Valley of Defilement
From Wikidsouls
Contents |
5-1
Level Walkthrough
General Tip: Poison and plague are prevalent in this region so you should be well stocked on Royal Lotus and Widow's Lotus or the Cure miracle.
Boss Strategy
Leech Monger
Ranged Strategy: On the highest level of the wooden walkway, there is an area that juts out a little. From here you can stand at the edge, lock on, and fire arrows (or spells) at him without ever getting hit. He will try to throw bunches of leeches at you (Leeches will slow you down), but if you are the top level they won't hit you. Keep hitting him until he dies.
Attacks:
- Melee - Leechmonger has a couple fairly standard melee attacks, most of them being vertical "pound" style attacks. Mostly it'll use either a single attack (move out of the way) or a double ground slap (stand between the two arms). These attacks are less powerful than the club wielding giants you fight on the way here, but will knock you around. There's a lot of forecasting, and the attacks themselves aren't especially fast, making this one of the more melee friendly bosses.
- Leech Spray - ranged "spray" attack with moderate up front damage, plus damage over time. Reduces the effectiveness of healing items moderately. Reduces movement speed. The player can be struck with multiple stacks which will increase the damage taken and healing reduction.
- Regenerating Scabs - Leechmonger grows several scab-like shells that absorb damage and regenerate health. The more scabs active the faster Leechmonger regenerates. Damage to Leechmonger destroys scabs. Grows more scabs below 30% than normal. If Leechmonger cannot attack the player (i.e. they are on the highest platform by the doorway, or are in the tunnel leading to the swamp) it will focus entirely on growing scabs, and the regeneration can easily outpace ranged damage. A no-risk ranged strategy involves finding a spot on the platforms above where Leechmonger will try and attack with Leech Spray, but the leeches will impact the platform before hitting the player. Because it will still try to attack this minimizes the amount of regenerated health and absorbed damage the player will have to deal with.
5-2
Level Walkthrough
General Tips: Poison in particular is prevalent is this stage. You will spend much of your time wading through poisonous water so anything that raises your poison resistance is helpful. Be extra cautious engaging in combat while in the water; it slows you down and you cannot roll in it. Equipping a blessed weapon (use faintstones to upgrade the blessed mace +1 you find in 5-1) or the Adjudicator's Shield will reduce the effect of poison if you equip one or both. Stacking multiple regenerating items such as a +5 blessed weapon, a +5 Adjudicator's shield, and a regenerator's ring can cancel out the poison effect by regenerating more health than it causes you to lose.
For those looking to pass through the level without facing the majority of enemies there are some tricks. Assuming you have not unlocked the short cut already you can drop down into the swamp early in the level and move right to the wooden fence sticking out of the muck. If you wear a thieves ring and follow the fence as close as possible you will be able to reach the first fog with almost no combat needed and even avoid the giant depraved one.
Once past the first fog you should then drop back into the swamp and proceed out into the middle area of the map to your right. Once there point yourself facing straight away from the fence and toward the lights in the distance. If you do this correctly you should pass between every single enemy group in the area and reach another fence on the far side. Follow this one to your left and you will find the second fog. If you hug the fence as close as possible and quickly move into the second fog one Depraved One Shaman should pursue you which you can then pick off once he is separated from other enemies. Other than this one enemy you should be able to pass through this second area totally unopposed. From there proceed as usual through the depraved one "city" but don't forget to follow the walkway at the end if you wish to open the shortcut bridge.
Please remember following the above strategy bypasses almost all loot, requires the use of the thieves ring, and you spend most of your time slogging through the swamp itself so be ready to heal or regen through the poison. Completionists can use this strategy to quickly clear the shortcut and boss and then return to clear up the level in detail later.
Boss Strategy
Dirty Colossus
Dirty Colossus is almost identical to Leechmonger, without the regeneration. Melee attackers can fairly easily circle strafe in melee while avoiding melee attacks, but will be hit by Plague Cloud and should be prepared to duck out of the fight to heal up. Ranged attackers duck in and out from line of sight using the wall by the door as cover from the Plague Cloud attack, or roll-strafe around him out on the dance floor.
Attacks:
- Plague Cloud - a shot of three insect swarms. Moderate up front damage with damage over time. Reduces the effects of healing items. Getting hit by multiple swarms does more damage up front, more damage over time, and reduces healing by more.
- Melee - Standard attack, Strong attack, and sweep attack. Easy to avoid for the most part. Do moderate damage but only the Strong attack is a guard breaker. Some insect swarms will hover around him. These don't impact the mechanics of the fight, but can obscure your view, making it somewhat harder to telegraph attacks.
- Junk Shell - he'll grow hardened plates that absorb a fixed amount of damage.
5-3
Boss Strategy
Maiden Astrea
Attacks:
- Garl Vinland
The Maiden herself will not engage you, she will only heal herself rapidly if you attack her. The real attacker comes in the form of Garl Vinland who is protecting her. He wields an extremely powerful large hammer, Bramd and wears Dark Silver armor which is very strong and protects him from magic damage. Not only will Bramd stagger you, the environment upon which you fight is also of concern. The pathway is narrow and there is a swamp below which will severely limit your mobility as well as inflicting plague. The swamp below consists of the Filthy Ones and they will all surround you and start poking you to death, plus you will catch plague as well down here. It's a nasty place with lot's of treasure though.
One strategy is to use a Fatal dagger and do back stabs while dodging the swings from the hammer. Otherwise, you'll want to use a basic attack and retreat strategy. While Garl's attacks are strong, they are fairly slow and can be interrupted. You can get a barrage of attacks in easily before he can recover, but watch your stamina and leave enough to either block or (with extreme caution) roll so you can get some distance to recover for the next barrage. If you dispatch Garl Vinland you can simply talk to the Maiden and she will just give you the Demon's soul and perish.
It is also possible to snipe Maiden Astrea without fighting Garl Vinland, however, she regenerates very quickly. From the doorway, follow along the ridge to the right (watch for a crystal lizard). At the far end you'll find a cliff overlooking the swamp with a few depraved ones. From here you can snipe Astrea without alerting Garl. You will need a fairly high dexterity and a good bow (Sticky Long bow +5 recommended) to do enough damage to overcome her regeneration. "Hyper mode" (<30% Health + Clever Rat's Ring & Morion Blade in offhand) may help in this situation. After killing Astrea, Garl Vinland will remain. If you stay put and re-load your game, Garl Vinland will disappear, leaving his armor set behind where he was standing.
