Bosses & Arcana

Thirteen trophies come from bosses (the Judge's trial included). This page covers every fight in the game: where it is, the attacks to watch for, the Arcana card it gives you and how to unlock the hidden ones.

Every boss at a glance

Brauner: the boss without a trophy

Brauner (The Artist) has no trophy, but he's needed for 100% and his card gives Aerial Rush. Four clues around the Main Hall lead to his atelier. He brings his paintings to life as creatures and can make them explode, so clear them quickly and back away when they glow. Dodge his Vampiric Drain projectile, which keeps draining your health once it lands, and follow him as he hops between set spots in the room.

All 16 Tarot cards

Thirteen bosses give a card. The other three are Rose's starting card, the Ferryman's Whisperer and Queen Eleanor's Sage.

The trophies

Blood Tells

BronzeFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Fallen

TypeBronze

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Fallen, the first boss, at the Gate to the Catacombs in the Paris Streets. It's Leon, cursed and wielding his whip, and you can't skip him. On the ground he throws a three-hit claw combo and tosses a cross at mid range. When his health drops below 70% he leaps to the upper platform and starts swinging across the room on his whip.

Tip

Hit him mid-swing (any hit, a spell included) to knock him straight back to the ground, then punish him while he recovers. Don't back off more than half a screen: that triggers a leap you can't interrupt. He gives the Arcane Whip and The Fallen card.

Flammable or inflammable?

BronzeFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Warrior

TypeBronze

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Warrior, Joan of Arc, on the Roof of the Tower in the Paris Streets. Two clues, in the Burned District and the Upper Tower, point you up the tower. Joan has three phases split at 50% and 25% health. Each hit makes her shed flames that gather around her, and when enough are out she raises them as pillars of fire.

Tip

When she leaps for Lionsfall, move away from her landing spot, which catches fire. After each Lionsfall her dash combo reaches twice as far, so either stay close and fight or keep well back. She drops the Burnt Sword of Fierbois on the ground (your first two-handed sword) and gives Holy Light, which you need to bounce off pillars.

Snakes speared in the ruins

BronzeFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Prophetess

TypeBronze

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Prophetess, Medusa, in the Ossuary of the Innocents in Holy Innocents' Cemetery. Four clues around the cemetery (the fountain, the hollow tree, the Sepulcher of the Knight and the Roman Baths) lead you to her.

Tip

Never stand still: lingering in one spot runs down a hidden countdown to her tail slam. Stay out of the line in front of her when she's far away, because her gaze crosses most of the room. After her second frenzy she also summons Medusa Heads that petrify you within 3 metres, so deal with them from range. Take the exit on the right afterwards for the Rusted Harpè and Aegis.

The King is dead, long live the King

SilverFull guideCollapse

Survive the Judge's verdict

TypeSilver

MissableNo

How to earn it

This is the Judge's trial, not a fight. In the Paris Streets go through the Court of Justice into the Palace of Justice and read the plaque under the great tree statue ("Balancing the Scales of Justice"). Then stand on the empty left pan of the scales and hold Interact (R1): Rose's health and mana drain into the corrupted heart on the other pan until both sides are level. The heart turns gold, the statue wakes as Saint Louis, and a short trial scene plays. The trophy pops when the scales balance.

Tip

If nothing happens when you step on the pan, you're too early: you need roughly half of all the health and mana heart upgrades first. The drain can't kill you, but you end at very low health. Strike the golden orb afterwards to claim the Judge card (Chains of Justice) and Valmanway, a legendary one-handed sword. The Judge is also needed for the Justice window on the way to the true ending.

Talos Aversion

BronzeFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Builder

TypeBronze

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Builder, Talos, at the Throne of the Builder in the Clock Tower. He's hidden: read Builder flees to the Clock Tower (Abandoned Workshop, Main Hall) and the Blueprints for the Clock Tower (Daedalus Crossing, Clock Tower), (the blueprints mention the ventilation shaft that hides the way in).

Tip

He raises an invulnerable shield whenever his three drones are flying. Destroy them right away and you get a long window to hit him. Below 15% health a countdown starts on screen and ends with a huge blow, so save your strongest attacks to finish him before it runs out. He gives The Builder (Fist of Talos and the Smash skill).

Blood for Blood

BronzeFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Occultist

TypeBronze

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Occultist, Carmilla, in the Observatory of the Library. Five clues lead to her: Carmilla in the Library (Brauner's Atelier), the Blood Poem (a secret area off the Natural Philosophy Shelves), the Star Chart (Astronomer's Office), Organic Astrology (Drawing Room) and the Magical Brush (Observation Tower).

Tip

Her blood drops mark Rose, and eight marks mean instant death by Thousand Cuts, so dodging the drops matters more than dealing damage. She's invulnerable while she summons skulls; smash the skulls and wait for the summon to end. Below 22% health she uses her ultimate, so keep a potion for the end.

Death... killed?

SilverFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Shadow

TypeSilver

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Shadow, Death, in the Choir of Notre-Dame. You meet him once before, at the Altar of Bones in the Catacombs, but that first fight is scripted and can't be won or lost. The real fight is in Notre-Dame, where his clues (the corrupted organ pipes and the Music Masters' three melody sheets) are scattered around the cathedral.

Tip

Don't run away from him: distance only brings his teleporting reap. Jump the long horizontal reap instead of trying to outrun it. In his second phase he throws his scythe the length of the room and it comes back, so stay out of its path both ways. He gives Soul Harvest and the Double Jump, and the Vampire Killer becomes available in the Deacon's Quarter afterwards.

All that glitters is not gold.

BronzeFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Miser

TypeBronze

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Miser, Mammon, in Mammon's Lair in the Catacombs of Paris. He's optional: the three relic diaries in the Bishop's Office (Paris Streets) and the Door made of Flesh and Eyes in the Circle of Greed lead to him.

Tip

He charges straight up or down at you (watch which way he lines up) and then lands to fire a set pattern. Below half health his patterns also come diagonally and every charge leaves a pattern behind, so clear out of it before the next one. Return the stolen Obol from his lair to the Ferryman for The Whisperer card, which you need for the true ending.

I am Arthur, King of the Britons

BronzeFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Brittle King

TypeBronze

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Brittle King, Arthur, in the Chapel of Notre-Dame. Read the Feat of Strength plaque, then equip The Builder (Fist of Talos) and interact with the sword in the stone to start the fight. Beat Talos first.

Tip

He fights behind a great shield: two hits to the head or one to the feet make him raise it, so time your combos for when it's down. Don't hang back, because from range he leaps in with a shield slam. Expect rays of light at 80% and 55% health, and repeatedly below 30%. He drops Excalibur, a legendary two-handed sword.

Succubued to her wounds...

BronzeFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Temptress

TypeBronze

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Temptress, the Succubus, in Belmont Manor in the Hall of Mirrors. The Hall's map stays hidden: reveal rooms at the mirror shrines and by kneeling at the marked spots, then strike the big central mirror in the Recurring Belfry to go deeper.

Tip

Count her attacks: after five on her own she splits into clones, then a draining phase follows. Stay close when you can, because from a distance she keeps shooting, and expect her to teleport around the room.

Shadow Work

SilverFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Self

TypeSilver

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Self, your own Doppelganger (shown as "???"), in the Gallery of the Four Virtues in Notre-Dame. It only appears once all four virtue windows are lit; then interact with the altar under the rose window. See our endings page for the four trials.

Tip

It fights with Rose's own moves at first, including an anti-air spear if you jump above it. When a hit doesn't change its phase it may drop a healing potion and run to drink it: keep up the pressure so it can't. Below half health it borrows other bosses' moves (Death's scythe, Carmilla's blood spikes, Joan's stomp) and it changes phase one last time below 7%. Reward: Absolution, the spell that decides the true ending.

Finish Hector's work

BronzeFull guideCollapse

Defeat the Zealot

TypeBronze

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat the Zealot, Isaac, at the Heart of the Clock in the Clock Tower. You fight an illusion of him first at the Castle Drawbridge; the real Isaac waits behind Death's trap. Equip Soul Harvest (The Shadow) before you use the glowing clock on the Clock Tower Bridge, or you're sent into the trap instead.

Tip

Watch where he positions himself: from each spot he either twirls his spear or dives at you like a bat. Get out from under him when he leaps for his dragon jump combo, and expect a teleport right before every dash. He drops the Chauve-Souris, the legendary spear.

Die monster! You don't belong in this world!

SilverFull guideCollapse

Defeat Dracula

TypeSilver

MissableNo

How to earn it

Beat Dracula. Phase one is in the Court of the Night (Master's Quarters); he then drags Rose up to the Castle Rooftops for his winged second form. The trophy pops when the second form falls, on any ending path.

Tip

In the Court, don't keep your distance: he teleports behind you or throws projectiles. Below 90% he raises fire pillars that shape where you can stand, and later he adds a diving grab and a meteor shower. Against the beast, stay in claw range or keep moving, and save healing for below 80% and 75%, when he adds a life drain and his meteor ultimate. Equip Absolution for this fight if you want the true ending.