III. Boss Strategies
[Wasp Queen]
[Earth Troll]
[Twinblade]
[Rock Troll]
[White Balverine]
[Arachanox]
[Thunder]
[Kraken]
[Maze]
[Jack of Blades]
[Summoner]
[Snow Troll]
[Thunder]
[Briar Rose]
[The Guildmaster]
[Nostro]
[Jack of Blades Redux]
^^^^^^^^WARNING!^^^^^^^^
VVVVVVVV VVVVVVVV
THIS GUIDE CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS!!!! THIS IS FAIR WARNING!
Anywho, nice of you to read this. I'm negativeflame, and I'll be your FAQ writer
for the Fable: TLC Boss guide. Any questions or comments (please keep
comments to a minimum) can be sent to:
negativeflame(at)yahoo(dot)com
This address is my primary email address, so try not to spam it. Anything about
the guide can be asked, but try to keep any 'this guide sucks' or 'this guide
rocks' to a minimum. Thanks.
This guide copyright 2005, by negativeflame. The material discussed in this
guide is for Fable: the Lost Chapters for X-Box game system. Feel free to use
this guide without written consent of the author, as long as the original
author is credited for writing it, AND gamefaqs.com for supporting it.
----------------------------
Version History
----------------------------
1.90: Added the leftover bosses, including the forgotten ones. Editted the Table
of Contents to show the changes. Also changed Dodge-Cancel section to include
Summoners.
1.43: Pulled the old version, submitted new version. Added new content to some
of the old ones, only five bosses left.
(1/7/2005)
1.0: Submitted to Gamefaqs, about...half done, tops.
(1/5/2006)
*********************************************
II. K E Y T E R M S
*********************************************
Attack Stat: The attack stats are generally considered to be Accuracy, Physique,
and/or bringing a spell up to another level (i.e, Lightning +4). The attack
stats, in essence, determine the damage you'll deal to your opponent(s). The
higher it is, obviously, the more damage you are capable of inflicting upon
your foe(s). A key factor in determining how difficult some boss fights are
is this stat, so be sure to raise it equally. Another important stat (moreso
for Archers and Fighters than Mages) is the Speed stat-it will determine how
quickly you can attack your foe, which is EXTREMELY important against faster
enemies, like Balverines.
Dodging: Pressing Y on the controller puts your character in a defensive
position-however, pressing Y+direction will send your character rolling in
the designated direction. This is EXTREMELY useful when battling a number of
enemies, and particularly useful against trolls (see Dodge-Cancel). The
opportunities are really limitless with this handy maneuver; dodging arrows
in the heat of battle, rolling behind the backs of guards, attacking at an
angle against Minions-learn the Dodge well. Don't forget, you can keep an
arrow loaded by holding X and then pressing Y+direction.
Troll Dodge-Cancel: Trolls (all variations) have a sort of ground-pound attack,
which can either be ran away from, or the better version, Dodge-Cancelled. In
essence, Dodge-Cancelling is just timing a dodge right. When the troll is about
to pound the ground (with it's arms, jump, whatever), at the last second press
Y+left or Y+right. You won't take any damage, but will wind up a couple feet
away, inside of the radius of the attack. This allows you to deal more damage,
as well as have some time to heal.
Summoner Dodge-Cancel: Just like Trolls, Summoners have an attack which can be
dodge-cancelled. When you kill a summoner, it's final burst of life is in the
form of a devastating self destruct. When it's about to explode, press Y+
Direction to roll, and though you'll be in the blast radius you won't feel a
thing. Good for when being teamed up on by minions and you can't maneuver away
from the Summoner blast.
God-spell: One of the two new spells, Divine Fury or Infernal Wrath.
Strafing: Strafing is a simple, yet underestimated ability. Best used with
the bow, Strafing just locks on to a target (hold the L-Trigger) and using
the control stick to maneuver. You'll remain locked on, but be able to walk
left and right (as well as forward and back). This is another great trick for
dodging arrows, and also a good way to retreat. Just make sure that you don't
have enemies behind you if you're planning a 'tactical withdrawl'.
*********************************************
III. B O S S S T R A T E G I E S
*********************************************
----------------------------
Wasp Queen [Picnic Area]
----------------------------
The Wasp Queen is the first, and therefore easiest boss in the game. The Queen
is extremely easy to attack with the bow, and even with a sword. But unless
you're determined to get Strength experience, don't bother slashing at it-the
bow is simply better, dealing more damage and being far more accurate. The
giant wasp has two methods of attack; a regular swoop down at an attempt to
sting you, and a wasp-spawning attack. She'll circle quickly, creating a
tornado, and spitting out smaller wasps at high speeds. Both of these attacks
have horrendous accuracy, so just strafe (L-Trigger while moving) around them
and pick off the wasps as they come. Will users can simply use the strongest
spell they have; mages will want to cast Fireball on it if they have it yet,
and for the little wasps Lightning works fine.
The Earth Troll is a seemingly formidable foe, but isn't too difficult if you
apply basic skills (strafing, dodging, timing). For the most part, sword
attacks will be the weakest, unless pumped with Berserk (which isn't a horrible
idea). So, stick to long range attacks if you lack the aforementioned spell. So
lets get to the troll's attacks. At close range it will pound the ground, which
sends a shockwave for a small radius around him. Being hit by this results in
light damage and a knockback of a couple of feet-avoid this attack, because
it has a habit of using a long range attack right afterwards. The long range
attack is just throwing a rock or two at your general position, usually hitting
for a small chunk of damage, and this is INCREDIBLY annoying if you cannot
recover quickly enough. Anyway, the easiest way to finish this battle is to
strafe around the troll at a distance, dodging the rocks it throws and then
letting loose arrows. With around ten or twelve of these the beast will fall.
For the warriors among us, charge in with Berserk (or not...if you like long
battles), hack away, and Dodge-Cancel at the appropriate times. If you're not
very proficient with Dodge-Cancelling, you may want to take the safe, arrow
approach. Mages can easily defeat this hulk by casting any ranged spells in
their repetoire, the best again probably being Fireball. Lightning isn't too
great here, so stick to Fireball. Of course, Slow Time is good here, since it
lets you get in some 'free' attacks. Either way, this troll isnt' horrendously
difficult.
The Twinblade fight is both notoriously easy and extremely short. Though
intimidating at first glance, Twinblade is just your average, dull bandit with
some interesting new tricks. One thing can be said, however-those without a
high Toughness will find this battle to be a little more difficult than they
should. Regardless, Twinblade's sluggish movement means that you should never
really take a hit from him, and if you take any damage it will probably be from
the surrounding bandits. Twinblade's attacks consist mainly of strong, slow
sword attacks, except for a follow-up spin attack which can catch the wary off
guard. However, all of his attacks have an incredible range, so make sure to
keep your distance until he performs his fatal mistake-smashing the ground with
his two swords, getting them stuck. Circle around and either throw a Fireball,
shoot an arrow, or hack him up with your sword (depending on your best attack
stat, of course). He'll leave this opening for a solid five or six seconds, and
then resume the battle. No new techniques, the same thing over and over. You
can take down Twinblade in a matter of five or six attacks, less with a bow,
perhaps more depending on your spell usage. For the evil amoung us, when you
attack Twinblade (after the battle; instead of taking mercy on him), his bandits
will all attack you simulentaneously. A good way around this is to take out
all the bandits first, as to avoid distraction from Twinblade.
----------------------------
Rock Troll [Witchwood Cullis Gate]
----------------------------
Another troll? You betcha, but sadly, it's not very different from the first
Troll you fought. In essence, it's the same thing with a makeover-and MUCH
heightened defenses. This means either more Berserk, stronger spells, or a
better bow (Piercing Augmentations are pretty good, too). There isn't much
reason I have to elaborate on this battle, since it's attacks are all the same
aside from damage. Use Dodge-Cancelling at close range, and watch out for an
imporoved (but very similar) distance attack-hurtling three rocks at you, a
couple feet apart. Dodging backwards is the best way to defend against these,
of course. Mages should cast the strongest magic available, there isn't too much
variety in this battle. Physical Shield isn't a must if you have good enough
dodging skills, but it definitely helps. Among the improvements are increased
knockback from the shockwave attack (and only slightly more damage, despite the
cool new rock animation) and the already mentioned triple rock throw. As I said,
most of the old strategies work the same here.
----------------------------
White Balverine [Witchwood Lake]
----------------------------
The White Balverine can be a very difficult boss for those first playing through
the game. Without a high Speed/attack stat, this can be quite a harrowing
experience for newer players. Make sure to equip the Silver Augmentation given
to you in Knothole Glade-basically, for Mages just sell it or something. Mages
are in for a little fight here. For Archers in particular, this is a pretty
straightforward and easy fight-keep your distance, load and arrow, and let it
fly. It gets a little tough to keep your distance when it calls forth more
Balverines, but trust me-this battle is NOT a difficult one. About four shots
with a Silver Augmented Ebony Bow will take this bad boy down-not difficult by
any means. For the brutes amoung us, a silver augmented Katana is the way to
go, since most of the stronger heavy weapons are FAR too slow. The White
Balverine is far more resistant to weapon attacks than arrow attacks, however,
so expect a small fight involved (unless you just cast Berserk). Around ten or
so hits, the White Balverine will finally fall. For Mages, you NEED to have
both Enflame/god spell and a very powerful distance spell-Fireball, Lightning
+5, whatever. Dodge like HELL, and continuously keep a flow of magic going to
the White Balverine. When the Balverines spawn, you want to kill them quickly
as possible to ensure that they don't get in the way of your ranged spells.
Cast Physical Shield, Slow Time...whatever you need to not die and kill the
thing. For the most part the White Balverine's attacks are fast and strong. No
ranged attacks, though, the closest thing to a ranged attack is a powerful leap
in your direction. At close range the thing can really dish out the pain,
though, so attempt to keep your distance.
Despite the hype before the battle, the drama is pretty much wasted on this
giant scorpion beast. It has a varied repetoire of attacks, though, some of
which can take the unprepared by suprise. First of these is a charging attack at
whatever direction you're in-which deals a nice chunk of damage. It's fairly
slow, but thanks to it's incredible size it's very hard to dodge. Just keep on
the move and you'll probably see this attack once, if at all. The second attack
is a quick pincer attack, easily dodged. Once you see it's first pincer move,
quickly dodge it and you'll be fine. The follow up is so quick that usually if
the first one was dodged, the second one will miss. A third attack is a weird
one. He'll sit in the corner idle, slowly powering up what looks like a powerful
energy beam-on a side note, this is when he is most vulnerable to physical
attacks, so look for this as your opening-and then will burrow underground with
one of two outcomes-send a pincer homing in on you, underground (which is easily
avoided), or go completely underground and leave a bunch of scorpions in it's
wake (easily disposed of). Mages can use any mass-removal spell to quickly rid
the scorpions of their lives. Anyway, Archers have another incredibly simple
battle ahead of them. Run around and fire arrows at the thing, only standing
still when it's charging up that laser-looking thing. Keep an arrow loaded at
all times, and dodge when necessary. Mages can do essentially the same thing-
cast distance spells to damage it, and when it's using it's energy beam attack
either power up a Fireball or run in, Slow Time, and cast your strongest attack
spell you have (probably a god spell). Heal when necessary. Fighters can attack
it any time, but I suggest waiting until it's idle (probably charging up the
beam attack), Bererking, and hitting it like crazy. It should only take two
or three of these bouts of insanity to drop the thing, so this is a pretty good
solution. All in all, not a very difficult boss.
Assuming you're doing the Mayor's Invitation Quest, Lady Grey will eventually
ask you to dispose of her other suitor, which happens to be Thunder. This is
probably the easiest boss battle in the game-he's weak, and his attacks aren't
very damaging. He attacks with a couple slashing attacks, as well as a Lightning
Helix attack, which sends lightning along the ground surrounding him. It isn't
extremely damaging, but it makes him invincible while he's casting it. Warriors
can easily cast Berserk and slash away at him. Without Berserk, you can Dodge
behind him and then swipe at his back continuously. There are three different
scenes to this battle, but nothing really changes from each map. An incredibly
easy battle, to say the least.
There isn't really too much to be said on this boss. You'll start the fight
with four tentacles sticking out of a pool of stagnant-looking water. They'll
occaisionally pound the ground, and this is your opening. Attack the tentacles,
until they die (they take about two attacks per tentacle). Repeat the number of
times you need until all of them are gone, whereupon the beast reveals itself
from beneath the depths. This guy has one attack, and one attack alone-sticking
his head lower to you for ten or so seconds (making him an EXTREMELY easy
target), and then releasing a powerful energy beam. At approximately 1/3 of the
Kraken's lifebar, it will switch the order and instead release the energy beam
and then stick it's head down. NOT a difficult battle. Basically; dodge the
tentacles, kill them all, and then kill the Kraken as it makes itself an
incredibly easy target.
Maze is one of the tougher bosses in the game. He possesses quite devastating
magic attacks, and the Screamers that he conjures up can get a little annoying
after a while. Anyway, Maze's offense includes Enflame, which can deal upwards
of 300 damage. Lightning can inflict usually around 100, which isn't too bad.
Maze also possesses a sort of Fireball attack, lobbing a small round fireball
at you from a distance. You shouldn't ever get hit by it, since you can just
continue forward to dodge it, but should you get hit expect around 200 damage
for an indirect hit. Maze has a dashing physical attack (often leading into
Enflame) which hits for around 100 damage. Maze also has the incredibly
annoying Physical Shield, which means don't attack him while he has the blue
aura surrounding him. Anyway, the battle begins at the abbey, but he'll run
away (well, Teleport away) to all around Hook Coast, ending around the Light-
house you saw earlier. So the basic Warrior's strategy here is Berserk,
attack, wait until you have another opening and then beat the tar out of
the traitor. Without Berserk you can just play a prolonged version of this,
healing when necessary (it will be). Archers have this VERY easy; two shots
of Skorm's Bow makes him run, so you can drop him very quickly. Cast any
defensive magic you have, it will probably help. Mages cast Physical Shield,
then Lightning/Fireball/Enflame/god spell, or anything else you think that
will help.
----------------------------
Jack of Blades [Chamber of Fate]
----------------------------
Just like in the original Fable, Jack of Blades is a very easy and very anti-
climactic battle. THIS is whats terrorizing Albion? Sure. Anyway, Jack's attacks
are varied, but all of them are pretty weak. In the first third of the battle,
you cannot touch Jack-until you drop all of his Minions (and Minion Summoners),
he's untouchable. Not too difficult, but after all, they're Minions in large
numbers, so watch your health bar. Kill them all, and when Jack drops down,
the second part of this highly overrated battle will begin. Just go on up and
start blasting him with everything you have. Warriors have this VERY easy, just
Berserk (it should DEFINITELY be maxed out by now) and slash him up bad, he'll
be half dead in no time. Archers, keep your distance and cast any protective
magic you may have acquired. Not much to note, except to watch out for his
Assassin Rush, because that can lead into a quick couple sword attacks. Mages
want to similarly play a distance game-cast any spells you have, the most
effective is probably a maxed out Fireball. Enflame and god spells work pretty
well too, if you can beat him to the punch on it. Physical Shield should be
in abundance. The last third is when Jack is floating with the Sword of Aeons.
He has a tons of attacks here, but all of them are easily dodged. He has two
mass targetting energy ball attacks, one which sends shrapnel flying everywhere
(the most dangerous one), and one that simply disappears on impact with any
other surface (aside from yourself). The newly-risen spires provide a good
cover area for when he sends the second energy balls your way, and the shrapnel
ones can be dodged (you may need to dodge twice to escape the blast radius of
them). Warriors need to use either their bow or magic, one of the two-not a
single physical attack can hit him. Archers, roll and fire, and don't let up.
Easy. Mages have a similar game to what they did before; use distance spells,
OR go underneath Jack and cast Enflame (a god spell MIGHT work). Anyway, in
a nutshell, thats the Jack battle. Make sure to watch out for Minions in the
beginning, and at the last part of the battle watch out for his Sword of Aeons
magical attack. He'll raise the Sword above his head and a bright white-ish
light will emanate, inflicting TONS of damage unless you're behind one of the
stone barriers which just rose. It inflicts a tremendous amount of damage if
you're in the open, but even with this spell, it's hard to lose to Jack of
Blades.
Ah, welcome to hell. Summoners, despite their dangerous appearance and the
Guildmaster's fear of them, aren't incredibly difficult for most people to take
down quickly, while taking little damage. Your first Summoner is technically a
boss, since it has a life bar...but really, this should be the quickest boss
fight in the game. Summoners have a couple methods of attack. A vertical sword
slash, which causes some serious damage, and a lightning ball attack which can
be VERY dangerous. Don't attack the Summoner when it's charging it's lightning
ball, as it will hurt you. When thrown, the lightning ball will shoot out a tail
of energy, which will deal a HUGE chunk of damage if it touches you. When the
projectile is thrown, roll twice to a direction and you should be absolutely
fine. So basically, fighters can pull a "Last of the Mohicans" and run in,
Berserk, and drop the thing probably before it can kill you. Archers keeping
their distance only really have to worry about the lightning ball attack, which
is obvious enough to dodge it, so just do the same thing that you did for most
of the boss fights. Mages have a longer (not necessarily tougher) battle. Cast
the distance magic, and if you have it a god spell close range. Enflame works
well too. Try to keep the distance between you pretty far, but not insanely far.
You only need to be far enough away so that it's sword attack can't hit you. The
toughest part about the Summoners is their high defenses; aside from that,
they're not too tough.
----------------------------
Snow Troll [The Lost Bay]
----------------------------
The Snow Troll is a very, very different troll than your past two. It's attacks
are more devastating, hit quicker, it's tougher, and the attacks are more
varied than before. The ground pound and rock-throwing attacks are still here,
replaced with snow-themed animation, but it gets a few new attacks as well,
which are in fact incredibly dangerous. One attack is slower, but can be quite
fatal if you cannot recover from the first hit-the Snow Troll will pound the
ground twice, and wherever you are at the moment will be pierced with an ice
block, sending you flying back and dealing a bit of damage. The next one, the
Snow Troll will pound the ground twice, sending a chain of ice at you. The
second attack is bad news-it stays around after you're hit once, twice, or as
many times as you get hit. It basically homes in on you, and keeps hitting you
for around ten seconds. So, in the shortest terms, learn to dodge and learn to
dodge well-or, the much easier way, just stay close. Staying close leaves only
two attacks; the ground pound attack, and the first new attack I mentioned. So
sticking close, start whaling on the thing with everything you have; Fighters
cast Berserk, and make sure to Dodge-Cancel it's new ground pound attack.
Archers should keep an arrow loarded at all times, and probably if you have
Physical Shield, use it. Mages, use Physical Shield and any spell you have
that could possibly damage the thing. Enflame, Lightning, and a god spell all
work fine, they should probably be maxed out if possible. However, if you feel
that a ranged fight is your best bet, be sure to watch out for the second new
attack I mentioned. The best way around it is to wait until it's very close to
hitting you, and then run in close again. Usually this works, but it's just a
better idea to stay at a closer range to avoid that.
The second Thunder fight happens, no matter what. All of his attacks and the
basic strategies used to beat him the first time all apply here, but keep
in mind: if you don't take the arena course of action (the alternate way of
getting a soul), you're missing out on some very good experience, and a good
chance to practice against Summoners and their methods of attack. So, on to
the guy himself. He attacks with a couple slashing attacks, as well as a
Lightning Helix attack, which sends lightning along the ground surrounding
him. It isn't extremely damaging, but it makes him invincible while he's
casting it. Warriors can easily cast Berserk and slash away at him.
Without Berserk, you can Dodgebehind him and then swipe at his back
continuously. Oh, and if you haven't married Lady Grey, you can do the quest
without defeating Thunder again.
----------------------------
Briar Rose [Archon's Shrine] [optional]
----------------------------
Briar Rose is a pretty easy boss, as long as your attack stat of choice is
maxed out. She has a few attacks; none are very devastating. She can cast the
ever-annoying Physical Shield; she can cast a weak Force Push; she has a few
weak physical attacks; and she has a totally cool cloning attack. The clones
she makes can give you good experience, so be sure to cast Slow Time and then
start killing clones. Anyway, the best way to go about beating Briar Rose is
to just take it slowly; she can't take many hits, and she isn't the nimblest of
fighters, so just deal the pain when you can, and don't jeopardize your HP bar
for an extra hit. It's just not worth it-you might has well conserve the
potions for the final boss. Anyway, warriors basically go the Berserk-slash
method, or go for bonus points (not really) and try killing all of the clones
first. They're great experience, and an easy way to master that final stat
you need. Archers need to keep their distance, which can be hard with the whole
cloning thing going on. When the clones start coming, either cast Physical
Shield or retreat to a corner and start picking them off.
The Guildmaster is a very easy fight, but not one you will win if you are
unprepared. Although he's always saying how easily 'he could break you', he's
really quite the push over. The battle will progress something like this: he'll
send a couple guards after you, and you'll kill them. What does the guildmaster
do all this time? He casts defensive spells on the guards, making them a little
tougher to deal with. This includes Physical Shield, Heal, and...well, thats
about it. Once all the guards are defeated, the rest of the fight is a hilarious
cutscene, so there's nothing more after you kill the guards. Basically, if you
have never fought the guards before, hit them twice or so, then roll behind them
and repeat. If you have Avo's Tear/Sword of Aeons equipped (you should) then
it'll barely take three hits to kill them. An easy boss. The god spells will
really work wonders here in conjunction with Slow Time/Physical Shield.
----------------------------
Nostro [Circle of the Dead] [optional]
----------------------------
[thanks to gagaga217 on the Fable: TLC message boards for some help with this]
Nostro is also a pretty easy boss. First off, he has no offensive abilities
aside from just a normal zombie sword attack, swinging his sword in a 180 degree
arc and then bringing it down over his head. He has no magic whatsoever; there's
really quite little to go over for this battle. The only times you can hurt
him is when his Undead minions are killed-over and over and over again. So,
staying in the circle of ground in the middle (the CIRCLE of the Dead...), go
on a zombie killing spree, earning you TONS of experience, and every now and
then take a potshot at Nostro with your bow or rush in and beat on him quick.
Then make a 'tactical withdraw' and kill more undead, rinse and repeat. Not a
spectacularly difficult battle, but could pose difficulty if you're unprepared
for a horde of zombies coming at you.
----------------------------
Jack of Blades Redux [Archon's Folly]
----------------------------
The second Jack fight is pretty easy, but only because you should have nine
resurrections left. Jack has the ability to inflict HUGE amounts of damage in a
short period of time, but due to the lack of quick follow ups, you have plenty
of time to run, heal, and dash back into battle. This isn't quite as rediculous
of battle as the first Jack was, but it's still not the most difficult thing
in the world. The first attack is a basic Bowser move-fly into the air high,
and then crash back down on the earth. See the staircase to the left of where
you entered? Stay up on the top of that, you'll be absolutely safe. AND you
can take potshots at him with your bow. The second attack of note is a fire
attack, which is more or less unavoidable. He'll swoop over you, shooting a
steady stream of fire at your general area. This will inflict upwards of 600
damage, which hurts, but you'll have time to heal in between his dive bombing
attack. A third attack (well, not attack by definition) has him summon Minions
and a Summoner or two. This isn't too bad; especially since sometimes he'll do
your work for you, since his attacks can hurt the creatures he brings out to
attack you. For warriors, again, Berserk works wonders here. Use an augmented
Solus Greatsword for optimal damage, and since it makes no difference the
speed here, use it. Or, use the Bereaver-of course, if you prefer to be prepared
for the Summoners/Minions, just stick with Avo's Tear/Sword of Aeons. Archers
can fire off arrows from the ledge, the staircase mentioned before is the
safest place in the whole map. Just stand there, loading arrows and then firing
them when you KNOW you can hit-don't waste them when he's circling the arena,
since it's impossible to hit him. Keep firing from the safe zone, and when
the Summoners and Minions start pouring out, use basic strategies to take them
all out one by one. Any spells you have are great help, specifically Slow Time,
since that will make you get in more damage quicker. Mages have quite the battle
ahead of them. Mages will need all the spells they could possibly use. A
god spell, Enflame, Fireball, Slow Time, Physical Shield, Lightning (to an
extent), and any offensive magic you have. Cast your strongest spells against
Jack, and though it seems like forever-you'll win as long as you are patient
enough to sit through the battle. Make sure to keep your health high, since
Physical Shield is completely obliterated by Jack's dive bombing fire stream
attack.
=======================================================================
