Let me guess. You went into Rivermouth Cave, dropped into a blood-soaked hell, fought an army of bloodfiends, and now face-to-ugly-face with the chief who keeps killing you? He can be a difficult boss, but with a couple of tips, we’re sure you can come out victorious.
General Tips
The safest place to dodge to is behind the boss. This will be the fastest position from which to punish his end-of-combo recovery times, and he won’t be able to hit you with his blood breath moves.
Try hugging the boss as you dodge around him, some of his wide sweeps can’t hit you when you’re right next to him.
Avoid rolling backwards, getting cornered by this boss is brutal.
Summoning a spirit ash should be done as soon as you enter. He comes at you fast, but you should have just enough time. If you wait, you probably won’t get another chance, due to his relentless attacks.
If you’re a using a “Light Load” character, then going up to medium with more armor could help with the bleed build-up, and resilience to his physical attacks.
Strategy
As soon as you traverse the mist, you should be summoning a strong melee spirit ash. Depending on your build, the Mimic Tear Ash should work, but if not, then go with Black Knife Tiche or Banished Knight Oleg. If your character has a heavier build, then you could use a ranged summons, but they won’t last as long in such a confined space. Right after you ring the summoning bell, get ready to evade or guard his attacks because he usually sprints at you.
Don’t let him trap you against the mist!
These opening attacks are typically a sprint to club slam, or a long leap with a wide swing of his club. Your reflex will be to back roll, but this is a bad choice. The mist wall behind you is the worst place to get cornered in the area. Time the dodge, and either roll through the attack or to the side. After the first attack, your summons should start taking his attention off you. Then, wait for him to finish a combo and attack with melee, or start using ranged attacks.
Due to a lot of his attacks being wide club swings, blood breath, or butt slams, you want to be picky with attacking him. The last thing you want is to take damage that was meant for your summons. They can die, and the fight will go on; you die, and the fight is over. The butt slam can hit you no matter where you attack from, but the others are more geared towards his front (especially the blood breath). So when your spirit ash is fighting him, try to attack from the rear.
Attacking in concert with your summons will kill the boss in no time
If your summon dies, then you should mainly focus on punishing him at the end of his combos or slam attacks — most of them allow enough time to hit him at least once. Try to position yourself so you have room to roll backwards if needed and not run into a wall. As is the case with several other blood-centered bosses, you can use bleed effectively on this boss, too, if you have any good bleed weapons or incantations, like Reduvia or Swarm of Flies.
Since we mentioned some items, let’s also take time to discuss your loadout. If your problem is dodging his moves, or taking too much blood buildup, then you could try switching to some heavier gear that’ll boost your normal (and blood) defense. Of course, talismans like the Dragoncrest Shield Talisman, or the Pearldrake Talisman could also help.
Moveset
Basic Moves
Vertical Swing – The fiend slams his club in a vertical swing. He can do this after sprinting. Dodge sideways to avoid. The attack has enough recovering time for you to do one counterattack.
Jumping Swipe – He jumps and brings his club low, swiping it along the floor. Dodging into this attack allows for a quick counter, but he recovers faster than his other moves. This move can be parried.
Club Slide – The chief slide his club on the ground and tries to uppercut you with it. The attack comes from the left, so dodge right for a counter, or backwards to avoid. Decently long recovery time. This move can be parried.
Hand Swipe – He flings / claws at you with his hand. This is usually a set-up for another attack, so block it or dodge it, then be ready for a follow-up attack. It’s not worth trying to counter this one, unless you parry it.
Backhand – If you’re attacking his rear, he’ll swing his hand around to hit you. Really just an attack to counter you hitting him from behind. This is why you want to dodge away after counterattacking him with one or two attacks.
Club Combo – No, not the lunch menu item. The fiend swings his club from left to right, then back, and completes the combination with a vertical slam. You’ll want to dodge or guard the first two swings, then be ready to dodge the last, and counterattack.
Double-hand Slam – The fiend takes the club in both hands and raises it up high, then brings it down with all his might. The wind up for this is long, and the point is to make you dodge early so he hits you. Wait for him to bring it down before dodging — he opens his mouth right before he swings, so you can also dodge when you see his mouth move. The recovery is long on this attack, so you have time to score some hits.
Club Pin – The chief turns his club over, and slams the tip of it into the ground on top of you. You’ll see this attack if you’re attacking his front. Dodge sideways, and hit with a counterattack.
Special Moves
Three-step Stomp – The boss will aggressively stomp forward three times. Dodge the first step sideways, then roll again to make sure you’re out of the range. Dodging backwards can leave you exposed to the next couple stomps. This move has a long recovery time.
Butt Slam – The big boy jumps high in the air and slams his rump down, creating a shockwave. Shockwave moves are always tricky. It’s best to just play it safe and roll a couple of times (or even roll then jump). The recovery is long enough that you can roll back in for a counterattack.
Bloodflame Claw – This move is just like the one that Mohg, Lord of Blood uses. The boss reaches his hand across, then claws from left to right, while leaving a red claw trail that explodes in fire shortly after. Dodge backwards and to the left to avoid the explosion, or if you’re quick enough, you can dodge forward to the left to get behind him. This move has a pretty long recovery time, and you should be able to get in one solid hit.
Blood Breath – He spews blood on you from his mouth (gross). There are several variations of this move that have altering amounts of blood, range, and attack time. Anyway, you want to get out of the blood to stop from acquiring blood buildup. Roll away a couple of times, and if you’re fast, then you might be able to hit him before he’s done with the attack.
Kelson is a spud head from out west. He is most happy when holding a milky tea with too much honey and playing a sprawling role playing game or reading a fantasy novel. His video game tastes vary but his main genres are looter shooters, RPGs, and real time strategy games.
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