall nearby, then face the rotating pillar at the north end. There is a portal tile on one side of the pillar. Shoot a charged shot at it, then let the pillar rotate twice. This should position the portal north. Jump through the first portal to be shot to the north end of the room. Open up the chest for some Yellow Souls and hit the portal tile here. Watch as the pillar spins west: if you peer through the portal, you will find some more red crystals on the other side. Once the pillar rotates into this position, snag a Bomb Growth in the distance with your Abyssal Chain and throw it through the portal. It should stick to the crystals and explode. Hop through once the portal realigns with the western end to find an ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE. Return to the southern end of the room where the other red crystals lie. Create two portals: hit the one on the spinning pillar first, then the one on the wall next to the red crystals second. Use the two portals to reach the north end of the room again, then fire a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile on the wall. This should erase the portal on the pillar but leave the second one be. Now you can easily throw a Bomb Growth through the portal to destroy the red crystals back at the spiral staircase. Hop through the portal to reach the staircase and climb to the top. Fire a portal on the tile you just freed, then create a second one on the wall back near the moving columns. Jump through this second portal to be shot up to the top of the area. Glide over to the chest and collect the Beholder's Key inside. Return to Azrael's chamber the same way you came in. You'll have to fiddle around with the moving columns again but by now I hope you are comfortable enough with the Voidwalker to kinda figure it out yourself. I mean, just repeat the same procedure you used to get to this side in order to get back. Once back in the chamber, do not fall down to Azrael. Look up at the top piece of the spinning wall and hit it with a fully charged Voidwalker shot. Drop down and use one of the easily accessible portal tiles to make a second portal. Now stand in front of the portal and look through. Wait until you see one of the orbs used to generate the blue beam of light; one that we have used many times earlier in the dungeon. Once you spot it, jump through and glide to the ledge below to reach the locked door. Pull the lever to activate the elevator and defeat the waves of Undead Soldiers and Undead Lords until you reach the top. Pull the lever to open the gate, then walk to the center of the room. The exits will dissolve, leaving you trapped in a circular ring. Don't bother wasting Chaos Mode on the Rot Maulers and Undead Lords; it's very easy to punch them off of the ring for an immediate death. A Shield Lord is next up. He fights similar to a Conscript, but has more armor and a giant shield to boot. Treat him just like a Conscript and the exits will soon open. Refill your health and Wrath using the chests, then proceed west through the unlocked door to end up on another balcony. This balcony puzzle is similar to the last. Shoot the portal tile on the spinning column and the one to your right. Look through the portal to find a third portal tile on the column on the far side of the gaping hole. Shoot it. If you look through the portal, the column farthest away will turn and point at the western platform, which is covered in red crystals. Take a Bomb Growth nearby with your Abyssal Chain and throw it through the portal to blow them up, then leap through to the west end. A Rot Mauler and Shield Lord appear, side-by-side. Lower the Rot Mauler's toxic barrier with your Crossblade first, then eliminate him. Next, deal with the Shield Lord. Another Shield Lord will arise from a portal alongside some Undead Soldiers. Focus on the Shield Lord first, because another wave of Undead Soldiers will show up if you deal with the first one. Take down the remaining enemies to begin the final challenge. Two Shield Lords rise from below. Now would be a good time to activate Chaos Mode. With the two Shield Lords done and dealt with, lower the barrier blocking the door. Refuel using the Green Soul and Yellow Soul chests, then head on through. Walk down either step and turn around to find a chest containing 100 Blue Souls because both staircases. Now take a look at the room you are in. There is a large pillar in the center of the room, and the platforms high in the air can be moved by operating the dial back near the entrance. Turn it once to spin the platforms. There are also four side chambers. One south, one southwest, one west, and one northwest. These tiny alcoves house portal tiles and Crossblade targets. The west room is locked and the south room is stupid, so the southwest and the northwest rooms are your main focus right now. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ In the northwest corner of the room is an alcove with a pool of water inside. Jump in and dive down to locate the Soldier Artifact. Fire a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile in the southwest room, then fire a second one at the tile in the northwest room. Here, hit the Crossblade target to lower the portal into the water. This sucks all the water out of the northwest room and into the southwest room. Swim across the water in the southwest room and turn the lever. Turn the lever back at the entrance. Head to the west end and inspect the column to find a portal tile on its side. Shoot a fully charged shot at the portal tile, then leap through the first portal at the northwest room to fly into the western room. Pull the lever to ride the elevator up to the boss's lair. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Guardian -------------------- This is the third and final Guardian, so by now you know how to tango with these dudes. The boss adopts the same two attacks as the previous two bosses, so remember to employ the same strategies on them during this fight. Really, the only thing you have to worry about his the Guardian's pissed off spin attack. The portal tiles are now located on two walls instead of the floor. On each side, two are in your reach while one is situated high above the others. Lure the boss over to one side of the arena and fire two charged-up shots: one at a low tile and the other at the one above. With the Guardian close enough, enter the tile to be shot sideways. You don't have as much height as you would if the portals were on the ground, but you are still able to glide over to the Guardian if it's close enough. If you miss, then continue standing next to the portal to bait the Guardian to coming your way. Once you make it, press B to stab the yellow sphere on its head. When the Guardian topples to the floor, hack away at its blue energy core until it gets up and glows red. Run to the opposite side of the arena to get away from its enraged spin attack, then use the portals here to do your business. I found this boss battle to be easier than the last two due to the positioning of the portal tiles, but they're all really easy. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- One more blasted beam to redirect! We're almost done! Start off by hitting the portal tile back near the elevator. Walk down the hall to the left to find a second elevator and a portal tile. Shoot this one here to capture the beam's energy into the orb, then ride the lift down. The beam will reflect off a mirror and stop. Hit the mirror to your right to adjust it and power up the second orb. Go through the door to the balcony. Shoot the spinning column farthest away from you to open its portal, then hit the tile on the wall. Shoot the third tile while looking through the open portal on the wall and wait for the columns to line up for the beam to hit the orb. Go across to the other side and through the door. We didn't spend much time in this room, but a few things open up, allowing us to fully explore it. Additionally, a pillar lowers from the ceiling and gets in the way of the light beam. Use the Shadow Geyser to float over to the south end and punch open the chest for some Green Souls, then use the two portal tiles to rocket up to the top balcony. Walk around to find a treasure chest containing 250 Blue Souls. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Here on the upper balcony, aim and fire a charged-up Voidwalker shot at the portal tile on top of the floating pillar. Drop back down to the south end of the room and use a portal here to be transported above the pillar. There is a Champion Artifact levitating in the air that's just waiting to be grabbed. Open up the two portal tiles on the sides of the floating pillar. You must direct the beam through a gate and into the orb to the north. However, we must open the gate and rotate the pillar simultaneously. We're going to have to enlist in the help of a Chronosphere to get the job done. Drop down to the eastern side room to find the Chronosphere. Activate it, then sprint underneath the floating pillar and hit the target using your Crossblade. Immediately after, look north and lock onto the two Crossblade targets flanking the gate. Hit both of these to open the gate before the Cronosphere's effects wear off. You have to be quick; one way to shave off a second or two is to stand as far away from the Chronosphere while still being in seeing distance and activating it with your Crossblade instead of manually turning it on. Go through the gate now that it's open and take the elevator back down to Azrael. Stand on the ledge and wait for the top portion of the spinning wall to reveal the portal window. Use it to open a portal, then create a second portal using the tile on the bottom section of the spinning wall. Stand back and wait for the two portals to line up to free Azrael. A staircase appears below Azrael. Descend the stairs and open the chest for some Green Souls, then open the door. Ride the elevator down to the Well of Sorrows, where you'll finally be able to get some revenge. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Straga ---------------------- This battle won't be nearly as simple as the last time we encountered Straga. Mainly because we have the Voidwalker, and like this game and any other Zelda look-alike goes: in order to defeat the boss of a dungeon you must use the weapon acquired in said dungeon to weaken it/utilize its weak point. So we get to fiddle around with portal tiles in this fight. God I hate the Voidwalker. Straga wields a mace and can cover the majority of the arena with his sweeping blows. This is by far his most powerful attack, and very difficult to dodge. The method of dodging it requires great timing, so don't worry if you are not successful on all (or any) of the tries: that's why you have healing items like Greater Life Essences! Straga taps the ceiling with his mace and then leans it on the left side of the room for a second or two. Once you see sparks fly, create two portals on the two portal tiles on the floor. Stand next to the one on the right. As Straga begins to sweep to the right, quickly drop into the portal to appear on the left, behind the mace and without a scratch on you. Sometimes he leans the mace on the other side of the room, but if that is the case then just switch the portal you enter. He also uses a slam attack that is easier to avoid, but can deal a heaping amount of damage. Not only can you use the two portal tiles on the floor to help avoid his mace, you must also use them to hurt Straga. There is a third portal tile on the side of his mace. Shoot that one first, then shoot one of the two tiles on the floor. Pay attention to Straga's arm motion and how he carries the mace. When he's readying for an overhead slam, he'll raise the mace over and behind his head. Once the mace is positioned behind the boss's head, fall into the portal to drop onto his back. Press B next to the orange eyeball on his back to cause Straga to topple forward in pain. Lock onto his face and slash away until he pulls back. Straga will take some time to recover and let some Undead Lords do his bidding. While you contend with them, Straga will occasionally smash his fist into the floor. Once the enemies cease, fire another Voidwalker shot at Straga's mace, then at one of the tiles on the floor. Jump through once Straga readies a slam attack to drop onto his back and hit the weak point. Introduce the Chaoseater to Straga's face to initiate another wave of enemies. The monsters he summons are either Undead Lords or Fallen Angels; it varies. Continue teleporting to Straga's back to expose his weak point, then hack away at his huge face. The boss battle is annoying, but if you study his attack patterns and stay healthy, you should emerge victorious. This time, War will take more than just an eye from Straga. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Why can't we do anything that cool with the Voidwalker as what War did in the execution cutscene? Bummer. Hop into the well that Azrael creates to be transported to Eden. ============================================================================== 3.14] EDEN [0314] ============================================================================== Eden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ War receives another LIFESTONE after the fight against Straga. Even though the Lifestone just healed us, open the two chests for Green Souls and Yellow Souls anyways. Walk forward to be stopped by another scene. With the Mask of Shadows, you can reveal hidden objects and chests... and some other unexpected stuff. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Shadow War ------------------ OMGWTFBBQ another cheap Zelda reference!!! Shadow War is a spittin' image of the Horseman himself, and has the same moves and abilities as you do up to this point. Lucky for you, the boss does not use them all. He is restricted to just the Chaoseater and Crossblade. Shadow War doesn't use many attacks aside from Flipsaw and Blade Geyser. He can use simple sword combos and will dash to avoid your attacks, but for the most part he sticks to using Flipsaw. The time he takes to use the attack gives you all the time in the world to dodge and counterattack. Unlike a real doppelganger, Shadow War does not mimic your each and every move, and is actually pretty easy to hurt. Unlike most enemies or bosses, Shadow War blocks like a mother. He will block most of your attacks if you try and hit him head-on. Either way and dodge his Flipsaw move, or try using a Block Counter. I don't talk about this ability much, if at all, during this guide, but using Block Counter is a fantastic way to really dish out the damage against the boss. Make sure to save up your Chaos Mode, because Shadow War will enter Chaos Mode himself. If he does and you're outta luck, you can still control this duel. You'd realize this the best considering you have used Chaos Mode countless times throughout the game, but his attacks are very slow. It is not suicide to run up and slash Shadow War before dashing backwards to evade his three-hit sword combo. Unfortunately, Shadow War's Chaos Form does not end abruptly like yours. Once he activates it, he'll be like that until the fight's conclusion. You can certainly take Shadow War down if your Chaos Meter isn't filled; just be patient with your attacks and don't get caught up in a long-winded combo. If you do have Chaos Mode, then activate it and show the boss how it's done. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Before making your way to the tree, turn around and head back to the starting point. Use your Mask of Shadows to find a hidden treasure chest containing 250 Blue Souls. Walk back to Azrael and put on the Mask of Shadows to reveal a bridge to the other side of the platform. The scenery looks very pretty; why not check it out close up? Jump into the river on your right. Climb onto the first island and put on the Mask of Shadows to locate a chest between two trees. It holds 250 Blue Souls. Continue to the right to find another hidden chest containing 250 Blue Souls. If you pay attention to your map, you will be able to locate a cave hidden underneath one of the waterfalls, where you'll find another ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE. Return to the stone path and continue to the top. ~-~ Wrath Shard #12 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ If you have the Fury's Embrace enhancement equipped, you should notice a treasure chest icon directly on top of you, but no chest to be found. This one is well hidden. Go back down a few steps and jump off to your right to the ground below (indicated on the map). The Wrath Shard is underneath the staircase. Return to the staircase and approach the base of the magical tree to begin a particularly interesting cutscene. When you regain control, press B next to the corpse to pick up the blade. Return to Azrael and step inside the portal he conjures for you. Aside from retrieving the game's remaining collectibles, we also must forge the Armageddon Blade in order to wage war against The Destroyer. There are many loose ends for us to tie. ============================================================================== 3.15] FINAL PREPARATIONS [0315] ============================================================================== Leviathan's Drift ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So, we have to collect shards of a mystical item in order to recreate it and use against the game's main antagonist? I'm having way too much fun with these Zelda comparisons. Tee hee! Put on the Mask of Shadows and cross the bridge that appears to find the first Armageddon Blade Shard. ~ - ~ Drop down to the ground below and use Ruin to ride through the area where you fought The Stygian. Use the Vulgrim location to teleport to the entrance to The Ashlands. The Ashlands ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ride to the southwest side of the ash field, towards the yellow dashed marking on the map. Jump up the ledge and go left at the fork. Once you reach a dead end, use the Mask of Shadows to make some hidden Bomb Growths appear. Grab one with your Abyssal Chain and throw it at the red crystals forming on the wall. The Bomb Growth is dormant, so use a torch to ignite it. Return to the fork and go right this time, up and around the hill. When you reach a gap in the path, put on your Mask of Shadows. Use the Red Chain to cross the gap, then continue up to find the second Armageddon Blade Shard. ~ - ~ Fall down to the ground and summon Ruin, then ride him north past the first drilling tower. Use your map to find the high cliffs behind the drill tower (there's an Artifact on these cliffs, so locate it with your map). Ride north of the cliff to find a Shadow Geyser. Jump into the Shadow Geyser to reach the top of the cliff. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Continue along the cliffside behind the first drilling tower. Near the north end of the cliff is a patch of Demonic Growth leading to a Soldier Artifact. Continue south, wearing the Mask of Shadows to find hidden Red Chains along the way. The last Red Chain is hanging above the drilling tower's roof. Get a jumping head start, then grapple to it in midair. The ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE is here on the roof. Exit the cavern the same way you came in and backtrack to the second drilling tower. Use the Chronosphere to get around the drilling mechanism and continue to the third and fourth towers. ~-~ Artifact: Overlord ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Use the tower's interior to reach the roof of the third tower. There's no need to mess around with the Chronosphere because we deactivated the drill. Once on the roof, use your Abyssal Chain to swing across the Blue Chain to the roof of the fourth drilling tower. Deactivate the fourth tower's drill, then drop down into the hole that was being drilled. The cave below leads you directly to the Overlord Artifact. Dive into the water and swim to the Goremaw cavern. Walk to the right while bypassing the Goremaws. Use the Shadow Geyser to float up onto the boulder, then swing across the Blue Chain to the far side. Slay the Grappleclaw and Goreclaws, then open up the treasure chest to receive the STRIFE'S OFFERING as a nice reward. With that taken care of, we are done with The Ashlands! Head to the nearest Vulgrim location (which is the one back at the main entrance) and take the Serpent Hole to Dry Road. ~-~ Wrath Shard #13 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ As soon as you enter the Serpent Hole leading to Dry Road, turn around and follow the path that appears to a Wrath Shard. Wow, I would have never expected to find anything useful inside a Serpent Hole! Continue through to Dry Road. Dry Road ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exit the cave and glide over to the Demonic Growth. Climb up and walk forward to initiate a boss battle. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Uriel ----------------------- Uriel was a damn joke last time we faced her, but she has definitely stepped up her game. This will probably be your greatest test in the game so far. Uriel has a multitude of attacks, all of which can deal around half of a health bar with each hit. Since most of her attacks are multi-hit moves, this can spell great trouble for you. Like in the previous battle against the angel, her cutter attack is used when there is a large amount of distance between the two combatants. This is probably the easiest attack to dodge; that or her basic sword combos. Uriel uses random sword slashes up close, including a toppling uppercut and a slamming attack. When Uriel rises high in the air, back away. She will divebomb to the ground, resulting in a large wave of energy. However, continue to stand your ground. Her body will begin to pulse up to three times, releasing three additional waves. It's common to immediately charge her once she hits the ground, but these three shockwaves prevent you from doing so. After the last wave, dash towards her and retaliate. Arguably her most annoying attack, Uriel rises in the air and begins to glow. Next, a dozen or so glowing swords will rain down from the heavens. They usually drop down in a line as opposed to totally randomized locations, so try to stay away from the bunch altogether. This boss is very fast on her feet, and you must pick your opportunities to strike. The best times to attack are right after her overhead slam and her divebomb attack. Both leave her on the floor, giving you time to keep her grounded and continue your punishment. The best way to knock Uriel out of the air is with a dash attack. Either Harpoon Tackle or Meteor Launch do the trick. Once Uriel is lying on her back, continue with a Chaoseater combo until she gets up and spins around. Whenever Uriel spins in a circle, she is regaining her composure and is ready to use an attack. Once she spins around like a top, back away and let her do her worst. Two more strategies that you should be aware of are Block Counters and Chaos Mode. When fighting bosses that are closer to your size and use traditional weaponry like Shadow War and Uriel, Block Counters become increasingly more useful. I found the best time to use Block Counters is to counterattack the boss's jumping sword smash attack. And I shouldn't have to say this, but enter Chaos Mode the minute you get the chance to inflict additional pain on Uriel. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- After the boss fight, hop up the rock platforms to the south side of the Dry Road. Equip the Mask of Shadows and look through the remains of a building to spot the third Armageddon Blade Shard. ~ - ~ There's one more prize to obtain here in the Dry Road, but it's a ways away. Enter the tunnel and continue through as if you were heading to The Ashlands. ~-~ Wrath Shard #14 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Enter the room with the wire and the three Goremaws. From the northern entrance, look up and to the right to spot a Red Chain. Grapple up to it, then spin around and leap onto the ledge here to find a well-hidden Wrath Shard. Stop over at the Vulgrim location, stock up on healing items, and take the Serpent Hole to the Drowned Pass. Drowned Pass ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All the enemies in the Drowned Pass have been replaced by much tougher ones, including Phantom Captains, Goreclaws, and red Grappleclaws (who are stronger than their blue cousins and can also breathe fire). We haven't been here in quite a while, so a number of our weapons can be used to uncover new treasures. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #12 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ From the Vulgrim location, walk forward to find a Blue Chain in the air. Swing across the water and drop onto the cliffside, where you can access the treasure chest and the Lifestone Shard. Dive into the water and submerge yourself. ~-~ Wrath Shard #15 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Once submerged in the water, swim north. Enter the cave on the left and follow it to a patch of blue crystals. Destroy them with your Tremor Gauntlet to reveal a chest on the other side. Open it for a Wrath Shard, then smash the blue crystals behind it for an easy exit. Swim to the southern building and climb up to the top floor. Equip the Mask of Shadows to reveal a Red Chain, then grapple up to the roof. Jump across to the roof of the adjacent building, where the fourth Armageddon Blade Shard lies. ~ - ~ Climb up to the Vulgrim location. There are a few Grappleclaws and Phantom Captains up here; you can either defeat them or run away and escape using the Vulgrim location. Your choice. Either way, head to The Broken Stair next. The Broken Stair ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exit the cave and kill the Storm Warden, then use his own weapon to finish off the two Angel Soldiers in the distance. Enter the building behind you and use the Shadow Geysers to fly over to the highway. Destroy the second Storm Warden and again, kill off the remaining angels using the Redemption. Cross the highway as a third group of angels appear. Once they're toast, continue forward onto the building roof to find a few more Angel Soldiers. Sheesh! They should be easy to finish off: if they float over the roof's edge and are out of reach, reel 'em in with your Abyssal Chain. Next, float over to the next building and climb up to the roof where you found the Angelic Beast and collect the fifth Armageddon Blade Shard. ~ - ~ Well, there are no nearby Vulgrim locations, so you have to backtrack all the way where you came from. Next up: the Choking Grounds. Choking Grounds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Choking Grounds have been overrun with Undead Lords and Shield Lords. If you don't want to deal with the trouble of beating them, then summon Ruin and ride to the building near the Tormented Gate. There is a hole near where the Tormented Gate once slept that gives you access to the basement. Use the Shadow Geyser to climb up to the first floor. On the right are some crystals that can be destroyed by targeting the ignited gas pipe and the dormant Bomb Growth hanging on the crystals. With the red crystals gone, climb up to the second floor. Kill the two Undead Lords, then walk towards the giant root sticking out of the building's west side. Sneak between the root and the corner of the wall to find a chest containing 100 Blue Souls. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #13 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Break the blue crystals on the building's second floor using your Tremor Gauntlet to reveal a chest bearing the Lifestone Shard. On the northwest corner of the building is some Demonic Growth just out of reach. Sling up to it using your Abyssal Chain to get to the third floor. Kill off the Shield Lord that appears, then open the chest for Possession. Equip your Mask of Shadows to reveal a Shadow Geyser, then take it up to the fourth floor. A pair of Wraith Soldiers stand between you and the sixth Armageddon Blade Shard. ~ - ~ Only one more shard to go! Jump from the top floor of the building all the way to the ground. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Head through the passage past where the Tormented Gate was and continue through the drainage pipe. When you reach the tunnel with the two Shadow Geysers, drop below them and smash the blue crystals to find a Champion Artifact. With that out of the way, return to the Vulgrim location. The map reveals that the final shard is in The Crossroads, so head there immediately. The Crossroads ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Waves of Forsaken will appear as soon as you enter the area. Defeat them until the numbers dwindle, then explore the western side of the area. Go down the ramp towards the blue crystals and destroy them; enter the cave to find HELLFIRE. Return to the Vulgrim location and put on the Mask of Shadows. To the west of Vulgrim is a hidden Shadow Geyser. Ride it up to the balcony alongside the buildings. Walk to the end and look east to find another Shadow Geyser. Before jumping into it, equip your Abyssal Chain. Leap into the Shadow Geyser and glide towers the Blue Chain in the air. Immediately grapple onto it and swing over to the southeast balcony. Ride the third Shadow Geyser up to the final Armageddon Blade Shard. ~ - ~ We still have a few things to do before returning to Ulthane. Enter the library behind Vulgrim and take the left staircase. Proceed to the north end of the library. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ At the north end of the library, look up and to the east to find a Blue Chain; jump up and grapple to it, then swing to the central walkway. Follow it west to reach the final Soldier Artifact. ~-~ Wrath Shard #16 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ This time, return to the central balcony of the library and swing north across the Blue Chain. You will drop into a side room containing the Wrath Shard. Continue through the library and to the Scalding Gallow. Scalding Gallow ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Go east across the Shadow Geysers to reach the cave leading to the Choking Grounds. Ride the Shadow Geyser to the upper level and kill the Lavashrike, then look to the right across the lava pit. There is a chest and a portal tile inside. Fire a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile, then look to the left and shoot the second portal tile across the way. Cross the Demonic Growth to the second portal and use it to reach the chest, which contains Life Essence. Return to Vulgrim location in the Scalding Gallow. Facing Vulgrim, walk to the edge of the floor to his left and look across towards Samael's prison. If you peer down into the lava, you can notice a rocky path on the opposite side of your location, near the base of the island where Samael's prison is. Carefully glide down (it may take a few tries) and follow the walkway to find the final ABYSSAL ARMOR PIECE. You should now have completed the Abyssal Armor set. Now War looks totally badass in addition to sustaining less damage in combat! To get back up, jump into the Shadow Geyser to skyrocket back up to the surface. Go west into the tunnel leading to the Drowned Pass. In the second room, look to the left above the high wall and create a portal at the portal title on the ceiling, then enter the fan room. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Equip the Abyssal Chain. Look on the map towards the southeast side of the fan room. There is a hallway marked on the map, but it is transparent. The hallway is actually below the fan. Ride the fan blade to the southeast side and jump below. As you fall, you will catch a short glimpse of a Red Chain at the end of this obscured hall. Fire at it to grapple onto it, then drop down. Use the Shadow Geyser to reach the top ledge to reach the Champion Artifact. ~-~ Wrath Shard #17 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ In the tunnel leading to the fan room is a portal tile on the west end, above a high wall. Shoot it, then use the fan room to return to where you obtained the Champion Artifact. Fire a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile here, then warp through the portal to reach the Wrath Shard. Jump onto the high wall to get back across, then exit to the main sector of the Scalding Gallow. This time, go north through the tunnel leading to the Dry Road. Defeat the Grappleclaw and Phantom Captains, then use the Chronosphere and lever to pass underneath the gate ahead. Once on the other side, turn around and shoot the portal tile on the back of the gate with your Voidwalker. Use the lever here to raise the gate and return back to the other side. Enter the Chronosphere room and shoot the portal tile here as well. Raise the gate and look through the portal to spot a chest as the gate moves up. Once the gate is at the very top, jump through the portal to reach the chest. You will find DEVIL'S BLESSING inside. You have found all of the Artifacts in the game. Proceed to the nearest Vulgrim location. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #14 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Vulgrim will give you a Lifestone Shard after you have collected all 30 Soldier Artifacts. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #15 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Vulgrim will give you a Lifestone Shard after you have collected all six Champion Artifacts. We have one final Lifestone Shard to collect, and it is in another Serpent Hole. Enter the Serpent Hole leading to the Twilight Cathedral. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #16 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ There is a hidden Shadow Geyser next to the Serpent Hole exit. Put on the Mask of Shadows and jump into it, then float onto the series of platforms that materialize right under you. Follow this path to find the Lifestone. Alright, exit the Serpent Hole and stop back at Vulgrim, then head to Anvil's Ford through the Serpent Hole. ~-~ Wrath Shard #18 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ About halfway through the Serpent Hole, you will find a Red Chain high above you. Jump up and latch to it, then use the Red Chains and Blue Chains to drop onto a platform containing the Wrath Shard. Continue to Anvil's Ford. Anvil's Ford ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Before you head out to Anvil's Ford, stay here in the sewer. ~-~ Wrath Shard #19 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Make a right out of the Vulgrim location and climb across the wire to the other side. Dive into the water and swim through the tunnel, then rise up to the surface. Hop out of the water and destroy the blue crystals against the wall. Hug the left wall to find the Wrath Shard in a small alcove. Head west and open the stone door. Jump across the gap and continue west to reach the courtyard where you fought Uriel. Take the door on your right to work your way back through the parts where you killed angels along with Ulthane. ~-~ Wrath Shard #20 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Once on the far west side of the level (where you encounter the Wicked K), use the Blue Chain to swing into a small cave. Open up the treasure chest to collect the Wrath Shard. That's the last collectible in the game. If you have been following this guide from top to bottom, then you should have every Lifestone Shard, Wrath Shard, and Artifact. Now it's time to stop back at Ulthane's pad since we have all seven Armageddon Blade Shards. Now that we've got the Armageddon Blade, there's nothing standing between us and The Destroyer. Return to Azrael in Leviathan's Drift. ============================================================================== 3.16] THE DESTROYER [0316] ============================================================================== Leviathan's Drift ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Use the Mask of Shadows to locate a hidden Shadow Geyser at the northern end of the ash field. Speak with Azrael to warp to The Destroyer. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: The Destroyer --------------- I'll admit, this is a pretty anti-climactic battle. First off, unlike most portrayals of dragons, The Destroyer isn't known for his sheer power and size. The Destroyer runs around the arena in circles like a puppy dog, occasionally pawing at you with his large claw. Sure, he can breathe fire at you, but he just looks dumb. Plus, you have to fight the entire battle while on Ruin. Hop on your trusty steed and run alongside The Destroyer. He will often try and claw at you, which is a good enough reason to never really get close to the boss. Just ride around and wait. The only real time you can hurt The Destroyer is when he charges at you directly. This will happen when the boss runs towards the edge of the arena, turns around, then begins sprinting at you. Like a good old-fashioned joust, charge head-on at the boss, timing your sword slash so it connects just as The Destroyer is about to pass. If you miss or time it badly, The Destroyer will either barrel into you or claw you off your horse. However, if you nail him, The Destroyer will slide and collapse behind you. Quickly turn around and run over to the fallen beast, then jump off Ruin. Hack away at The Destroyer while he's down. You can get a number of shots off on him before he gets back up. The Destroyer usually retaliates with his third attack. The dragon flies high up in the air, offscreen. Jump on Ruin and dash in any direction, or else The Destroyer will dive down on top of you like a meteor. He will repeat this attack once or twice more. Keep playing chicken with The Destroyer; if you are successful each and every time, this should be a quick and painless fight. There is really nothing else to mention about this boss fight, other than that during the final charge, you will have to press B to initiate the execution scene. Once War jumps on The Destroyer's back, repeatedly press B to clip the dragon and finish the job. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Yeah, something so lame possibly couldn't be the final battle. War drops down in the hole created to face off against Abaddon. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Abaddon --------------------- Abaddon is a huge pain in the ass. He blocks far too much than one should allow, he is super strong and has a multitude of sword combos, and basically prevents you from using Chaos Mode in this fight. Abaddon has a bunch of attacks at his disposal, but many of them are similar and cannot be blocked. He has a multiple slash combo, which can be blocked and is the weakest he has to offer. The boss also can use a charged slash, preceded by a glow on the tip of his sword. Don't try to block; just back away when you see his sword begin to glow. When Abaddon floats just off of the ground and his sword glows, he'll follow up with an energy cone attack as he dives forward. Kinda like Harpoon Tackle, but much cooler. If Abaddon floats up in the center of the arena, he will slam to the ground, releasing four energy waves that radiate outwards like a cross. Two more moves to note is Abaddon's dash attack, which is basically a complete replica of Harpoon Tackle, and a simple overhead slam which is essentially the same as every boss in this game. Why does everyone have a powerful slam attack in this game? Other than that, I don't think he really has that much. Kinda like Wicked K, Abaddon doesn't really let many attacks penetrate him, so for some players it may be easiest to resort to Block Counters. The best move to block is Abaddon's charge slash, because the sword glowing gives you a nice heads-up. Aside from Block Countering, another good way to damage the boss is to attack immediately after he has used an attack. Dash away to avoid getting hurt, then use Harpoon Tackle to initiate the assault (like The Destroyer, you can only hurt Abaddon with the Armageddon Blade). After landing a handful of successful shots, a quick-time event will occur where you will have to repeatedly tap a button shown onscreen to beat Abaddon in a little sparring session. Abaddon uses one of his more powerful spells once the quick-time event ends. The boss teleports into the distance, then throws three giant boulders at you, one at a time. Despite the size of the boulders, it is possible to dodge them. As the boss fight continues, Abaddon will start to teleport around the ring in order to confuse you and knock you off guard. Abaddon often teleports several times, then tries to use his own version of Harpoon Tackle. Dodge this move and counter with Armageddon Blade combos. After the third successful quick- time event, Abaddon will be knocked down for good. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Some wild stuff goes down, but since the gameplay is over you can place the controller on the table and let the end scene soak in. Fin. ______________________________________________________________________________ 4] MOVE LIST [0400] ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== CHAOSEATER ============================================================================== ~-~ Standard Moves ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Forehand Strike - X Return Slash - X, X Double Slash - X, X, X Reverse Backhand Strike - X, X, X, X Whirl Wind Combo - X, (Pause), X Tornado Slash - X, X, (Pause), X Dragon's Breath - X, X, X, (Pause), X ~-~ 180 Moves ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ 180 Orbit Slash - Opposite of Facing (LS) + X Backside Slash - X, Opposite of Facing (LS) + X 180 Double Spin Slash - X, X, Opposite of Facing (LS) + X ~-~ Ground Moves ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Sword Uppercut - Hold X then release Sky Scraper - Hold X Power Strike - RB + X Demon Edge - (LT + LS Down) + X Harpoon Tackle - (Move + RB) + X Devil's Cross - Block Counter ~-~ Aerial Moves ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- CrossSlash A (Air Combo) - A, X CrossSlash B (Air Combo) - A, X, X Spin Slash (Air Combo) - A, X, X, X Flipsaw - A, X (Hold) Meteor Strike - A, Move + RB ============================================================================== SCYTHE ============================================================================== ~-~ Standard Moves ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Sweep Attack - Y Return Slash - Y, Y Reaper Claw - Y, Y, Y Death's Rage - RB + Y Reaper's Blade - Hold Y Hell Razor - (LT + LS Down) + Y Reaper's Revenge - (Move + RB) + Y ~-~ Aerial Moves ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Air Grinder - A, Y Air Reaper Blade - A, Hold Y ============================================================================== TREMOR GAUNTLET ============================================================================== ~-~ Standard Moves ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Power Hook - Y Cross Crusher - Y, Y Tremor Smash - Hold Y Earthbreaker - RB + Y Tremor Punch - (LT + LS Down) + Y Meteor Launch - (Move + RB) + Y ~-~ Aerial Moves ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Hammer Smash - A, Y Air Tremor Smash - A, Hold Y ______________________________________________________________________________ 5] WRATH ABILITIES [0500] ______________________________________________________________________________ Blade Geyser ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - One Wrath Core required Harnessing the power of the Chaoseater, this attack summons a field of deadly blades around War. Stoneskin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Drains Wrath while active War's flesh hardens, reducing enemy damage and increasing the effectiveness of War's attacks. Immolation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Drains Wrath while active Scorch War's enemies in a barrier of smoldering Hellfire. Affliction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Two Wrath Cores required Plague enemies with an affliction that causes damage over time. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6] LIFESTONES [0600] ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== LIFESTONES ============================================================================== Lifestone #1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Twilight Cathedral Found after slaying Tiamat Lifestone #2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: The Hollows Found after slaying The Griever Lifestone #3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: The Ashlands Found after slaying The Stygian Lifestone #4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Iron Canopy Found after slaying Silitha Lifestone #5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: The Black Throne Found after slaying Straga ============================================================================== LIFESTONE SHARDS ============================================================================== ~-~ Lifestone Shard #1 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Crossroads Your first Lifestone Shard is in reach. One of the reasons why snarky video game reviewers and analysts branded this game a Zelda ripoff: collect four of these shards to increase your overall health. Sound familiar? In the library's main chamber is a small pool of water (on the west side). Dive in and swim through the tunnel to emerge in a small chamber. The treasure chest here contains the Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #2 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Choking Grounds Destroy all eight cross tombstones to make a treasure chest appear at the southwest end of the Choking Grounds. Open this chest for a Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #3 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Broken Stair Return to the previous chest in the cave. There is a pool of ice-cold water in the corner. Dive in and swim through the tunnel to emerge on the other end. Hop onto dry land to find a chest containing a Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #4 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Broken Stair After disposing of the enemies on the overpass, make sure to turn around to find a chest behind a sea of cars. Destroy the cars to make a path to the treasure chest, then open it for another Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #5 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Twilight Cathedral On the southern end of the room is a small opening that leads to a patch of red crystals. These can only be destroyed with a Bomb Growth, but it is too far away from the bomb for you to carry it through the opening before the bomb's detonation. Instead, use the window to your advantage. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #6 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Drowned Pass From the southwest building, swim west to reach a secluded ramp. Slay the two Minions and the Shadowcaster. If you look across the gap, you will see a treasure chest in a small alcove. We can't reach the alcove, so instead jump into the water below. Swim below and strike the glowing blue target on the side of the submerged pillar to make it rise out of the water. Return to the ramp, then use the pillar as a stepping stone to reach the treasure chest. Open it up for another Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #7 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Hollows Before you leave, sneak between the two subway cars on the side of the room to find a chest containing a Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #8 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Dry Road Hug the southern side of the road and jump up the jagged rock platforms to the upper portion of the street. Walk west while hugging the wall. A chest is neatly hidden behind a broken-down brick wall. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #9 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Dry Road Before continuing through the sandy tunnel, turn around and jump over the pipe you just emerged from. Walk back here to find some blue crystals. Break them with your Tremor Gauntlet to reveal a Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #10 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Ashlands Before leaping into the water yourself, turn back around and head along the ledge. From here, continue east to another section of the tunnel. There is a high platform in the dead center of the area; use the Shadow Geyser to reach the top, then knock open the treasure chest for a Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #11 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Black Throne Activate the portal tile on the floor, then slowly start walking north, looking up at all times. There is a well-hidden portal tile on a ledge somewhat out of sight. Target it and drop through the first portal to get up there. From here, climb up the step and collect the Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #12 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Drowned Pass From the Vulgrim location, walk forward to find a Blue Chain in the air. Swing across the water and drop onto the cliffside, where you can access the treasure chest and the Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #13 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Choking Grounds Break the blue crystals on the building's second floor using your Tremor Gauntlet to reveal a chest bearing the Lifestone Shard. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #14 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Vulgrim Vulgrim will give you a Lifestone Shard after you have collected all 30 Soldier Artifacts. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #15 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Vulgrim Vulgrim will give you a Lifestone Shard after you have collected all six Champion Artifacts. ~-~ Lifestone Shard #16 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Serpent Hole (Twilight Cathedral) There is a hidden Shadow Geyser next to the Serpent Hole exit. Put on the Mask of Shadows and jump into it, then float onto the series of platforms that materialize right under you. Follow this path to find the Lifestone. ______________________________________________________________________________ 7] WRATH CORES [0700] ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== WRATH CORES ============================================================================== Wrath Core #1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Twilight Cathedral Found inside a treasure chest in a side room stemming from the courtyard (the same courtyard that leads to the boss room). Can't be accessed until you get the Crossblade. Wrath Core #2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Vulgrim Purchase from Vulgrim for 10000 Blue Souls. Only appears after you have purchased the Wrath Shard from him. Wrath Core #3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Vulgrim Find the Overlord Artifact and cash it in at a Vulgrim location. ============================================================================== WRATH SHARDS ============================================================================== ~-~ Wrath Shard #1 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Vulgrim Like Lifestone Shards, Wrath Shards require you to collect four in order to increase War's overall Wrath. They are easily just as important as Lifestone Shards, so keep your eye out for 'em. The first Wrath Shard requires no exploration. Simply purchase the Wrath Shard from Vulgrim for 2500 Blue Souls. ~-~ Wrath Shard #2 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Scalding Gallow After doing business with Vulgrim, turn around and make your way up the Demonic Growth to find a chest containing a Wrath Shard. That was easy! ~-~ Wrath Shard #3 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Choking Grounds There is a Wrath Shard inside a treasure chest on the first floor of the building here. The only thing in your way from taking it is a Fleshburster and some Wicked. ~-~ Wrath Shard #4 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Twilight Cathedral After killing the monsters and retrieving the Beholder's Key, make sure to open the treasure chest in the corner for a Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #5 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Anvil's Ford From the plateau, work your way back towards the Demonic Growth. You should see another patch growing alongside a building. Latch on and follow it around the side of the building to find a sweet little cave and another Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #6 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Hollows Before pulling the lever in the room, open the treasure chest for another Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #7 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Hollows Climb back up to the second blocked pipe (well it's not blocked anymore) and turn around. Leap over to the chest and open it for a Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #8 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Ashlands Ride to the far north end of the first ash field. You will probably pass by a couple Abyssal Riders, but we don't need to fight them. If you locate on the map a wooden platform on the north end of the ash field (it looks like a circle with rays sticking out of it on the map), head east from there to find a cave opening covered in blue crystals. Break them and proceed inside the cave to locate the Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #9 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Iron Canopy The alley is lined with wooden fences on the left side. They blend in to the surroundings and are hard to spot initially, but destroy them all with your Chaoseater. You will find a Wrath Shard behind one of them. ~-~ Wrath Shard #10 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Iron Canopy Climb onto the block before the Goremaw grabs it, then jump off to the rafters after being yanked up in the air. You will find another Wrath Shard up here. ~-~ Wrath Shard #11 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Black Throne Before exiting the room, fire a shot at the portal tile on the northwest end of the room. It's far away, so you may need to adjust your position to reach it. Next, shoot the portal tile next to you. Voila. Slip through the portal to teleport to the western side room to get the Wrath Shard. Use the lever inside to open the gate and free yourself. ~-~ Wrath Shard #12 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Eden If you have the Fury's Embrace enhancement equipped, you should notice a treasure chest icon directly on top of you, but no chest to be found. This one is well hidden. Go back down a few steps and jump off to your right to the ground below (indicated on the map). The Wrath Shard is underneath the staircase. ~-~ Wrath Shard #13 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Serpent Hole (Dry Road) As soon as you enter the Serpent Hole leading to Dry Road, turn around and follow the path that appears to a Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #14 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Dry Road Enter the room with the wire and the three Goremaws. From the northern entrance, look up and to the right to spot a Red Chain. Grapple up to it, then spin around and leap onto the ledge here to find a well-hidden Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #15 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Drowned Pass Once submerged in the water, swim north. Enter the cave on the left and follow it to a patch of blue crystals. Destroy them with your Tremor Gauntlet to reveal a chest on the other side. Open it for a Wrath Shard, then smash the blue crystals behind it for an easy exit. ~-~ Wrath Shard #16 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Crossroads This time, return to the central balcony of the library and swing north across the Blue Chain. You will drop into a side room containing the Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #17 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Scalding Gallow In the tunnel leading to the fan room is a portal tile on the west end, above a high wall. Shoot it, then use the fan room to return to where you obtained the Champion Artifact. Fire a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile here, then warp through the portal to reach the Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #18 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Serpent Hole (Anvil's Ford) About halfway through the Serpent Hole, you will find a Red Chain high above you. Jump up and latch to it, then use the Red Chains and Blue Chains to drop onto a platform containing the Wrath Shard. ~-~ Wrath Shard #19 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Anvil's Ford Make a right out of the Vulgrim location and climb across the wire to the other side. Dive into the water and swim through the tunnel, then rise up to the surface. Hop out of the water and destroy the blue crystals against the wall. Hug the left wall to find the Wrath Shard in a small alcove. ~-~ Wrath Shard #20 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Anvil's Ford Once on the far west side of the level (where you encounter the Wicked K), use the Blue Chain to swing into a small cave. Open up the treasure chest to collect the Wrath Shard. ______________________________________________________________________________ 8] ARTIFACTS [0800] ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== SOLDIER ARTIFACTS ============================================================================== ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Crossroads You can find the game's first Artifact in the waterlogged subway. Dive down into the murky water. Press B to descend and A to ascend. Search the bottom of the chamber to find a glowing green object; swim through it to obtain the Soldier Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Choking Grounds If you look very closely at the tombs that line the southwest end of the area, you may notice that the middle one looks a tad different than the other two. Face the north end of the tomb and you should be able to grab onto it with B. Grab on, then begin pulling the tomb to access a secret stairway. The underground tomb contains some Wicked, Undead Soldiers, but most importantly, a Soldier Artifact. Kill the enemies and claim your prize. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Choking Grounds There is a staircase on the northwest end of the cemetery that leads to an underground tomb. Kill the Fleshburster and Wicked before accepting the Soldier Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Broken Stair At the start of the area, hug the right wall as you exit out of the tunnel. As soon as the side opens up, follow the trail of debris. The Soldier Artifact is pretty hard to miss as it's lying right on the edge of the upcoming cliff. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Twilight Cathedral This Soldier Artifact is easy to miss because it's floating high up in the air. After crossing the pool of lava, you should end up on a patch of Demonic Growth. Instead of dropping down to the ground, move your camera so you can see the other side of the tunnel. You should be able to see the Soldier Artifact floating in the air. From here, jump from the Demonic Growth to snag it out of the air. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Twilight Cathedral Easy. Stand on the center of the bridge and look down to your right. The Soldier Artifact is floating on a ledge that can easily be reached if you glide on down. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Drowned Pass Swim towards the northeast corner of the map: there's a small alcove on the map right near the entrance of the area. The shaded areas on the map show elevation, so the darker it is on the map, the deeper it is. Swim underneath the waterfall to reach a tiny cove containing the Soldier Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Drowned Pass Dive underwater and enter the northern building through the west side. Slip through the hole in the wall to enter a stairwell. Swim up the stairwell to reach a small room containing a Soldier Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Hollows Jump into the deep pool of water. Kill the Deep Lurker that's wandering around by his lonesome, then dive to the very bottom to locate the Soldier Artifact. To get out of here, return to the water's surface and locate the yellow and black-striped ledges. Use them to reach the top of the hole. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Hollows Behind the eastern lift is an alcove containing the Soldier Artifact. Once you have it in your possession, you will have to drop down to the floor and go the long way to get back onto the third lift. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Scalding Gallow Before moving through the pipe to The Dry Road, look behind you! This Soldier Artifact can be easy to miss if not careful. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Dry Road From the Lifestone Shard location, look south/southwest to see the Soldier Artifact sitting there in plain sight. Navigate across the rocky terrain to reach it. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Ashlands At the very bottom of the underground lake is a Soldier Artifact. It's hard to not see the bright green hue when matched with the dark blue scenery of the lake's bottom. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Ashlands Dive into the water to find a Soldier Artifact in the center, floating around midway down to the floor. It's a little trickier to find than the last one because of the rock formations down here, but do some searchin' and it'll turn up. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Iron Canopy Before leaving through the open door, ascend the stairs in the western end. They lead nowhere, but if you look across the alley you will spot a Soldier Artifact on a high ledge. The Artifact is in gliding distance from the top of the stairs. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Iron Canopy From the attic, jump and glide down to the floor directly below you. You'll find a Soldier Artifact here on the floor's perimeter. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Black Throne The first portal tile is next to the chest, and the other is on the ceiling in the southwest corner of the room. Jump into the one on the wall to appear on the ceiling, then carefully float onto the ledge before you drop to the ground. Run forward and pick up the Soldier Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Black Throne In the northwest corner of the room is an alcove with a pool of water inside. Jump in and dive down to locate the Soldier Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Ashlands Continue along the cliffside behind the first drilling tower. Near the north end of the cliff is a patch of Demonic Growth leading to a Soldier Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Crossroads At the north end of the library, look up and to the east to find a Blue Chain; jump up and grapple to it, then swing to the central walkway. Follow it west to reach the final Soldier Artifact. ============================================================================== CHAMPION ARTIFACTS ============================================================================== ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Twilight Cathedral Instead of facing the balcony, face the opposite way and jump into the Shadow Geyser. Float away from the balcony to snatch the Champion Artifact right out of the air. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Hollows Once at the main entrance of the pump room, drop off the bridge and into the raised pool of water. Swim through the northern pipe, then float upwards. There is a tiny room above the pipe where you will find the Champion Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Iron Canopy Take the southern door in the Earthcracker room. Use the Red Chain to reach the Champion Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Black Throne Here on the upper balcony, aim and fire a charged-up Voidwalker shot at the portal tile on top of the floating pillar. Drop back down to the south end of the room and use a portal here to be transported above the pillar. There is a Champion Artifact levitating in the air that's just waiting to be grabbed. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Choking Grounds Head through the passage past where the Tormented Gate was and continue through the drainage pipe. When you reach the tunnel with the two Shadow Geysers, drop below them and smash the blue crystals to find a Champion Artifact. ~-~ Artifact: Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Scalding Gallow Equip the Abyssal Chain. Look on the map towards the southeast side of the fan room. There is a hallway marked on the map, but it is transparent. The hallway is actually below the fan. Ride the fan blade to the southeast side and jump below. As you fall, you will catch a short glimpse of a Red Chain at the end of this obscured hall. Fire at it to grapple onto it, then drop down. Use the Shadow Geyser to reach the top ledge to reach the Champion Artifact. ============================================================================== OVERLORD ARTIFACT ============================================================================== ~-~ Artifact: Overlord ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Ashlands Use the tower's interior to reach the roof of the third tower. There's no need to mess around with the Chronosphere because we deactivated the drill. Once on the roof, use your Abyssal Chain to swing across the Blue Chain to the roof of the fourth drilling tower. Deactivate the fourth tower's drill, then drop down into the hole that was being drilled. The cave below leads you directly to the Overlord Artifact. ______________________________________________________________________________ 9] ABYSSAL ARMOR [0900] ______________________________________________________________________________ Abyssal Armor Piece #1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Twilight Cathedral Found inside a treasure chest in a side room stemming from the courtyard (the same courtyard that leads to the castle roof). Can't be accessed until you get the Crossblade. Abyssal Armor Piece #2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Scalding Gallow On the south end of the Scalding Gallow is a building. On the top floor is a patch of red crystals. Use your Crossblade to destroy the Bomb Growths on the crystals to send a pillar crashing to the ground. Climb up the pillar to the upper floor to reach the Abyssal Armor Piece. Abyssal Armor Piece #3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Drowned Pass In the eastern cove. Defeat the Shadowcaster and Phantom Guard Soldiers, then open the treasure chest. Abyssal Armor Piece #4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Drowned Pass Received as a gift after freeing the Tormented Gate and completing the Shadow Challenge Arenas. Abyssal Armor Piece #5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: The Hollows Inside the tunnel (the room after first fighting a Goreclaw) where you fight multiple Goreclaws and a Gholen. After slaying all foes, enter the two holes in the wall; one of them contains the Abyssal Armor Piece. Abyssal Armor Piece #6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Iron Canopy Just after obtaining the Abyssal Chain, in the room where you locate your first Red Chain. Grapple to the Red Chain next to the Chronosphere and jump through the hole to find it. Abyssal Armor Piece #7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: The Black Throne In the spiral staircase chamber on your way to the third Guardian. Use the spinning pillar in the air and the Bomb Growths along with your Voidwalker to reach the chest. Create a portal on the pillar and make a second one next to you. When the pillar rotates so that the portal is pointing west, throw a Bomb Growth through the portal so it sticks to the crystals next to the pillar. With the crystals out of the way, wait for the portal to line up with the west end before jumping through to the alcove to find it. Abyssal Armor Piece #8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Eden Jump into the river and follow it to the right. Look at the map and search the waterfalls lining the mountainside to find a hidden cavern inside one of them. Walk to the end to find a chest containing the Abyssal Armor Piece. Abyssal Armor Piece #9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: The Ashlands Found on top of the roof of the first drilling tower. Ride north of the tower and hug the right walls until you come across a Shadow Geyser north of the cliff wall. Use it to reach the top of the cliff, then sling across the Red Chains with your Abyssal Chain to get to the tower's roof. Abyssal Armor Piece #10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Scalding Gallow Inside the Vulgrim location, face east and look across the lava pit towards the island where Samael is. If you look below, you will find a narrow rocky path sticking out from the base of the island. If you carefully glide down and land on the walkway, you can follow it to find the final Abyssal Armor Piece. ______________________________________________________________________________ 10] ITEMS [1000] ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== 10.1] ITEMS [1010] ============================================================================== Life Essence ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Restores some of War's health. Greater Life Essence ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Completely regenerates all of War's health. Rage ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Restores some of War's Wrath. Greater Rage ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Completely restores all of War's Wrath. Possession ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Instantly increases War's Chaos level to maximum. Undying ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upon receiving a fatal strike, War's health and Wrath are completely restored. This item must be equipped to function. ============================================================================== 10.2] GEAR/EQUIPMENT [1020] ============================================================================== Chaoseater ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Start The Chaoseater is War's main tool of destruction. You start off with the sword and will level it up as you level it up as you progress through the game. It is always equipped and used with the X button. Not much else to say; you'll find more information about the Chaoseater by checking out Section 4. Scythe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Vulgrim The Scythe can be purchased from Vulgrim; it first becomes available during your first trip to the Scalding Gallow. The Scythe is a clunky weapon that sacrifices speed for power and long range. It'll take a second to wind up a powerful Scythe attack, but it has great range and many of its attacks radiate around War, making it the perfect weapon to use when surrounded by enemies. Tremor Gauntlet ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: The Hollows The Tremor Gauntlet is found in The Hollows and is primarily used for destroying blue crystals scattered throughout the game. You can also use the Tremor Gauntlet as a form of attacking as well. While the Tremor Gauntlet is attached directly to War's hand, you can bet that this weapon doesn't have much range. The polar opposite of the Scythe, the Tremor Gauntlet sacrifices range, but is faster to use and easier to string together combos. Earthcaller ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: The Crossroads The Earthcaller is a horn crafted out of an unknown material and can be used to wake up Tormented Gates. In addition, the Earthcaller, if pointed at an enemy, can knock them backwards and onto the ground. Still, the Earthcaller is stupid and you'll use it maybe three times in the game before it gets replaced by other, superior equipment. Crossblade ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Twilight Cathedral The Crossblade is a large blade shaped like an "x" that fits perfectly in War's hand. You can toss the weapon like a deadly frisbee in order to stun enemies and activate switches. Hold down the Right Trigger to charge the Crossblade, making it more powerful against foes. Not only that, but the Crossblade has the power to absorb elemental energy and use it to your advantage. For example, lock onto a torch with the Left Trigger and throw your Crossblade at it to catch the weapon on fire. You can then use the enflamed weapon to ignite bombs among other things. The Crossblade, while effective in combat, is mainly used to solve puzzles. ~-~ Upgrades ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Ricochet Blade - Causes the thrown Crossblade to ricochet between nearby enemies Ricochet Haze - Boosts the number of ricochet attacks by the Crossblade The Shredder - Charged attacks with the Crossblade reap Wrath Souls from enemies Mercy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Anvil's Ford A pistol forged by Ulthane in Anvil's Ford after gaining his trust. Since you are now in possession of a gun, you can target flying enemies and enemies from lengths away. However, Mercy isn't as powerful as a massive pistol would imply, and really only peppers foes to weaken them before going in for the kill. Plus, War drastically slows down when using Mercy. The best (and really only) time to use Mercy is when War travels to The Ashlands, since you can attack certain foes from safety while riding atop your horse, Ruin. ~-~ Upgrades ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Impact Rounds - Augments the amount of damage that Mercy inflicts Abyssal Chain ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Iron Canopy Pretty much exactly like the Hookshot from the Zelda series. The Abyssal Chain is well... a chain that can be used to strike and grapple objects. It is the main mode of transportation across large chasms and holes when Red and Blue Chains are present. Blue Chains allow you to swing back and forth while Red Chains will cause War to grapple to its location. While not really thought of as a weapon, the Abyssal Chain can be used in combat. If used against smaller enemies, War will drag the target towards him and stun them momentarily. However, if you target a much bigger enemy, War will instead be dragged to the target instead of the other way around. Voidwalker ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: The Black Throne Without a doubt the most unique and original piece of equipment in the game, the Voidwalker is a mechanism that creates portals. More specifically, it can create up to two portals at a time and allows War to travel between the two. Portals can only be created by shooting portal tiles (orange, circular tiles). Shoot a portal tile to create a portal, then shoot a second portal tile to make a second portal. Jump through one of the portals to appear through the other. This tool is mostly used throughout The Black Throne in order to solve puzzles and gain access to areas previously inaccessible. You can disable portals made by aiming at the portal and pressing the Left Trigger. Also, you can create more powerful portals by holding down the Right Trigger before firing. This allows War to gain more velocity when traveling through portals. Mask of Shadows ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: Eden The Mask of Shadows, when equipped and worn, will cause War to enter the Shadow World. War can spot items, objects, and other things in the Shadow World that he previously could not see normally. The Mask of Shadows is the only way to locate and obtain the Armageddon Blade Shards at the game's end, but must also be used in order to uncover hidden chests, Shadow Geysers, and Red/Blue Chains. ============================================================================== 10.3] WEAPON ENHANCEMENTS [1030] ============================================================================== Weapon Enhancements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~-~ Weapon Master ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Vulgrim Purchase from Vulgrim for 1000 Blue Souls. Slotted - Boosts the damage inflicted by a weapon's attack ~-~ Bane ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Vulgrim Purchase from Vulgrim for 5000 Blue Souls. Slotted - Generates Wrath naturally over time ~-~ Ravager ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Choking Grounds The first Weapon Enhancement found in the game, this is rewarded to you by the Tormented Gate in the Choking Grounds after waking him up and completing the Shadow Challenge Arenas. Slotted - Guarantees Souls for destroying environmental objects by any means Passive - Drastically increases damage inflicted with environmental objects used as weapons ~-~ Bloodthirst ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Twilight Cathedral Use your Crossblade to light every torch in the room underneath The Jailer's prison cell to make a chest containing Bloodthirst appear. Slotted - Leeches weapon damage and converts it to health ~-~ Combat Lore ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Anvil's Ford/Vulgrim Given to War as a reward if you manage to kill more angels than Ulthane during your first trip to Anvil's Ford. If you lose the minigame, then you can purchase it from Vulgrim for 1000 Souls. Slotted - Boosts weapon experience gained during combat Passive - Boosts your armor level ~-~ Reaper ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Hollows Found in the underwater maze in search for the Beholder's Key, in a side branch that leads to a tiny alcove. Described in complete detail in the walkthrough. Slotted - Boosts the amount of Souls acquired from enemies and creatures - Additional Soul rewards when assigned to the Scythe ~-~ Carnage ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Dry Road Inside the tunnel leading to The Ashlands. Near the entrance is a Goremaw holding a metal block. Knock the block out of its mouth and jump onto the left side of the block. When the Goremaw picks the block up - now with you on it - jump to the left side of the tunnel to reach the Weapon Enhancement. Slotted - Boosts Chaos gained by the Chaoseater sword - Allows Chaos generation by all weapons ~-~ Hellfire ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Crossroads After obtaining the Tremor Gauntlet, return to The Crossroads and search the street west of the library. Destroy the blue crystals blocking the entrance to a cave containing Hellfire. Slotted - Boost weapon damage on strikes - Has a chance to inflict fire damage upon targets Legendary Weapon Enhancements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~-~ War's Glory ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: Iron Canopy After slaying the Broodmother, proceed through the sewer system until you reach a large pit. Jump towards the first Shadow Geyser, and instead of floating forward to the next one, turn around and glide to a ledge directly above where you started. The Weapon Enhancement is here. Slotted - Drastically increases Chaos gained via the Chaoseater sword - Drastically increases Chaos gained by other melee weapons - Drastically increases the amount of weapon experience gained Passive - Drastically increases the duration of Chaos Form ~-~ Fury's Embrace ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: The Black Throne Continue towards the location of the first Guardian to reach a room containing two sun tablets; they are each used to create a bridge in order to get from one side of the room to the other. Step on the sun tablet to make a bridge appear, then go halfway across and look up to the left. Shoot the portal tile, then cross. Hit the sun tablet and return to the entrance of the room. Drop to the floor below and find the nearest portal tile to make a second portal. Step through the portal to end up at the top floor of the sun tablet room. Use the sun tablets here to cross a bridge leading to the Weapon Enhancement. Slotted - Wrath leeches on every weapon strike Passive - Boosts Wrath power damage - Reveals all world maps and items - Additional Wrath boosts on killing blows ~-~ Death's Blessing ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Location: Scalding Gallow From the Scalding Gallow, head to the tunnel that leads to the Dry Road. Use the Chronosphere and lever to get behind the fast-moving gate in time. Once on the other side, turn around and shoot a Voidwalker shot at the portal tile on the back side of the gate. Raise the gate and return to the Chronosphere. Shoot the portal tile here and raise the gate. Once the gate is as the very top (peer through the portal to find out when), jump through the portal to emerge on a ledge containing the Weapon Enhancement. Slotted - Leeches weapon damage and converts it to health - Drastically increases weapon damage - Drastically increases the amount of Souls acquired from objects and creatures - Additional Soul rewards when assigned to the Scythe ~-~ Strife's Offering ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Location: The Ashlands Ride to the northwest end of the first ash field and drop down the hole into a pool of water. Swim to the Goremaw cavern. Use the Abyssal Chain on the Blue Chain on the east end of the cavern to find it. Slotted - Boosts weapon damage - Generates Wrath on killing blows - Generates Chaos on killing blows Passive - Drastically increases projectile attack damage - Increases your defense against projectile attacks ______________________________________________________________________________ 11] ACHIEVEMENTS [1100] ______________________________________________________________________________ Here are all the achievements found in the game, in alphabetical order. Aerial Predator (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kill 160 enemies while on the Angelic Beast An Old Friend (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect Mercy Ashes to Ashes (40) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Defeat The Stygian Balance Restored (100) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Complete the game on Normal difficulty Battle Hardened (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Max out all weapons and unlock all combat moves BFA (30) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unlocked everything Chasm Jumper (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gain the Shadowflight Ability Dark Rider (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ride for 100 miles Death Dealer (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Meet Vulgrim Devastator (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kill 10 enemies with one Blade Geyser wrath attack Don't Make Me Angry (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the Chaos Form Ability Elemental Thief (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the Crossblade Full Power (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the maximum amount of Lifestones High Flier (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kill 5 Duskwings without touching the ground Horseman (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kill 150 Demons on horseback Improvised Kills (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kill 150 enemies with items from the environment Into the Void (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the Voidwalker Legendary Form (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the Abyssal Armor set Like a Bat Outta Hell (40) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Defeat Tiamat One Mean Mother (40) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Defeat Silitha One Tough Cookie (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Meet Ulthane Open Air Parking (5) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Destroy a helicopter during the apocalypse with a vehicle Payback's A B**** (50) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Defeat Straga Prison Break (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Free Samael from his prison Reach Out and Touch Somebody (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the Abyssal Chain Reaper (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the Scythe Reunited (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Obtain Ruin River of Blood (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shed 3000 gallons of demon blood Rocked Your Face Off (40) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Defeat The Griever Sight Beyond Sight (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the Mask of Shadows Slayer (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kill 666 demons The Final Challenger? (70) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Defeat The Destroyer The True Horseman (100) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Complete the game on Apocalyptic difficulty Time Lapse (15) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gain the Chronomancer Ability To Move a Mountain (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the Earthcaller Treasure Hunter (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Search 150 caskets Tremor Bringer (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the Tremor Gauntlet Ultimate Blade (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forge the Armageddon Blade Who's Counting? (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Defeat more angels than Ulthane World Raider (30) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect all 27 Artifacts Wrath Machine (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect all the Wrath Abilities Wrath of War (20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Collect the maximum amount of Wrath Cores You Call This Easy? (10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Complete the game on Easy difficulty ______________________________________________________________________________ 12] BESTIARY [1200] ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== 12.1] ENEMIES [1210] ============================================================================== ~-~ Minion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Very Low Minions are the first enemies encountered in the game, and with that bit of information it's easy to see that these guys are not very tough. Minions travel in small groups and attack with a lunging slash, but deal very little damage and are easily disposed of. Attacking them one-on-one is a joke, but switch to wide-range weapons like your Scythe to deal with groups. ~-~ Trauma ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Very High Traumas are large, scary, and pretty powerful. Traumas are big enough to hurl debris and other objects at War, so you will either have to protect yourself by dodging these projectiles or catching them in midair. If you are eye-to-eye with a Trauma, you are at risk of getting hit by unblockable punches and swipes. Use powerful Wrath Abilities or even Chaos Form to take down a Trauma. ~-~ Angel Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Low Angel Soldiers are the most common angelic enemies you will face off, and are often a package deal. Several times in the game you'll encounter a group of Angel Soldiers, who wield long staffs. Up close, they will whack you with it, but from afar they can use their staff to fire laser beams at you. Angel Soldiers fly in the air, so knock them down to the ground before unleashing a Chaoseater combo while they're down. ~-~ Wicked ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Expendable Any foe marked with a threat level of "Expendable" are the weakest enemies in the game, provide virtually no threat to you, and can all be instantly slain and harvested for Green Souls by pressing B. You will find male and female Wicked through the game, and while they can slowly wail their fists at you, they deal practically no damage. Pathetic. ~-~ Fleshburster ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Medium The Fleshburster is a large monstrosity doused in fire. Block against their frantic punches and dodge when you see the Fleshburster breathe fire in your general direction. Encountered early in the game, these foes are pretty durable and cannot be juggled in the air like smaller enemies. Once you deliver the final blow, back up as the Fleshburster rears his head back, as he's about to perform a kamikaze attack. ~-~ Phantom Guard Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Very Low You'll get very comfortable with Phantom Guard Soldiers, as they appear from start to finish and in nearly every level. They are not very strong and are susceptible to combos and other power moves. Phantom Guard Soldiers carry a blade etched out of stone, but that shouldn't intimidate you when taking into account their poor combat skills. ~-~ Gholen ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: High Gholens look like stubby, plump dinosaurs. Don't be fooled by their somewhat silly appearance, for they're quite hard to take down. The Gholen will use his big flaming fists to knock you around like a rag doll, in addition to a wide shockwave spell and a fire breath attack. Stay back, then retaliate with Harpoon Tackle and use Blade Geyser when up close before retreating again. ~-~ Lasher ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Very Low Lashers live inside Demonic Growth and will stick their head outside to smack anyone who gets too close. They cannot be killed, but will retreat back into their hole if harmed. Attack a Lasher to scare it off, then continue across the Demonic Growth safely. ~-~ Duskwing ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Expendable Any foe marked with a threat level of "Expendable" are the weakest enemies in the game, provide virtually no threat to you, and can all be instantly slain and harvested for Green Souls by pressing B. Duskwings are oversized bats that don't really attack much and instead flutter overhead. Jump in the air towards a Duskwing, then press B to rip them apart and release Green Souls. ~-~ Undead Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Low Undead Soldiers are similar to Phantom Guard Soldiers, but are a tad stronger and have more health. Still, they possess no special abilities or attacks and will instead use their primitive weaponry. Undead Soldiers rise from the ground, and since they are commonly found in graveyards, you can bet to find a high number in one place: you'll rarely fight only one or two Undead Soldiers at a time. ~-~ Wicked K ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Medium The rarest enemy in the game, Wicked K is only present in four locations, and in order to face him you must complete a specific requirement. It seems strange to go through the necessary work just to fight a powerful enemy, but this fancy, top hat-wearing skeleton drops a 1000 Blue Souls after his defeat. If you do the simple math, defeat the undead Brit all four times to net 4000 Blue Souls! The good news is that hunting him down is the hardest part. Wicked K will block the majority of your attacks, so really the only way to defeat him with ease is to use Block Counter. He only has three attacks, so time your block properly when he tries to whack you with his cane. It's much harder to Block Counter his top hat throw and giant top hat slam attacks. Two or three successful Block Counters is all it takes for him to bolt. Here is where you can find Wicked K, plus the requirements needed: 1. Choking Grounds - inside the southern crypt (only appears after you have freed the Tormented Gate) 2. Drowned Pass - inside the southeast cavern (only appears after you have freed the Tormented Gate) 3. Twilight Cathedral - inside the cave north of the cathedral's main entrance (only appears once War obtains the Abyssal Chain) 4. Anvil's Ford - on the westernmost side of the area (only appears once War obtains Mercy) ~-~ Ravenous ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Medium The Ravenous is a bigger, blue version of the Fleshburster. He acts nearly identical to a Fleshburster, punching and smashing his way through any obstacles, but the biggest difference is that the Ravenous cannot breathe fire or use the Fleshburster's signature kamikaze attack. What makes the Ravenous unique is that if you kill any nearby enemies, they will sap away the Souls that appear before you can take them yourself. ~-~ Goremaw ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Very Low Goremaws hang from ceilings and wait to ambush prey that walks underneath them. Goremaws often hang above entrances, exits, and important objects as guards of sort. You cannot kill Goremaws, but you can stun them with your Crossblade long enough to safely run underneath them without the risk of getting snatched up. ~-~ Lavashrike ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Expendable Any foe marked with a threat level of "Expendable" are the weakest enemies in the game, provide virtually no threat to you, and can all be instantly slain and harvested for Green Souls by pressing B. Lavashrikes resemble a Duskwing that has been caught on fire. They can attack by shooting fireballs at you, but can still be killed in one swift hit. ~-~ Rot Mauler ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Medium Rot Maulers are disgusting, ugly, putrid bags of flesh. They don't only look disgusting, their toxic stench can actually poison War if he gets too close; sapping away his health until you back away and let the poison subside. Toss a charged Crossblade shot at a Rot Mauler to whisk away their poison shield, then run up and go for the kill. ~-~ Conscript ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: High Conscripts are large skeletons donned with shiny crystal armor. They are most common in the Twilight Cathedral, guarding crystals blades, but are also found late in the game. They use their large axe to perform slow, powerful blows that can cut your health away in a flash. Avoid their spin attack by dodging backwards and wait for the Conscript to attack with a lunging slam. When he misses, take this opportunity to attack their back while they try to pry their weapon out of the ground. Once you manage to knock off all of their armor, the fight tilts in your favor. ~-~ Deep Lurker ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Very Low The body of the Deep Lurker surges with electricity, and even touching one of these nasty fish will result in a wake-up call. Deep Lurkers try to gain the upper hand by hunting in schools, but it only takes one or two hits with your Chaoseater to dispose of them. ~-~ Shadowcaster ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Medium Shadowcasters are long, snake-like creatures that are primarily spellcasters. They have the unique ability to somehow float in the air, and can slither back and forth like no other, making your chances of actually connecting with an attack difficult. Most of the Shadowcaster's magic spells are used from a distance, so close the gap and knock it out of the air to significantly weaken the spellcaster. ~-~ Angel Champion ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Medium Everything about the Angel Champion is bigger than their counterpart - the Angel Soldier. They are larger in size, wear more armor, carry around a bigger sword, and also have a huge shield to boot. Like any angel, your main priority is to get him down to your level. Either avoid or counter one of their sword strikes, then punch him out of the air. Once the Angel Champion is grounded, the fight won't last much longer. ~-~ Storm Warden ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Medium Storm Wardens look very similar to Angel Champions, but have yellow wings and carry around a huge energy cannon instead of a sword and shield. They stay low to the ground and try to swerve behind War before shooting him with the Redemption. Storm Wardens can either use a rapid-fire shot or charge up one ultra powerful energy shot. As an added bonus, you can use their weapon (the Redemption) after their defeat! ~-~ Locust ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Expendable Any foe marked with a threat level of "Expendable" are the weakest enemies in the game, provide virtually no threat to you, and can all be instantly slain and harvested for Green Souls by pressing B. Locusts attack in large swarms and are actually pretty pesky with their long stingers, but still pose no real threat to War. ~-~ Goreclaw ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Low Goreclaws are a bit stronger than Minions, and the addition of a row of spines along their back means that they have a new attack. Goreclaws most commonly jump in the air and spin around like a buzzsaw (basically an exact copy of War's Flipsaw attack). They are quick on their feet, so try to block because it may be hard to dash away from it. ~-~ Flamecaller ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Low Flamecallers are exactly like Goreclaws, whom are exactly like Minions! See the pattern? Flamecallers don't have a row of spines like the Goreclaw and therefore do not share attacks, but instead Flamecallers can spit out fireballs. Keep in mind that they are not strong at all and can be dispatched as easily as Goreclaws. ~-~ Wraith Scout ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: High Wraith Scouts may not look as intimidating as some of the monsters we have crossed paths with so far, but they are not to be taken lightly. These ghastly women can swiftly float through the air like a cold breeze and make them a hard target for some of your attacks. Stay locked onto them and stun them with your Crossblade to try and slow 'em down. Their double swords are a dangerous pair, especially when the Wraith Scout throws both at you like two boomerangs. Even their basic attacks are far more deadly than expected, because wielding two blades makes for a much quicker set of combos. Stun a Wraith Scout with your Crossblade, then run up and knock them senseless with your Tremor Gauntlet. Capitalize while the Wraith Scout is face up on the floor. ~-~ Phantom Captain ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Low These chumps are exactly like Phantom Guard Soldiers. They pretty much look exactly the same, wield a slightly more upgraded version of the latter's sword, and all possess the same basic attacks. There's really nothing special about Phantom Captains, as they are still fairly weak and begin to replace Phantom Guard Soldiers as the default fodder enemy as you progress through the game. ~-~ Grappleclaw ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: High A rare enemy at first, the Grappleclaw is a large quadruped that has two large horns on either side of its face. Even though they are pretty big in size, the Grappleclaws have no trouble moving around, and can even stand on their hind legs for a second or two in order to punch the stuffing out of you. These foes often start by punching twice, then finishing off with a headbutt. As tough as they may be, Grappleclaws can actually come in handy, as War can jump on and ride them after weakening them a little bit. While riding a Grappleclaw, you can use the beast to attack other nearby enemies before getting tossed off like a rag doll. With this information in mind, it is important that you target Grappleclaws first so you can use them to dispatch of the weaker enemies present. Very late in the game, War will come across red Grappleclaws. They are a bit tougher than the blue Grappleclaws, but also have a new attack: they will rear their head back and breathe a stream of fire your way. Keep in mind that you will only encounter two or three red Grappleclaws during the game's duration. ~-~ Wingrock ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Expendable Any foe marked with a threat level of "Expendable" are the weakest enemies in the game, provide virtually no threat to you, and can all be instantly slain and harvested for Green Souls by pressing B. Wingrocks are more like Lavashrikes than Duskwings, because they also have a projectile attack. Instead of shooting fireballs your way, Wingrocks fire a small gust of wind at you. But that's the only difference. ~-~ Fallen Angel ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Low I'm starting to get tired of the whole palette-swap deal when it comes to these enemies. The Fallen Angel is really nothing special, as he basically looks like a super evil version of an Angel Soldier. The black armor, evil aura, and deteriorating wings all show that this is one bad mofo. But he's still pretty darn weak. Fallen Angels act just like Angel Soldiers, minus the energy blast attack. ~-~ Stinger ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Expendable Any foe marked with a threat level of "Expendable" are the weakest enemies in the game, provide virtually no threat to you, and can all be instantly slain and harvested for Green Souls by pressing B. Stingers are EXACTLY the same as Locusts, except they are now purple and the developers decided to make them all electrical and stuff. Don't care. ~-~ Berserker ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: High As the name implies, these dudes are straight-up crazy. Berserkers possess very little intelligence and have no battle strategies as they wave their axe back and forth like a madman, hitting whomever gets in their way. While Berserkers seem like cool guys since he inadvertently kills his own teammates, they are incredibly strong. You'd think that their suit of armor would kinda weigh them down when attacking, but the Berserker's blind rage increases his speed and agility in battle. Their most dangerous attack is when one initially spots you, as he will make a beeline to your location. If you let him ram you, then you'll be in a world of hurt. Stay alert, block/counter, and use some Wrath Abilities to cut them down to size. ~-~ Devastator ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: High Devastators look similar to Berserkers with their similar appearance and same type of armor, but Devastators tote around a large cannon kinda like the Storm Wardens. Unlike the Storm Wardens, however, Devastators cannot fly up around with the greatest of ease. They usually stay in one spot and fire explosive shards at you, but if you get too close they'll also respond with a shockwave attack. Weaken them from a distance with Mercy, then go in and finish the job. You can take their Fracture Cannon from their dead bodies as a reward. ~-~ Abyssal Rider ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Medium Abyssal Riders let their mount do most of the work. They will ride around on their horses and let them try to run you over, but if they do close in on you you should be ready to dodge a sword strike or two. Also use a dash when the horse uses one of its own. Abyssal Riders don't do much offensively, but killing them is the problem. Their horses ride around so much that the best way to defeat one is to just use Mercy. When the Abyssal Rider slumps over in pain, run over and attack until he gets back up and rides away. ~-~ Broodling ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Expendable Any foe marked with a threat level of "Expendable" are the weakest enemies in the game, provide virtually no threat to you, and can all be instantly slain and harvested for Green Souls by pressing B. Broodlings are so annoying. They are everywhere in the Iron Canopy; on ceilings, stuck to walls, underneath tables, EVERYWHERE. They'll try to nip at your shins, but you can perform a satisfying stomp attack to reduce them to bug guts. ~-~ Loom Warden ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: High There are only four Loom Wardens in the game, and you cannot hurt them until you have obtained the Abyssal Chain. Use the chain to rip their hard carapace off, exposing their soft flesh. Loom Wardens will naturally get pissed off at this and attack with their sickle-like appendages. Dash behind them and slash their backside, then finish off with a Blade Geyser attack. ~-~ Undead Lord ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Medium Undead Lords may look cool, with their body covered in green flames and their huge, swirly sword, but they aren't so tough. They replace Undead Soldiers later on in the game and use the same attacks; nothin' special aside from a few simple sword combos. Often found in groups to help detract from the fact that they are pathetic one-on-one. ~-~ Earthcracker ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Very High Earthcrackers are oversized Gholens, and luckily for your sake, you only fight two, maybe three in the entire game. Earthcrackers have the same attacks as the Gholen (punch, overhead slam, running tackle), but since they are so much larger they are clearly more difficult to avoid. The best method to dispose of an Earthcracker is of course Chaos Mode, but if that is not available then switch to using Wrath Abilities. ~-~ Forsaken ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Medium I'll give them brownie points for looking uber-cool, but Forsaken perform similarly to Fallen Angels. Their spears are much longer than the Fallen Angels, giving them a longer range. Forsaken always appear in small groups and often join other enemy types, making them pesky foes. Snatch them out of the air with your Abyssal Chain and defeat them quickly before focusing on bigger and badder problems that may be at hand. ~-~ Wraith Soldier ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Threat Level: Very High I've always found Wraith Scouts to be incredibly feisty and annoying foes, so when I was introduced to Wraith Soldiers I was not too pleased with the outcome. Wraith Soldiers all have the same attacks as Wraith Scouts, but have one very dangerous ability. Wraith Soldiers can become transparent, leaving them invulnerable to enemy attacks. In fact, your sword will pass right through their body! Lock onto a Wraith Soldier and wait for them to become vulnerable again, then quickly respond by using your Abyssal Chain to pull them towards you. Attack them while they're down before they turn transparent again. ~-~ Shield Lord ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Threat Level: Very High Shield Lords are kinda like Conscripts, but admittedly don't look nearly as cool. I dunno, something about the bright blue armor did it for me. As their name implies, the biggest difference between a Shield Lord and a Conscript is that the former carries around a large shield alongside a huge sledgehammer. The worst attack they have is their spinning attack, which is preceded by a lame threat or one-liner. Like Conscripts, the best time to attack a Shield Lord is after their overhead slam attack. The Shield Lord will get his weapon stuck in the ground, so attack while he tries frantically to get it dislodged. However, this does not always work out so well, as the Shield Lord also uses his shield to knock you away if you get too close. Take the time to break off their armor and shield, then hack away at their naked bodies. ============================================================================== 12.2] BOSSES [1220] ============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Straga ---------------------- Straga is a gargantuan demon that wants nothing more than to reduce War to a bloody pulp. With the intimidation factor aside, he is not difficult at all. Straga can't move around all that well since the lower half of his body is submerged in lava, so he is a bit limited when it comes to mobility. For the most part, you'll be dodging cars left and right. Straga will dig deep in his bottomless pit of cars and begin throwing them your way like they are Hot Wheels. Lock onto the boss with the Left Trigger and dash to avoid impact. Next up, use the cars to attack the boss. If you are locked onto Straga, you should automatically hit him square in the face every time. Keep doing this until Straga falls forward. With his ugly mug in reach, jump in the air and slash away at his head. Straga will pull himself away after three his, then retaliate with his next attack. The demon will pick up the street entirely, tilt it twice, then slam the street to the ground. Stand on the street as he lifts it up the two times, then get ready to double jump as Straga drops it down. As the battle progresses, Straga will use a third attack (though it's just as easy to dodge as the other two). As the boss slams his fist in the ground, a stream of lava will roll your way. Just like the cars, sidestep the liquid hot magma. The only way to stun Straga is to toss cars back at him, so you will have to be patient and wait for him to use the cars on you first. Nevertheless, this is a painfully easy boss fight and doesn't require much skill. The process of stunning Straga, then slicin' his face up must be done a total of three times in order to end the boss fight - finish the job by pressing B when the game prompts you to do so. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Phantom General ------------- The Phantom General is basically an oversized version of the Phantom Guard Soldiers you've been slicing apart all day. He has only a handful of attacks and lets his henchmen do most of the dirty work. The Phantom General starts the battle off with a few basic attacks, like a simple slice of his axe. Not too difficult to avoid. The Phantom General's axe will sometimes glow red. The boss will then slam the hilt into the ground, resulting in a minor shockwave. All you have to do is dash backwards as you see the weapon turn bright red. Also, aside from staying on the offense, the boss does what no common enemy does and actually blocks your attacks! Most of the fight is spend dealing with Phantom Guard Soldiers than the boss himself. He will summon up to five soldiers and patiently wait until you decimate every single one of them. He'll even try to sound like a tough guy by spewing threats even though he never tries to commit them. Usually you will have to fight around two waves of Phantom Guard Soldiers before the Phantom General begins to attack you himself. Once weakened, the Phantom General will begin to use an ultra-powerful attack. The boss will wind up, then begin spinning around like a buzzsaw. It can knock you flat on your back if you aren't quick enough to avoid it, and he'll spin around four to five times, so repeatedly dash to keep away from the axe's reach. The fight is rather easy if you play it smart and don't get too carried away with attacking him. The Phantom General can catch you by surprise if you are too overzealous, so remember to block and dodge his axe strikes. Try to mix up Chaoseater and Scythe combos to catch him off-guard and wait for a button prompt to appear to finish the fight. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: The Jailer ------------------ This putrid, mutated fiend is luckily not as tough as he is disgusting. The Jailer has one main attack: he uses his free arm to swing one of the cages around in a sweeping motion. He's not exactly swift or agile, so this is very easy to avoid once you see it coming. As a result, The Jailer usually gives in and lets the Undead Soldiers deal with you. When The Jailer slams the cage into the ground, several Undead Soldiers will somehow be released. Dash away from the boss and let the soldiers follow, then kill them before The Jailer reaches your position. (it should take a while for that to happen). Use your Crossblade and Aim Mode to target the three yellow bulbs on The Jailer's enlarged shoulder. Hit all three in one throw to stun the boss. With the boss on one knee, run up and unleash a flurry of Chaoseater combos. Retreat when The Jailer gets back up, as it isn't too happy. The bulbs turn from yellow to red, and The Jailer goes into an all-out frenzy. He shuffles around, swinging his cage back and forth like a madman. He'll most likely take out a few of the columns in the room, actually making it easier to navigate the prison. Once The Jailer calms down, the battle will resume its normal schedule. Continue to repeat this process. The battle doesn't get any harder, but if you need any health there is a treasure chest containing Green Souls in the corner of the room. Stun The Jailer by targeting its fleshy bulbs, then whack away: do this a total of three times to win the fight. Finish off The Jailer (and his prisoner for good measure) with an instant kill. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Tiamat ---------------------- Tiamat is one tough customer, and she certainly means business. I really hope that you have at least one Life Essence at your disposal. For the first part of the boss battle, Tiamat lurks around the perimeter of the rooftop. She will occasionally stop to cough up a fireball your way; sidestep to avoid getting burnt. The only way to damage Tiamat while airborne is to use one of the many Bomb Growth lying around the roof. Unfortunately for us, they are dormant and must be lit somehow. There are two ways of doing that, both huge pains. The most conventional way - the same way we've been doing it so far - is to toss a Bomb Growth onto Tiamat. There are several torches surrounding the roof so target a torch, then the Bomb Growth to damage the bat queen. There are two problems with this: first off, you must be very close to Tiamat to pull this off, so she must directly be hovering over a torch for you to target her. This isn't very common. Secondly, she's constantly spewing fireballs that it's hard for you to pause, enter Aim Mode, select both targets, and let it fly. The second way to inflict damage on Tiamat is with timing. Just as Tiamat is getting ready to hurl a fireball, throw a Bomb Growth at her face. The fireball should be enough to ignite the Bomb Growth. Personally I find the timing window to be very small and I've never been precise with it. I prefer the first option. Either way, damage Tiamat with a Bomb Growth and she falls to the ground. Attack her unrelentlessly with your Chaoseater until she gets up. Now Tiamat will fly around the roof, but instead of pausing to shoot a fireball, she will divebomb you, her talons scraping the ground. Avoid getting ripped to shreds by the talons and wait until she calms down. Tiamat will start using fireballs again, so get back to the Bomb Growths. Keep your health in check: unlike some of the fights earlier in the game, there are no Green Soul chests to aid you, so use your Life Essence sparingly and don't get too cocky when using the Bomb Growths. Stun Tiamat with a Bomb Growth, then continue attacking. Do this twice more to ground the bat for good. With Tiamat on the ground, she will now use her large wings and claws... and tail for attacking! There are several scenarios to take into account in this next phase of the fight. If you are too far away, Tiamat will respond by shooting a series of fireballs your way. Blocking them is your best bet. If you stand up close to Tiamat, she will retaliate with her two clawed hands. Dangerous stuff. If you get behind Tiamat, she has no trouble sweeping her tail from side to side to knock you away. Finally, if Tiamat floats up in the air, back away before she does a cannonball down into the ground. Stay in front of Tiamat and block her claw attacks, then retaliate with a Wrath Ability like Blade Geyser. Sometimes you will stun the boss, leaving her open for attack for a quick few seconds. Also try using a charged up Crossblade attack to keep her distracted, then go in for the kill with your Chaoseater. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Uriel ----------------------- Uriel is a feisty chick, and it does not help that Ulthane is now sitting on the sidelines after he had no trouble massacring heaping piles of angels only minutes before. That jerk. This heavenly woman is much more agile than any other angelic enemy we have encountered before. She has a long sword and can string together combos when up close and also has a few devastating long-range spells. If you get too close, you are at risk for a two or three-hit sword combo that deals no damage if blocked. Uriel can also fly high in the air, then do a somersault before crashing to the floor, blade first. If you decide to keep your distance, Uriel will toss blue energy blades that look kinda like the Cutter ability from Kirby games. Uriel's final attack is a shockwave move similar to her overhead slam. She will rise in the air before plummeting to the ground. Either run far away or double jump before impact or else you'll be hit with electrical shocks. Whichever method you take, it won't take long to study and work around this boss's offensive strategy. Immediately use your Chaos Form at the start of the fight and unload on her to take away a chunk of her health right from the get-go. If you want to stay up close, use jumping attacks like Flipsaw and Spin Slash (or Air Grinder if you prefer your Scythe). A much preferred strategy is to use your Crossblade to knock Uriel to the ground, then run up and proceed to use whatever combos and Wrath Abilities you would like. Sooner or later, Uriel will submit to your awesome might and power. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: The Griever ----------------- This battle must be won with some intelligence. Walking up to The Griever and trying to attack the glowing blue crystals on her underside accomplishes nothing. Well, it gets you hurt, if you count that as an accomplishment. You must think of another strategy to damage this boss. There are patches of blue crystals scattered throughout the terminal. You must destroy them all to clear the train track leading to The Griever (who, by the way, does not move at all in this fight). Make sure to destroy the crystals closest to The Griever, since even smashing crystals can be a chore in this fight. The Griever's laser attack will harden the crystals if she hits them, leaving them temporarily unbreakable. Run up to the crystal the farthest away and use an aerial attack with your Tremor Gauntlet (aerial attacks destroy them in one hit while ground attacks take two hits) before she knocks you backwards with a ground pound. Continue breaking crystals while avoiding her laser beams. Things get annoying when there are only one or two crystals left. The Griever keeps hitting them with laser beams, leaving them indestructible. By the time they cool down, The Griever is ready to shoot them again. Try staying out in the open and not hiding behind the crystal. Lure The Griever away from the crystal and dodge/block the laser beam yourself. Once the attack stops and the crystals cool down, quickly punch them. Once the crystals are clear, run behind the flatbed car at the south end of the boss arena. Begin pushing it along the track towards the big boss. She can push your car backwards with a ground slam if you get too close. I suggest using a Shockwave Punch right around where the tunnel part of the arena ends and the actual room begins; you should have enough distance to connect. The Griever will shake it off and send the car backwards. She then begins slamming her head against the sides of the walls, sending large spires crashing to the ground. Dodge each and every one until the attack ceases, then try pushing the flatbed car forward again. Once the flatbed car is send crashing into The Griever a second time, she will fall to the ground. Run up to her and use your Tremor Gauntlet to destroy the crystals on her underbelly, exposing her real weak point. The Griever sicks a huge swarm of Locusts on you. If you are in need of health, use your one-hit kill to receive some Green Souls. Otherwise, use the Tremor Gauntlet's aerial attack to dispose of them in large groups at a time. The battle will then repeat itself. Hit The Griever with the flatbed to initiate her rock spire attack; hit her a second time to stun her. Now that the crystals cannot protect her weak point, have at it with your Chaoseater. To speed up the process, enter Chaos Mode and hack away at the weak point. If The Griever is still alive, she will summon more Locusts. Feast on them for health and repeat the process with the car again: the first shot pisses her off, the second time knocks her to the floor. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Abyssal Gladiator ----------- The champ is here! The crowd was holding back on you, for they saved their toughest competitor for last. Just because he is the guy to beat doesn't mean you are going to have trouble beating him. The boss is essentially a beefed-up Abyssal Rider, and we've dealt with a few of them minutes before. The Abyssal Gladiator functions the same as an Abyssal Rider, but has one or two more attacks. Aside from the horse's charge attack, the Abyssal Gladiator will toss blue energy balls at you. If they miss you and connect with the ground, they turn into large blue geysers. The boss starts off with just one, but begins to toss more as the battle progresses. Also, the Abyssal Gladiator can slash you with his sword if he's close enough. Once you use Mercy to stun the Abyssal Gladiator, charge and use Blade Harpoon and your strongest Chaoseater combos. Remember to back away once he regains his composure, because his horse will retaliate with a ground slam. Keep on attacking the Abyssal Gladiator until a button prompt appears. War knocks the boss off his horse and lets the battle continue. I didn't really think that one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse would be so fair and noble. I was hoping for a nice cheap shot or something. Okay, the REAL boss battle begins. No, he's not very intimidating. No, he isn't ten times bigger than you. BUT, the Abyssal Gladiator is quite tough. What makes this different than normal sword combat is that you cannot block the Abyssal Gladiator's attacks. Not even his basic, two-hit sword slash. You are going to have to rely on your agility and timing to dodge and evade the boss's arsenal of attacks. His sword slash begins with a small, one second charge period, giving you enough time to get behind him and hack away. This boss is also pretty quick on his feet, as he can dash your own moves as well. He usually follows up on a dash with a move similar to your own Flipsaw attack. Lastly, the Abyssal Gladiator uses a blue geyser attack just like he did while on horseback. He will punch the ground and create a moving blue geyser that follows you for a short while. The number of geysers increase as the battle goes on. It's hard to give you a decent battle strategy, as all you can really do is perfect your sword skills. use Stoneskin, constantly dodge, try not to block as it doesn't work, and try not to get overzealous when attacking or else he will surprise you. There are two chests containing Green Souls on either side of the arena, so take the time to run away like a sissy and open one if need be. Also, Chaos Mode doesn't hurt if you filled your Chaos Meter already. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Ash Titan ------------------- I can't really consider this a real fight, so think of it more as a mini-boss. The Ash Titan slithers underneath the ash, waiting for the right moment to strike like a viper. But you already know this, because we've witnessed their awesome power first-hand. The boss only has one attack, where it will lunge out of the ash and follow you with its head exposed. After the Ash Titan's mouth flares, it will dive forward in an attempt to swallow Ruin and War up. Right when you see the Ash Titan's mouth begin to twitch, dash forward. Even though it only has one attack, stay far away from the worm because running into it will cause you to fall off of your horse nearly 100% of the time, leaving you open for additional abuse. Run around to get the Ash Titan's attention, then lock onto the sandworm and wait for it to open its mouth. Fire at the throbbing yellow tongue inside with Mercy to harm the beast. If the Ash Titan gets too close, dash away from it; you could either slow down and collide with the Ash Titan's mouth, or it could try and use its dive attack. If it manages to hit you and you fall off of Ruin, press the Left and Right Bumper together to summon your horse pal. Once the Ash Titan has taken enough abuse, it'll fall to the ground. Gallop next to it and press B to eliminate the foe. It feels pretty good to finally kill something that's been stalking us for so long. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: The Stygian ----------------- Being the king of all Ash Titans, The Stygian is bigger, stronger, faster, and overall treated better than the other Ash Titans. Lesser demons have forged a metal helmet for their king, so targeting his fleshy tongue won't be as easy as you'd think. The Stygian starts things off by staying underneath the ash, then emerging only to charge at you. Use Ruin's dash to avoid the Stygian's giant head. After a few charge attacks, the boss will rise and coast around the ash field. Dash towards the boss and ride alongside it. Slowly gain up speed and begin attacking the side of the helmet once you make your way towards his head. Alternate between slashing the left and right side of the helmet. The Stygian doesn't do much during this stage other than slither around, and running into the side of the giant worm will not hurt you, so simply be patient and attack the helmet until it falls off. Now that The Stygian is a little upset due to its protection being gone, you will be able to harm the boss. After a few seconds of inactivity, The Stygian will rise in the center of the field and stick his head straight up. His primal scream summons five or six baby Ash Titans. These little guys are much smaller than The Stygian - and even normal Ash Titans - but can still be a nuisance. They can be killed with regular gunfire; no weakpoints to worry about, so gallop around in a circle as they tail you and follow through by using Mercy on them. If a baby Ash Titan gets too close, dash forward and continue shooting it until it dissolves away. The boss will reemerge once his offspring have perished. Now the worm will occasionally pop his head up and open up real wide, exposing his yellow tongue. Begin shooting at it while galloping away, dashing if the boss gets too close. Before diving back under, The Stygian will take one last lunge at you. You should get a nice amount of shots off during each opportunity. The Stygian doesn't really only has two attacks. Aside from lunging at you, mouth wide open, it'll also emerge from the ash and flop around in the air before falling back down, kinda like when a whale jumps straight up in the air from out of the ocean. If you stay locked onto the boss at all times, you should never get hit by this attack because if you are intelligent enough, you'll stay far enough from the yellow cursor. It's not rocket science. The Stygian will most definitely summon more baby Ash Titans before the fight ends, but the number of times may vary. This boss fight is painfully straightforward, as you shoot the boss's weak point when you get the chance. Otherwise, run for dear life and kill the occasional baby from time to time. I thought this fight would be much harder coming into it for the first time. I was wrong. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Broodmother ----------------- So we are given the chance of eradicating the piece of garbage that has been introducing the ever-so-annoying Broodlings to this world? THANK YOU. I am going to take great pride in this one. The Broodmother is close to being the easiest boss in the game. She only has two attacks that you must worry about. The first is when she begins to stomp on the ground with her pointy feet. After she stomps and has her eyes locked on you, she'll try to gnaw at you. It's really obvious because the preparation time for this move is very long and noticeable. The boss also takes time to pause and breathe in a gust of air. This air does not hurt you nor does it even create a vacuum that pulls you towards her. All it does is give you time to attack. Once you see the Broodmother open her mouth and inhale, aim at one of the cocoons hanging above and snatch it with your Abyssal Chain. Next, lock onto the boss and toss it into her mouth. With the Broodmother distracted, you will be able to run behind her and use the Tremor Gauntlet to break off the blue crystals on her back. This exposes her weak point, ripe for the attacking. The Broodmother takes note of this and will use her second attack. She will jump high in the air and come crashing down. The shockwave produces stretches across the entire arena, so the only way to avoid it is by jumping. Keep in mind that this attack is insanely powerful and can drain you of nearly an entire Lifestone in one shot. She will repeat this attack one to three times before calming down. The battle will repeat itself from here on out. Avoid her bite attack first, then toss a cocoon into her mouth. Run behind and use your Chaoseater on her bright red backside. Once the boss realizes this and uses her slamming attack, time your jumps and do the entire thing over again. It won't take many more attempts to exterminate the Broodmother. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Silitha --------------------- Silitha just seems like a normal, giant mutated spider with the ability to talk, but she definitely has some tricks up her sleeve. Silitha has trouble standing still, as she constantly teleports around the attic like a damn monkey, giving you very small windows to attack. Plus, her teleportation skills also leads to the unpredictability of her attacks. If you get too close to Silitha, she will teleport somewhere else in a flash of purple light. Next comes several options. Most commonly, she will reappear directly above you and drop to the ground. If you are caught underneath, you will be left in a world of hurt. Sometimes Silitha will teleport in the middle of the arena and slash at you with her claws. Sometimes the boss will teleport onto one of the walls and walk around. She cannot attack you from here nor can you reach her, but it provides a short break in the madness and allows you to figure out your next move (which will probably be dodging more of her dumb attacks). As far as I know, that's all she's got. While it doesn't seem much, Silitha teleports faster and more often as you wear her down, leaving you virtually no time to stop between dashes. If you can, take the time to heal yourself with a Greater Life Essence if you're low on health or use Stoneskin. The only time you will be able to damage Silitha is when she ironically tells you to stand still. Whenever Silitha stops and begins spewing nonsense, walk up to her and press the Right Trigger (while locked on) to grapple up to her face with your Abyssal Chain. While airborne, begin slicing and dicing away at her ugly mug with your Chaoseater. The battle will near its conclusion when Silitha teleports on the ceiling and berates War some more. She will also summon a ring of Red Chains above you. These Red Chains will begin falling to the ground one by one, so quickly grapple up to the nearest one, then press the Right Trigger once more to reach Silitha. This will initiate the execution cutscene. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Guardian -------------------- The Guardian is a very simple boss if you understand how to beat it, but that isn't too surprising because this is one of three Guardians here in The Black Throne. The nasty robot carries around a ball and chain and can rotate his hip around 360-degrees to perform a nasty spin attack. The only other attack the Guardian uses is an overhead slam. The ball and chain gives the Guardian a massive reach, so the best way to avoid getting smacked backwards is to use the portal tiles on the floor. There is one in each corner and one in the middle of the arena. Charge up a Voidwalker shot on one of the portals, then create a second portal on the tile diagonal from it. Now that you have both portals open, it's time to go to work. Jump in one of the portals to be shot out from the other one. Begin gliding towards the Guardian and press B when the button prompt appears. War will land on its head and begin slashing the red sphere on its head. This will temporarily disorient the boss; drop to the ground and attack the blue core located in its pelvis. Once the Guardian gets up, it'll glow red and use an extra-powerful spin attack. Frantically avoid it and create two more portals. Repeat this process a couple more times; the final time, you will have to perform an execution to destroy the Guardian. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Guardian -------------------- The second Guardian is exactly like the first one when it comes to attack. It can spin around and whack you with its ball and chain or use a slam attack to pound you into the ground. The four portal tiles are covered with metal bars, meaning you cannot target them with your Voidwalker. You must bait the Guardian into smashing apart the metal protectors with its overhead slam attack. Stand on a portal tile and wait for the boss to walk over to you. When it raises its hand overhead, get ready to dash out of the way. You can get it to destroy all four, but two will suffice. Once the metal bars are destroyed, create fully charged portals and use them to glide onto the Guardian's head. Press B when close enough to stab the red sphere, then drop down and attack its shiny blue core. This time, you must perform this a total of four times to execute the Guardian. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Guardian -------------------- This is the third and final Guardian, so by now you know how to tango with these dudes. The boss adopts the same two attacks as the previous two bosses, so remember to employ the same strategies on them during this fight. Really, the only thing you have to worry about his the Guardian's pissed off spin attack. The portal tiles are now located on two walls instead of the floor. On each side, two are in your reach while one is situated high above the others. Lure the boss over to one side of the arena and fire two charged-up shots: one at a low tile and the other at the one above. With the Guardian close enough, enter the tile to be shot sideways. You don't have as much height as you would if the portals were on the ground, but you are still able to glide over to the Guardian if it's close enough. If you miss, then continue standing next to the portal to bait the Guardian to coming your way. Once you make it, press B to stab the yellow sphere on its head. When the Guardian topples to the floor, hack away at its blue energy core until it gets up and glows red. Run to the opposite side of the arena to get away from its enraged spin attack, then use the portals here to do your business. I found this boss battle to be easier than the last two due to the positioning of the portal tiles, but they're all really easy. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Straga ---------------------- This battle won't be nearly as simple as the last time we encountered Straga. Mainly because we have the Voidwalker, and like this game and any other Zelda look-alike goes: in order to defeat the boss of a dungeon you must use the weapon acquired in said dungeon to weaken it/utilize its weak point. So we get to fiddle around with portal tiles in this fight. God I hate the Voidwalker. Straga wields a mace and can cover the majority of the arena with his sweeping blows. This is by far his most powerful attack, and very difficult to dodge. The method of dodging it requires great timing, so don't worry if you are not successful on all (or any) of the tries: that's why you have healing items like Greater Life Essences! Straga taps the ceiling with his mace and then leans it on the left side of the room for a second or two. Once you see sparks fly, create two portals on the two portal tiles on the floor. Stand next to the one on the right. As Straga begins to sweep to the right, quickly drop into the portal to appear on the left, behind the mace and without a scratch on you. Sometimes he leans the mace on the other side of the room, but if that is the case then just switch the portal you enter. He also uses a slam attack that is easier to avoid, but can deal a heaping amount of damage. Not only can you use the two portal tiles on the floor to help avoid his mace, you must also use them to hurt Straga. There is a third portal tile on the side of his mace. Shoot that one first, then shoot one of the two tiles on the floor. Pay attention to Straga's arm motion and how he carries the mace. When he's readying for an overhead slam, he'll raise the mace over and behind his head. Once the mace is positioned behind the boss's head, fall into the portal to drop onto his back. Press B next to the orange eyeball on his back to cause Straga to topple forward in pain. Lock onto his face and slash away until he pulls back. Straga will take some time to recover and let some Undead Lords do his bidding. While you contend with them, Straga will occasionally smash his fist into the floor. Once the enemies cease, fire another Voidwalker shot at Straga's mace, then at one of the tiles on the floor. Jump through once Straga readies a slam attack to drop onto his back and hit the weak point. Introduce the Chaoseater to Straga's face to initiate another wave of enemies. The monsters he summons are either Undead Lords or Fallen Angels; it varies. Continue teleporting to Straga's back to expose his weak point, then hack away at his huge face. The boss battle is annoying, but if you study his attack patterns and stay healthy, you should emerge victorious. This time, War will take more than just an eye from Straga. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Shadow War ------------------ OMGWTFBBQ another cheap Zelda reference!!! Shadow War is a spittin' image of the Horseman himself, and has the same moves and abilities as you do up to this point. Lucky for you, the boss does not use them all. He is restricted to just the Chaoseater and Crossblade. Shadow War doesn't use many attacks aside from Flipsaw and Blade Geyser. He can use simple sword combos and will dash to avoid your attacks, but for the most part he sticks to using Flipsaw. The time he takes to use the attack gives you all the time in the world to dodge and counterattack. Unlike a real doppelganger, Shadow War does not mimic your each and every move, and is actually pretty easy to hurt. Unlike most enemies or bosses, Shadow War blocks like a mother. He will block most of your attacks if you try and hit him head-on. Either way and dodge his Flipsaw move, or try using a Block Counter. I don't talk about this ability much, if at all, during this guide, but using Block Counter is a fantastic way to really dish out the damage against the boss. Make sure to save up your Chaos Mode, because Shadow War will enter Chaos Mode himself. If he does and you're outta luck, you can still control this duel. You'd realize this the best considering you have used Chaos Mode countless times throughout the game, but his attacks are very slow. It is not suicide to run up and slash Shadow War before dashing backwards to evade his three-hit sword combo. Unfortunately, Shadow War's Chaos Form does not end abruptly like yours. Once he activates it, he'll be like that until the fight's conclusion. You can certainly take Shadow War down if your Chaos Meter isn't filled; just be patient with your attacks and don't get caught up in a long-winded combo. If you do have Chaos Mode, then activate it and show the boss how it's done. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Uriel ----------------------- Uriel was a damn joke last time we faced her, but she has definitely stepped up her game. This will probably be your greatest test in the game so far. Uriel has a multitude of attacks, all of which can deal around half of a health bar with each hit. Since most of her attacks are multi-hit moves, this can spell great trouble for you. Like in the previous battle against the angel, her cutter attack is used when there is a large amount of distance between the two combatants. This is probably the easiest attack to dodge; that or her basic sword combos. Uriel uses random sword slashes up close, including a toppling uppercut and a slamming attack. When Uriel rises high in the air, back away. She will divebomb to the ground, resulting in a large wave of energy. However, continue to stand your ground. Her body will begin to pulse up to three times, releasing three additional waves. It's common to immediately charge her once she hits the ground, but these three shockwaves prevent you from doing so. After the last wave, dash towards her and retaliate. Arguably her most annoying attack, Uriel rises in the air and begins to glow. Next, a dozen or so glowing swords will rain down from the heavens. They usually drop down in a line as opposed to totally randomized locations, so try to stay away from the bunch altogether. This boss is very fast on her feet, and you must pick your opportunities to strike. The best times to attack are right after her overhead slam and her divebomb attack. Both leave her on the floor, giving you time to keep her grounded and continue your punishment. The best way to knock Uriel out of the air is with a dash attack. Either Harpoon Tackle or Meteor Launch do the trick. Once Uriel is lying on her back, continue with a Chaoseater combo until she gets up and spins around. Whenever Uriel spins in a circle, she is regaining her composure and is ready to use an attack. Once she spins around like a top, back away and let her do her worst. Two more strategies that you should be aware of are Block Counters and Chaos Mode. When fighting bosses that are closer to your size and use traditional weaponry like Shadow War and Uriel, Block Counters become increasingly more useful. I found the best time to use Block Counters is to counterattack the boss's jumping sword smash attack. And I shouldn't have to say this, but enter Chaos Mode the minute you get the chance to inflict additional pain on Uriel. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: The Destroyer --------------- I'll admit, this is a pretty anti-climactic battle. First off, unlike most portrayals of dragons, The Destroyer isn't known for his sheer power and size. The Destroyer runs around the arena in circles like a puppy dog, occasionally pawing at you with his large claw. Sure, he can breathe fire at you, but he just looks dumb. Plus, you have to fight the entire battle while on Ruin. Hop on your trusty steed and run alongside The Destroyer. He will often try and claw at you, which is a good enough reason to never really get close to the boss. Just ride around and wait. The only real time you can hurt The Destroyer is when he charges at you directly. This will happen when the boss runs towards the edge of the arena, turns around, then begins sprinting at you. Like a good old-fashioned joust, charge head-on at the boss, timing your sword slash so it connects just as The Destroyer is about to pass. If you miss or time it badly, The Destroyer will either barrel into you or claw you off your horse. However, if you nail him, The Destroyer will slide and collapse behind you. Quickly turn around and run over to the fallen beast, then jump off Ruin. Hack away at The Destroyer while he's down. You can get a number of shots off on him before he gets back up. The Destroyer usually retaliates with his third attack. The dragon flies high up in the air, offscreen. Jump on Ruin and dash in any direction, or else The Destroyer will dive down on top of you like a meteor. He will repeat this attack once or twice more. Keep playing chicken with The Destroyer; if you are successful each and every time, this should be a quick and painless fight. There is really nothing else to mention about this boss fight, other than that during the final charge, you will have to press B to initiate the execution scene. Once War jumps on The Destroyer's back, repeatedly press B to clip the dragon and finish the job. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --- BOSS: Abaddon --------------------- Abaddon is a huge pain in the ass. He blocks far too much than one should allow, he is super strong and has a multitude of sword combos, and basically prevents you from using Chaos Mode in this fight. Abaddon has a bunch of attacks at his disposal, but many of them are similar and cannot be blocked. He has a multiple slash combo, which can be blocked and is the weakest he has to offer. The boss also can use a charged slash, preceded by a glow on the tip of his sword. Don't try to block; just back away when you see his sword begin to glow. When Abaddon floats just off of the ground and his sword glows, he'll follow up with an energy cone attack as he dives forward. Kinda like Harpoon Tackle, but much cooler. If Abaddon floats up in the center of the arena, he will slam to the ground, releasing four energy waves that radiate outwards like a cross. Two more moves to note is Abaddon's dash attack, which is basically a complete replica of Harpoon Tackle, and a simple overhead slam which is essentially the same as every boss in this game. Why does everyone have a powerful slam attack in this game? Other than that, I don't think he really has that much. Kinda like Wicked K, Abaddon doesn't really let many attacks penetrate him, so for some players it may be easiest to resort to Block Counters. The best move to block is Abaddon's charge slash, because the sword glowing gives you a nice heads-up. Aside from Block Countering, another good way to damage the boss is to attack immediately after he has used an attack. Dash away to avoid getting hurt, then use Harpoon Tackle to initiate the assault (like The Destroyer, you can only hurt Abaddon with the Armageddon Blade). After landing a handful of successful shots, a quick-time event will occur where you will have to repeatedly tap a button shown onscreen to beat Abaddon in a little sparring session. Abaddon uses one of his more powerful spells once the quick-time event ends. The boss teleports into the distance, then throws three giant boulders at you, one at a time. Despite the size of the boulders, it is possible to dodge them. As the boss fight continues, Abaddon will start to teleport around the ring in order to confuse you and knock you off guard. Abaddon often teleports several times, then tries to use his own version of Harpoon Tackle. Dodge this move and counter with Armageddon Blade combos. After the third successful quick- time event, Abaddon will be knocked down for good. ______________________________________________________________________________ 13] THANKS/CREDITS [1300] ______________________________________________________________________________ Of course, this guide couldn't have been made without some extra help. Here is a shoutout to everyone who made this FAQ possible: CJayC: For being an awesome host of an awesome site. Eternal Czar Smapdi: For being the best co-author anyone could have, and for being yourself. Bradygames Official Guide: Thank you for the locations of all Artifacts, Lifestone Shards, and Wrath Shards. Oh yeah, and enemy names as well. FESBians: Because you're cool. You: For reading this FAQ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LEGAL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This document is copyright (c) DomZ Ninja 2010-2011. This document may be found on the following sites: * GameFAQs - http://www.gamefaqs.com * GameSpot - http://www.gamespot.com * IGN - http://faqs.ign.com * Super Cheats - http://www.supercheats.com * Neoseeker - http://www.neoseeker.com * HonestGamers - http://www.honestgamers.com The latest update of this document can always be found on GameFAQs. Other sites may use this document, but only with my permission. If you see this document on a website not listed above, please email me. Do not edit or alter this document in any way. Do not steal anything from this document. Do not host or distribute this document for profit. That is plagiarism, and it is against the law. If you have any questions, comments, or anything that you would like to add to this guide, then feel free to email me. My email address is found at the top of this guide. However, if you do email me, please include the name of the game in the title. Lastly, thanks for reading and using this FAQ. If you like this FAQ, then please recommend it to others by clicking the "recommend" button at the top of the guide. :] http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/52173.html "The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out, you left me in the dark. No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight, in the shadow of your heart" - Florence + the Machine ______________________________________________________________________________ END OF DOCUMENT