=========== =========== ===== ==== ===== ===== ==== � � � � � \ � � � � � \ � � � � � � � \� � � � � \� � � .------ � ----- � � . � � � � � . � � � � � � � � � �\ � � � � �\ � � � � � � � � � \ � � ^ � � � \ � � � � � � � � � \ � � � � � � � \ � � .------ � ----- � � � \ � � � � � � � \ � � � � � � � \ � � � � � � � \ � � � � � � � \� � � � � � � \� =========== =========== === . ==== ==== === . ============================================================================== Copyright Mister Sinister, 2007 ============================================================================== This guide is dedicated to Nabeel Rizwan Rafi ============================================================================== CONAN BESTIARY GUIDE ============================================================================== � This guide is copyrighted to Mister Sinister (2007) � � I don't mind it being lifted in its entireity, but if you do so, please � � make sure you give credit to the author (me) and DON'T pass it off as your � � own. Thanks ! � ============================================================================== ============================================================================ � F O R E W O R D � ============================================================================ The aim of *this* guide is to give you a decent breakdown of the enemies and bosses you will face in Conan, coupled with my thoughts and comments on them where appropriate. If you've any questions, queries or HELPFUL suggestions, you can get in touch with me by e-mail at [email protected] - however, if you've nothing cool or productive to say to me, don't waste my time or you'll just incur my disrespect. Thanks !! :) ============================================================================ � THE BESTIARY � ============================================================================ Since there are a number of enemies that reoccur, such as the Stygian Pikemen and Tar Warriors, I have refrained from repeatedly announcing their presence in each act, as there is very little that changes in their combat stylees, trust me ;) ======= ACT ONE ======= ENEMY NAME - White-shirted Pirate DANGER RATING - 1/5 DESCRIPTION - A pirate clad in a white shirt. Weak, slow, and predictable CAN BE THROWN ? - Yes OTHER NOTES - These guys lag REALLY nicely when they go to strike you, so you have absolutely no excuse for not countering each and every single one of them, thus bumping up your mastery of counter-attacks significantly. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Brown-shirted Pirate DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - Brown-shirted pirates are quicker and more combat-ready than their white-shirted counterparts. Their attacks are a bit harder to see coming (although not much, truth be told), and they have the ability to block your attacks, so be warned. CAN BE THROWN ? - Yes OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Buxom Beauty DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - The Buxom Beauties are the ladies that you will find from time to time. They will all be topless (hence the danger rating - we wouldn't want you to be thinking of anything other than the mission at hand, would we) ;), and they will all want you to free them. They WILL reward you handsomly for your efforts ;) CAN BE THROWN ? - You wish !! Over your shoulder probably, right ?? NO. ;) OTHER NOTES - I am particularly fond of the shading on this sprite, AND the rather gormless way they sway around after you've ... liberated them ... =./ ------------ ENEMY NAME - Pirate Archer DANGER RATING - 1/5 DESCRIPTION - Pirate Archers will fire either regular arrows or explosive arrows at you from a distance - however they do not move from their positions, making them generally very easy foes to locate and despatch. Press RB to withdraw any arrows that DO become lodged in any parts of your anatomy, and throw them to the ground (pay close attention to doing this when they fire explosive arrows, as they are on a timer !!). CAN BE THROWN ? - Yes OTHER NOTES - If you do not remove the arrow/s quickly enough, you will begin to sustain bleed damage. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Pirate Boss DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - Pirate Bosses are ANNOYING. They are comparatively heavily- armoured, carry two-handed weapons, and wear helmets. Not to mention talking a lot of sh!te. Best technique to adopt against them is the tried-and-tested, hit-and-run technique which works wonders. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - When their helmet falls off, they are approximately 50% of the way through being cooked. ======= ACT TWO ======= ENEMY NAME - Corsair Ship DANGER RATING - 1/5 DESCRIPTION - Since the Corsair ships never attack you personally, they should be considered very easy to take out - HOWEVER, they do attack A'Kanna's ship instead, and so you are on a timer to despatch them. Use the stationery turrets to take them out in good time. CAN BE THROWN ? - No. Not even Conan can throw a ship ;) OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Bone Cleaver DANGER RATING - 4/5 DESCRIPTION - Bone Cleaver is the boss of Act 2, and deservedly so. He has a series of four different attacks (listed in the walkthrough, but to recap they are a smash-and-poke move; calling for his archers to pelt his battle arena with their explosive arrows; a spiralling sideflip which causes an earthquake; and a 4-hit slow-moving but powerful combo. CAN BE THROWN ? - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... no. OTHER NOTES - Time your attacks, watch out for getting caught in his 4-hit combo, and jump over his earthquake move. Also be aware that, when he's about 75% cooked, he will generate an aura that is tantamount to a blood rage, which bolsters his aggressiveness and combat performance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- � B O S S F I G H T T I P S � ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- As with all the Boss Fights in Conan, this fight takes place in multiple stages. Therefore, in order to make it easy for you to work with, I am going to cite the stages and then go through them one by one :- BONE CLEAVER BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 - White Pirates BONE CLEAVER BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 - Brown Pirates, Pirate Bosses & Archers BONE CLEAVER BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 - Bone Cleaver himself Take note of the arena and what is available to you - there are 2 green urns and a wall full of spikes for starters. Also BE ADVISED that the archers on the upper level do NOT shoot regular arrows - they shoot explosive arrows, so be VERY quick in removing them from your body if you get pegged by one or more or they WILL hurt. =============================== BONE CLEAVER BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 =============================== The first stage of this boss fight is SO easy it's unbelievable - Bone Cleaver sends a couple of waves of white-shirted pirates (the lowest of the low) into the arena to do battle with you. They will cause you NO problem. =============================== BONE CLEAVER BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 =============================== Once you have enraged him by slaying all his white-shirted pirates, Bone Cleaver moves up to stage 2 - sending in wave after wave of brown-shirted pirates, and a total of four pirate bosses (1 in 1 wave, 1 in a second wave, and 2 in the final wave). His archers also start to pelt you with their arrows, so keep on your toes and avoid the blast radius at all costs. Try and avoid using either of the green urns during this stage if at all possible as it is good to keep them for the Bone Cleaver fight proper. Since the AI of your enemies is NOT generally particularly amazing, you can lure them into the path of the explosive arrows to cause collateral damage should you wish. Remember, SMART players get MORE ;) =============================== BONE CLEAVER BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 =============================== Once you have slain ALL his pirates (barring the archers on the upper level and a couple of minions that are standing and watching you), Bone Cleaver drops down into the arena and tells you that he's going to proudly display your corpse from his axe (axe ??? It's not really an *axe* dude) before the day is through, AND, more importantly, that he is the one that brought the black death to this island. ============ BONE CLEAVER ============ First and foremost, Bone Cleaver CAN take damage from the archers who continue to shoot their explosive arrows into the arena during the fight, so keep that in mind. Secondly, he is DECEPTIVELY nimble for a guy his size, and can attack you in several different ways, including :- A) An overhead smash and follow-up shove with his "axe"; B) Calling upon his archers to pelt the arena with explosive arrows; C) A BEAUTIFUL side flip which, when he lands, sends out an earthquake. To get around this one, jump ;) D) A 4-hit combo which is slow but VERY powerful (the blade blur is orange in colour) - you can easily roll away and, if you gauge his range just right, you can be ready to strike back with a few strong hits once he has completed the combo. All four of the hits are block-breakers, so be aware of that. The best technique to use against Bone Cleaver is NOT to try and combo him too much - use strong attacks, hit once, gauge whether you can hit again and, if you can, do so, and if you can't, roll away. Keep an eye out for when he looks like he's about to jump and do his earthquake attack (C on the above list), and jump over it to avoid irritation, and DO try and avoid his 4-hit combo or you will be lifted into the air by the first hit, and that is ALSO rather annoying. Once he has taken about 75% damage, Bone Cleaver goes into a Blood Rage (he displays a visible red glow, which fades to a white glow as the fight goes on) and he becomes more aggressive for the last part of his fight, so beef up your techniques for this last splurge. ============================================================================= BE PREPARED TO PRESS THE B BUTTON ONCE YOU HAVE TAKEN AWAY ALL HIS HEALTH, AS THIS TRIGGERS HIS FATALITY CUTSCENE. ============================================================================= ========= ACT THREE ========= ENEMY NAME - Lion DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - Lions are more annoying than dangerous - they attack very much as you would expect a wildcat to - swiftly, and without mercy. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - Lions catch fire quite nicely, and whilst it will in most cases not kill them, it does cause them to run around like they are ............... well ... on fire really !! ------------ ENEMY NAME - Stygian Swordsman DANGER RATING - 1/5 DESCRIPTION - With tattoos on their faces, facemasks and lithe bodies, these boys are RIPE for an ass-whupping !!! They are armed with one-handed swords with nasty curved blades, and are the weakest enemies you will encounter in the Sand Vault. CAN BE THROWN ? - Yes OTHER NOTES - Whilst they are the weakest, they are still palpably more powerful than the white-shirted pirates were in Acts 1 & 2, so be on your guard. They can do semi-unblockable hits (by which I mean they stun your guard, leaving you open to further attacks). ------------ ENEMY NAME - Stygian Pikeman DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - In a word ? ANNOYING. They are armed with polearms that make them visually very easy to distinguish from their Stygian Swordsmen cousins, and like to attack from a distance with green, life-sapping fireballs, or VERY quickly up-close-and-personal by snapping their staffs at you, which leaves you very little time to dodge unfortunately. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - Try and take these boys out first, to minimise the annoyance factor they will otherwise visit upon you. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Sand Dragon DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - The Sand Dragon is the boss of Act Three, and ranks as one of the LONGEST bosses to fight (in terms of the number of stages you have to go through with him). He isn't overly difficult to kill as long as you follow either my guide or common sense really, but the length of the battle can be a bit aggravating if you're not careful. CAN BE THROWN ? - Nope, not even in your dreams OTHER NOTES - Be calm - he may be large, but he's not that tough. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- � B O S S F I G H T T I P S � ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Sand Dragon is the second boss in Conan and, like Bone Cleaver, its fight must be conducted in numerous sections. The sections are :- SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 - Head through the Wall SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 - Chasing over the Rooftops SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 - Open Air Platform Fight SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 4 - Running the Gauntlet SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 5 - Pillar Platform Fight SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 6 - Scaling the Tower SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 7 - Atop the Tower ============================== SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 ============================== Right, here we go. The Sand Dragon (because he is a rather DULL beast) has stupidly rammed his head into the archway, and so doesn't have a HUGE degree of room to manoeuvre in. You are safe during this fight, as long as you stand right up against the camera, so if you need to take a breather and get your bearings, head here. The Sand Dragon attacks with a variety of biting attacks ranging from 1 snap, to 2 snaps, to 3 snaps. If you are a beginner then the best advice I can give you is to hang back and watch his attacks to learn what they are, and then to rush forward (rolling will close the distance reasonably quickly) and start unloading with the strong hits, taking care to block his responses. If he knocks you back to the camera, you will have had your block broken, and he will snap at you a couple of times doing reasonable damage. If he knocks you to the side, you should find you move that little bit closer to him (as in just inside the crook of his neck), and can unleash HELL upon him no problem at all. If you are adept at this game, then heed my advice for CRUSHING him :- The safest place to do battle with the Sand Dragon from, is the top left-hand corner of the area, as it is inside the crook of his neck, and he has quite some difficulty snapping at you from there (but don't forget to block just to be on the safe side). It is possible to do battle with him in this position and take absolutely no damage during this stage of the fight. Once he has taken enough damage, you will get a large health powerup, and he will flail around for a bit before sinking his head to the ground. Run up to him and press the button indicated, to begin the end-sequence for this stage. You MUST hit the buttons in the right order, otherwise he will throw you against the wall, and regain part of his health (meaning this stage of his boss fight will become longer and harder than it needs to be). Once you have correctly entered the commands (which will be Y, Tap B) you will be HURLED up high into the air, and land on your back. ============================== SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 ============================== WASTING NO TIME, as the Sand Dragon is merely stunned, NOT dead, run to your left (the camera pans), and keep going left until the ground breaks under your feet and you slide down (Conan will say "I've GOT to keep moving"). Run to the left (Conan will say "This rooftop won't last", and keep running to the left, jumping over two gaps as you go, and then having to jump up to a slightly higher platform. This leads you to the next actual fight with the Sand Dragon ... ============================== SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 ============================== ... the open air platform fight ! (Sorry, I really couldn't think what else to call it !!). The Sand Dragon has outpaced you, and must now be battered down again. He rises up at the back of the platform you are standing on, all snake-like and ... snakey ... and engages you with a couple of nasty attacks, being :- A) Expanding ring of flame (you will know he is about to do this because he raises his head to the skies and glows with flaming energy before breathing fire across the platform). This attack can be jumped over, but your timing must be good. B) Tongue Lash. He lashes out at you with his tongue. You CAN counter- attack this move with the B button, but you must be VERY quick. C) Bites. If you get too close to him, he will try and take a chunk out of your manly butt with his snappy teeth - best dodged or blocked, and I DON'T mean blocked with your arse ;) As with the first fight with the Sand Dragon, as long as you stay as close to the camera as possible, he CANNOT bite you. Therefore I would suggest standing inbetween the two sets of black spiked railings, and jumping over his flaming rings, and counter-attacking him. I wouldn't bother going in for strikes unless you're brave, foolhardy, Spider-Man or on a VERY easy setting. Once he has taken enough damage (from your well-timed counter-attacks or other tomfoolery), he will once again slump onto the deck. Run up to him and press the right combination of buttons when prompted (it will be X and then B), and you will get up onto his head but, unfortunately, before you are able to strike a killer blow, he comes to and shakes you off, causing you to fly into a nearby building, smashing through one of the walls. ============================== SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 4 ============================== From where you land, take out the Stygians and destroy the vases to get a bit of green health, and then then run to the left and, when the Sand Dragon has broken enough of this area for you to be ABLE to jump up, jump up the ledges on the left-hand wall, and onto the platform at the top. DO NOT TRY AND ENGAGE THE SAND DRAGON - JUST RUN AWAY FROM HIM. When you reach the top (which puts you on a large wooden set of platforms), run to the right and keep running until you can drop down the two wooden platforms, to ultimately land (once again) on an open-air platform, which leads us to ... ============================== SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 5 ============================== ... the Pillar Platform Fight. As soon as you land on the platform the Sand Dragon's barbed tail will snake up at the far end menacingly. Move to the far left corner, nearest the camera to dodge the spines he shoots out, and he will make his slightly more grand appearance, snorting at you before destroying the right-hand pillar. You can do a LOT of damage to him at this point if you strike him from your left-hand side whilst he's snaking up to do his first smash (of the right- hand pillar), and if you remain in the top left-hand corner (retreating back to behind the left-hand pillar when he raises his tail (until the left-hand pillar is destroyed of course)), and time your rolls to avoid his head-smash attacks, then you CAN defeat him in this stage without taking any damage either ! His moves in this stage are :- A) Rise up and slam his head down into the platform, causing a shockwave which you can jump (you'll know he's about to do this as he snakes his head veeeeeeeery slowly upwards before ramming it down); B) Bites (in a number of different quantities, but as always he cannot bite you if you hang around the back); and C) Barbed Tail Spikes. He CANNOT hit you with them if you stay at the bottom-left, AS LONG AS THE LEFT-HAND PILLAR REMAINS IN TACT. Once THAT has fallen, try rolling to avoid the spikes as they hit all over the bloody place. Rush forward and hammer him with strong attacks, when he slowly raises his head up get ready to jump away or roll away, as you won't be able to do him any harm at that particular point in time, and when he drops down and the tail pops up, get ready to either roll or jump away, unless the left-hand pillar is up in which case hide in the bottom left-hand corner, nearest the camera. Once he has fallen, he chases you off the platform and onto a pillar, which you cling onto and ascend, his response being to smack it with his tail, causing it to fall into a set of wooden platforms built around ANOTHER tower to the right. ============================== SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 6 ============================== As soon as you are back in control of Conan, have him jump up to the first ledge on the tower, then Right, Up, Left, Up, Left (if you want to get the Treasure Chest) BUT DO NOT DAWDLE on that ledge as it crumbles rather quickly. Assuming you've gone to the left and picked up the Treasure Chest, you will then need to get back onto one of the central ledges to make the jump to the pathway on the right. TO DO THIS, DO *NOT* JUMP - just run off the ledge, aiming right and towards the centre of the pillar, and Conan should grab onto the nearest ledge. If he fails to grab that one, there are two in line below it, and he should grab one of those. If you jump then the odds are 95% likely that you're going to plummet to your death. Once you're on the central ledge to the left of the pathway that spirals off to your right, jump to the right to get onto THAT pathway, and then follow it as it snakes around the pillar upwards. You will need to jump up onto one wooden ledge, and then over a reasonably- large gap to another wooden ledge (which is made that little bit more awkward because the camera is panning around the pillar as you go), before you reach another section of ledges to jump around. Jump Up, Right, and finally Up again to reach the highest platform, and set the scene for ... ============================== SAND DRAGON BOSS FIGHT STAGE 7 ============================== You will, I am sure, be ELATED to learn that this is the last stage of the Sand Dragon Boss Fight ... WOOHOO !! It's also one of the easiest, which is nice ... however if you don't know what you're doing you WILL get battered, which is NOT so nice. Your objective here is to knock the Sand Dragon back to the extent that he backs off, giving you a little time to achieve 2 things. HOWEVER, the timing of this stage of the fight means that you will have to do it like this :- 1) Knock the Sand Dragon back and stun him; 2) Achieve Objective 1; 3) Knock the Sand Dragon back and stun him; 4) Begin Objective 2; 5) Knock the Sand Dragon back and stun him; 6) Achieve Objective 2; 7) Sand Dragon FINALLY Dies. The Sand Dragon's attacks in this stage are :- A) Frenzied Tongue Lashing (block it to avoid damage and being drooled all over, which is NEVER nice); B) Biting (in various stylees) (block to avoid damage, but be aware that if he hits you at the right angle he will break your block, and you will take some damage); C) Expanding Ring of Flame (as per the last time he used it - jump over it to avoid it). Once he has fallen back, smash your way through the wooden planks to the left, and push over the massive rock (do not grab the green urn unless you need it - remember you ARE running against the clock in this stage, and you do not have enough time to pick up the green urn AND push over the rock). To push over the rock, you need to "use" it with the RB button three times. This will trigger a mini cutscene where you realise you are actually standing atop a giant statue, and have just booted off one of its arms - an arm holding some type of sword, which plummets to the ground below, sharp-end pointing straight up ... hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Once you are back in control, and have activated this cutscene (by which I mean if you chose to get the green urn you will have to knock the Sand Dragon back again and kick off the statue's arm before proceeding), do battle with the Sand Dragon again to knock him back, and then head over to the LEFT-hand side of this platform, and use the controls (RB, rotate the right-hand thumbstick like billio). This will cause a giant ball of stone to be raised up, and gradually be pulled to the left. Odds are you won't be able to get it all the way up this time around, and will have to face the Sand Dragon for another bout. HOWEVER, once you've knocked him back a FURTHER time, you should have ample time to complete this, your second objective on this level (just keep rotating that thumbstick) and, when you're done, you will get your VERY well-deserved cutscene. ======== ACT FOUR ======== ENEMY NAME - Tribal Warrior DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - Bald-headed man wearing face paint and carrying a two-handed weapon. These are the grunts of the Tribe. They attack quickly, and can do both block breakers and power attacks, where the game slows just a touch and they raise their staffs up before SLAMMING them into the ground to create a mini shockwave. CAN BE THROWN ? - Yes OTHER NOTES - Aside from their speed, they are not too bad to fight. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Witch Doctor DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - They have face masks (BIG ones), and attack with sword and shield, but are also able to cast spells from a distance that rip up the earth with shockwaves and cause tusk-shaped projectiles to shoot across the ground towards you. They are NOT to be underestimated. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - Their face mask will come off when they have taken about half-damage. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Tribal Hunter DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - Looking very similar to the regular Tribal Warrior, these men use bow and arrow from a distance, and then switch to brutal two-handed swords when you draw near. They are suave combatants, able to cope very well with many of your attacks, so be on your guard. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - They are versatile and not overly stupid. They also shoot arrows over a VERY long distance, so be prepared to do a fair share of dodging/rolling. ======== ACT FIVE ======== ENEMY NAME - Gorillaman DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - The Gorillaman is a huge, hulking man-beast that resembles a Yeti or Caveman of old. He has huge muscles, but is not hugely well-evolved, behaving very much like a primate. His massive hands can deal heavy damage, and he likes to jump and pound the ground, unleashing minor earthquakes to show off his power. CAN BE THROWN ? - You MUST be joking OTHER NOTES - The best way to defeat the Gorillaman is to stand just out of his range when he does his close-quarters punchy-chest- poundy attack, and then to unleash 2 strong attacks whilst he is preparing to attack you again. Rinse and repeat, and keep an eye open for his ground pound attacks or you'll be flat on your arse in no time ;) ------------ ENEMY NAME - Gorillaman Lobber DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - Having soft white hair in place of the regular Gorillaman's dark smooth skin, the Gorillaman Lobber digs up boulders from the earth to throw at you, meaning he has an effectively unlimited supply of ammunition. The trade-off is that he falls quickly in combat to strong attacks. CAN BE THROWN ? - Nope, don't THINK so !! :) OTHER NOTES - Crowd him and he will ordinarily try and back off to give him a better chance of using his ranged powers against you. THAT is the moment to lay the smack down ;) ------------ ENEMY NAME - Elephant God (aka Elephant Demon) DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - The Elephant God is NOT that tough an enemy to face - his Boss Fight is short and reasonably sweet, and as long as you keep your head, and avoid his concussive shockwave attacks, you will do just fine. CAN BE THROWN ? - You're joking, yes ? He's about 100 times your size !! OTHER NOTES - None really - just keep calm ;) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- � B O S S F I G H T T I P S � ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- As with every boss fight (as you know), the Elephant God Boss Fight is divided up into multiple sections (only 2 this time around though), being :- ELEPHANT GOD BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 - Meet and Greet ELEPHANT GOD BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 - The Puddle Fight =============================== ELEPHANT GOD BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 =============================== In this first stage of the Elephant God Boss Fight, he exhibits the following main attacks :- A) Tusk Slam (he slams his massive tusks sideways into obstacles, leaving him vulnerable to counter-strikes during the lag); B) War Cry (he blasts blue, sonic energy in a narrow cone-shape ahead of him - you WILL take damage if you are in a direct line from it, so BE SOMEWHERE ELSE); and C) Stomp (he rears up and slams his hoofs down causing a shockwave to emanate from the point at which he lands - jump or roll away to dodge). Your objective here is to sever both the chains on the upper left and right platforms. You won't be able to reach them without the help of the Elephant God, so here's what I would like you to do. 1) Lure the Elephant God to either the left, or right-hand side of the reasonably small arena in which you are currently combating him; 2) Do enough damage to him for his eyes to turn red, meaning a) he's p!ssed off, and b) he's about to do a stomp and clear you a pathway to the ledge on whichever side you are on. 3) Jump or dodge his stomp, and then vault over the now cleared area, to get to the bottom of the platform. 4) The Elephant God will do a Tusk Slam (which you should avoid, obviously) and then, when he is lodged against the wall, press the A button when prompted to vault up onto him, and then press A and whichever direction you need to, to jump up onto the platform nearby. 5) Destroy the small statue to release some green energy, and then cut the chain, to cause a burning urn to drop down from above into the black tar, hurting the Elephant God and causing him to yank himself free of the rocks, tearing off one of his four massive tusks in the process (OUCHIES !!). 6) Go back to 1), and do 1-6 for the other side of the arena. Once he has lost two tusks, he screams and falls (apparently dead) back into the black tar, forming a rather neat bridge for you to traverse to reach A'Kanna. Move over him, and you can proceed to ... =============================== ELEPHANT GOD BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 =============================== --- CUTSCENE --- As Conan strides confidently over the Elephant God's Corpse, it arises once again behind him, ready to do battle with him anew. --- END CUTSCENE --- I have named this stage the Puddle Fight because the area in which you are able to stand is not entirely safe - there are a number of black tar puddles that you need to locate and avoid stepping in (they are at the back of your area), and this can make moving to avoid the Elephant God a bit more taxing than it was in the first stage. In this stage the Elephant God exhibits the following attacks :- A) War Cry (as per his attack in stage 1) - dodge it but be wary of stepping into the black tar; B) Stomp (same as before, but this time instead of causing a shockwave, it causes rocks to fall from the ceiling down upon wherever he lands, so be aware of that); and C) Head Slam (he rises up and slams his jaw down into the ground, causing a shockwave to emanate that throws you up into the air if you are hit by it - jump or roll to avoid). Go for strong hits on the schnoz (the nose) whenever you have the chance, and ALWAYS be prepared to roll away if he rises up to do a War Cry or Stomp. When you have done enough damage to him, his eyes will once again turn red, and he will drop to the ground, with you being invited to execute the commands B, A, Y, Y to sever the third of his tusks (poor lad - I actually do feel really quite sorry for him) from his head. You then need to do exactly the same thing again, but this time instead of the previous set of button commands, you need to go B, X, B, B to sever his fourth and final tusk from his head. *sniff* *sniff* This takes you onto the final piece of this stage, where you must do 100% damage to the Elephant God (which will cause the two last little bits of his two severed tusks to drop off), ending his undead existence, and trigger a final cutscene. ============ HELPFUL HINT ============ Marc has been in touch with me to suggest an alternative way of engaging the Elephant God during this second-stage of the Boss Fight. He says :- "I did find a useful glitch in the second half of the elephant demon boss fight. It will let you do that stage of battle taking virtually no damage. As you know, there are three green flecked stalagmites available during the second stage of the battle available for you to break and gain health. Looking over Conan's shoulder, facing the lake and the skeletal pachyderm, there would be one stalagmite toward your left and two to the very extreme right. If you break the one on the right closest to the lake, it is possible for Conan to stand in the space it occupied and be immune from anything the elephant demon can throw at you; nothing it does can hurt you there. You are still vulnerable to rocks falling from the ceiling, but you don't get hit often, and damage is minimal. All you have to do is wait until the elephant slams it's head down and keeps it there, then you run out and do damage. When the elephant raises its head, simply retreat back to your safe spot and wait for the next attack opportunity. This worked like a charm for me and I took virtually no damage doing this, at least in the second half. Couldn't find any easy solution to the first part, though" Thanks Marc !! =) ======= ACT SIX ======= ENEMY NAME - Stygian Elite Swordsman DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - The Stygian Elite Swordsman is armed with a sword and shield, and can project a blast of green energy from his shield over a short distance that looks like green dust, and which screws up your control system for a few seconds (right and left, back and forward swap around, etc.), making you easier prey for their attacks. They also have a block-breaking running strike that is impressive to watch. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - These guys are the ones to watch out for - they are quick, dangerous, and block well, so keep your eyes peeled !! ------------ ENEMY NAME - Stygian Archers DANGER RATING - 1/5 DESCRIPTION - The Stygian Archers are just like the Pirate Archers from Acts 1 & 2, save that they fire flaming arrows which do more damage than their pirate relations. CAN BE THROWN ? - Yes OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Stygian Honour Guard DANGER RATING - 4/5 DESCRIPTION - Able to block-break, block, and BREATHE FIRE (yes, you heard me), these boys are NAILS and should be treated with respect and care - BE VERY CAUTIOUS WHEN FIGHTING THEM. You'll live longer if you take them out with a one-handed weapon & a SHIELD ;). Their most devastating attack is a 4-hit combo (2 fast, 1 block-breaking knockdown, fire breath whilst you are on the floor) - it REALLY hurts, so avoid it at all costs ! CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - Roll to avoid their fire breath or take MEGA damage ;) ========= ACT SEVEN ========= ENEMY NAME - Winged Lizards DANGER RATING - 1/5 DESCRIPTION - Weird, dinosaur-style lizards that flap about causing more nuisance than damage. When their eyes glow red they are about to bite you, but this can be easily dodged and, with a few strong strikes, they fall pretty nicely. They also have a poisonous breath attack that can be countered, and which will stun you for a few seconds if you are hit by it. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Sorceress Queen DANGER RATING - 4/5 DESCRIPTION - A huge female upper torso atop a serpent's lower-half, Chimera, the Sorceress Queen, is both grotesque and very dangerous. She attacks with her staff, through which she can channel red energy blasts and shockwaves, and by bringing her followers back from Death's Door itself. CAN BE THROWN ? - Nope OTHER NOTES - She's a BITCH of the first order, and can really ruin your day with her EXTREMELY annoying 4-hit combo. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Resurrected Stygian Warriors DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - Called back to life by Chimera, these fallen warriors lack their weapons, but are given sharp claws to perform open- hand strikes with, making them weak individually, but VERY strong en masse. CAN BE THROWN ? - Don't bother OTHER NOTES - None, really. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- � B O S S F I G H T T I P S � ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a TOUGH boss fight, so we shall have to knuckle down. Obviously I told you NOT to use the green urns, because you will need as much help as you can get to make it through this one, believe me !! As with all the other boss fights, the Chimera / Sorceress Queen Boss Fight is divided up into sections, being :- SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 - Hand-to-Hand #1 SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 - Warriors Awaken #1 SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 - Hand-to-Hand #2 SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 4 - Warriors Awaken #2 SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 5 - Final Battle with Chimera ================================== SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 ================================== The Sorceress Queen begins at the right-hand side of her battle arena, and you begin at the centre. She has a number of attacks when she engages you in hand-to-hand, being :- A) 4-hit combo (3 short strikes followed up by a swinging, unblockable hit that you must DOUBLE-roll away from); B) Psyched-up strong stab that leaves a red trail, and is a block- breaker, but not unblockable. Additionally, she does not take a whole heck of a lot of damage from you in hand-to-hand, so this is quite a slow-paced stage of her fight. That being said, there is a ... ============ HELPFUL HINT ============ Mr Stuff has made contact with me to volunteer a couple of VERY, very helpful hints that will assist you in this boss fight, being as follows :- During Stage 1 of the Sorceress Queen Boss Fight, when she does her stab move (move B on the above list), you can parry it and get a B prompt. If you do this then Conan jumps onto her back and slams her head into the floor which takes off a whole bunch of health (about 1/4 - 1/3 on hard)! It also gives you a small window of breathing time as she gets back up. On the first section of the fight she will usually say "you die now" (or something like that). The move is not part of any of her combos, she just stabs out front. Thanks Mr Stuff !! ==================== ANOTHER HELPFUL HINT ==================== BenHatinU has also been in touch to suggest another helpful way of despatching the BIATCH that is the Sorceress Queen, being as follows :- On either side of the level there are axe racks. All you have to do is grab an axe and get within a few feet of her. Her staff will go red when she is getting ready to strike. All you have to do is jump back out of the way of the strike and then she leaves herself vulnerable. Throw the axe at her and you take off a nice chunk of health. You can actually defeat her without having to get too close to her. Although on the third stage you will have to jump her energy ring. But it's a nice easy way to defeat her, just keep chucking those axes and other weapons on the ground from the previous fight. ==================== Once she has taken enough damage we can move on to stage 2. ================================== SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 ================================== Chimera slinks back to her Chalice, and casts a spell drawing upon the black fluid that fills it. "Warriors, AWAKEN !!" she cries, as her black filth pours forth, filling the lungs of the recently deceased Stygians and bringing them back to life as puppets under her control. The Stygians are nothing compared to how effective they were when they were alive - HOWEVER, to make matters more interesting, Chimera fires blasts of red energy from her staff into the ground in a regular pattern (first blasts down the middle in a narrow cone; second blasts diagonally out and to the sides), to try and fry you. ============ HELPFUL HINT ============ Mr Stuff has provided me with ANOTHER very cool hint that will help you in THIS stage of the Boss Fight as well !! He says :- "I also noticed that for the first warrior revive section if you stay to the left or right of the chalice and fight the guys from there then you won't get hit by any of her beams, unfortunately it doesn't work for the second warrior revive. "Finally I was using 2 handed and uppercut on the warriors gives you a good bunch of health most of the time (X Y)." Thanks again Mr Stuff =) ============ Once all the Stygians have been slain, we move onto stage 3. ================================== SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 ================================== Slinking back out of her Chalice to engage you in hand-to-hand combat once again, Chimera exhibits the following attacks :- A) 4-hit combo (3 short strikes followed up by a swinging, unblockable hit that you must DOUBLE-roll away from); B) Psyched-up strong swing that leaves a red trail, and is a block- breaker, but not unblockable; and C) Charged Attack (raises her staff and slams it point-first into the ground, resulting in a red shockwave that ripples out, and must be jumped over or rolled away from in good time, to avoid decent damage). Once she has taken enough damage in this form, we go to stage 4. ================================== SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 4 ================================== As with stage 2, Chimera slinks back to her Chalice and casts her "Warriors, AWAKEN !!" Spell. Isn't she getting tired of that ? I know I am !! Anyhow, THIS time around there are plenty more Stygians to do battle with, and you should take great care to avoid being penned into a corner, as their sharp claw-attacks can demolish your health faster than Chimera herself !! Also watch out for the Sorceress Queen's revised energy blast attacks - this time she attacks in straight lines from left-to-right or right-to-left, and in narrow cones from back to front. She does not WAVE the lines, however, so once you see her starting to blast from back to front, my advice is to ditch the Stygians and focus on rolling away from whatever line her attack is coming at you from. Once all the Stygians are dead (and relax, this time they ARE dead), her Chalice breaks, and the Sorceress Queen falls back to the ground, wailing in pain as she does so. This take us onto stage 5 - the final stage of this boss fight. ================================== SORCERESS QUEEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 5 ================================== In this stage, you start at the front of the battle arena (nearest the camera), and Chimera is at the back. Her black tar has spilled all over the arena floor, making your progress toward her VERY slow, and she emits wave after wave of red energy toward you which is difficult to dodge because you move AND JUMP at the same, very slow speed. Get your timing right, however, and she won't be too much of a problem - however, to REACH her, you must head diagonally up and to the top right-hand corner of the arena, and then move to the left. Until you get to that point, there will just be a question mark over her head. ================================================================== ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR GETTING TO THE SORCERESS QUEEN QUICKER ================================================================== Jameason has been in touch with me to point out that it is actually not only POSSIBLE to head up the left-hand side of the arena to reach the Sorceress Queen, it is actually a bit quicker to do so as well, as there is less exposure to her sludgy goodness on the way ... Cheers dude !! =) ==================== When you DO reach her, go B, X, Y, X, B, X, tap Y, X, tap X to defeat her. ============ HELPFUL HINT ============ WarCorpse18 has made contact with me to suggest that I point out to you (and it IS worth pointing out, I agree), that the Sorceress Queen Boss Tappy Tappy bit of the fight is VERY precise - considerably more precise than most in fact - when it comes to the bit where I've put "tap Y". If you overtap, or undertap, then she will just shuck you off her, and you'll have to do it all over again from scratch, so WATCH THE TAPPAGE !!!!! =) Thanks WarCorpse18 ;) ========= ACT EIGHT ========= ENEMY NAME - Argosian Archers DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - They fire fast, accurate, and without fear (meaning they keep firing even if you are right in their faces - they do not fall back for better vantage in general). Take them out swiftly to avoid them becoming a pain in the arse. They have AMAZING range on their bows, but the sparking noise explosive arrows make whilst in flight gives their impending attacks away ;) ROOOOOOOOOLL !! CAN BE THROWN ? - Yes OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Argosian Swordsman DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - They attack VERY quickly, but the charge-up for their block-breaker move is slow, so they kinda even out. They are hard to parry though, so be aware of that. CAN BE THROWN ? - Don't bother OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Argosian Elite Swordsmen DANGER RATING - 4/5 DESCRIPTION - The Argosian Elite Swordsmen are some of the finest warriors in Conan for the 360. They are fast, precise, strong, SMART warriors with beautiful shields that function as both an excellent defence AND an automatic counter-attack, owing to the blades that run along their surface. You should take them out with caution, and always watch out for the retaliatory damage you will take from striking their shields whilst the blades are out. They can throw their shields and they will return, and finally they are able to charge you (a block-breaker) with their shields !!!!! CAN BE THROWN ? - Nope OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Argosian Honour Guard DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - Whilst they are big and imposing-looking, and are armed with a nasty whip which they can use to throw you about like a rag doll (and which is very hard to counter owing to its speed), they are poorer combatants than the Stygian Honour Guard, and not particularly scary. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Tar Warriors (aka Ink-Covered Crewmen) DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - Whilst they are PISH individually, the Tar Warriors (who re-occur later in the game) are QUITE annoying in multiples as they attack quickly (they tend to lurch), and unleash multiple swipes at you before running out of puff. They are slow and generally easily-despatched, but DON'T GET PENNED IN ;) CAN BE THROWN ? - Yep OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Giant Squid DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - The Giant Squid is not an overly tough boss to deal with, truth be told. He is predictable, reasonably weak, and unintelligent ... much like my boss. If you make good use of the available terrain, and memorise which spots you will be safe from his ink spray in, you will be juuuuuuuust fine. CAN BE THROWN ? - Nope, not at all OTHER NOTES - None, really. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- � B O S S F I G H T T I P S � ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Giant Squid Boss Fight is just like any other - it comes to you in sections, being :- GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 - Slap Happy GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 - Mast Stranglehold #1 GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 - Infection #1 GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 4 - Mast Stranglehold #2 GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 5 - Infection #2 GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 6 - Mast Stranglehold #3 GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 7 - Desperation and Anger ============================== GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 ============================== There are 2 green urns in the bottom right-hand corner, and top-left corner of the boat should you start to take a pounding. There are also 2 blue urns in the bottom left-hand corner, and top-right corner of the boat for you as well. In this first stage of the fight, the Giant Squid flings its tentacles out of the water and slams them down onto the deck. You must sever the suckers from the tentacles, causing pain to the beast. The easiest way of doing this is to hand back behind the mast, as the Squid cannot really attack you there, and to just slice off the tentacles as they come right, left, right, left, repeat ad nauseum until he is down to zero health - two strong attacks will sever a tentacle, in case you're wondering. When he's done and dusted, we move on to ... ============================== GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 ============================== Frustrated at its inability to pound the ship to pieces, the Giant Squid decides to try and wrap a single tentacle around the mast, and capsize the boat. Use strong attacks to batter the tentacle until it can take no more pain, and falls back. We then come to ... ============================== GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 ============================== The Giant Squid decides to use one of its more icky powers, and wraps a sucker around one of the crewmen, infecting him with its inky darkness, and turning him into its slave. The crewman then proceeds to attack you !! Keep striking at the tentacles that are poisoning the crew, and you will do damage to the beast. Once he has taken enough punishment, you can move onto ... ============================== GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 4 ============================== Back to his old tricks again - the Giant Squid decides to try once again to pull the mast towards it, capsizing the boat. Slice its tentacle with strong attacks to put pay to its plans in short order. Then we can move onto ... ============================== GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 5 ============================== Another attempt to infect the crew, save this time the Giant Squid combines its sucker-hold on crewmembers with slapping the deck with OTHER suckers, making it more awkward to reach your comrades. Stand behind the mast again and your expose to the Squid will be minimised. ========================================================================== NB. IF YOU NEED TO USE EITHER THE BLUE OR GREEN URNS, NOW IS THE LAST TIME YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GET AWAY WITH IT. ========================================================================== Keep slicing and dicing those tentacles and you will be just fine. Then we get to ... ============================== GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 6 ============================== YET ANOTHER attempt to capsize the BLOODY boat !! Although this time he's really quite desperate so you MUST get to his tentacle quickly, or you will lose BIG stylee. Once you've struck him again - BAD Squid BAD !! We can go on to ... ============================== GIANT SQUID BOSS FIGHT STAGE 7 ============================== Now he's getting REALLY mad. The Squid latches onto the vessel with as many tentacles as he has left it seems, pulling himself up onto it and partially capsizing it in the process. This means you are no longer able to reach either the blue or green urns !! In this final stage, the Giant Squid exhibits the following attacks :- A) Sucker Smash (as per his previous attacks - he raises up his suckers and smashes them down onto the main deck); B) Ink Spray (he sprays about 75% of the deck with oil, leaving only the very far left and very far right untouched, and instantly poisoning any crewmen that come into contact with him); Best way to defeat him here is to hang on the VERY far left, wait for him to spray his gunk all over the boat (he will travel from left to right), and then LEG it after him and unleash a strong combo whilst avoiding the crewmen, before rolling back to the safety of the very left-hand side of the boat. Once the Squid is down to zero health, Conan will automatically engage it in a cutscene. ======== ACT NINE ======== ENEMY NAME - Bone Cleaver II DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - Bone Cleaver II attacks in two different stylees, both of which are devastatingly powerful - his first shows him coming at you with a two-handed weapon; his second with a ball and chain. He is also backed up by a lion when the match starts, so that should be the first enemy you take out. CAN BE THROWN ? - That boy has never been thrown in his entire life, sorry, but nope OTHER NOTES - None, really. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- � B O S S F I G H T T I P S � ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yup, our boy is back and he's MAD. REAL mad. Bone Cleaver II has a number of abilities similar to those he exhibited the first time we fought him, and a new bag of tricks to keep us amused ... As with every boss fight, his is divided up into sections, his being :- BONE CLEAVER II BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 - Meet and Greet BONE CLEAVER II BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 - The Old Ball & Chain =========================================================================== NB. THERE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN SOME CONFUSION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE TO FIGHT BONE CLEAVER IN *BOTH* STAGES OF THIS FIGHT ON NORMAL DIFFICULTY AS I HAVE HEARD DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS - I WAS FIRST CONTACTED BY EVERGREY06, WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THE SECOND PART OF THE FIGHT ON NORMAL, AND THEN LATER BY NIGHTFALL, WHO DID. I HAVE SINCE HEARD BACK FROM NIGHTFALL WHO HAS DONE SOME FURTHER RESEARCH INTO THE MATTER ON OUR BEHALF, AND HE SAYS (AND I QUOTE) :- "I've finally figured out what is going on with the two stages of the Bone Cleaver 2 Boss Battle. I played the game again on Medium (Normal) and this time when I fought the Bone Cleaver 2 battle I tapped B when prompted by the game after the first stage was over. This ended the fight and I didn't have to fight the second stage. The first time I played this (also on Normal), I missed hitting the B button and I had to fight the second stage. So apparently, it all depends on whether or not you hit that B button when prompted. That's quite a severe punishment for not hitting the button, don't you think? An entire new stage of the battle, and five times more difficult than the first. Anyway, I'm glad I finally figured it out." SO THANKS TO BOTH EVERGREY06 AND TO NIGHTFALL FOR THEIR COLLECTIVE INPUT INTO THIS ISSUE !! :) =========================================================================== ================================== BONE CLEAVER II BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 ================================== Bone Cleaver isn't alone this time around, OH no. He's got a lion to keep him company. Take out the lion first, and then we'll focus on Bone Cleaver. If you're having trouble with the lion, then retreat to the camera (as in, as near to us as you can get), grab one of the water vases and throw it at the lion to automatically stun it. HOWEVER, be careful as, more often than not, Bone Cleaver will take that as an opportunity to throw a Bolas at you and, if it hits, the lion will have come to by the time you break free =./ Bone Cleaver's attacks at this point are :- A) Kick (which stuns you); B) MASSIVE Combo (includes an unblockable hit, and should be avoided at ALL costs); C) Ground Pound (raises his two-handed sword above his head and dashes it to the ground, causing a shockwave); and D) Bolas (he glows blue and then throws a bolas at you, which ropes you to the spot - tap B to escape from it). The best technique I have learned to adopt for tackling him in this stage is as follows :- 1) Take out the lion (use magic if you have to - you can't really use magic EFFECTIVELY against Bone Cleaver); 2) DUPE Bone Cleaver by feigning a strong attack, and then when he goes to attack you faster, roll away and then capitalise on his mistakes. He does try to block the occasional hit, and when he does so, you can hit him with a whole string of strong attacks in a combo, so whip out the best one you've got in your repetoire. Whenever he goes for his bolas, roll away and, if you ARE hit, make sure you jam on the B button as fast and frequent as you can - if he gets close enough to you, you WILL be slain immediately. ================================================================== ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR TAKING DOWN BONE CLEAVER II IN STAGE 1 ================================================================== Mahk23 has very kindly made contact with me to provide me with some great suggestions for doing battle with Bone Cleaver II on HARD difficulty, but I see no reason why these cannot be applied to other difficulties just as well. He says :- "Center Bonecleaver in the center of the room, on the brownish tiles. Begin to abuse the right analog stick, evading constantly, try to learn to evade around in a circle. The reason why this works is because normally if you pace around Bonecleaver, he waits for your attack before he moves. However, the evade roll really seems to p!ss him off, haha. He will attack with all his moves randomly, even if you aren't near him and he is still in screen. Using this to your advantage, start smacking him with the good 1-2 in the openings and he falls instantly. "The evade roll gets you out of the "shockwave" effects from the sword/chain slam, but the roll has to already be in effect, so you can't land RIGHT when he hits. It's a low chance but it happened to me. "Never roll toward/away from him in a line from an attack. Instead, always roll side to side for best evasion. "Using the constant roll is useful against the bolas, I would say 20% of the time he hit me." Cheers Mahk23 =) ==================== Unless you are playing the game on normal (in which case you get a B button prompt at the end of Stage 1 and, upon successfully pressing it, Bone Cleaver takes a DIVE like the BITCH he is), then when you knock Bone Cleaver down to zero health, we move on to ... ================================== BONE CLEAVER II BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 ================================== Disposing of his two-handed sword and electing to use a ball and chain, Bone Cleaver STILL means business (poor lad doesn't know he's already dead !!) Ha ha. In this stage of proceedings, his attacks are :- A) Swift Strike (a quick once-around flick with the ball & chain - hard to dodge, but try rolling away if you see it coming); B) Ground Pound (different than the first time around as he's using the ball & chain, so the move lags longer than it did with the sword as he needs to wind up to it. When he strikes the ground it unleashes a HEAUUUUGE shockwave, so roll or jump AWAY from him - don't jump up if you're already in hand-to-hand *points up at the whirling ball & chain and winks at you*); and C) Kick (as before, but he will ALWAYS try and follow this move up with a Swift Strike during this stage of play). Best advise I can give you here is to try and avoid getting SPLATTED by his ball and chain. Whilst he may be slower in bringing some moves to bear, he is generally LESS likely to block during this stage, and poses just as much a danger now as he did in the first stage, if not moreso. The radius of his shockwaves is HUGE, and the game IS smart enough to work out that if you're too close and you jump to get away from him whilst he's prepping a shockwave attack, you WILL get chobbled up by his ball and chain above you, so BE WARNED. ================================================================== ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR TAKING DOWN BONE CLEAVER II IN STAGE 2 ================================================================== Again, Mahk23 has provided me with some great suggestions for this section of the boss fight as well (if you're fighting Bone Cleaver II on HARD). He says :- "During the ball/chain mode, the best move to take advantage of is the one your refer to as 'Swift Strike (a quick once-around flick with the ball & chain - hard to dodge, but try rolling away if you see it coming);' During that attack I found I could use the Y, Y, Y combo while using the one-handed stance. This ended up doing massive damage to him during that fight sequence. "After using the X and Y combos a lot, I found that I liked using the Y, Y combo for the 1-2's, and the Y, Y, Y combo for the situation stated above. It seemed to produce more damage potential than the X combo variations." Thanks again mon ami !! Alternatively, if you're fighting Bone Cleaver II on one of the lower difficulty settings, then you might like to put into practice the FOLLOWING suggestion that I got from justacityboy, who says :- "I was trying to fight him the same way I did in stage one (two handed sword and triple-striking when he tries to block), and kept getting my ass kicked, but then I switched to dual-wielding axes (they're in a rack on the left side of the battle area) and it was a lot easier. You let him kick you, and then roll behind him as soon as you can recover. You can get 3 good hard hits on him before he can recover from his swing with the ball and chain. Makes the stage go by really quickly. When I switched to this strategy I finished the half of the stage in about 4 more of his kicks. If you're rolling right, you'll be just behind him on his left right before he finishes his downward swing, so you won't take any damage from it ... but he will from you." Thanks justacityboy ! ==================== Once he has taken 100% damage, press the B button when prompted to end this combat and get yourself a cutscene. ======= ACT TEN ======= ENEMY NAME - Desert Warrior DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - Desert Warriors Dual-Wield 2 one-handed swords, and use the Savage Spin move to DEADLY effect, as well as charging into close-quarters combat. They are ok on a 1-2-1, but when you start to deal with 2 or more at a time, be VERY careful about where you are standing, and how easily you can be pinned at your current location. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Desert Pikeman DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - Desert Pikemen may LOOK slightly weaker than the Desert Warriors, but BELIEVE me they are not. They have some truly BEAUTIFUL moves with their staves and can spin them around their bodies to end with some massive hits - watch out for them, and DON'T underestimate them. CAN BE THROWN ? - No OTHER NOTES - None, really. ========== ACT ELEVEN ========== ENEMY NAME - Blue Wraith DANGER RATING - 2/5 DESCRIPTION - Blue Wraiths Dual-Wield, and have a very nice multi-hit delayed combo (you will think they have stopped, but they will repeat the end-move 3 times so keep guarding). They fall quickly to two-handed attacks, as they don't block too well. CAN BE THROWN ? - They have no legs dude. OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Purple Wraith DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - Purple Wraiths are arguably more dangerous than Blue Wraiths owing to the strength and prevalence of their guarding skill which is VERY good - they are armed with a one-handed weapon and a shield, and block like billio. Batter down their defences and wreak havok upon them. CAN BE THROWN ? - They have no legs dude. OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Brown Wraith DANGER RATING - 1/5 DESCRIPTION - Brown Wraiths use two-handed swords to attack you, and are the strongest hitters, but poorest combatants of the wraith- world, as they are SO obvious to predict in combat. They do wield their two-handed weapons QUICKLY, but they lag when they attack, and should pose no real problems for you. Brown Wraiths are also responsible for all the pillars and statues that fall upon you as you fight, so be wary of that. CAN BE THROWN ? - They have no legs dude. OTHER NOTES - None, really. ------------ ENEMY NAME - Giant Statue DANGER RATING - 3/5 DESCRIPTION - Giant Statues are slow and, once you have mastered their array of attacking moves, easy to deal with on a 1-2-1 in combat. HOWEVER, the strength of their ground-pound move is not to be underestimated, and it is difficult to avoid on a GOOD day, so beware of that. They do a very nice 5- hit slow combo that people tend to assume has finished before time (2 fast, 2 block-breakers, 1 fast). CAN BE THROWN ? - Never ever McNEVERever, no. OTHER NOTES - None, really. ========== ACT TWELVE ========== ENEMY NAME - Graven DANGER RATING - 5/5 DESCRIPTION - Graven is a MOFO - he fights in two different forms - very bendy Graven for the kids, and central spinny Graven for the grown-ups, and is backed up by HORDES of Tar Warriors, not to mention his tentacles, so BE VERY CAREFUL, and be VERY patient !! CAN BE THROWN ? - Nope, never. OTHER NOTES - None, really. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- � B O S S F I G H T T I P S � ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Graven is the most difficult of the bosses in Conan and, as with every other boss fight, his is divided up into multiple sections, being as follows :- GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 - Plastic Man #1 GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 - The Whirligig #1 GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 - Plastic Man #2 GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 4 - The Whirligig #2 GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 5 - Plastic Man #3 GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 6 - The Whirligig #3 GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 7 - Final Cutscene PLEASE NOTE that you will lose your Magic Spells progressively during this boss fight. As soon as you begin the fight you will notice that you have already lost your Stone Prison Spell (not that it would do you any good here anyway). I will point out where you lose your other spells. PLEASE ALSO NOTE that there is a revised strategy for defeating Graven, kindly contributed by Dr Nordo, at the end of this boss fight, for your perusal !! ========================= GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 1 ========================= I've chosen to call this section Plastic Man because ... well ... you'll see. Graven should have been renamed Pepparami or something 'coz he's bendy, funny and not very intimidating unless you are DEATHLY afraid of toffee, but hey, whatever. In this stage of his boss fight he exhibits the following main attacks :- A) Charged-up unblockable hit (with a delay beforehand so you can get out of the way - roll to avoid); B) 3-hit combo (fully blockable - either block or roll away to avoid); C) Fist Slam (raises his fist and slams it into the ground, creating a part of his body to shoot through the ground and strike out at you). Engage him in hand-to-hand and, when he has taken 100% damage in this form, Graven goes into a dramatic cutscene where you will be prompted to press a series of buttons to overcome him. This time around, the buttons are B, A, Y at the right time and, if you do them in the right order, you will get to move onto the next stage of the boss fight ... if, however, you fluff them up ? Then they will (as has been pointed out to me by GIJoeJeff) CHANGE for your next attempt, so BE AWARE of that. This is the same in all the similar stages of this boss fight. ========================= GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 2 ========================= The boss fight is about to take a ... DIFFERENT ... turn ... During the second, fourth and sixth sections of this boss fight you will be expected to activate one of the cogs around the outside of the Dais to spin the central section OF the Dais sufficiently to align the arrow on the central section with the cog you are manning. Once you have done this, you will strike Graven, and lose a Magic Spell. HOWEVER, to make it harder for you, he will attack you in a number of different stylees ... so ... here we go. Graven rematerialises in the centre of the Dais, and you should IMMEDIATELY run to your right around the Dais, to the closest cog on the right, which will be raised up in a mini-cutscene. You need to RUN because if you're able to get there before the cutscene begins during which the cog is raised, THIS will be your respawning point if (or should I say when) you die. As soon as you reach the cog, use RB to activate it and tap X like it's going out of fashion. As soon as you have pressed the RB button, Tar Warriors will arise on both sides of you, so you need to get as much of the turning done as you can at this point, but try NOT to do a complete revolution of the cog, as the animation of Conan going back to the start point to grab it again is uninterruptible, and time-consuming, leaving you open to both tentacle- and Tar Warrior-attacks. ========================================================================== NB. DO NOT use a Magic Spell here - you WILL need it later on, believe me. ========================================================================== Once you have been surrounded by Tar Warriors, run away to the right, avoiding Graven's tentacles (you can jump over them or roll under them at this point, but jumping is easier and safer). Try and work out the gaps between the tentacles (they ARE equidistant), and take out ALL the Tar Warriors when you have the opportunity. The KEY to the Graven Boss Fight is timing and patience - DO NOT RUSH YOURSELF !! Once all the Tar Warriors are dead move back to the cog and, once Graven draws all his tentacles back into his body and you have a few seconds to make your move, grab the cog again, and give it another damned good thrashing. If you still haven't got the arrow to where it needs to be, just stand in place and jump over the tentacles until you get another break, as there won't be any more Tar Warriors in this stage. Once you have aligned the symbol with the cog, you get a beautiful mini- cutscene, in which Graven is bombarded with Fire Rain from above, and takes a pounding. This brings us to ... ========================= GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 3 ========================= You will have just LOST your Fire Rain Spell. Graven rematerialises on the Dais, and enter into hand-to-hand combat with you again. THIS time, he exhibits the following as his main attacks :- A) Charged-up unblockable hit (with a delay beforehand so you can get out of the way - roll to avoid); B) 3-hit combo (fully blockable - either block or roll away to avoid); C) Fist Slam (raises his fist and slams it into the ground, creating a part of his body to shoot through the ground and strike out at you). He can either grab you or just stab you this time. D) Downward-swipe with his claws and then a stab (which remains dangerous for a good second or so after his animation has ended). Once Graven has taken 100% damage in THIS stage, you are asked to press Y, X, B, A, Y during the very nice and drawn-out cutscene, before you hand him his butt on a plate. This brings us to ... ========================= GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 4 ========================= Your objective here is the same as it was in stage 2, so run to the right as fast as you can, as soon as you gain control over Conan, and start spinning the first cog you reach. As soon as you press RB you activate the Tar Warriors around you, and Graven's tentacles come after you as they did last time - HOWEVER, THIS time around, he attacks with high AND low tentacle-attacks, meaning you have to jump and roll faster to avoid him. Aside from that it's the same old, same old. Take out his Tar Warriors when you get a chance, and then focus on twisting the cog so that the symbol aligns perfectly with it. Once you have done this, you will be treated to a further cutscene, in which you unleash the power of your Raven Plague Spell upon him, pecking him to pieces. We can now proceed to ... ========================= GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 5 ========================= You will have just LOST your Raven Plague Spell. This is the final stage in which he will engage you in hand-to-hand and AREN'T you glad of that !! This time he's PROPER mad, and uses the following as his main attacks. A) Charged-up unblockable hit (with a delay beforehand so you can get out of the way - roll to avoid); B) 3-hit combo (fully blockable - either block or roll away to avoid); C) Fist Slam (raises his fist and slams it into the ground, creating a part of his body to shoot through the ground and strike out at you). He can either grab you or just stab you this time too. D) Downward-swipe with his claws and then a stab (which remains dangerous for a good second or so after his animation has ended). E) Block-breaker combo with unblockable finish (sounds like an advert for BLEACH or something !! This is an aggravating combo where the energy trails are orange for the first four hits, and then red for the fifth, unblockable attack. Roll away to avoid it. Once he has taken 100% damage in this form, you will be promped to press Y, X, B, A, Y, tap X, B at the appropriate time to BEAT that MUTHA down, which takes us to the PENULTIMATE stage of the fight ... ========================= GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 6 ========================= You will be DELIGHTED to hear that this is the last of the SECOND phase of combat with Graven that you will have to endure ... err ... I mean ENJOY !! =) In THIS stage, as with stages 2 and 4, you must run to the right, get to the cog ASAP, press RB tap X to spin it, HOWEVER ... THIS time Graven will send out warriors from the central tar pit AND the tar pit around the last cog (and that's a LOT of Tar Warriors). The ones that come from the central tar pit WILL re-spawn, so crowd-control is only a partial solution here. Additionally, his tentacles follow the same basic pattern as the fourth stage, but they tend to shoot out a bit more randomly, which can intimidate the less-diehard player. You need never fight the Tar Warriors - just run around the outside of the Dais avoiding the tentacles, and they will slowly pursue you. Then, as and when the opportunity presents itself, grab the cog and tap X with all your might to twist it. Once you have aligned the symbol with the cog, you get to ... ========================= GRAVEN BOSS FIGHT STAGE 7 ========================= DO NOT PUT YOUR CONTROLLER DOWN - this IS a cutscene, but it is ALSO a fight so be ready ;) --- CUTSCENE --- The ground underneath Graven ignites, and a hole is burnt into the Dais where he stands. He plummets down to what looks like his demise, but as Conan is just about to breathe a sigh of relief, Graven shoots a tentacle up and wraps it around Conan's leg, in a Gandalf stylee. Conan is dragged down into the depths of the earth along with Graven, and the fight continues. You must Tap Y, and then press X, B, and finally Tap A to beat this BOZO. ============================================================================ � IMPORTANT NOTE � ============================================================================ � It is possible that you will be asked to the A button before the above � � list of buttons - I have been reliably informed of this by cyberwrat, so � � please be aware of that ... thanks cyberwrat =) � ============================================================================ =========================================================================== D R N O R D O ' S A L T E R N A T I V E G R A V E N S T R A T E G Y =========================================================================== I found a couple of neat strategies for this fight that weren't mentioned in your strat. With patience I was able to beat Graven without taking any damage. In the 3 Plasticman stages I found that it was very effective to dance just out of melee range with Graven and wait for him to attack. Watch for his combo and his move where he punches through the ground, especially. After he does his combo you can take a couple of steps forward and hit him with Uppercut (I found the 2H weapons to be the most effective against him). When you see him about to do the "punch through the floor" move, jump towards him. If done properly this will dodge the attack and put you directly in melee range where you can get a double heavy combo. More than 2 strikes puts you at risk though. As for his attack where he makes the single (red) strike, I found it was best to just ignore that attack. It turned out that he would oftentimes take that opportunity to do a "punch through the ground" and if Conan is in the middle of an attack he's not going to be able to dodge it. With this tactic you can take him down in all 3 Plasticman phases without taking any damage. For the Whirlygig phases I did like you mentioned and ran directly right to the first cog and started grinding away at it until the Tar Men spawned and then immediately started running CCW (to the right). I found that you can maintain an orbit where you will not ever have to jump over a tentacle (because you are moving around the room at the same speed that Graven is rotating). Maintaining this orbit also has two other key advantages. First of all, the time it takes you to run around the room once is almost exactly the time that Graven will be throwing out his tentacles meaning that once you get back to the cog you will be free to rotate it. Now you might be wondering about the Tar Men. Well, the other advantage of maintaining the proper orbit around Graven is that the Tar Men tend to become bunched up together and by the time you arrive back at the cog they tend to be a considerable distance away giving ample opportunity to crank on the cog for a few seconds before Graven's tentacles spawn again. Then go back to orbiting Graven and heading back for the cog. I found that trying to fight the Tar Men was far too risky. If they hit you once they're gonna stun you and leave you wide open for Graven's tentacles which will rip you apart and leave you vulnerable to further Tar Man combos. So yeah, all 6 phases I never killed a single Tar Man. It worked wonders. ============================================================================ � T H A N K S D R N O R D O � ============================================================================ ============================================================================== � ACKNOWLEDGMENTS � ============================================================================== As I mentioned at the top of this guide, I would like to dedicate it as a piece of work to Nabeel Rizwan Rafi - a charming young lad that lives in India and who has made contact with me to give me one of the most uplifting appraisals of my work I've ever received. Mate, this is for you ;) ============================================================================== � Copyright Mister Sinister, 2007 � ==============================================================================