On the rooftops of Treviso near the Antivan Crows headquarters, after facing down some Venatori, you will find a massive Blight Cyst. Hidden within is one of the champions of Elgar’nan: Desmal, Bloodbound to Elgar’nan. This formidable ogre-variant boss is likely to be one of the first roadblocks you encounter in your journey to form the Veilguard, and so this guide will teach you how to take it out (and whether you even should).
Drops Champion Essence, which is part of the Heart of Corruption quest, letting you unlock a doorway in the Crossroads that leads to another boss (The Betrayal of Felassan), a Unique item (The Burden), and the eventual conclusion of the quest.
Stats
Level 25
Vulnerable to Fire
Resistant to Necrotic
Necrotic Imbued: Enemy’s hits apply Necrosis. They also gain Necrotic Resistance and immunity to Necrosis.
Physical Imbued: Enemy’s hits apply Bleeding. They also gain Physical Resistance and immunity to Bleeding.
Colossal: Enemy has a large amount of additional health.
General Tips
All Champions of Elgar’nan are variants of Ogres, and so learning the Ogre moveset by fighting them elsewhere can be very helpful in taking them on.
Desmal’s attacks are extremely predictable, but many are unblockable or have very delayed Defend timing; it is best to dodge them unless you are sure you can parry them.
Charged Heavy attacks are discouraged, as Desmal can easily attack while you are stuck in the animation.
Desmal’s deadliest attack is his beam. If you see a red line coming from him across the ground, dodge immediately.
Do not use Necrotic weapons, companions, or abilities against Desmal. Also, Bleed builds will not work against Desmal.
Desmal can be found quite early, but — like all Champions — can be fought much later. If you are struggling against Desmal, try coming back when you are at least Level 20.
Strategy
Desmal is one of the hardest bosses that you will have early access to, being just across a zipline from the Antivan Crow’s Cantori Diamond in Treviso. This means that you can destroy his Blight Cyst when you are well below his level of 25. He also drops and item that unlocks a Level 35 boss, meaning you won’t gain much from defeating him early. For this reason, the first part of the suggested strategy is to wait to fight Desmal, Bloodbound to Elgar’nan until you are at least level 20.
Regardless, when it is time to fight Desmal, you’ll want to start strong. If you have access to Gear and Abilities that deal Fire damage, you should use those. Similarly, bringing Davrin or Taash will be the most effective companions, because of their Fire damage. If you don’t have good Fire Damage, then you should instead bring items, abilities, and companions that deal Electric or Cold damage, since Desmal is resistant to both Necrotic and Physical damage.
Once you are well-equipped, it is time to fight Desmal, Bloodbound to Elgar’nan. At the back corner of the arena, you can find a Blight Boil, and when it is destroyed, Desmal will come out. As soon as he does, it is good to cause Detonation and powerful abilities immediately, and to use your Ultimate to open the fight, if it is charged.
Desmal’s deadliest attacks shoot forward in a line, which you should dodge out of
After this, it will be time to simply survive Desmal’s onslaught. All of Desmal’s most deadly attacks, especially at range, come in an unblockable line, and so focusing on dodging is important. This means that using Abilities (which make you invulnerable while the animation is playing) can be useful to avoid damage. In addition, you should avoid Charged Light or Charged Heavy attacks unless you know that you are safe, since those will lock you into animations that Desmal might hit you during.
Apart from that, as with most Champion of Elgar’nan fights, the key to dealing with Desmal, Bloodbound to Elgar’nan is simply surviving long enough to take out his massive health bar. It is highly encouraged to bring a companion with Replenish or Soothing Potion so that you can recover from low health even after you expend the arena’s Green Pots.
Moveset
Blood Magic Beam: Desmal charges up a beam and a wide red line appears on the ground, directed at you. Dodge out of the way of it.
Blood Magic Leap: Desmal leaps into the air and then descends upon you, sending blood crystals in all directions. Dodge out of the red circle that appears.
Blood Hammer: Desmal smashes his hammer on the ground 3 times in a row, sending a line of blood crystals toward his target each time. Dodge out of the red line and out of Desmal’s hammer reach.
Blight Summon: Desmal smashes his fist into the ground, and then creates 7 blight circles that should be dodged or run out of. This blight stays on the ground for a few seconds, which will damage you if you step into it.
Charge: Desmal charges you. Dodge out of the way.
Frenzied Strikes: Desmal smash behind him and then to his side (usually missing his target), before swiping in front of him. This attack can be dodged or blocked, and the third strike is his easiest to Defend.
Swipe Attacks: Desmal will sweep his axe to the side. This attack can be dodged or blocked. Desmal may do this several times in a row.
Blood Stomps: Desmal walks forward, stomping as he goes. Red circles appear around where his foot will land; dodge away from these (usually away from Desmal).
Rock Throw: Desmal picks up a rock and tosses it at you. Dodge out of the red circle.
Teleport: Desmal can occasionally teleport. He does not perform an attack as part of this action.
Blight Rain: After Desmal gets below half health (based on the actual Health Bar), Blight will begin raining from the sky. Red circles will appear on the ground, and you will need to dodge out of the way of them. When they land, they will leave blight boils which can be destroyed with a single hit.
Once you have vanquished Treviso of Desmal, Bloodbound to Elgar’nan, you will have conquered one of the hardest early game enemies. Congratulations! But, with the defeat of Desmal, you will be led toward the lair of an even harder boss: The Betrayal of Felassan.
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Graves
Graves is an avid writer, web designer, and gamer, with more ideas than he could hope to achieve in a lifetime. But, armed with a mug of coffee and an overactive imagination, he'll try. When he isn't working on a creative project, he is painting miniatures, reading cheesy sci-fi novels, or making music.
