The boss at the end of the Warrior Path you’ll take in search of Toshi’s relics is the easiest of the three you’ll fight in the village in Kena: Bridge of Spirits, but that doesn’t mean you can get careless. The Warrior excels at close-quarters combat, so you’ll have to shift your tactics away from getting an opening and swinging away; if you commit to mashing the attack button, the boss will block you and then counter for big damage.
Unlike most other bosses, though, the Warrior is more of a sub-boss than a main event, which means he doesn’t have two phases like the others. This can still be a tough fight, but you should have an easier time than the ones guarding Toshi’s other relics, the Mask Maker and the Hunter. Here’s what you need to know to take down the Warrior and clear this section of the village.
More Kena: Bridge Of Spirits Guides:
Abilities You Should Unlock Beforehand: Sprint Attack Heavy, Perfect Charge, Focus, Enter The Fray, Rot Bomb, Rot Hammer, Rot Arrow, Spirit Dash
The Warrior is a slow-moving boss generally, but he can hit very hard if he catches you off-guard. You also need to be careful about getting in close and laying down attacks–the Warrior will block your strikes after one or two, and if you hit his block a couple of times, he’ll respond with a kick that’s very tough to dodge. So the best way to deal with the Warrior is to try to knock him off-balance with arrows and bombs, and to do damage with quick hit-and-run attacks.
You can generally keep your distance from the Warrior. He has a couple of long-range attacks that you’ll need to watch for, but is usually easy to dodge and won’t make the sort of diving melee attacks that a lot of other bosses employ. Stay back and hit him with arrows when you can, as sniping him in the face will stagger him and knock him out of some attacks. Your main goal should be to work on building Courage so you can hit the Warrior with a Rot Bomb–freezing the boss with the bomb will leave him open to plenty of attacks and keep him from blocking you, allowing you to land a ton of damage and build your Courage back up. Rot Arrows are also good for big damage, while allowing you to keep your distance, as are Spirit Dashes, which can allow you to get close to the boss fast, stagger him, and do some damage in one shot.
The moves you mostly have to worry about are the boss’s ranged attacks. If he puts his blade into the ground, expect him to shoot three ranged blasts at you that track along the ground. The first two are a bit slower and easy to dodge, but the last will come a lot faster. Still, you should be able to keep dodging sideways to avoid these altogether. Note that these will tear right through and destroy the structures scattered around the battlefield, which you can normally keep between you and the Warrior to make it tougher for him to get in close for an attack. The boss will also sometimes generate a dome of purple energy that will expand from him, but you can shield or dash through it to protect yourself.
More often, the boss will close the distance on you by jumping in the air and coming down hard, generating a small explosion that you can get away from with a quick dodge. He also will come at you with a couple of melee attacks, swinging for one big hit or a combination of two hits. A parry here comes in very handy to open the boss up for a counter, but don’t overcommit–he’ll quickly come back with his block and if you hit him too many times, you’ll take damage for your trouble.
The last thing you want to avoid is getting grabbed by the Warrior, a move he’ll break out in the second half of the fight. You’ll know it’s coming from the red glow around him, and he’ll quickly try to close the distance on you and pick Kena up for a bodyslam. Timing your dodge carefully is the key here, much like when you fought Corrupted Taro–dodge too early and the boss will catch you easily. Wait till he’s about halfway to you before you roll sideways and you should get clear. This is a tough attack to avoid, but if you’re keeping away from the boss, it should be one of the few he might actually hit you with, so just keep an eye out for the
Overall, keeping your distance and pulling hit-and-runs on the boss should allow you to stay in the fight until you can drop a Rot Bomb and do some serious damage. Staying back should allow you to control the fight pretty well, so long as the boss’s ranged attacks don’t catch you. Keep pummeling him when you get an opening until he falls.
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