Alan Wake 2: How to defeat the Nightingale? Alan Wake 2 guide, walkthrough

Nightingale is the first main boss in Alan Wake 2. The description of the fight from our guide explains where to find Nightingale in Cauldron Lake when playing Saga, how to destroy the source of the boss and how to weaken it, as well as how to avoid Nightingale's strong attacks.

Last update: 26 October 2023

After you start Return 2 - The Heart in Alan Wake 2, Saga must find and defeat the boss Nightingale, who is hiding in Cauldron Lake. In our guide, you will find a detailed description of this boss fight. You will learn all of Nightingale's attacks and how to avoid them, as well as how to deprive the boss of his source and how to defeat him.

• First fight with Nightingale
• Tracking down Nightingale at Cauldron Lake
• Boss fight description

First fight with Nightingale

1. Nightingale is the first enemy who will attack you in the game. This scene takes place after reaching the morgue in Bright Falls. While performing the autopsy, Nightingale will come back to life and attack Saga.
2. The first confrontation with the former agent is not a full-fledged boss fight. You simply have to hide in the light, reach the gun, and shoot Nightingale several times. We described this fight on a separate page How to survive the showdown in the morgue?.

Tracking down Nightingale at Cauldron Lake

1. The full-fledged fight with the described boss will happen after you start Return 2 - The Heart and return to Cauldron Lake as Saga.
2. During the main objective, you must, e.g. get Nightingale's heart to perform the ritual and open the Overlap in the Witch's Ladle. It will unlock a kind of portal shown in the picture.

1. After reaching the other side of the portal, you have to follow narrow paths and collect, among other things, new typewriter pages along the way.
2. Ultimately, you need to reach a narrow passage between the rocks - it is shown in the picture. The game will create a checkpoint there. Make sure Saga is at full strength and that your weapons do not require reloading.

Boss fight description

1. After reaching the other side, Nightingale will appear and the actual boss fight will begin.

1. Immediately after starting the fight, use the flashlight boosting to illuminate and stop the boss. After using up 1 or more flashlight charges, the boss will temporarily lose his darkness shield.
2. Now you have to aim at its source point - the red dot on his chest (picture above). Destroying the source point will cause serious damage to the boss and briefly interrupt his attacks.

Nightingale has 2 attacks:

1. Grapple - Try to dodge backwards. If Saga gets caught, quickly press the action button to free yourself and lose as few health points as possible.
2. Weapon swings - They are powerful and clearly telegraphed. Perform 1 or 2 successful dodges in a row. If Saga gets hit, she can be knocked down to the ground and receive significant damage.

1. After destroying the source point, continue attacking Nightingale. We recommend using the sawed-off shotgun - it deals more damage than the pistol, but has a very slow reload. You can bypass this by switching to the pistol.
2. The weakened boss will disappear and send a red wave at you. You have to run in the opposite direction and return to the maze of paths in the forest.

1. There is loot in the forest - check the containers on the ground and hanging boxes. They contain, e.g. ammunition and painkillers.
2. Nightingale may suddenly appear in front of you. It's best then to immediately illuminate him with a flashlight and shoot him. You can also dodge back to reduce the risk of being grappled by the boss. Weakening the boss again will make him disappear once more. Before you go further, reload your weapons and heal your character if you have to.

1. The final part of the fight should take place in a slightly larger clearing. In addition to the already known attacks, the boss can hit the ground with his weapon - dodge to the sides to avoid the shock wave.
2. Continue attacking the boss until he loses all his health and falls to the ground. Finish the fight to unlock the trophy for defeating Nightingale.