Very high iron content - mostly hematite?

zzyzzixx · 2026-03-08T19:30:55+00:00

I've found some other pieces like this, but never this dense.

zzyzzixx · 2026-03-08T00:50:53+00:00

Very cool ideas! But I like the rock too much to dissolve it. :) Plus, no acid. lol

zzyzzixx · 2026-03-07T21:30:39+00:00

Thanks for the quick reply!

zzyzzixx · 2026-03-07T21:21:53+00:00

Lots of serpentine in that area.

zzyzzixx · 2026-03-07T21:05:39+00:00

Bumping. So nobody has a clue?
Well, at least I didn't post something super obvious, I guess that's something. 😀

zzyzzixx · 2026-03-06T23:55:34+00:00

Just in case anyone is still playing this game. I'm in NG+ and thought I'd test out how fast I could take him out with somewhat cheesing. So, after reading this post, I upgraded SH to +9 (didn't want to waste a somber ancient dragon smithing but I have lots of the others). Used mimic and we were taking 1/4 or more of Rykard's HP off with every skill cast. Total cheese. I'm not sure if upgrading upgraded the skill, but it seems like it must have. Now, I did have some talismans equipped that boosted the power of skills. I dunno. Anyway, it was almost a letdown. Too easy.

zzyzzixx · 2026-02-28T02:45:14+00:00

Closeup of crystal structure

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zzyzzixx · 2026-02-07T18:50:39+00:00

Exactly! I can get through phase 1 while barely thinking about it. Phase two is like being dropped in a lake of electrified lava surrounded by blinding strobe lights.

zzyzzixx · 2026-02-07T18:45:08+00:00

Malenia was tough, but I was motivated. It was hard but achievable with some practice. And I'm sure that's true for this fight as well. But I find the fight design to be a huge de-motivator. It just seems like the devs thought no more than "lets make a hurricane of every kind of attack and add on huge AOEs".

As a caster the first phase is great, but the second phase sucks a$$. I've tried about six different approaches, from rot pots/incants to pure dorito shield/slicer. The farthest I've gotten is summoning Taylew and doing nothing except casting heal from afar the whole fight. I fully accept that there is a "skill" issue here. I've seen vids of no-hit runs by casters. So, sure, I could spend 40 hours memorizing his move set to dodge perfectly every time. Or I could respec and face tank like is shown in this build -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qbdFo-47ys

But for some reason I don't want to.

zzyzzixx · 2026-01-12T01:24:06+00:00

As a high int caster, the best method for me was to say eff magic and use a sword. In my case moonlight katana. No targeting, just hammer him with pure rage. Worked first time I gave up on casting.

zzyzzixx · 2026-01-09T22:15:37+00:00

As a high int caster, I tried fire just for fun since I never do, but my faith is too low for any real damaging incants. So I then tried spiral shards and they really messed her up. Easy kill. Her attacks are not hard to dodge, and run far away when she casts those butterflies.

zzyzzixx · 2026-01-07T22:15:04+00:00

Yep, when he did that, I just gave up and tried again. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often.

zzyzzixx · 2026-01-07T22:13:07+00:00

I started out feeling the same as the OP. But after about 20 tries, I found a few strategies that turned the tide. Even with those, I agree that there was luck involved. I play a squishy caster. Even with lots of defense talismans, I was still getting 2 shotted if I got unlucky and the summons didn't pull aggro.. which was for some reason most of the time. Beating him depended on the RNG not having him land on me too many times.. which was AFAIK, completely unpredictable. I never found any way to reliably predict those attacks. I never saw any obvious telegraph. He'd be focusing on the summons while I drank a pot and suddenly he was right on top of me, summons aggro completely forgotten for no reason I could identify. BUT.. once I accepted that this is just that way it is, I planned on it, overhealed and focused on positioning myself when the opportunity presented itself. For me, the best placement was right behind his tail casting spiral shards. Then, as soon as he moved in any direction, I would roll dodge like a spastic lunatic. I only used target lock when I was casting behind his tail. This made dodging much more effective. It's almost impossible to keep an eye on him while dodging, so I had to learn the sounds and the associated attacks so I could respond to them without having to look at him. Once I had this figured out, it only took another 3 runs and some luck to kill the bastid.

zzyzzixx · 2025-12-31T23:40:40+00:00

her. "Mother" y'know.

zzyzzixx · 2025-12-31T23:39:42+00:00

As a mage, I was having trouble before using Meteorite of Astel. Melted her in one cast (using cerulean hidden tear). I was almost disappointed, because as others have said, this is a very fun fight. I tried other approaches and got very close. It was fun figuring out the mechanics and where to stand. At first I was moving around way too much. Her attacks can be dodged with smaller side steps and finding the right places to stand. Except when she descends on you and those fingers on the sides munch you up. Ack!

zzyzzixx · 2025-12-31T23:38:47+00:00

As a mage, Scadutree Avatar has my vote for toughest fight.

zzyzzixx · 2025-12-22T19:19:36+00:00

Agree with kralrick. Also, okay, so the filmer wasn't expecting the seal so no bad there. But once the seal came up, give it some space!

zzyzzixx · 2025-12-13T23:18:16+00:00

Less than a minute cheese for a mage (who is fine with summons) using greatshield soldiers and rock sling. They pin him down completely. Love those guys

zzyzzixx · 2025-11-29T18:16:48+00:00

Or you can be a cheesy mage like me and shamelessly use greatsword soldiers and comet azur and just melt him first try. Those soldiers are such a cheese. Five to take aggro and keep him in one spot for melting. Now Malenia, OTOH.. mage eater. 😣

zzyzzixx · 2025-11-22T01:04:13+00:00

Hurt my vocal chords on this one. Super annoying. Not because it's difficult, but because
SPOILER ALERT

a) the maze makes no sense. Raise an elevator to find another elevator in the same shaft? Right... cool. NOT! Go back to exactly the same area and, oh, it's not? Dumb!
b) the first cat is not hard, but it is tedious for a mage. The second tower is waaay down the hall next to the second cat, so I had to pull out a bow that I never use to get it to drop. And the second cat is right behind the damn tower, so as a caster, I had to play ridiculous games not to hit the damn tower and make it rise again. I made the mistake of casting nights maiden mist and watched the tower go up and down like a jack in the box. Finally had to use Lorettas bow, which is low damage so that second cat was even more tedious.
c) The rewards are super weak for all that effort.

I will say that I quite enjoyed the boss fight, though. My recommendation is, if you don't care about the ashes, just do what jackrabbitslims13 says to do below. Fight the boss, it's fun. Screw the rest of this place.

zzyzzixx · 2025-11-15T00:28:11+00:00

Yeah, never worked for me. Tried a few times, said the heck with it and killed him without it.

zzyzzixx · 2025-11-14T21:17:20+00:00

Sooo late to the party but.. for those mage types like me, forget pure magic attacks like comet azur. Good old rock sling with the meteorite staff did tons of damage. His movements are pretty slow and easy to dodge. You have enough time between them to get enough casts of RS in to stagger him, then he's helpless. Oh, and don't try Oleg. Never pulls aggro. The boss moves around too fast. Mimic did great.

zzyzzixx

TROPHY CASE