Lords of the Fallen plays similar to Dark Souls except that most would agree it’s a little more forgiving. However, the boss battles in Lords of the Fallen can be quite challenging for some. This boss battle guide for Lords of the Fallen should give you all the tips you need to clear the game. With Lords of the Fallen free for PlayStation Plus members in September, now is the perfect time to take down some bosses!
Boss Battle: First Warden
- Bonus Requirement: Dodge every attack so you do not take any damage.
The battle against the First Warden is fairly straightforward. He uses a giant sword and shield, and will swing at you two or three times in a row. Depending on your class selection and agility, you can shield against these smaller attacks, while moving around behind the Warden to attack his back. You may also be able to roll to dodge all of the Warden’s attacks, then counter from behind after each series of attacks. Do you not attack the Warden from the front while his shield is in place. If you do so, there’s a very high probability the Warden will block the attack.
After a few sets of a attacks, the Warden reels back to use a heavy attack. Move around behind him or roll to avoid the attack. You do not want to get hit by the attack, or even block it with a shield. It will inflict significant damage if it makes contact with your character. However, after the attack you have plenty of time to attack the Warden as his shield will be down.
When the Warden gets down to around 50 percent health, he throws away the shield and uses a spinning attack. This is very difficult to dodge, and while you can use a shield to block the attack combo, chances are you’re still going to take a bit of damage. Your best course of action is to back away and wait for the spin attack to stop, then quickly move in for a few attacks of your own.
Repeat this process until the Warden readies another heavy attack. Avoid the attack, then counter with a combo of your own while the Warden recovers. Follow this strategy and it won’t be long before the Warden goes down.
After the battle pick up the Persistence Greatsword and the Unknown Rune (Big) left behind. Don’t forget to go back to the portal to open the treasure chests within. Keep in mind, every enemy except the First Warden will respawn after exiting the portal.
Boss Battle: Commander
- Bonus Requirement: Do not block any attacks with your shield.
Note: If you have the Shard of the Heroes, you can access either statue on the left side of the arena to obtain the weapons they are holding. If you access the statue at any point after the boss battle you can respec your character instead.
The battle against the Commander is very similar to the battle against the First Warden. Make sure you stay close to the Commander and circle around him. He will circle with you and occasionally use his shield to stagger you. Don’t let this alarm you as he does not follow up with an attack.
When the Commander raises his shield in preparation to plunge it into the ground, move away slightly to avoid the shockwave that follows. You don’t need to go far to avoid it, and if you go too far, the falling projectiles may hit you. Back up just far enough so you have time to move back into attack range and hit the Commander once or twice before he picks up his shield again. If you move back as soon as the shield is raised, you should be far enough away by the time the shockwave occurs.
Periodically throughout the fight the Commander encases himself in a magic shield. When this happens, an enemy spawns that must be defeated. Once the enemy is defeated, the shield disappears and the battle continues. The first time a Marauder attacks, then a Rogue, then both attack simultaneously the third time it happens. Focus on the Marauder first because its attacks are generally more damaging than the Rogue’s.
If you attempt to attack the Commander from a distance, he will shoots horizontal waves of energy at you. These can be dodged to the left or right, but it’s best to simply stay close to the Commander to prevent this from happening at all. In addition, from time to time the Commander will point his sword forward and a beam of magic energy will shoot from it. This is fairly easy to dodge, and if you’re circling around the Commander it rarely targets you in the first place.
Defeat the Commander to find a Commander Shield, Arrowhead fist weapon and Sealed Rune (Big). Head back to the checkpoint by Yetka and save your progress, then move to the far side of the boss battle area and up the stairs to trigger another cut-scene.
Boss Battle: Worshiper
- Bonus Requirement: Position the mini Golems so the Worshiper kills at least two of them.
Before you can defeat the Worshiper, there are a few things you need to know. First off, make note of the locations of the five archways in the graveyard. When the Worshiper uses any magic attacks, standing within the archways will keep you safe. This is especially important when you see the Worshiper get down on one knee and make a horizontal swooping motion with his arm. This indicates that the entire graveyard is about to be engulfed in a magic explosion. If you’re not standing in one of the archways when this happens, it results in instant death.
You can also use the archways to your advantage in other ways. If you can lure the Worshiper to one of the archways, then get him to attack the archway (in an attempt to hit you), the archway will crumble, but the Worshiper will be stunned for a lengthy period of time. Before this happens, make sure you’re ready with your most devastating attack to take full advantage of the stun.
The best strategy against the Worshiper is to equip light armor with a shield that absorbs 100 percent physical damage, and stay close to him. At this range he primarily uses a close-range stun. When he lifts his weapon into the air, quickly move to his side and back away. With light armor you shouldn’t need to dodge back, but if you aren’t moving fast enough you may want to dodge or even run to make sure you’re far enough away. If you’re within range of the stun attack, you won’t be able to move for a few seconds. This is long enough for the Worshiper to hit you with the first attack in his two-hit melee attack combo that always follows the close-range stun attack (whether it connects or not).
With light armor and a fast weapon you should have time to avoid the stun, move back to within attack range, and hit the Worshiper at least once before he can swing with his weapon. Depending on your gear configuration you may have to dodge immediately following your attack, but even with only one hit, every little bit helps during this fight. The Worshiper has a lot of health and does not go down quickly in most cases.
If you back away, the Worshiper uses one of two long-range attacks. The first is a spread of magic grenades. The Worshiper moves his arm in a sweeping motion, similar to the instant kill attack except that he’s not on his knees. This is followed by four grenades being tossed in your direction. They inflict considerable damage, but if you stay on the move they’re relatively easy to avoid.
The second long-range attack is a series of magic pillars that shoot up from the ground. When the Worshiper knees down as if to pray, you must continuously move, or take refuge in an archway. Several blue patches appear on the ground under your character (unless you’re beneath an archway). When the patch appears you will take damage if you’re not moving, then you’ll take additional damage with the spiked pillar rises out of the patch. This generally occurs three times, and will follow you as you move around attempting to avoid the attack.
Finally, the Worshiper will call on mini Golems to assist him in battle. When he triumphantly raises his weapon into the air, this is the signal that the Golems are about to appear. Two egg-like objects appear in the graveyard, then hatch into mini Golems shortly after. You generally have time to get to one of the eggs before it hatches, but they’re usually too far apart to get to both. If you can reach an egg, it only takes a single attack to break it and prevent the Golem from hatching.
If a Golem hatches, it immediately attacks you. However, the Golem stake damage from the Worshiper just like you do. It can be stunned by the Worshipers attacks, and even if the Golem is inside the archway with you when the instant kill attack goes off, it will still die. While the Golems aren’t overly difficult to kill, if you’d rather focus on the Worshiper, it’s relatively easy to get them caught in the Worshiper’s close-range stun attack. With proper positioning, you can even get the Worshiper to attack the Golems in an effort to hit you.
Defeat the Worshiper to find a Clawfinger weapon and a Sealed Rune (Big). Scattered around the graveyard you’ll also find four Human Skull quest items and two audio notes. Collect the items, then head back and speak to Kaslo. Before you continue, head back up the staircase you came down to find the portal open.
Boss Battle: Infiltrator
- Bonus Requirements: Kill him before the lanterns above the arena light up.
There are two important aspects to note about the battle against the Infiltrator. The first is that you should always stay close to him and in front of him. From a distance, the boss jumps toward you like a spider, which is difficult to evade, especially in heavy armor. He also uses projectile attacks that can stun you, although he rarely follows with an attack.
At close range, the Infiltrator uses a three hit combo attack of two horizontal attacks, followed by a slightly delayed vertical attack. If you’re in light or medium armor (or can move well in heavy armor), get close enough to initiate the combo attack, then back away to avoid the first two horizontal swings. You need to remain just outside of the Infiltrator’s attack range to insure you evade the first two attacks, but remain close enough so that the Infiltrator still attempts the third attack. If you move too far away he stops after the second attack, and if you’re too close you’ll have to block or roll to dodge the attacks.
With proper timing and positioning you can back away from the first two attacks in the combo, then move to the left or right to avoid the final attack. This saves your energy and gives you plenty of time to counter attack while the boss is recovering. Once it gets down to roughly 50 percent health, it will attempt to stab you with its rear leg by using it like a stinger. This is relatively easy to anticipate and even easier to dodge if you have light or medium armor. Even if you have heavy armor, as long as you can anticipate when the attack will come, you have time to move left or right to avoid it.
The stinger attack almost always comes after the combo attack, if you remain directly in front of the Infiltrator. You want to bait the Infiltrator to use this attack so you can evade it and continue attacking. With good timing and evasion you should be able to land three or four attacks (or combos depending on your weapon) following the combo and the stinger attacks.
If you move to either side of the Infiltrator, it uses the closest leg to slam the ground. This inflicts damage if you’re too close, and stuns you even from a moderate distance. This is why you want to remain in front of the Infiltrator to avoid these attacks and bait the boss into using the attacks that are easier to evade and follow with a counter attack.
The second important aspect of this battle is when the Infiltrator throws out a number of larva-like beings. These land on the ground and begin to grow. You can take them out with one or two good hits, but there are four of them with every toss. When they grow to full, they can trap you if you walk over them. More importantly, the Infiltrator will use them to replenish health. If you can’t destroy all of them, use a Fire Rune attached to your Gauntlet to ignite the Infiltrator and cause damage over time. This helps compensate for the health replenishment.
If you can maintain a steady barrage of fire (using the Gauntlet whenever you have enough magic), you can completely counteract the health replenishment. If you can do this, you can virtually ignore the larva. However, make sure you’re constantly inflicting damage and pay close attention to the Infiltrator’s health bar to ensure you’re inflicting more damage than he’s healing.
Finally, stay away from the center of the arena. The light in the middle and the broad area around it depletes your magic reserves. This is visualized by small blue circles floating away from your character. If you see this, move toward the outskirts of the arena. If you don’t use any magic at all, then you do not need to worry about this aspect of the battle.
Defeat the Infiltrator to be awarded the Crystal of the Traveller quest item. Collect the Uras polesword and Sealed Rune (Big) and speak with Yetka and give her the stone tablets (Ancient Plates) you’ve been collecting. In return she will give you a Magic Energy Shard, Poison Resistance Shard, Magic Resistance Shard and Lightning Resistance Shard.
Boss Battle: Champion
- Bonus Requirement: Don’t allow the boss to enter Rage Mode other than during the phase transitions.
While the Champion boss has a few patterns like most of the other bosses in Lords of the Fallen, there’s one important note about fighting him. The bar beneath his health bar is a Rage Meter. When it’s full the Champion enters Rage Mode and his blades ignite in flames. During Rage Mode the bosses attacks inflict more damage and cause magic damage in addition to physical damage.
If you attack the boss with fire-based attacks, it increases the Rage Meter considerably. In addition, every time you’re hit by the boss, the Rage Meter goes up. When the Champion’s health bar hits one of the marks along the bar, this triggers a phase transition and Rage Mode begins automatically. Your best bet is to equip light or medium armor and stay just outside of the Champion’s melee attack range, only moving in to attack after the boss misses one of his combo attacks.
At close range the boss uses a two-hit combo attack during the first two phases. Occasionally the boss will attack with a single heavy swing. After the two-hit combo or heavy swing, quickly move in an attack the boss. Depending on the weapon you’re using you may get in as many as three or four attacks before the boss attempts his combo again.
If the boss jumps back, be prepared to dodge the charge attack that follows. Depending on how close you are to the boss when he jumps back, you may not have much time to avoid the charge attack. The lighter your armor, the easier it is to avoid this attack at close range. With heavy armor it can be difficult to avoid the charge attack even from a distance.
Attacking the Champion from a distance will cause him to use a projectile-like attack. The Champion slams one fist into the ground causing a shockwave effect to move toward your character. Shortly after it reaches you, the shockwave explodes and inflicts damage. The only way to avoid this damage is by dodging (rolling) shortly after the shockwave reaches you. Once you see the shockwave reach your character, roll at that time and you should avoid the explosion that follows. The timing isn’t difficult to get down if you remember that you’re dodging the explosion, not the shockwave.
When the Champion enters the his final phase, the shockwave changes into rapidly moving blades. As soon as the Champion reaches back to throw the first blade, you need to dodge. If you wait any longer it’s very likely the blade will hit you. The Champion always throws two blades back to back, so be ready to dodge a second time after you see the first blade.
In addition, during the final phase the two-hit combo the Champion uses at close range will sometimes turn into a three-hit combo. There’s a decent amount of wind-up on the third hit, so you can see it coming. However, you must be careful when you choose to attack because if you attack too early the third hit will connect.
Take your time and this isn’t a very difficult fight. However, if you rush, you’re likely to be hit by the charge attack or one of the Champion’s combo attacks. Beat the Champion then pick up the Sting fist weapon and Sealed Rune (Big).
Boss Battle: Beast
- Bonus Requirement: Don’t get hit by the poison or step in a poison puddle.
The battle against the Beast is one of the more unique boss fights in terms of how you approach the battle strategically. Unlike most other boss fights, the best strategy against the Beast is to keep your distance. Equip light armor so you have maximum movement speed, then use the Gauntlet projectile attack for a bulk of your damage. This works best if you have a decent Faith stat, the Faithful Disciple trinket, and Higher Fire Rune attached to the Gauntlet for solid damage.
The bar under the Beast’s health represents his fatigue. As the Beast takes damage, this bar increases. When the bar is full the Beast slumps over and you can attack at close range for a decent amount of time. At the very least you should have enough time to completely deplete your energy bar.
While attacking from a distance, stay just close enough to trigger the Beast’s two hit combo attack. It swings a club to the left, then to the right. After the second swing, use the Gauntlet projectile. This is the best time to use the Gauntlet because it’s virtually a guaranteed hit. Unfortunately he Gauntlet may have some hit detection issues during this battle, which is why you should focus on using it after the second swing.
Occasionally the Beast will use a single vertical swing. Move to the left or right to avoid the swing and the shockwave that shoots out in a straight line when the club hits the ground. The Beast will also spit three poison puddles onto the ground. The initial spit tracks your character, but if you continuously move you can easily avoid all three puddles. They linger for a bit so be careful not to step on them while they’re visible.
At close range the Beast is difficult to battle. It still uses the two-hit combo from before, as well as the single vertical attack, but it also attacks with a series of stomps. The only way to avoid taking damage from the stomps is to back away from the Beast. If you’re too close the damage is unavoidable unless you have perfect roll timing, and even then you’re likely to run out of energy before the stomps are completed. After a few stomps with one foot, the Beast jumps into the air for a bigger stomp that has a wider attack radius.
While using the Gauntlet from a distance is a slower method of killing the Beast, it’s still the most reliable and the safest way to defeat it. Pay close attention to the stamina bar under the health bar. When it’s nearly full, make sure you’re ready to move within melee range when the Beast slumps over. You want to maximize your damage during this period.
Beat the Beast then collect the Stain hammer and Sealed Rune (Big) as your reward. Speak to the nearby soldier, ask to find out more then tell the soldier you’ll do it. Head back inside the Citadel through the large doors. Head back downstairs and through the door at the bottom.
Boss Battle: Guardian
- Bonus Requirement: Don’t knock over any of the fire goblets.
There are a few different ways you can approach the battle against the Guardian. You can equip any type of armor and you can fight from any distance. The main strategic points to note are that most of the Guardian’s attacks are fire based. If you have a shield with 100 percent fire block defense, you’ll be in good shape for this battle. The Harmony buckler shield with two Lesser Fire Runes is one way to get a shield with 100 percent fire block defense (and 100 percent physical defense as well).
At the very start of the battle and periodically throughout the fight, the Guardian knees and the fire goblets begin to glow. This is followed by multiple homing fireballs shooting toward you (one from each goblet). When this happens, if you’re equipped with light armor, simply run around the outskirts of the arena. Your speed with light armor is more than enough to evade the fireballs. With medium armor you might still be able to run to avoid them, but it’s best to roll to dodge the first one. With proper timing you’ll dodge the first and the rest will miss while you’re recovering from the roll. Heavy armored characters should definitely roll as running to avoid the fireballs is risky with that much armor weighing you down.
It’s possible to use a running charge (run with your non-Tower shield up) and knock over a goblet to prevent it from shooting a fireball at you. Doing so will prevent you from obtaining the special bonus, but the Guardian will run over to the goblet to ignite it again. When this happens you have a brief moment to attack the Guardian. Be ready to attack as soon as the Guardian runs over because you don’t have much time. After the goblet is ignited again, it explodes and damages your character if you’re too close.
Attacking the Guardian from close range will require a lot of dodging or a shield that can 100 percent physical block defense and fire block defense. The Guardian generally attacks with a two-hit combo that consists of two horizontal swings of his dual greatswords. If you get knocked down by the first attack, it can be difficult to avoid the second attack or a second combo attack, resulting in an instant death. It’s not a guaranteed death, but depending on your armor, it can difficult to avoid this.
When the Guardian plants his swords into the ground, step back to avoid the kick that follows. Immediately after the kick, the Guardian swings around his swords, hitting in all directions. It doesn’t matter where you’re standing, if you’re anywhere near the Guardian when this attack happens, you must block or roll to avoid it.
Fighting the Guardian from a distance with ranged Gauntlet attacks is the easiest and safest way to beat him (although it may take awhile). From a distance the Guardian will attempt his two-hit combo, but with light armor it’s very easy to avoid. Occasionally he will perform a dashing attack that should be dodge as soon as he gets close to you. Even with heavy armor this is fairly easy to dodge. The dash attack also follows every goblet fireball attack series.
With a the Gauntlet equipped, fire a shot at the Guardian after every two-hit combo. Make sure you’re far enough away to attack with the Gauntlet and still have time to back away or roll to evade the Guardian’s next attack (which is usually another two-hit combo). You should also fire a shot at the Guardian after the dashing attack. There are other times you can fit in a shot, but these are the times you can attack with relative safety. Beat the Guardian then pick up the Firewalker shortsword and Sealed Rune (Big) he leaves behind.
Boss Battle: Annihilator
- Bonus Requirement: Kill the boss with a lightning-based weapon (such as Yetka’s Dagger)
The Annihilator boss battle is one of the easiest in the game so long as you follow a few basic strategies. First and foremost, equip any lightning defense gear you have. Almost every attack the Annihilator uses is lightning based. It’s also highly recommended to equip light armor so you can move around freely. A mixture of the Demon Assassin gear works very well because it’s light, but has solid defensive stats.
Your main objective against the Annihilator is to stay away from him. If you keep your distance he will only use one of two attacks during the first 50 percent of his health bar. For the first attack the Annihilator throws bends down and lunges toward you. This is very telegraphed and fairly easy to dodge, even in heavy armor.
The second attack is the important one. The Annihilator throws his weapon toward you. This attack is also very telegraphed as the Annihilator winds up before throwing the weapon. Dodge to avoid the projectile, then immediately move within attacking range and inflict as much damage as you can before the weapon returns to him (it won’t hit you when it returns, so don’t worry about that). While you can use the Gauntlet to attack the Annihilator from a distance, your barrage of attacks while the Annihilator is without his weapon will be your primary form of attack during this battle.
Once the Annihilator’s health bar hits 50 percent, he will start using an attack that freezes you in place for a moderate amount of time. This is telegraphed by the Annihilator remaining stationary and putting his hands into the air. When you see this, get as far away from the boss as you can. The attack will still stun you, but you’ll recover before the Annihilator can inflict any damage. If you’re too close the Annihilator will follow the stun attack with a lightning projectile attack that inflicts considerable damage. Once you’re far enough away the Annihilator will only attempt to follow the stun with his normal projectile attack, which you’ll recover in time to avoid.
If you wish to live on the wild side, you can attack the Annihilator from close range. Doing so will cause the Annihilator to use a series of horizontal attacks that are very difficult to dodge. His primary chain of close range attacks cover almost a complete 360 degree circle around him, so the best way to avoid it is to simply back away. The attacks come out quickly and cover a lot of range, so you don’t have a lot of time move away. This is why it’s best to fight the Annihilator from a distance. Beat the Annihilator to find a Lightning Hammer and Sealed Rune (Big) left behind.
