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PRAIRIE ENTRANCE/RUINS OF SANCTITY BOSSES
We are now officially out of the rookie segment of the game. The long awaited Boat 4 provides a decent challenge, where your skills will be put to the test. Let’s begin.

Boss: Nine Fingers
Location: Prairie Entrance
Appearance: a large gnoll wearing yellow cloth armor, wielding a mace.
Health Bars: 4
Difficulty: Average
Attacks:
-Double Swing: an Overhead Swing like the Boat 1 gnoll bosses, followed by a horizontal swing. Nothing out of the ordinary.
-Long Jump Attack: the boss jumps forward a HUGE distance and performs a swing attack. This is very quick and comes out with little warning. Just always keep moving to the side and be prepared to dodge.
Other Notes: this boss is Jumpy.
Strategy: Well, this boss actually isn’t as much of a pushover as the opening bosses on the previous boats. For starters, he does considerable damage with his attacks. He also jumps all over the place just like Black Breeze and the Werewolves. Not only does this make him hard to hit, but he also seems to take less damage if attacked while he’s jumping around. Therefore, on the few occasions where he pauses to attack, take as much advantage of them as possible. The boss does occasionally jump into parts of the scenery and knock himself down, so go all-out on him when he does.

Boss: 4 Red Sentinels
Location: Red Archer, Hunter at the Ruins (miniboss)
Appearance: 4 large red gnolls in cloth armor, wielding bows
Health Bars: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Attacks:
-Ranged Attack: shoots an arrow at you. These arrows seem to be faster and more accurate than before, although they still have trouble hitting moving targets. Avoid by moving or dodging to the side.
-Backhand: backhands you when you get too close. Generic melee attack that can be avoided by moving back.
Other Notes: these bosses are Jumpy.
Strategy: These guys are pretty easy. Just keep on the move to avoid their arrows. They jump around a lot, but if you have an attack that hits more than one target at once, these guys will go down very quickly. Just avoid the arrows.

Miniboss: Argontel
Location: Prairie Gnoll (miniboss), Ruins of Sanctity (miniboss)
Appearance: a large purple wisp
Health Bars: 1
Difficulty: Easy
Attacks: same as Eflame
Strategy: you should know how to fight the wisps by now.

Boss: Dim Gray
Location: Prairie Gnoll, Gnoll King Ruler of the Ruins (miniboss)
Appearance: a more heavily armored, gray version of the red Gnoll Chieftain, wielding a flaming hammer
Health Bars: 4
Difficulty: Average
Attacks: he uses the exact same attacks as the Gnoll Chieftain, with one new attack:
-Sliding Kick: the boss quickly slides at you feet first, attempting to hit you if you’re far away from him. This attack covers a decent distance and is quite quick. It has no horizontal range though so you can avoid it by dodging to the side.
Other Notes: this boss stays down for a relatively long period when KDed.
Strategy: This guy is pretty much just an upgraded Gnoll Chieftain with one more attack. However, his attacks are more powerful so really take care not to let your guard down. Make sure to avoid his Sliding Kick. Always be prepared to dodge to the side, and try to anticipate its use. Otherwise, he’s pretty easy if you’ve learned to fight the Chieftain well.

Boss: Singleshot
Location: Hunter at the Ruins
Appearance: a large gnoll wearing striped cloth armor, wielding an ornate bow.
Health Bars: 4
Difficulty: Average
Attacks:
-Ranged Attack: same as Red Centinels
-Fire Arrow: the boss backflips into the air and shoots a flaming arrow at his current target. It appears to have a small explosion radius, and anyone who is hit will be set On Fire. Avoid by dodging when he shoots the arrow.
-Multi Shot: the boss roars, shaking the screen. Shortly afterward, he will begin rapidly shooting powerful arrows in all directions. These arrows turn the entire area near him into a zone of projectile death. The only way to really avoid it is to get as far away as possible, or at least out of range, since it seems that this attack stops at a certain distance from the boss, unlike other arrow attacks.
Other Notes: this boss is Jumpy.
Strategy: Now this guy is what a ranger boss should really be like, in my opinion, not like the pushovers you fought previously. First of all, this guy jumps around a lot, making him a bit hard to hit unless you knock him down. If you’re in a party, you should take the opportunity to attack when he targets another of your party members. Be cautious, dodge when he shoots the Fire Arrow, and get out of there when he starts his Multi Shot, and you should be fine.

Miniboss: Everwhite
Location: Ruins of Sanctity/Gnoll King Ruler of the Ruins (miniboss)
Appearance: a white recolor of Dim Gray
Health Bars: 4
Difficulty: Average
Attacks: has all of Dim Gray’s attacks, as well as these new ones:
-Double Hammer Smash: performs a Hammer Smash, but instead of ending the attack there, he will raise the hammer again and perform an additional Hammer Smash right after it. Both Smashes track targets, so it’s not safe to attack him until after you’ve dodged the second Smash.
-Charged Hammer Smash: the boss roars loudly, then performs a Hammer Smash attack. However, this attack will send out a huge wave of fire, with a radius approximately equal to the distance between Everwhite’s feet and the point of impact. Anyone who gets hit by this will take huge damage, and be set On Fire.
Other Notes: this boss stays down for a relatively long period when KDed.
Strategy: Many people have assumed this guy was just another Gnoll Chieftain clone. They were then summarily owned by Everwhite’s two new attacks. After he performs a Hammer Smash, make sure he will not add another one before you rush in to attack. Make sure you get away from him when he roars, to avoid the Charged Smash. Continue to exercise caution as you did with other Boat 4 bosses, and you should take him down with minimal injury.

Boss: Rampage
Location: Ruins of Sanctity
Appearance: a large, dark brown gnoll wearing silver scale armor, wielding two battleaxes
Health Bars: 4
Difficulty: Average to Hard
Attacks:
- Axe Smash: smashes the ground in front of him with an axe. Keep moving to the sides and dodge this attack.
-Double Axe Smash: same as the above, but he smashes twice. Avoid it in the same way as the other attack.
-Rush Attack: just like the old gnoll bosses, but with greater range and damage.
-Turning Attack: same as previous bosses.
Strategy: Okay, this guy does some high damage compared to previous bosses, especially on Hard + Macha. His attacks do more than half of an HP bar on my Lann, and a single Double Axe Smash can kill you in one hit if you’re not at full health. Avoid his attacks at all costs. Remember, survival is more important than damage. You’ll really have to use your quickest attacks from here on out, saving the longer combos for situation where you know for a fact that you’ll be able to pull them off in time to get away. Slowly whittle down his health when it’s safe to do so, and he should go down.

Boss: 5 Multicolored Soldier Spiders
Location: The Five Spider Brothers, Goliath/Nightmare at the Ruins (miniboss)
Appearance: five differently colored soldier spiders. One white, one red, one striped, one black, and one normal.
Health Bars: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Attacks:
-Lunge: same attack used by the spiders always….
-Poison Spit: the boss spits poison at you. The Nerve Poison causes you to slowly lose HP if hit.
Strategy: As always, these spiders are easy. The only difficulty lies in the fact that there are five of them, but they individually go down pretty quickly. Use attacks that hit multiple foes to make short work of them.

Boss: War Chief Black Scar
Location: Gnoll King Ruler of the Ruins
Appearance: a large black gnoll wearing ornate gold scale armor, wielding two battleaxes.
Health Bars: 9
Difficulty: Hard
Attacks:
-Axe Smash: same as Rampage, but inflicts Bleeding, causing your HP to slowly leak out of your body.
-Double Axe Smash: same as Rampage, but inflicts Bleeding.
-Rush Attack: same as Rampage. Has a longer range though, so watch out.
-Axe Throw: the boss throws one of his axes at you before pulling another off of his back. The thrown axes target a specific location on the ground, namely the place you were standing when Black Scar threw them. Once the axes reach that location, they will stick into the ground and disappear. Anyone who gets in the axe’s way while it is spinning through the air, however, will be damaged. To avoid this, just dodge to the side right as he throws it.
-Backflip: the boss quickly performs an acrobatic jump backwards into the air, landing some distance behind his previous location. Anyone next to him when he uses this will be damaged and knocked back. Try to avoid staying close to him for long periods of time, and you’ll minimize your chances of getting hit. He usually spams the Axe Throw a few times after using this move.
Other Notes: you can Break Off the boss’s mask to obtain the Black Scar Battle Mask crafting item. 3 Hits with a spear will successfully break the mask off.
Strategy: Okay this guy is tough. He has plenty of health and like his second-in-command Rampage, Black Scar deals some crazy damage with his Axe Smash attacks. The main difference this time is that Black Scar has a ranged attack via his Axe Throw. This makes it less safe to run off to the other side of the room and chug a potion, because if Black Scar decides to notice you, he’ll send a well-crafted piece of rotating bladed death flying in your direction. I suggest you wait for him to start an attack, or hide behind one of the huge unbreakable pillars on the opposite side from the entrance to be safe when using an item. The best time to spear him in the face for the Breakoff is after his Rush Attack, and if you can outrange him before he charges he should end up right in front of you.

Miniboss: 2 Giant Toads
Location: Goliath, Gnoll King Ruler of the Ruins (miniboss)
Appearance: uh…exactly how they sound
Health Bars: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Attacks:
-Bite: bites you. Just a normal attack.
-Tongue Flick: lowers its head very slightly, then flicks out its tongue attempting to hit you. This has little warning so always be ready to dodge to the side.
-Venom Spit: starts dripping toad venom from its mouth, then spits it at you. This intoxicates you with Toad Poison, making you lose HP for the duration of the effect.
Strategy: Use the standard miniboss fighting technique. You should know how to deal with large versions of normal enemies by now.

Boss: Goliath
Location: Goliath
Appearance: a huge toad with a red back leg
Health Bars: 5
Difficulty: Average
Attacks:
-Bite: same as the Giant Toads.
-Tongue Flick: same as the Giant Toads, with a longer range due to his size.
-Venom Spit: see above.
-Turning Attack: same as other giant bosses.
-Body Slam: jumps at you and tries to land on top of you. Avoid by dodging to the side.
-Reverse Kick: jumps at you and flips around to kick you with his legs. Avoid by dodging to the side.
Other Notes: You can Break Off the red leg with spears to drop a Goliath Back Leg Tendon.
Strategy: Don’t get careless just because this guy seems like a sluggish fatso at first glance. Not only does he follow you around pretty quickly, his attacks are fast, do decent damage, and have quite a long range. Watch him carefully, and dodge to the side whenever he attacks. His Body Slam and Reverse Kick both have high downtime afterward so use the opportunity to attack. If you’re trying to break off his leg tendon, his reverse kick even turns himself around for you, so spear away after he uses it.

Episode Boss: War Chief Black Scar, Round Two
Location: The Fleeing Gnoll King
Appearance: same as his previous version
Health Bars: 9
Difficulty: Hard
Attacks:
-Axe Smash: still the same.
-Double Axe Smash: the same.
-Turning Slash: quickly slashes outwards with an axe, turning in the direction of the slash. Back off to avoid it.
-Axe Throw: the same.
-Smash & Throw Combo: a new attack. Black Scar performs an Axe Smash followed by a horizontal slash, then does a Backflip into the air and performs an Axe Throw at the peak of his jump. Avoid his Axe attacks as you would normally, and if he used a horizontal slash, be prepared to dodge when he throws the battleaxe. The thrown axe still targets you instead of following a preprogrammed path, so make sure you avoid it.
-Berserker Combo: this is like the Strong Ekelch’s Slashing Combo, on steroids. Black Scar begins by roaring loudly. He will then go absolutely crazy, performing a ton of repeated Axe Smashes while chasing you. You WILL die 99% of the time if you don’t avoid or block this attack. He moves faster than you can run, but can’t turn too well, so dodge to the side when he’s about to hit you. After this attack ends, he will be worn out for a brief period so attack him then.
Other Notes: you can still Break Off his mask. This time it’ll give you an Enraged Hero Mane, and the Mask item becomes a normal drop.
Strategy: You’ve finally cornered the King of the Gnolls, but he won’t go down without a fight. Trapped enemies always fight the hardest, and this guy is seriously pissed. He’s abandoned some of his old attacks and gained some effective new ones. Make sure you don’t get hit by the Berserker Combo, and continue to watch out for the other attacks as well. Be sure to stay alert when he starts what looks like a Double Axe Smash in case it is actually the Throwing combo. As always, the key to bringing this guy down is not getting hit. If you’re trying to break his mask this time, his downtime after the Berserker Combo provides a great opportunity to do so.

Raid Boss: Giant Spider
Location: Hidden, Nightmare at the Ruins
Appearance: a HUGE red spider with bladed front legs.
Health Bars: 9
Difficulty: Average
Attacks:
-Claw Slam: the Giant Spider shifts its right claw slightly. (That would be your left if it is facing you.) It then slams the ground in front of it with that claw. You’ll have to watch carefully to noticed the movement, and dodge away in time. Stay alert.
-Long Claw Swipe: the Giant Spider slightly extends its right claw forwards for support, then swipes diagonally at you with its left claw (your right). This attack is similar to the previous one, but it in fact has a larger range than it looks. It’s also pretty accurate and can sometimes hit you even if you dodge. It’s probably easiest to just run away until you know for a fact you’re out of range for this one.
-Double Claw Swipe: this is kind of like the two above attacks performed one after another. It’s also kind of tricky to dodge due to the deceptive range on the second attack. You can tell the boss will use this attack if it raises its head higher than it normally does for the Claw Slam. It will then perform a Claw Slam followed by a horizontal swipe with its other claw. It’s possible to dodge the second swipe by going right next to the Giant Spider’s body and dodging underneath the leg of its swiping claw.
-Turning Attack: the signature utility move for all giant bosses. The Giant Spider rears up and raises its claw higher than it does for the Claw Slam attack in order to signal that it is about to use this, before swiping diagonally with that claw in the opposite direction to turn toward its target.
-Pounce Attack: the Giant Spider will hug the ground while bunching its front claws closer together and then leap at you, attempting to land on top of you and crush you with its large bulk. Be prepared to dodge out to the side when you see it winding up, in order to avoid the boss when it lands.
Strategy: The Giant Spider is yet another Raid boss, which means up to 6 people may fight him at once. However, it is widely considered to be inferior to the Red Tyrant in terms of difficulty. There are multiple reasons for this. First of all you’ll notice it has nowhere near as many different attacks as the Red Tyrant. Additionally, they are all pretty much weaksauce, possessing less of an AoE and being generally easier to dodge. The most crucial weakness of the Giant Spider, however, is the fact that it flinches easily.
Whenever it rapidly takes a large amount of damage, the Giant Spider will flinch, recoiling away from the source of the DPS it is receiving. This, however, is its downfall. If a party is capable of achieving enough damage over a short period of time, then it is a simple matter for the entire party to concentrate their attacks on one side of the Giant Spider’s body, damaging it so quickly that it immediately flinches again after recovering from a previous one. Through using this method in combination with a few Palalas at the beginning of the fight, the Giant Spider can easily be finished off without even giving it a chance to attack. The absolute best class for this strategy is a Spear Lann, as the huge level of DPS they can pull off with Hurricane 3960 and Fury Infusion easily guarantees a victory if two or three are in your team. Scythe Evies with Bloody Thread are also a good source of DPS, and Staff Evies are also a boon to parties attempting to DPS lock the Giant Spider as their Golem summon will very effectively distract the boss while allowing party members to pound on it with the fury of a thousand suns. The fact that it’s so easy to DPS lock this boss is the primary reason I haven’t really developed many strategies regarding its attacks, since it rarely gets a chance to use them in a full party run.

Miniboss: Ailliagh
Location: Nightmare at the Ruins (miniboss)
Appearance: a giant Big Jaw Spider.
Health Bars: 3
Difficulty: Easy
Attacks: the usual repertoire used by spider bosses as well as the following:
-Pounce Attack: cribbed from the Giant Spider, with a shorter range due to the boss’s smaller size.
Strategy: This guy is so easy it’s not even funny. Just take him down as you would any miniboss.

Raid Boss: Thorn Laghodessa
Location: Nightmare at the Ruins
Appearance: a slightly HUGER, black and green striped version of the Giant Spider, with spikes on its bladed legs.
Health Bars: 10
Difficulty: Average
Attacks: uses all of the Giant Spider’s attacks as well as the following:
-Venom Spew: the Laghodessa drips potent venom from its fangs before spewing it out in a large cone in front of it. This has a long range, and Poisons anyone hit by it. Just get the heck out of the way when you see the startup animation.
-Turning Attack: like other giant bosses, the Laghodessa has the Turning Attack. The Laghodessa’s animation for this involves it sliding its bladed claw along the ground in the direction it is turning. Furthermore, the Laghodessa likes to combo this immediately after using its Pounce Attack, to hit anyone who tried to place themselves in a favorable position to attack from the side. Therefore, be cautious and don’t rush in immediately after you see the Laghodessa pounce. If you decide to attack from the side, approach more from the back and not the front to minimize your chances of getting hit.
-Tail Slam: if someone attempts to attack the Laghodessa from behind, it will slam its tail on the ground several times, sending out shockwaves which damage anyone standing directly behind it. This has little warning as to when it occurs, so it is recommended to attack not directly from behind, but a little to the side.
Other Notes: spawns with the Giant Spider. The Laghodessa’s right front claw can be Broken Off. Five hits with a throwing spear will break the claw for salvage after the battle. However, in this case the claw can also be obtained as a normal drop, and the breaking process is very time-consuming, so it’s really not worth bothering with.
Strategy: The Thorn Laghodessa is the first 8-person raid in the game. The reason for this soon becomes apparent, since in this battle you’ll have to simultaneously fight TWO Raid bosses simultaneously. Do not despair, however, as this battle is in fact still quite easy. Even though there are two bosses, it does not change the viability of the DPS locking tactic. While it may take a little longer for weaker and less organized parties to successfully pull it off due to the fact that you have to have players concentrate on both bosses, it’s still easy as pie to get both of the arachnids into a cycle of never-ending pain, or at least distract one until you finish off the other. The moment one of the pair goes down, the battle becomes even more of a foregone conclusion than the previous Raid. Palalas are very efficient for stunning the bosses long enough at the beginning to allow people to get into position, and also help if things go awry, people start dying, and a breather is needed.
If, however, you do not wish to simply run in screaming your name at the top of your lungs, there is an alternative strategy, created by the players of the Korean version of this game who like to actually be in control of what happens. Don’t rely on this unless you’re running with guild members, however. The strategy is as follows: before the battle, one player must be selected to be the Lurer/Tanker. Once the party reaches the boss room, no one except the Lurer must move or the plan shall be ruined. While everyone else remains still, the Lurer must run up and hit the Laghodessa once to get its attention, then immediately run towards the top right corner of the boss arena. Once the Lurer has the Laghodessa’s attention, the rest of the party must run toward the bottom left corner, hopefully enticing the Giant Spider into following them. Meanwhile, the Lurer will remain in the top right corner and allow the Laghodessa to kill him/her. If done correctly, the Giant Spider and Laghodessa will end up in opposite corners of the room, and the Laghodessa will be too far away to notice any of the players beating up the Giant Spider. After the Giant Spider is killed, an opportunity opens up for those who wish to attempt getting the Laghodessa’s Breakoff, since throwing spears may somehow be used from across the room without attracting the ire of the oblivious creature. However, since the Laghodessa’s claw is a normal drop, this strategy is no longer necessary, although it may in fact hasten things if people don’t bother attempting to Break Off the claw.
To be honest though, you shouldn’t have any problems with this boss, even with a party of random players. You probably won’t have any trouble finding party members either, since this battle is the first one to give a minimum of 20 AP. This fact, combined with the ease with which it can be completed, means that this is the mission of choice for AP farming once the required level is reached. It’s even better than the White Tyrant for such a purpose, and you can get crafting materials for an excellent set of armor while doing it, too.