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Three-phased boss encountersare becoming more and more common in Soulslikes, and despite already having one inBlasphemous 2, there’s yet another one for you to grind your teeth on, making you curse the day you ran intoAfilaor, Sentinel of the Emery,for the rest of your life.
RELATED:Blasphemous 2: How To Beat Great Preceptor Radamés
Afilaor is one of the most challenging encounters in the game,but unlike the other three-phased fight,you cancall in the support of Yermato help make things a bit more fair if you so desire. Whether you get a helping hand is up to you, but the battle will be gruesome no matter your choice!
Afilaor, Sentinel Of The Emery Overview
As you likely already know,Afilaor, Sentinel of the Emery,is thefourth bossencounter of Blasphemous 2 and poses a whoppingthree phasesto fight through, making it a true test of endurance and patience.
Fortunately, theTears of Atonement and Marks of Martyrdom are the current highest payoutfrom a boss this far, making it worth all the time, effort, and tears sunk into this singular encounter. The complete details of the rewards can be found in the table below!
2500
2
Yerma’s Helping Hand
Much like the previous boss encounter, if you’vefollowed Yerma’s questline up to this pointbyfirst finding her near the bottom of the Ravine of the High Stonesand then againonce more just outside of the Radamés boss room,you canrun into her yet again sitting outside of Afilaor’sroom.
Similarly to the last time,she will not tag along with you throughout the entire encounter but willshow up periodically throughout it, landing one big attack on Afilaor before bouncing for a prolonged periodand returning several more times until the battle is over.
Her attacks, while sporadic, are hard-hittingand will tremendously help you out, so if you are struggling and have her services available to you, we more than recommend taking her up on her offer!
Afilaor, Sentinel Of The Emery: Phase One Guide
Thefirst phaseof theAfilaorencounter has him wield aWooden Blade,which he uses to performfour attacks.While this is the least threatening stage he will enter, his damage output is still pretty intense, so learning what he’s capable of early on will be immensely beneficial for future phases!
Spinning Top Of Death
Afilaor’sSpinning Top of Deathwill likely be the first attack he throws out, having himtwirl across the screen violently and with tremendous force,carving up anything and everything in his path.
The fortunate news isyou can just jump over him here,andonce you’re behind him, you can trail behind him until he stops, then land several hits of your ownon him. After around three to four hits, we suggest backing off!
Rising Slash/Upheaval
Next is acombination of attacksthatbegins with Afilaor swinging his blade upward and ascending into the air along with itbeforeculminating things with a forceful slam into the ground.TheRising Slash portionof this attack willdeal mass damage on contactbut iseasily avoided by Evading awayfrom him.
TheUpheaval portion,however,must be jumped over to avoid taking damage from it,so you musttime your jumpif you don’t want to get knocked over. Getting hit by either attack can put you at severe risk of dying, butavoiding both will put you in a prime position to land several uncontested strikes!
Throwing Knives
If you seeAfilaor position himself in the cornerof the arena, he islikely about to start his Throwing Knives attack,and you willsee an outline of the trajectory the knives will travel,allowing you toposition yourself accordingly to avoid taking damage.
During this phase, youcan stand near Afilaor and land several hits on him with the Veredicto(the flail) from a safe distance. Otherwise,you may play it safe, stand in the middle of the arena, wait for him to stop attacking, and then land a hit or twobefore going back on defense!
Afilaor’sBroad Slashiseasily his most annoying across his many phases.Despite beingeasily telegraphed by a sudden gleam of red light in his eye,theattack comes out extremely swiftly and covers such a wide rangethat it can still be tricky to Evade or avoid.
Themoment you see the gleam in his eye, begin Evading behind him.Theslightest hesitation or hiccup will likely get you hitby the Broad Slash. Alternatively,you can also jump it, but only during this phase,asthe area the slash covers gets more expansivewith each round.
Once you’re behind him, you’re able to land many hits during his recoveryand can keep laying into him until he begins his next move. However,be wary of his health barbecauseif it is near the 1/4 mark, he will perform another Broad Slash,but this time,his Wooden Blade will breakin the process!
Afilaor, Sentinel Of The Emery: Phase Two Guide
Phase twocomprises thesame move list aside from one,with the major difference being thatAfilaor has upgraded from a Wooden Blade to a Steel Blade,enabling him to deal even more damage on contact than before, making this even more of a nightmare for you.
Tossing Weapons: Part 1
Thestart of the second phasewill always begin when youget Afilaor’s health past the 1/4th mark,ashe will break his Wooden Bladewhen trying to perform a Broad Slash, causing him tojump into the backgroundof the arena andbegin rummaging through his stash of weapons.
During his desperate rummaging,he willbegin tossing all sorts of weapons into the area,making youdodge them as they rain down upon you.After heacquires his Steel Blade,he willleap back into the arena with tremendous force,causing anUpheaval,so you musttime your jump accordingly to avoid getting hitby it.
Avoiding the Upheaval will leave him openfor a prolonged period, enabling you toland several uncontested hitsonto Afilaor. After that,he will go into the same motions as the previous phase with some minor differences!
Climbing Silver/Upheaval
ThisClimbing Silver and Upheaval combo is the exact same as phase one’s Rising Slash and Upheavalcombo and isresolved the same way.Theonly differencehere is thatboth deal significantly more damage,and thearea the slash covers is a bit wider,but not by too much. You shouldn’t notice much change here, so handle this as you did earlier!
Let It Rip!
Afilaor really resembles a Beyblade now with his Steel Sword, butfortunately for us,thisattack is resolved the same wayas theprevious phase’s Spinning Top of Deathattack.Evade past himandget behind him.After hefinishes spinning, land a few hits of your ownbefore retreating. Simple!
Steel Blade: Throwing Knives
Afilaor’sThrowing Knives attack returnsfor this phase as well, this timehaving a different trajectoryfor the knives, having themricochet off the ground slightly in front of him and traveling toward the top corner of the screen.
Werecommend just playing it safe for this phaseandstanding out of the knives' trajectory until they’re done.Youcan still land a hit or two afterward,but we don’t recommend getting too close to him now!
Steel Blade: Crescent Slash
Next up is theCrescent Slash,the move we warned you about earlier as being Afilaor’s most irritating to deal with. While this attack more or less remains the same, there are somekey differences that you must take into consideration,or you will get rocked by it.
First off,not only is the damage output far greater than beforebutso is the area the blade covers,making itmuch harder to jump oversuccessfully. Not only that, butthis attack will now also launch a Crescent-shaped projectileforward, making it that much harder to evade.
Like before,a red gleam will appear in Afilaor’s eye before he executes this attack,andthe moment you see it, you must Evade through him,or you will be in for a terrible time. Additionally,now that there’s a projectile, if you are far awayfrom him, youmust time your Evade to go through the projectileto avoid taking damage!
Afilaor, Sentinel Of The Emery: Phase Three Guide
Last but certainly not least isAfilaor’s third phase,which has himtrade his Steel Blade in for a Golden Blade,making himmuch more scarier than before,something we thought wasn’t possible.This phase is the hardest of the bunch,and hestill manages to have the same move list, aside from a few extrasthat will make you wish he kept his bag of old tricks!
Tossing Weapons: Part 2
Getting his health nearly down to 3/4th of the way,Afilaor will go toperform yet another Crescent Slash,havinghis Steel Blade breakon him just as his Wooden Blade did. You know the drill. He mustjump into the background to find something sharper and better.
As he rummages for a new Blade,he willtoss weapons into the arena just like last time,having youavoid them as they come hurtling toward you.Once he finallysecures his new Golden Blade,he willjump back into the arena with tremendous force,causing anotherUpheaval.
Like last time, you musttime your jump to avoid the Upheaval,enabling you toland several attacks once you landand Afilaor recovers.
Golden Blade: Rising Slash/Upheaval
TheRising Slash and Upheaval combo returnonce more, but this time,Afilaor nearly covers a complete circle with his slash,making it soif you’re even slightly in the air, you will get hit.Evadingwillkeep your profile low enough to avoid the attackfor this portion of the combo.
After completing his Rising Slash, he willfinish it with another Upheavalas expected.Time your jump to avoid this as you’ve been doingthis entire time. Upon landing, you haveseveral uncontested hits of your own to deliverto him!
Golden Blade: Spinning Top Of Death
HisSpinning Top of Death returnsyet again, but it isexceptionally different this time,ashe no longer goes from the center of the screen to a corner.Instead,he will remain largely in the center of the arenaandviolently move back and forth,making your life an absolute nightmare.
He will move toward you if you attempt to run toward a corner,soit’s best to Evade through him here, run toward a corner, Evade through him again, and then repeatthe process until he isdone spinning.Once that happens, you canfreely attack him without contention!
Golden Blade: Crescent Slash
We’re back at it again with yetanother Crescent Slash,but this timeit’s even more annoying(yay!). Thearea the Crescent Projectile covers is ENORMOUShere, andso is the size of the actual slash as well.Simply put,if you jump here, say goodbye to at least 2/4th of your HP.
Again,you must wait until you see the red gleam in his eyeand will have toEvade through him immediately.If you’refar enough away to avoid the slash,you mustEvade through the Crescent Projectile.ThisGolden Blade is no joke and will just erase your HP,so avoid getting hit by it at all costs!
Nothing Personal, Kid
Finally, we have ourlast attack,anentirely new one,and some straight-up anime ‘you know what.’ Here,Afilaor will back into a corner before promptly leaping high into the air,eventuallygoing off-screen.Unfortunately, he’s not done yet andwill suddenly drop down onto the opposite side of the arena and perform a Crescent Slash.
The moment you see his feet leave the ground,make way to where he just was,or pay the price.That’s your only option.Due to theGolden Blade’s broad coverage,you aregetting hitif you are anywhere near the slashhere.
Once you are on the opposite end of the stage,prepare tododge the following Crescent Projectile by Evading through it,thenmake your way over to him to land a few hits of your own,thenprepare for his next attack,whichcan be everything we’ve covered in this sectionand repeat until you beat him!
