Ash Lands¶
Upon exiting the tunnel you will see a short scene introducing the Ash Worms, these things will eat you in seconds if you head into the sand so we need to stay on solid ground and only head across sand if a Chronosphere has been activated.
Speaking of chromospheres, hit the one floating above to your right and head across the sand to the rocky pathway in front. At the top float across the gap to the next rocky area and kill the Phantom Guard Angels. Collect the Blue Soul Chest and descent the ramp into a tunnel.
Hit the chronosphere (left) and make your way to the safe spot (right) across the sand.
Drop down the cliff here and make your way outside. A quick scene will show you the next safe platform and where to find the chronosphere.
Look for the wooden platform near the tunnel entrance and follow it up and around the back of a wooden structure, past the open doorway. At the end of the path, climb the demon growth and pick up the Blue Soul Chest , then drop down and enter the wooden building.
Use the demonic growth inside to traverse the gap, use the switch at the far end to lower the chronosphere then return to the cave entrance. Hit the chronosphere and run across to the rocky platform to the west.
Climb to the top of the first building and hit the switch (left) to lower a chronosphere (right).
Follow this platform until the sand worm jumps up and destroys a piece of it. Jump across the newly formed gap.
Make your way along the path here and after dispatching the demons that slide in from the building to the right, drop down to the area below the building and use the demonic growth on the wall to climb up. To the right of the entrance is another climbable spot, so head up here and hit the switch to lower a chronosphere into the room below.
Drop down and enter the building, to the left you will see more demonic growth and nearby, the liberated chronosphere. On the roof is a big spinning blade which is currently preventing you from using the growth on the ceiling. Hit the chronosphere to slow it down, and then use the demonic growth to climb the wall, cruise across the ceiling and land safely on the opposite side.
Jump across the gap to yet another section of demonic growth and climb up to the next rocky outcrop. At the top, cross the bridge. There are two circular wooden buildings in this next area. Make your way to the far one and use the shadow flight geyser to reach the platform.
Inside you will see a red crystal on the floor on the opposite side from the entrance. Find the demon growth around the left side of the building and climb it. As you reach the room at the top you will be attacked by a group of Demonic Soldiers. Once they are all dead, locate the bombs and the chronosphere here. Hit the chronosphere, grab a bomb and jump down to the ground, toss the bomb on the red crystals to destroy them.
Hit the chronosphere and grab a bomb (left). Drop down to ground level and destroy the crystal (right).
Return to the room with the chronosphere and use the button to lower it.
Drop down to the previous platform and enter the structure. Much like the previous structure you will need to hit the chronosphere, and then utilise the demon growth on the right of the room to traverse the roof and land on the higher platform whilst avoiding the spinning blade of death.
After doing that safely, climb the nearby demonic growth and you will find yourself on a platform that bridges the two structures. Before crossing the bridge look around the side area opposite where you climbed up from for a chest containing Rage .
Use the chronosphere to safely traverse the roof (left). Climb to the top of the structure and loot the chest (right)
Cross the bridge to the second building. In here throw the switch to lower the chronosphere and repeat the same process as the previous two buildings. Hit the chronosphere, climb the growth, avoid the fan and land on the higher platform.
Exit to the walkway outside and climb to the top of the building, hit the switch here, the drill at the bottom of the platform will be raised, giving you access to a cave system underneath – drop to the ground and down the hole to continue.
You will land in a large pool of water. Dive to the bottom and look for Artefact: Soldier along the west wall. If you re-surface, you should be able to see another Artefact on a ledge above the pool (this is the big one, Artefact: Overlord ) which we cannot access just yet. Find the path leading out of the water and enter the large highway tunnel.
Drop down the hole (left) and swim to the bottom of the pool to find an Artefact (right)
Look to the roof and you will see several Demonic Plants to be wary of. Destroy the crystal to the left of the entrance and drag the crate beneath the first demonic plant. Drop down off the platform here for a Blue Soul Chest , and then hit the plant with your cross-blade so it drops the block. Use this opportunity to jump and hang onto the edge of the crate. As the plant lifts the crate up, get War to float across to the blue crystal nearby.
Destroy the crystal here to uncover a chronosphere. Before using it return to the ledge and look to the left you should be able to see a small tunnel to the left of the entrance with two Demonic Plants above it. Use the chronosphere and quickly make your way across the room and into the tunnel.
From the entrance to the tunnel look out to the main area and upwards, you will see a red crystal hanging from the roof. This is our next target. Enter the room and find the chronosphere tucked away behind the corner. Activate it, grab one of the nearby bombs, run outside and stick the explosive to the crystal on the roof. This will cause a small cave in and drop a platform you can utilise to access a tunnel above.
Use the chronosphere in the side-tunnel and throw the bomb at the hanging crystal (left). Use the shadowflight geyser nearby to reach a Life Stone Shard (right).
Before heading inside, continue along the ledge to the left and use the shadow flight geyser to reach the raised area here. Open the chest for a Life Stone Shard . Return to the raised tunnel and jump into the water behind. At the far end of the water, climb the demonic growth to re-enter the desert area.
When you reach the top, do a 180 degree turn to see a Blue Soul Chest on a wooden platform behind the pit. Grab it, and then continue up the stone ramp into the cave. As you enter a Minotaur will appear, and summon a good number of Demonic Soldiers and a pair of Wraiths to attack you. Fend them off.
Once they are all destroyed, the Minotaur, a group of Demonic Soldiers and a pair of Wraiths will all take you on at once. If you have your chaos form ready, now would be a good time to use it and if you get a little low on health, go snaffle that Green Soul Chest near the back of the room. Once the baddies are eliminated, climb the stone ramp, enter the tunnel and follow the defined path.
We’ll meet our first Minotaur here (left). Once all the enemies are eliminated, climb the ramp (right).
Once you enter the next cave, a cave in will occur, blocking your exit out, so continue onwards into a large open area. Inside there is an Ash Worm patrolling the area and a number of wooden structures, sitting on the surface of the sand which will help us to traverse the area.
If you look at your map; we need to make our way to the eastern side of the area and to the green door using the conveniently placed towers to do so. You need to wait until the worm is a good distance away before jumping into the sand and wading to the nearest structure. Continue to do this until you reach the goal.
When you reach the cave on the other side, grab the Blue Soul Chest in front of you and continue into the next open area. As you enter, the exit will be sealed and you will need to fight off first a group of Demonic Soldiers, and then a Minotaur and a large Demon Gunner.
Wait for the Ash Worm to patrol away before moving between shelters (left). Upon reaching the far side, you’ll need to fight through enemies again (right).
Move a bit further into the room to find a Green Soul Chest and a Yellow Soul Chest if you need to replenish your supplies of either during or after the fight. Grab the Gunners’ Fracture Cannon and continue up the ramp close to the entrance, kill the enemies that come to get you and use the fracture cannon on the Demon Gunner on the ledge above and slightly to the right of the wooden walkway.
Once he is dead, step onto the bridge and look to the right to see another sniper on a ledge above the walkway - use the gun to kill this one too before continuing.
About halfway across the second bridge a Minotaur and group of Demonic Soldiers will come to attack you, retreat back a bit and use your Fracture Cannon on them as they squeeze together to cross the bridge. When they are dead continue on.
In the next area, drop down to grab one of the two Green Soul Chests if you need a bit of health. As you approach it a short movie clip will play and you will be stuck on the small platform here with a Demon Gunner whom you will need to kill. Doing so will have a swarm of Demonic Soldiers appear. Once you have dealt with them a Minotaur and another Demon Gunner will appear together.
Use the Fractue Cannon to fight through the enemeis (left). Use bridges as bottlenecks (right) to let enemies group together for easy kills.
When they are all dead, another short clip will play showing three Demon Gunners spawning across the gap. Luckily, one of the Demon Gunners we just killed will have dropped his Fracture Cannon. As such, pick it up and take each of the gunners on the opposing side of the chasm out in turn.
As the gunners bite the dust, a bridge nearby will drop giving a nice big group of Demonic Soldiers and a Minotaur access to your current location. Luckily they all bottle up together on the bridge making the Fracture Cannon a wonderful choice to easily dispose of the baddies before they can even cross.
When you are sure nothing more is on the way, pick up a Green Soul Chest if you need it before crossing the bridge and continuing up the ramp (there is another Green Soul Chest half way up the ramp (if you had previously used the other two and still need a pick me up).
Unfortunately, the quiet is quite short lived as when you climb the ramp, more Demonic Soldiers will slide across ropes to attack and they will approach you from both directions so take care to keep an eye on both sides as you fight them. Once they are all dead or dying, continue to the top of the ramp. Jump across the gap here for a quick scene.
Hop across the gap (left) to enter an Arena area where you’ll need to fight enemies (right).
After the scene, head out through the open door into an arena of sorts. During a quick scene a demon will bang a gong and summon an Abyssal Rider. Do enough damage to him and group of Demonic Soldiers will jump down from the various platforms around the place to join him in attacking you.
Kill them all and another of the side-tunnels will open releasing two Abyssal Riders and a group of Demon Soldiers. Several hatches on the arena floor will also open and start spouting flames as well – you would do well to avoid these as they can do a nasty bit of damage if you get to cosy with them. Next up a pair of Scythe Demons will jump down to get you with another group of Demonic Soldiers.
Defeat them all to face off against a mini-boss.
Boss: Arena Master¶
The Arena Master will attack you both on horseback and on foot across several phases. His attacks include:
| Attack/s | Description |
|---|---|
| Charge | On horseback, the boss will charge at you, unleashing a nasty melee attack when he gets close. |
| Blue Flares | Whilst on horseback, the boss will drop a series of blue flares on the ground. These can be extremely damaging if you are hit by or step in them – so avoid at all costs! |
| Melee Attacks | When on foot, the boss can string together a series of melee attacks in a combo or perform a lumbering overhead smash. At the conclusion of his attacks is a short window you can use to attack him. |
Combat Strategy:
Phase 1:
the boss will attack you on horseback charging you and firing off blue flares that can do a lot of damage if they hit you. Attack him with the cross-blade and swords when he gets close enough and when he is stunned take full advantage of the opportunity by unleashing a barrage of melee attacks on him. Use a finisher to knock him off his mount and watch the short scene.
During the first phase, the Arena master will attack from horseback (left). During the second phase, he’ll fight from the ground (right).
Phase 2:
The Arena Master will come at you in the same way as a Minotaur or an Iron Giant and has a similar set of moves, but does significantly more damage than either. If you just attack the arena master normally, he will just block and counter attack just about everything and do tonnes of damage. The best bet for beating this guy is to stay at his maximum attack range and lure him into performing one of his big attacks.
If you are far enough away you can dash out of the way to avoid it. His attacks usually leave him vulnerable for a few seconds while he recovers. Dash in and attack him then - but only 2-3 hits and then retreat again. If possible try to kite him around in a circle to keep him from cornering you. Once you get the hang of the above strategy, just keep repeating it until he drops. When you have done enough you will see a short scene.
The Arena Master’s horse will now come and attack you intermittently, try and attack it if you wish, but after taking a few blows from it, another quick scene will play and you will obtain War’s trusty steed - Ruin .
Following the scene, the remainder of the Demonic Soldiers from the observation areas above will jump down to attack you. Fend them all off and a large gate will open.
Ride through here and jump off the horse to collect the Blue Soul Chest to the left, then jump back on board Ruin and follow the tunnel until you reach the small sandy room with the sand worm patrolling the area.
The good news is Ruin is fast enough to outrun the Ash Worms, the bad news is the room will become locked once you enter and you will need to kill the Ash Worm inhabiting the area to continue. To do this, wait for it to emerge from the sand and use your pistol to shoot the glowing part in its mouth as it chases you whilst using Ruin’s dash move to stay away from the monsters jaws.
Kill the remaining enemies in the arena from horseback (left). Return to the room with the Ash Worm and take it down by shooting it in the mouth (right).
Occasionally the Worm will submerge and charge at you with spikes sticking above ground, this can be easily avoided with a quick dash to the side. Continue peppering away at the Ash Worm’s mouth with the pistol until it is dead.
Exit through the gate that opens. Follow the tunnel and drop down when required. Pick up one of the fracture cannons on the ground here and prepare to fight. A large group of Demonic Soldiers will appear at the far end of the room and charge towards you, whilst several more will drop down from beams and platforms above.
Whilst killing the first wave, a Demon Gunner will also jump down to join in on their assault. Once they are all dead, a second wave will appear and charge at you, this time a Minotaur will accompany them and several Demon Gunners will sit up on ledges and shoot at you if you venture too far away from where you dropped into the area. The Fracture Cannon should make short work of everything, and when the coast is clear at ground level move up slightly and kill the gunners on the balconies.
Use the Fractue Cannon to fight through the enemies (left) until you reach the exit (right).
Hold onto the gun as you work your way through the next area. On entering a Scythe Demon will appear from further down the tunnel to the right and several more Demonic Soldiers will hop down and come your way. In this first large area, there is a central pillar with a structure atop it (previously occupied by the Demon Gunners). To the right of this you will find a Green Soul Chest if you need to recover War’s health.
Move around the back of the pillar until you can see down the next tunnel as you do a group of 4-5 Demonic Soldiers will notice you and start rolling your way. Take them out, then focus your fire on the two other Demon Gunners you should be able to make out in the distance. When they are all dead, continue around the pillar and look to the left for a Blue Soul Chest .
Continue down the tunnel here and as you approach the overpass a Scythe Demon, a Minotaur and a few more Demonic Soldiers will move in to attack. Once again, if you still have the Fracture Cannon, these guys are a push over, simply fire away at them as you walk backwards.
Once they are dead, make your way to the cliff and jump down into the water below. Dive underwater and look around the right side of the pool for Artefact: Soldier . Swim under the pillar of rock blocking access to the next area and surface on the other side. Jump out of the pool and follow the tunnel killing all the enemies who get in your way.
Whilst swimming through the underwater area, look out for an Artefact (left). Use the Vulgrim Location (right) before entering the boss area at th eend of the tunnel.
When you spot a side room to the right of the main tunnel, head inside to unlock another Vulgrim Location . Exit and grab the Green Soul Chest for health nearby if you need it before heading outside to meet the boss of the zone – the Stygian.
As you exit, a scene will play and when you regain control you will need to deal with a small army of Demonic Soldiers. An easy way to deal with this is to jump on Ruin and mow through them with the sword. Once enough of them have fallen, the Stygian will break free to take you on.
Boss: The Stygian¶
You’ll be fighting the Stygian from horseback and it is by far the most mobile boss we have encountered thus far. It has a number of moves including:
| Attack/s | Description |
|---|---|
| Charge | The stygian will surface and charge at you at high speed. Continue to use Ruin’s dash attack to stay ahead of it. |
| Surface | The Stygian will go underground and attempt to emerge beneath War. This can cause significant damage if you are caught so be sure to keep moving whenever the boss is not visible. |
| Summon | The Stygian will disappear and summon a group of smaller Ash Worms to attack you in its place. Killing them will have the boss re-appear. |
Phase 1:
During this stage, the Stygian will roll around the area with a metallic face cover on – he will surface and charge at you. You will need to dodge him until he surfaces and starts to cruise around without attacking. When this happens, you need to ride up beside him and use your sword to knock off the mask.
Attack the Stygian’s face mask (left) to remove it. Shoot it in the mouth whilst running away (right) until it dies.
Phase 2:
The Stygian will vanish underground and in his place, will summon a group of smaller Ash Worms. They can do a lot of damage if they get a hold on you, so be sure to avoid them and shoot at them when they surface.
Phase 3:
Without the mask he is the same as the first you encountered, he will continue to surface beneath you, avoid this at all costs and keep dashing around. Occasionally the Stygian will surface and charge at you. This time, you will be able to see the weak spot in his mouth, shoot at it until he has had enough. It will submerge again, just repeat the above steps until he is finished.
When he’s had enough, the ‘finish him‘ button will appear. Hit it and he will bite the dust.
For defeating the Stygian you will be given the Heart of the Chosen and a Life Stone .
Before leaving the area, look behind the tower the Stygian was being held captive in to find a Blue Soul Chest .
Return to the Vulgrim Location nearby and use the serpent hole to return to the Scalding Gallow.
Scalding Gallow¶
Make your way to Samael and give him the heart, he will tell you where you need to head next and give you a quick rundown of the next boss monster and her lair. He will also grant you a new power for Ruin – the Soul Bridge .
Head back to Vulgrim and use the serpent hole to cruise back to the Ash Lands.
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