_________ __ .__ .__
\_ ___ \_____ _______/ |_| | _______ _______ ____ |__|_____
/ \ \/\__ \ / ___/\ __\ | _/ __ \ \/ /\__ \ / \| |\__ \
\ \____/ __ \_\___ \ | | | |__\ ___/\ / / __ \_| | \ | / __ \_
\______ (____ /____ > |__| |____/ \___ >\_/ (____ /|___| /__|(____ /
\/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/
.____ .___ _____
| | ___________ __| _/______ _____/ ____\
| | / _ \_ __ \/ __ |/ ___/ / _ \ __\
| |___( <_> ) | \/ /_/ |\___ \ ( <_> ) |
|_______ \\____/|__| \____ /____ > \____/|__|
\/ \/ \/
_________.__ .___
/ _____/| |__ _____ __| _/______ _ __
\_____ \ | | \\__ \ / __ |/ _ \ \/ \/ /
/ \| Y \/ __ \_/ /_/ ( <_> ) /
/_______ /|___| (____ /\____ |\____/ \/\_/
\/ \/ \/ \/
___________ .__ .__ ________ .__ .___
\__ ___/_______|__|_____ | | / _____/ __ __|__| __| _/ ____
| | \_ __ \ |\__ \ | | / \ ___| | \ |/ __ |_/ __ \
| | | | \/ | / __ \_| |__ \ \_\ \ | / / /_/ |\ ___/
|____| |__| |__|(____ /|____/ \______ /____/|__\____ | \___ >
\/ \/ \/ \/
Trial Completion Guide
Version 1.2
Written by: Glamador
e-mail: foryouradsonly at gmail dot com
-----------------------------------------------------
\ Welcome /
-------------------------------------------------
Greetings, this is Glamador. This guide is intended to provide the
easiest to perform, surefire strategies to complete each of the trials
for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. LoS is a reboot to the popular
Castlevania franchise. However, its level structure bears similarities
with the original Castlevania title and others in the "Belmont Era".
You will progress through 12 Chapters each with several Sub-Chapters I call
areas. Though, a new addition to the forumula in Lords of Shadow are the
post-completion trials for each stage. These trials range in difficulty
from ludcicrously simple to frustratingly challenging (and sometimes,
downright unfair). It is the goal of this guide to answer any questions
you may have about these trials and help you power your way through them as
painlessly as possible.
-----------------------------------------------------
\ Table of Contents /
-------------------------------------------------
General Info and Tips_________________________[TIPS]
Guide_________________________________________[GDE]
Chapter I:
Area 1___________Besieged Villange____________[CH1.1]
Area 2___________Hunting Path_________________[CH1.2]
Area 3___________The Dead Bog_________________[CH1.3]
Area 4___________Pan's Temple_________________[CH1.4]
Area 5___________Oblivion Lake________________[CH1.5]
Chapter II:
Area 1___________Enchanted Forest_____________[CH2.1]
Area 2___________Underground Caves____________[CH2.2]
Area 3___________Labyrinth Entrance___________[CH2.3]
Area 4___________Waterfalls of Agharta________[CH2.4]
Area 5___________Agharta______________________[CH2.5]
Area 6___________Dark Dungeon_________________[CH2.6]
Area 7___________Sanctuary Entrance___________[CH2.7]
Area 8___________Sanctuary of Titans__________[CH2.8]
Area 9___________The Black Knight_____________[CH2.9]
Chapter III:
Area 1___________The Three Towers_____________[CH3.1]
Area 2______The Dark Lords of the Lycans______[CH3.2]
Chapter IV:
Area 1___________Mountain Fortress____________[CH4.1]
Area 2___________The Crow Witch_______________[CH4.2]
Chapter V:
Area 1___________Veros Woods__________________[CH5.1]
Area 2___________Wygol Village________________[CH5.2]
Area 3___________Abbey Catacombs______________[CH5.3]
Area 4___________Abbey Library________________[CH5.4]
Area 5___________Abbey Tower__________________[CH5.5]
Area 6___________Brauner______________________[CH5.6]
Area 6___________Castle Sewers________________[CH5.6]
Chapter VI:
Area 1___________Castle Courtyard_____________[CH6.1]
Area 2___________Maze Gardens_________________[CH6.2]
Area 3___________Castle Hall__________________[CH6.3]
Area 4___________Refectory____________________[CH6.4]
Chapter VII:
Area 1___________Balcony______________________[CH7.1]
Area 2___________Electric Laboratory__________[CH7.2]
Area 3___________Chromatic Observatory________[CH7.3]
Chapter VIII:
Area 1___________Outer Wall___________________[CH8.1]
Area 2___________The Clockwork Tower__________[CH8.2]
Area 3___________Olrox________________________[CH8.3]
Area 4___________The Throne Room______________[CH8.4]
Chapter IX:
Area 1___________Bones Forest_________________[CH9.1]
Area 2___________Woes Moor____________________[CH9.2]
Area 3___________The Music Box________________[CH9.3]
Chapter X:
Area 1___________Titan Graveyard______________[CH10.1]
Area 2___________Fire Pinnacle________________[CH10.2]
Area 3___________Fire Cemetery________________[CH10.3]
Area 4___________Crematory Oven_______________[CH10.4]
Chapter XI:
Area 1___________Necromancer's Abyss__________[CH11.1]
Area 2___________The Dracolich________________[CH11.2]
Chapter XII:
Area 1___________The Final Fight______________[CH12.1]
Version History_______________________________[HIST]
Credits and Recognitions______________________[CRDT]
Use Ctrl+F to search for the section codes for quick navigation
-----------------------------------------------------
\ General Info and Tips [TIPS] /
-------------------------------------------------
The trials for each area are unlocked by completing the area on any difficulty
and can be completed in any order. Difficulty does not matter for trial
completion. Completing the area on Paladin difficulty is, however, required
for 110% completion rate.
Even though the trial indicator in the upper right of the HUD is still present
on subsequent playthroughs of each area (even for completed trials), it is not
necessary to re-complete the trial. Once successfully completed, the words
"Trial Complete!" will appear on the stage summary after completing the area.
Should you fail to fulfill the trial requirements while the trial is in
progress the words "Trial Failed!" will flash on-screen momentarily. You can
also check trial status by looking for either a green check or a red X in the
upper right of the screen.
In most areas trial progress will be saved at checkpoints. One exception to
this is Trial 5-5 which saves neither objects destroyed nor time remaining,
instead resetting both upon restart. Everywhere else any counters or timers
will reset to the values they were when you first reached the checkpoint.
In general, subweapons will help tremendously in completing trials. For time
based trials your Holy Water will usually knock enemies down, allowing you
time to regroup or stall. Holy Shield (Light Magic Holy Water) will prevent
enemies from interrupting your actions, such as operating mechanisms and
performing grapples on the environment. Fairies will stun most enemies,
notable exceptions being Animated Armor and bosses of all sorts. Even if an
enemy is strong against fairies he might still be distracted by them, even if
he is not "dazed". Additionally, the Dark Crystal subweapon can skip entire
sections of boss fights and reduce an impossible situation to a minor
inconvenience.
Remember, any upgrades or collectables you acquire can be used in any stage
from then on. If a particular trial seems impossible, you might consider
coming back to it after obtaining more health, magic, ammunition for your
subweapons, or after acquiring a new relic.
For a quick refill on Health and Magic, and a free Dark Crystal you can
complete Chapter 10-3 (the 3rd Chupacabras area) as there is a Health Font,
Neutral Magic Font, and Dark Crystal growth easily accessed just before the
end of the stage. An earlier alternative is Chapter 3-1 which has a Dark
Crystal growth just past the first gap crossed with a grip point hidden around
the corner off-screen. Additionally, half of Chapter 3-1 can be skipped if
you already possess the 3 fairies necessary to open the doorway.
-----------------------------------------------------
\ Guide [GDE] /
-------------------------------------------------
Chapter I:
Area 1___________Besieged Villange____________[CH1.1]
Trial: Finish the level,
defeating the Great Warg with at least one surviving villager
Difficulty: 1/10
Strategy:
If you are attempting this trial after obtaining the use of fairies, use them
here. Many large enemies can be distracted by fairies and the Great Warg
cannot harm villagers if he is stunned. Fairies also work on the Lesser
Lycanthropes as well, however they should not pose an immediate danger to the
villagers.
If you do not have access to the fairy subweapon yet, this trial is still
doable. The Silver Dagger subweapon does excellent damage to both the Great
Warg and Lesser Lycans. If you have not obtained any Dagger Upgrades yet,
save them for emergencies (such as when a Lycan is attacking a villager).
This trial is extremely straightforward and should not prove a problem for
most.
Area 2___________Hunting Path_________________[CH1.2]
Trial: Finish the level without being healed by any means
Difficulty: 1/10
Strategy:
You will begin the stage on horseback. You can accelerate your progress
through the area by letting yourself fall off your mount. However, if you do
this you will have extremely low health when you begin combat. If you survive
to the end of the path, then various difficulties will force you to fight
anyway. Once in battle, again, Fairies and Daggers make Lycans and Wargs a
cakewalk. Do not waste your fairies on the Lesser Lycans.
[[WARNING]] Picking up the Life Gem, using the Health Font, or attacking with
Light Magic active and less than full health will all void the trial.
Do not use them.
Area 3___________The Dead Bog_________________[CH1.3]
Trial: Finish the level after killing at least 50 Goblins
Difficulty: 2/10
Strategy:
At one point in the area you will encounter a tree which requires 2 Goblin
bombs to fell. Goblins will spawn infinitely until you fell the tree. Do not
use any bombs until the counter in the upper right corner of the screen
reaches 50 or more. If you are having trouble staying alive amongst the
Goblin onslaught use the grapple (R2/RT) and hold the left thumbstick in any
direction as you perform the Ring Quick Time Event (Ring QTE from here on).
This will cause Gabriel to light a Bomb on the Goblin's belt. These bombs
will kill the Goblin and will not fell the tree. Continue to do this until 50
are exploderated or otherwise slain.
Area 4___________Pan's Temple_________________[CH1.4]
Trial: Finish the Level after beating Pan's Trial in 5 movements
Difficulty: 0/10
Strategy:
If you picked up the solution scroll for this puzzle it actually provides you
with a 5-step solution. This trial isn't even a trial. But I'll provide the
solution here as well. Outer Ring Clockwise Twice, Inner Ring Clockwise
Twice, Middle Ring Clockwise once.
Area 5___________Oblivion Lake________________[CH1.5]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat the Ice Titan in less than 1:30 minutes
Difficulty: 8/10
Strategy:
[[Warning]] This trial is impossible without access to the Dark Crystal
subweapon. Do not attempt it until you have access to the Crystal.
And make sure you have one, obviously. If you fail the trial but still defeat
the titan then you will no longer have a full Crystal on your next attempt.
You must restart from world map if you want to keep your Crystal.
Begin by approaching the titan and activating your Crystal. This will cause
all of the Titan's magic seals to require only one attack to break. From here
it is all about memorization and practice. When the Titan punches the ground,
try to land as close to the fist as possible while jumping to avoid the
attack. Scale the Titan as quickly as you can, using the X/A button to move
more quickly to the side. I personally finished this Trial with 3 seconds to
spare, so don't expect the game to give you much leeway if any. You must be
nearly perfect with your movements to complete this trial.
Chapter II:
Area 1___________Enchanted Forest_____________[CH2.1]
Trial: Finish the level after killing 30 Goblins with their own grenades
Difficulty: 2/10
Strategy:
Halfway through the level you will encounter a door which requires Goblin
bombs to open. As in Chapter 1-3 the Goblins will spawn infinitely until you
blow open the door. Using the same strategy outlined above, perform a grapple
attack on a Goblin and hold a direction on the left thumbstick while you
perform the Ring QTE. Repeat this 30 times, each grapple kills 1 Goblin.
Area 2___________Underground Caves____________[CH2.2]
Trial: Finish the level after killing at least 10 enemies
while poisoned by Spider Venom
Difficulty: 6/10
Strategy 1:
There are 2 ways to go about this. The first is the way the game intended for
you to do it. There are 2 spiders and 8 Lesser Lycans very early in the area.
You will face the first Giant Spider alone. This is good practice for later.
Block or run in front of the first Spider until it performs its unblockable
grapple attack. Do not struggle and allow the attack to go through, this will
poison you. While poisoned, be sure to kill the Spider. This counts as Kill
#1. It can take quite a while for the Spider to poison you. This is very
annoying. Proceed forward in the area until you encounter the second Spider
and the Lycans. Once again allow the Spider to grapple and poison you. Now,
kill the Lycans with either your Whip or Silver Daggers. If you run out of
Silver Daggers, there might be more in the breakable objects around the area.
After you have successfully killed the 8 Lycans while poisoned, kill the
Spider as well (also while poisoned). That's 10.
Strategy 2:
Proceed to the second Spider, killing the first any way you wish. Engage
the second Spider and use the same technique of allowing yourself to be
grappled from strategy 1. Once poisoned, kill the Lycans using your Silver
Daggers. Afterwards, DO NOT KILL THE SPIDER. Cross the gap through the
tunnel on the left. This will trigger an auto-save. Restart from your last
checkpoint via the menu (or suicide) and backtrack to the second Spider and
Lycans. Repeat the same process. If you are still missing kills, use a
different corridor and trigger another save. Repeat as necessary.
Area 3___________Labyrinth Entrance___________[CH2.3]
Trial: Finish the level after killing at least 5 Warthogs
Difficulty: 4/10
Strategy:
I really can't stress enough the many benefits of the fairy subweapon.
USE IT. In the very first section of this area you will be required to mount
a Warthog and use it to break down a reinforced door. Simply kill the Warthog
before breaking the door. Another one will continue to spawn until you do.
Fairies will allow you to very nearly kill the Warthog without fear of
retaliation.
Area 4___________Waterfalls of Agharta________[CH2.4]
Trial: Finish the level after killing at least 20 Small Trolls
while you are mounted on a big Troll
Difficulty: 3/10
Strategy:
Proceed in the area until you encounter your first ever Cave Troll. I know
you've already killed this guy once, since you had to complete the level to
unlock the trial. Just attack and mount him as normal. However, once
mounted, do not break the rock blocking your path. Instead, stay FAR AWAY
from it and continuously kill the small trolls until 20 fall by your mount's
gargantuan fists. Proceed as usual. Mind you, mounting the Cave Troll at all
on Paladin is seriously difficult. Damned little trolls...damn them all.
Area 5___________Agharta______________________[CH2.5]
Trial: Finish the level without using Shadow Magic enery
Difficulty: 2/10
Strategy:
Don't activate Shadow Magic! Keep your finger off R1/RB.
Seriously, no touchy. It's really as simple as that. If the Wargs give you
trouble, just distract them with Fairies. Kill or Mount them as you wish and
avoid going red with rage. You can still heal with Light Magic so really this
shouldn't be that hard.
Area 6___________Dark Dungeon_________________[CH2.6]
Trial: Finish the level without using a grip attack against a single Gremlin
Difficulty: 2/10 (Squire) 9/10 (Paladin)
Strategy:
Just don't _successfully_ use any grapple attacks against Gremlins. There are
2 areas where this might prove difficult. You can accidentally grab a Gremlin
while trying to mount the downed Giant Spider. If this happens, just let them
escape. You won't fail the trial as long as you don't succeed in your Ring
QTE. The other tough area is the last one with the HORDE of Gremlins. On
Knight+ these little buggers can _really_ hurt. Use Silver Daggers or Holy
Water vials instead. If you are dead set on doing this on Paladin (I was) the
Triangle -> X, X combo with Light Magic active is extemely useful. Holy Water
will also kill them instantly. Thankfully there is a checkpoint immediately
before this with a handy Neutral Magic Font nearby.
Area 7___________Sanctuary Entrance___________[CH2.7]
Trial: Finish the level after absorbing
20 Neutral Elemental Orbs simultaneously
Difficulty: 5/10
Strategy 1:
I did this trial in the area with the Brotherhood Ark behind a gate. There
are a limited number of Lycans that will spawn at once, so you need to work
efficiently. Do not perform strong combos against them, instead perform a
Synchonized Guard by pressing L2/LT just before an attack hits you. This will
build up focus without harming the enemy. Afterwards try and back as many as
you can into a corner and use Triangle/Y attacks to hit all of them at once.
One full area combo should net you enough orbs. Myself, I got 23 this way.
Strategy 2:
For the more confident players, you can instead opt to do this trial while
facing the 3 Greater Lycanthropes further through the area. They are faster,
stronger, and more aggressive than the Lesser Lycans. They also have more
health. This means you can build Focus more quickly and generate more orbs
per attack. However, the arena is larger and the enemies more difficult to
avoid. You may have difficulty getting 20 obs to appear within range of one
another.
Area 8___________Sanctuary of Titans__________[CH2.8]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat the Stone Idol Titan in less than 2 minutes
Difficulty: 8/10
Strategy:
Refer to the strategy for the Ice Titan in Chaper 1-5. Use your Dark Crystal
to weaken the Titan's seals and proceed as normal to scale the behemoth.
These time trials are some of the most difficult in the game as they require
you to be very nearly perfect in their execution. Remember to use X/A to move
more quickly across the Titan's horizontal sections. Good luck.
[[Warning]] As with the Ice Titan, if you wish to preserve your Dark Crystal
you must restart from world map when re-attempting the trial. If you complete
the area then your Crystal will be spent.
Area 9___________The Black Knight_____________[CH2.9]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat the Black Knight Golem
without using Light Magic energy
Difficulty: 3/10
Strategy:
If you have a Dark Crystal handy you can use it to shorten the fight somewhat.
The Black Knight has several attacks: A counter-able slash attack, an
unblockable slash attack, a fire wave which travels across the ground, a
ground pound, and later he will summon a black ooze which can trap you. Avoid
his attacks and use any attack that hits the ground to dispatch the black
ooze. The Direct Heavy combo is very good for this, as is the upgraded Chain
Barrier combo. However, any ground attack will work. The ooze does not have
much health and you can attak the Black Knight as he is summoning it to both
dispatch the ooze and damage the Golem.
Chapter III:
Area 1___________The Three Towers_____________[CH3.1]
Trial: Finish the level after killing 15 enemies
whilst they are dazed by fairies
Difficulty: 2/10
Strategy:
Use any fairies you have to stun the Lesser Lycans in the first section of the
area before crossing the gap using the statue. [[Warning]] It only counts as
a fairy-dazed-kill if the fairy is no longer flying around the enemy but he
has green sparkles shimmering around his head. He must be "dazed" not
distracted. After you cross some gaps you will encounter your first helpful
fairies. They will act just like your subweapon and daze the Lycans endlessly.
Be sure not to kill any Lycans that are not in the dazed state until you have
15 kills. If you miss some kills, either restart the stage/checkpoint or
proceed in the area and acquire more fairies to use on enemies later.
Overall, not difficult.
Area 2______The Dark Lords of the Lycans______[CH3.2]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat the Dark Lord
without using Light Magic energy
Difficulty: 7/10
Strategy:
You cannot heal in this fight (rather, not conventionally). So don't get hit.
You should know Cornell's moves since you've beaten him at least once already.
The easiest way to avoid damage is to constantly circle Cornell and only get
in quick jabs while he is recovering from his attacks. This is a slow method,
but it will get you through his 1st form. Once Cornell transforms into a
beast you will get a checkpoint. What this means is, playing on <Paladin you
will get free health if you die (up to 50%). So don't worry about finishing
the 1st stage of the battle with low health.
For Cornell's beast form, run away until he uses his charge attack (it is very
obvious when he does this). Then, activate your shadow magic (I hope you
still have some) and pelt him with Exploding Daggers until he recovers or you
run out. Even on Paladin these do tremendous damage to him and should make
the fight go much more quickly. Alternatively, you could save your Shadow
Magic for destroying the pillars in stage 3 of the fight. I didn't feel this
was necessary.
Chapter IV:
Area 1___________Mountain Fortress____________[CH4.1]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat the Ogre without being hit by his attacks
Difficulty: 8/10
Strategy:
DON'T GET HIT. Easier said than done right? To complete this trial you
cannot be hit by _any_ of the Ogre's attacks. That includes his grab when you
are fighting his hand alone. The one saving grace of this challenge is the
frequent checkpoints. You will get a checkpoint after each QTE event in the
battle. That means one after his hand and once after each eye. I will admit
that I cannot effectively dodge his hand alone. When his hand is searching
for you you can quickly attack it to make it retreat, but I find this rarely
works. Instead, use Ultimate Shadow (if you have it) or a Dark Crystal to
proceed to the next stage of the fight before he can grab you. Facing the
Ogre proper, upper body and all, this becomes a trial of patience. Use your
fancy new boots to dash away from his attacks. The timing for this requires
practice. Thankfully, if he hits you, you can just restart from your last
checkpoint. Perfect practice makes perfect. You can use the Neutral Magic
Font nearby to replenish your Shadow Magic energy and make the fight go more
quickly. Also, try to stay as close to the camera as possible when avoiding
the Ogre's attacks, as you can be tagged by his forearm if you are too close.
Area 2___________The Crow Witch_______________[CH4.2]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat the Malphas
without killing more than 2 of her children
Difficulty: 10/10 (Strategy 1) 7/10 (Strategy 2)
Strategy:
Soo-ee this is a toughie. Hardest in the game, in my honest opinion. I raged
so hard at this trial I nearly broke my own arm. To be fair, the trial itself
is actually very simple. Do not let more than 1 egg hit the platform per
round. This requires you to catch and throw at minimum 2 eggs in the first
volley. This is harder than it sounds because after you return the 1st egg a
cutscene will zoom in on Malphas obscuring the other 2 eggs from view, making
it very difficult to catch another egg. The trick here is, either learn the
timing well enough to grab an egg while the cutscene plays, or else time it so
you can nab the 2nd egg before the cutscene starts (this is how I managed it).
You can actually grab the eggs a split second before they begin to flash
yellow. Grab the first egg in this manner and you should have (just barely)
enough time
to grab the 2nd before the cutscene begins. If you succeed in this monumental
feat then Malphas will most likely throw a 4th egg afterwards. However, this
egg will not be the focus of the camera any longer and you must time yourself
to grab it from off-screen. Thankfully, there is no cutscene slowdown to
screw with your timing on this one.
If done properly you should have only 1 child to deal with on the platform.
Dispatch it quickly, distracting it with fairies if needed. Now, you need
only catch 1 egg during Malphas' 2nd volley. This will initiate a grapple
sequence and some Ring QTEs. Quickly attack Malphas while she is downed. You
don't have long so use something powerful like Ultimate Shadow. Afterwards,
if you have followed this guide so far, there will only be 1 child remaining
on the platform after Malphas flies away to lick her wounds. Kill it quickly
and return 1 more egg to Malphas. This should initiate the 2nd grapple
sequence. Once again, hit the downed Malphas with everything you have and
hope to the gods that it is enough to kill her, because you don't have the
luxury of any more volleys. Use Ultimate Shadow if you have it, I can
guarantee this will kill her and net you the trial on Paladin difficulty.
Congratulations. Was it worth all the pain?
Alternate Strategy from Aku Yurei:
Return as many eggs as you can without straining yourself. Then, just ignore
the children altogether. Malphas is momentarily vulnerable while attacking
you with swarms of crows. Dodge the attack and immediately follow-up with an
aerial attack of your own. This method is slow, but is guaranteed to bring
her down for a grapple without needing to attack the children at all. After
the first grapple sequence you may kill the remaining child without fear and
proceed as normal to finish off the Witch. I recommend using this strategy as
it will save you a lot of grief even on Paladin. However, for best results,
perform this strategy on a lower difficulty as the children do ferocious
damage on higher ones.
Chapter V:
Area 1___________Veros Woods__________________[CH5.1]
Trial: Finish the level, recovering your relics from the Chupacabras
in less than 3 minutes since stolen.
Difficulty: 3/10
Strategy:
The only difficulty in completing this trial is in mounting the Warthog
quickly. Use your Fairy subweapon to distract it (but be sure to save one for
the Chupa). Otherwise, simply follow the only path you can through the level
and remember to make sure the cutscene showing the Chupa playing with your
fairy initiates before you attempt to jump the gap to the Chupa's hiding spot,
or else he will still knock you off.
Area 2___________Wygol Village________________[CH5.2]
Trial: Finish the level without allowing Zobek to kill a single ghoul
Difficulty: 1/10
Strategy:
Any time you see Zobek attacking a Ghoul, rush over and knock it away. Kill
it yourself, rinse, repeat. I was honestly unaware Zobek _could_ kill
anything. This area is blissfully short and if Zobek manages to not suck for
2 seconds, just reset. Just be sure not to use Holy Water vials as they will
leave Ghouls 1-hit from death.
Area 3___________Abbey Catacombs______________[CH5.3]
Trial: Finish the level without allowing Zobek to fall in combat a single time
Difficulty: 1/10
Strategy:
Yet again, were it not for this trial I would not have known Zobek _could_ die
in battle. Even on Paladin I was able to kill all the enemies before Zobek
could so much as blink. If you're having serious trouble with this (what's
wrong with you?) just turn down the difficulty. The only time Zobek is alone
is in the very beginning when you are briefly on the other side of a gate.
Open it quickly and reunite with Zobek.
Area 4___________Abbey Library________________[CH5.4]
Trial: Finish the level and beat the mirror and lights puzzle
in less than 2:30 minutes
Difficulty: 5/10
Strategy:
Move quickly, aim quickly, charge quickly, and don't. fight. anything. This
is another annoying time trial. Move as quickly as you can, using your Dash
whenever able, and be sure not to miss with any of your Gauntlet attacks. Do
a dry run first and memorize the positions of the mirror statues before
attempting this trial. You get a checkpoint after the 2nd door (respawn at
the top of the stairs). Use this to your advantage by clearing those first 2
doors in <1 minute and locking that time in place. If you have ~1:30
remaining at this checkpoint you should be fine. The biggest concern is
making sure to kill all the Gremlins using Holy Shield (Light Magic Holy
Water) and don't engage the animated armor. Just adjust your mirrors and run.
You should get the 2nd to last mirror in place before you break down the wall
to the last mirror or else you will need to run and waste time.
If you can't remember where the mirrors go or else can't understand the above
strategy, consult this YouTube video uploaded by MasterLL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8-5FZ05R7k
Area 5___________Abbey Tower__________________[CH5.5]
Trial: Finish the level after finding and destroying 100 breakable objects
before the allotted time runs out
Difficulty: 6/10
Strategy:
This is another really tough trial even when you know what you're doing. You
are tasked with destroying 100 breakable objects before time runs out. You
start with 20 seconds on the clock, plus an additional 1 second for every
object you destroy. There are barely more than 100 breakable objects before
the climbing sequence for you to break, so supplies are limited. This trial
is all about destroying objects quickly and there are a couple tips for doing
this. Use your basic combo, it's fast and hits multiple targets in front of
you. Also, use the Sprint Thrust combo to destroy many objects at once. Use
Holy Shield (Light Magic Holy Water) to prevent enemies from interrupting
your attacks.
The path you should take through the level is as follows:
Turn left immediately out of the opening hallway, destroy the 3 objects there.
Double back to the right and break 17 more for a total of 20.
Hop through the first arch a little ways further and proceed through the
corridor destroying a total of 61 objects minimum.
Hop through the arch on the left at the end of this corridor and destroy 4
more objects (a cart, a box, some barrels) for a total of 65 minimum.
Use Holy Shield to protect yourself from attack and pull down the bridge
across the gap ahead. Destroy a minimum total 89 (91 if you attack through
the gate) objects before activating the gate mechanism. You should just
barely have enough to break 100 before time runs out.
You cannot die or restart during any of this or it will reset the object
counter. Should this happen, restart from the World Map.
Credit to Master LL for developing this route.
If you are having trouble, consult this YouTube video uploaded by MasterLL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9hmOoV1t2U
A tip from CassyChan: You can skip the gate entirely with the Seraph Shoulders
by double jumping to the top of the stairs on the right.
This saves perhaps 10 seconds, dropping the difficulty
of this challenging trial considerably.
A tip from Hapkido: You can use Ultimate Light in the section before the gate
to destroy many of the objects extremely quickly.
Area 6___________Brauner______________________[CH5.6]
Trial: Finish the level after attacking the Elite Vampire 4 consecutive times
with his own blade
Difficulty: 5/10
Strategy:
During your fight with Brauner he will occasionally attack you by throwing his
bladed weapon. When he does this, press R2/RT just before it hits you to grab
it and throw it back at Brauner. The timing is not difficult, however, you
must grab the blade 4 times in a row. It is worth mentioning that in this
trial "consecutive" means you cannot attack Brauner AT ALL between catches.
You don't get any checkpoints for this trial beyond the one before Brauner so
no exploiting saves...you must kill Brauner after returning the 4th blade
attack or else you will have to start all over again.
Thanks to Hapkido for pointing out the tricky wording on "consecutive".
Area 6___________Castle Sewers________________[CH5.6]
Trial: Finish the level after killing 3 Skeleton Warriors
without destroying their shields
Difficulty: 4/10
Strategy:
There are only 3 skeletons to fight in this area so you'll have to kill all
three without breaking their shields. This is not terribly difficult and
there are a myriad means of doing so. Fairies will distract them giving you
some free hits, Holy Water does excellent damage as well, and they are
vulnerable to Gauntlet attacks. You can use Holy Water, Direct Heavy Combo,
Area Heavy Combo, and Ultimate Light to scatter their bones when they are down
as well, to avoid fighting them a second time. Or, if you have one handy, you
a Dark Crystal will kill all 3 without breaking their shields with the added
bonus of scattering their remains instantly.
Chapter VI:
Area 1___________Castle Courtyard_____________[CH6.1]
Trial: Finish the level and kill 3 Skeleton Warriors
while you are mounted on a Warg
Difficulty: 4/10
Strategy:
After killing the Animated Armors and dropping into the dungeon below you will
encounter 2 Skeleton Warriors which you must avoid killing before the Vampires
release a Warg from the cages. Distract the Warg with Fairies and mount it
without killing the Skeleton Warriors in the process. Once mounted, use the
Warg's Triangle/Y attack to defeat the 2 Skeletons, wait a moment for a 3rd to
spawn, and kill that one as well. Easy as pie right?
Area 2___________Maze Gardens_________________[CH6.2]
Trial: Finish the level after defeating 15 Mandragoras in less than 15 seconds
Difficulty: 3/10
Strategy:
This one is a little bit based on luck. The difficulty isn't in killing the
Mandragoras but rather, getting them all in one spot. Once a sufficient
number have spawned near you, toss a few Holy Waters as they can kill many of
them at once. I suggest having at least 5 Waters on hand before attempting
this trial. Luckily, you can restart from your last checkpoint and try this
as many times as is necessary. Just be patient.
Alternate Strategy from SBAllen:
Gather 10 Mandragora and use a Dark Crystal to kill them all at once. The
timer will not being counting down until after the Crystal kills the first
wave of Mandragora. This leaves you with a full 15 seconds to locate the 5 or
so remaining.
Area 3___________Castle Hall__________________[CH6.3]
Trial: Finish the level and win the Vampire Wargame
without losing more than 3 pieces
Difficulty: Varies
Strategy:
You need to be a bit lucky for this one. It's another where practice eases
things along. But here are a few strategies that may help. Always focus on 1
type of opposing piece at once. If there are no Werewolves available then
that player wastes a turn if the wheel lands on Werewolf. Always be aware of
the health of your pieces by holding L2/LT and be aware of your opponent's
range. Necromancers can attack from 2 spaces away in any direction (even
diagonals). Good luck!
Area 4___________Refectory____________________[CH6.4]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat the Evil Butcher after he uses
at least 15 objects in the kitchen
Difficulty: 2/10 (Squire) 7/10 (Paladin)
Strategy:
This is an endurance match. You just have to last long enough against the
Butcher for him to use 15 objects. I suggest doing this trial on Squire
difficulty as it will make it near impossible for you to lose. Just dodge and
wait him out. But whatever you do to pass the time, don't whittle his health
down low enough that he dons his "helm" as he will stop using kitchenware once
this happens.
Chapter VII:
Area 1___________Balcony______________________[CH7.1]
Trial: Finish the level after beating the logic gates puzzle in 7 movements
Difficulty: 0/10
Strategy:
Another one! The game _gives_ you the solution in a scroll! However I will
provide the solution here once again: Left, Middle x5, Right
Area 2___________Electric Laboratory__________[CH7.2]
Trial: Finish the level and deactivate the Mechanical Monstrosity using only
the tesla coil in the lab after it is activated
Difficulty: 8/10
Strategy:
This is another one of the more infuriating trials in the game. This is due
to a number of reasons. First, you have no means of keeping the Monstrosity
in one place whatsoever, so you will miss with your shots, a lot. Each time
this happens you must wait for the switch to re-activate before trying again.
Also, you have no checkpoints during this fight, so you'll have to do it all
in one go. Thankfully, it only takes 3 shots to down the creature. Start off
by getting as much health as you can. Dodge roll like a monkey in a circle
around the Monster and attack whenever you can. Once he is sufficiently
damaged he will activate the tesla coil. This is your only opportunity for a
free hit, take it. Next, use your Seraph Shoulders to double jump over him
towards the tesla platform. Wait for him to follow you there and double jump
followed by a quick roll back towards the button. If you're lucky, you can
hit the button before it has a chance to turn and follow. If you're not,
rinse and repeat. Again, you must zap him a total of 3 times.
Area 3___________Chromatic Observatory________[CH7.3]
Trial: Finish the level, destroying 10 Deadly Toys using normal hits
before completely killing any of them with a grip
Difficulty: 2/10 (Squire) 10/10 (Paladin)
Strategy:
On higher difficulties these toys HURT. Despite the trial description you are
allowed to kill the Toys by any means _other_ than a grapple. This means
Crystals, Holy Water, Light and Shadow Magic, and Daggers. You just can't
grapple them. This is another test of endurance. You will be fighting all 3
Toys the entire time so the screen can get a bit crowded with attacks. I
suggest turning down the difficulty for this one as I found it nearly
impossible on Paladin. There's nothing complicated about this trial, just
kill Toys. So if you're skilled enough feel free to ramp up the masochism if
you wish. Remember, the toys will re-spawn infintely until you kill all 3
with a grapple attack. That means you'll be killing a total of 13 toys to
complete this trial.
Chapter VIII:
Area 1___________Outer Wall___________________[CH8.1]
Trial: Finish the level after killing 10 Gremlins using
only your Silver Daggers
Difficulty: 2/10
Strategy:
There are exactly 10 Gremlins in this area. They all spawn on the platform in
the middle of the 2 enormous chains you must cross to reach the castle. You
must kill all of them using Silver Daggers. I suggest not attempting this
until you have acquired some Dagger Upgrades as you have no guarantee the
Gremlins will drop more Daggers for you to use against them. Exploding
Daggers count as well. There is an ample supply of Shadow Magic from the
previous area's Neutral Magic Font so you shouldn't run out. If you
accidentally kill one with something else, restart.
Area 2___________The Clockwork Tower__________[CH8.2]
Trial: Finish the level and get to the top corridor in less than 5 minutes
Difficulty: 7/10
Strategy:
[[Warning]] Do not attempt this trial without at least Ultimate Shadow or
Ultimate Light and/or a Dark Crystal. You must fight the Mechanical
Monstrosity on a timer.
This is the most forgiving time trial in the bunch. I finished with 47
seconds to spare. There are 2 checkpoints in this area, once after you raise
the platform for the first time, and again when you reach the Mechanical
Monstrosity part deux. If you have the Seraph Wings then use them. If you
are skilled in their use you can leap across many gaps including the balance
beams. The only thing that should catch you up are the electrified climbing
sections. Watch the timing of the electricity and be certain in your footing.
Both of these sections come after the first checkpoint, so if you have 3:30 to
4:00 left at that checkpoint you should have no trouble finishing with time to
spare. There is a Neutral Magic Font just before the second electrified
climbing section so fill up. Use both Ultimate Shadow and Light to down the
Mechanical Monstrosity as quickly as you possibly can. Done correctly, this
shouldn't take more than 30 seconds giving you plenty of time to raise the
platform. Good Luck!
Area 3___________Olrox________________________[CH8.3]
Trial: Finish the level after keeping the focus meter
at its maximum value for 60 seconds
Difficulty: 6/10
Strategy:
There is no strategy for this. Don't get hit for 60 seconds. But here are
some tips that are helpful. One full counter-attack combo will get you a full
focus bar. You can also use Improved Guillotine to build Focus very quickly.
Holy Water will knock Olrox down, use this to get some breathing room. The
focus meter will begin to drain after 8 seconds so you must hit Olrox at least
once every 8 seconds to keep it at maximum. Do not attempt to block once you
have focus, only dodge. If you can manage to get a full focus meter before
Olrox begins to heal from a Lycan the ensuing cutscene will keep the timer
going without fear of being hit. You need only survive to the next checkpoint
after completing the trial. If you die you must start over.
Area 4___________The Throne Room______________[CH8.4]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat the Dark Lord after she kills
at least 10 of her own Vampire Warriors
Difficulty: 2/10
Strategy:
This trial is done in the very first stage of the fight where Carmilla attacks
you with lightning. Run in a large circle in either direction and wait for
Carmilla to attack. It is very likely she will kill at least 1 Vampire with
every attack. If she is consistently missing them, stun one with the Fairy
subweapon and position yourself between Carmilla and the victim. This
requires some timing, but simplifies the trial considerably when the number of
Vampires dwindles. Only 10 Vampires spawn so DO NOT kill them yourself.
Chapter IX:
Area 1___________Bones Forest_________________[CH9.1]
Trial: Finish the level after killing 10 Headless Corpses,
without being grabbed by them a single time
Difficulty: 2/10
Strategy:
Use Ultimate Light or Holy Water to kill the heads and put the zombies into
stunned status simultaneously. There are a limited number of Headless Corpses
in the area so be sure to do a running leap across the large gap past the
first group to find more. I found 12 total. If you proceed in the level
instead of leaping over immediately you can nab a checkpoint just before the
Cave Troll. This gives you some forgiveness should you accidentally be
grabbed.
Area 2___________Woes Moor____________________[CH9.2]
Trial: Finish the level and get the three keys,
scaring the crows only 13 times
Difficulty: 0/10
Strategy:
Yet another "do puzzle X in Y moves" trial. I feel like these were just
lazy...The solution is simple. Scare the 1st flock 4 times, followed by the
2nd flock 5 times, then after the 2nd Scarecrow battle scare the 2nd flock
twice more followed by the 3rd flock the final 2 times.
Area 3___________The Music Box________________[CH9.3]
Trial: Finish the level and get the blue rose without falling
in any of the Music Box traps
Difficulty: 3/10
Strategy:
The strategy here is no different than completing the area normally. Just you
must do it perfectly. There is no need to get any gems while attempting this
trial. Make a beeline straight for the rose. To avoid the spike and flame
hallways just charge a Shoulder Charge and wait for the right timing. Walk
with staggered steps to avoid the electric hallway and dodge roll under the
spinning blades. If you anticipate failing many times you can pre-arrange the
music reels as follows: Red, Yellow, Purple, Green
This way, after inserting the Blue Reel you will only need swap Blue and Yellow
to be in the correct sequence for the final stretch.
Chapter X:
Area 1___________Titan Graveyard______________[CH10.1]
Trial: Finish the level after receiving at least 100 points of
poison damage from the deadly mist
Difficulty: 1/10
Strategy:
Try to begin the area with full health. Dip a toe into the poison mist as
close to land as you can. Wait until the counter in the upper right hits 100
and then step out. There are many enemies from which to recover health in
this stage with several checkpoints. If you did not start with full health,
recover from enemies and retreat. You shouldn't have a problem with this one.
Area 2___________Fire Pinnacle________________[CH10.2]
Trial: Finish the level without allowing Pan to recover
any health during the fight
Difficulty: 3/10
Strategy:
All but one of Pan's attacks can be countered. If you perform a Synchronized
Guard followed by 3-4 attacks then guard again you should be able to keep Pan
in an infinite loop of counter-attacks from which he cannot drain health. Pan
will only gain health if he attacks you with an opposing element. Solve this
by never attacking with magic. Just stay Neutral the whole time.
Area 3___________Fire Cemetery________________[CH10.3]
Trial: Finish the level after killing 20 Zombies in a single aerial sequence
Difficulty: 2/10
Strategy:
Just before the end of the stage there are many dozens of Zombies that spawn.
Get full Shadow Magic energy from the Neutral Magic Font by the door. Gather
up as many Zombies as you can and perform a Triangle/Y, X/A, Hold Triangle/Y
combo. Do not perform Triangle/Y, X/A, X/A as this is not guaranteed to kill
all the Zombies in range. Just activate Shadow Magic and don't double jump.
The Zombie spawns are a little bit random so this might take a few tries.
Alternate Strategy from Chris Bolts:
Stand close to the doorway to create a bottleneck for the zombies, allowing
greater zombie density and increasing the likelihood of getting 20 in range of
your attacks at once. From here, perform the Triangle/Y, X/A, X/A combo
followed by the Avalanche Punch (L2/LT + Triangle/Y in midair). Use basic
Square/X swings to keep yourself in midair and perform another Avalanche Punch
until you have 20 kills. So long as you do not touch the ground it counts as
a single "aerial sequence".
Area 4___________Crematory Oven_______________[CH10.4]
Trial: Finish the level and kill at least 15 summoned Creeping Corpses
during the fight against the Gravedigger
Difficulty: 4/10
Strategy:
This is yet another endurance trial. Stay alive against the Gravedigger long
enough for him to summon 15 Creeping Corpses. Holy Water or Holy Shield will
kill them in 1 hit and they are likely to drop more Holy Water as well. The
Gravedigger has 4 attacks: Shovel swing, unblockable shovel swing, fire wave,
ground pound, face tentacles and summon Creeping Corpses. All but the ground
pound can be dodged by rolling. Jump to avoid the ground pound. You must
defeat the Gravedigger once you complete the trial or you must start over
again.
Chapter XI:
Area 1___________Necromancer's Abyss__________[CH11.1]
Trial: Finish the level after destroying 60 Reapers
Difficulty: 5/10
Strategy:
You can encounter a maximum 56 Reapers before facing the 2nd Necromancer.
Three of the Reapers are out of the way and more are missable. To locate the
3 hidden Reapers take the left Mirror Portal after the 1st Necromancer fight
and head right. Use the portal but miss the grapple point, landing on a small
platform. There are the 3 Reapers. If you kill every other Reaper you come
across you should have 56. The 2nd Necromancer summons a maximum of 10 more
Reapers. Use these to fill out your quota.
[[Warning]] When activating the punch switch in the room full of Reapers, do
not activate the switch until _after_ the Reapers are dead. No more Reapers
will spawn after the switch is activated, ruining the trial.
Area 2___________The Dracolich________________[CH11.2]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat the Dracolich in less than 5 minutes
Difficultly: 8/10
Strategy:
_Another_ Titan time trial...*sigh*. You know the drill by now. Dark
Crystal, perfect movement. Something you may not know however, you can use
X/A to move more quickly even on the flat sections of the Dracolich. In
short, mash X/A for the entire battle, it will speed things up tremendously.
Additionally, the timer does not stop for the cutscene after you destroy the
seal on Dracolich's underbelly. You should have 1:20-1:30 left when you
destroy the underbelly seal to compensate for this. As before, you must
restart from World Map to preserve your Crystal.
Chapter XII:
Area 1___________The Final Fight______________[CH12.1]
Trial: Finish the level and defeat Satan without being hit
by any attack with the opposite magic color
Difficultly: 6/10
Strategy:
The simple solution? Don't use magic at all. The only times you are required
to use magic in this fight is to escape Satan's holding seals (swap to the same
color magic as the seal). It is dangerous to use magic at _all_ during this
fight because any attacks made by Satan, including his meteor storm and ground
pound, count as a magic element attack for the purposes of the trial. If the
fight is going on too long, spam Ultimate Light and Ultimate Shadow for some
quick damage. Just be careful to shut off your magic afterwards to avoid
being hit by a stray attack.
-----------------------------------------------------
\ Version History [HIST] /
-------------------------------------------------
Version 1.0 - Wrote Guide.
Version 1.1 - Added General Info & Tips section, video examples by Master LL,
Alternate strategy for 10-3 by Chris Bolts, Updated entries
Version 1.2 - Updated strategies for Areas 4-2, 5-5, 10-3, 7-3, and 6-2, added
Dark Crystal locations
-----------------------------------------------------
\ Credits and Recognitions [CRDT] /
-------------------------------------------------
All trial descriptions are courtesy of Konami and the Lords of Shadow Dev Team
YouTube examples for Chapters 5-4 and 5-5 and the route for Trial 5-5
courtesy of Master LL
Alternate strategy for Chapter 10-3 provided by Chris Bolts
Gate skip tip for Chapter 5-5 provided by CassyChan
Ultimate Light tip for Chapter 5-5 provided by Hapkido
Quick Dark Crystal acquisition from Chapter 10-3 and alternate strategy for
Chapter 6-2 provided by SBAllen
Alternate strategy for Chapter 4-2 provided by Aku Yurei
Guide written and strategies developed by me, Glamador
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