It’s not at all clear why this Misbegotten is hanging out alone in a cave with Radagon’s sword, but what is clear is that he’s been practicing with it. This boss moves fast, hits hard, and the runback to his room is one of the longer ones in the game. Fortunately, there are a couple of techniques that make fighting him significantly easier, and we’re going to teach them to you!
General Tips
This boss is easily staggered, and jumping heavy attacks from two-handed weapons or attacks like Carian Piercer are very effective at interrupting his attacks.
Although you won’t be able to block entire combos, a shield can still help if you aren’t comfortable dodging all of the boss’s moves.
Strategy
Before entering the boss room, equip whatever melee group-style spirit ash you’ve upgraded the most, assuming it isn’t an early game ash (things like the Demi-Human or Wandering Noble ashes won’t work, since they aren’t tanky enough). The Greatshield Soldier Ashes are a good safe choice, while the Mausoleum Soldier Ashes is a more aggressive but riskier choice (since they can die to the boss’s AOE much more easily). Even if you haven’t upgraded them, they may still be tanky enough depending on your DPS, so give ’em a try at least once. However, if you find that they die too quickly, you should choose to respawn at the Site of Grace, leave the dungeon, and go upgrade either the Greatshield or Mausoleum Soldier ashes before attempting to face the boss again.
Summon your group ashes of choice once you get into the boss room, and then try to engage the boss, dodge an attack, and stagger him — we don’t want him doing any damage to the summons. Keep him occupied (and ideally stun-locked) until your summons get into range, and then continue keeping him chain-stunned while you and your spirit ashes gang up on him.
Unupgraded ashes won’t be as effective, but can still buy you enough space and time to do lots of damage to the boss
You should keep the boss from attacking by using whatever attack you have that has high stagger and is spammable. For melee characters, that will almost always be two-handing your weapon and doing jumping heavies, while mages have more varied options — Carian Piercer, Gavel of Haima, etc.
Hopefully, you can kill the boss with the help of your summons. However, this won’t always be possible. If your summons die, you’ll need to avoid the boss’s attacks and then counterattack. See the Moveset section below for specific tips on avoiding the boss’s various attacks and combos. Melee characters will have an easier time sans summons, since you can use leaping heavies when the boss is idle — the only attack that he can poise through your attacks with is Establish Order.
Pay attention to your stamina, and back off when you’re out
Mages will want to use Carian Piercer, or something else that can consistently stagger and catch him in attacks. You’ll need to make space to charge these kinds of attacks up to max.
Moveset
Moves that aren’t punishable are often chained into other moves, most frequently the Shout or Double Claw & Sword .
Combos/attacks marked with [P] have windows in which you can always safely attack (after the combo ends).
[P]Establish Order – The boss stands up straight and perfomds a gesture, while a sign of the Golden Order appears near his head. This produces an AOE blast of holy damage. Next, he swings the greatsword once horizontally, then a second time — the second time creates a wide projectile that travels towards his target. You can time a roll to avoid the AOE damage, but it’s best to just get away ASAP. Roll to avoid the followup projectile.
Shout – The boss shouts, doing minor AOE damage and interrupting many actions. You can time a roll to avoid the AOE damage, but this move comes very quickly and can be chained into and out of other moves.
Triple Slash 1 – The boss swings his weapon three times horizontally. The first swing is backhand, and after a brief delay, two quick attacks follow. Roll towards the boss during the second attack to avoid the third as well.
[P]Triple Slash 2 – The boss swings his weapon twice horizontally, then once diagonally downward. The first swing is forehand, and the attacks come in a consistent rhythm. Roll towards the boss during the second attack to avoid the third as well.
[P]Hopping Slash (+ Combo) – The boss hops towards his target and then does a slow horizontal slash. Rolling backwards is effective vs this attack. Sometimes, this is chained into a full combo, and the initial hopping strike is folowed by a slash the other direction. He then drags the sword on the ground before slashing upwards, and then finishes by spinning and doing a strong overhead attack.
[P]Sword & Claw – The boss swings his sword and places his hand on the ground. He then attacks overhand with his claw (his free hand), and then after a delay, swings his sword upwards. He then brings it up over his head and after an even longer delay, swings it downwards. Rolling backwards is effective vs this attack.
[P]Sliding Slashes – The boss scrambles sideways and then does a long horizontal slash. He sometimes repeats this part of the move. Then he dashes away before closing the gap, and does an overhead attack. The first part of this move has a long attack animation, so roll towards/through it. You should also roll diagonally towards the final attack so that you’re in a position to punish.
Leaping Slash – The boss puts both hands on the ground and crouches, then quickly leaps and slashes at his target. Roll towards the boss as he leaps to avoid.
[P]Leaping Stomp- The boss leaps high in the air and lands with both feet, doing AOE damage. You can time a roll to avoid the AOE damage.
[P]Double Claw & Sword – The boss slashes twice with his claw, then leaps in the air and slashes with his sword. A move often chained into. Best blocked, as the second claw will catch you if you roll.
Unabashed FromSoftware fanboy still learning to take his time with games (and everything else, really). The time he doesn't spend on games is spent on music, books, or occasionally going outside.
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