The Judge - The Keystone Citadel | Bosses Lords of the Fallen Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
The final boss. The fight with him ends the game, it is also after this one that you see the final cutscene that reviews the choices that you made. You meet the opponent himself at the top of the Citadel (where you have talked to Antanas for the first time). You get to the location of the lift at the top of the long, winding stairs. Before the battle, see the Blacksmith to use the rune that you received from Adyr. Preventing the boss from killing any of the summoned Infested with a fire attack from the balcony, results in receiving better gear.
Attacks
- spike projectiles - the opponent stoops a little and fires several spikes at you, which spread in mid-flight. Dodging the attack in any direction is enough to avoid it.
- two strikes and a crush - The Judge performs a short series of strikes and jumps into the air, after which he drops on the ground with impetus, which tosses Harkyn away, to a certain distance. You should use this attack to your own advantage - dodging the first attack provides you with a good threshold for attacking the opponent's back, when he is following it with the jump.
- charge and a jump - the fastest way that he can get to you, after you move away, to a certain distance, is a charge and a jump that ends in crushing to the ground. As soon as The Judge starts running your way, get ready to dodge to avoid taking damage and to get into a good position to counter.
- summoning of the Infested, attacking in fire stripes - after the fight moves outside of the Citadel (after the boss loses some of his health) The Judge starts summoning the Infested to the arena. This is signaled by the boss's standing still and the appearance of green "fumes" that start to surround him (a perfect moment to attack). After a while, the opponent jumps up to the balcony and there appear the Infested in the arena. An additional handicap is that there appear several fire stripes, in the battlefield. Try to remain in constant movement and do not worry about the attacks of the Infested. This does not mean that you should not attack them - you do not need to, but The Judge regenerates some of his health points, after he jumps off the balcony, per each Infested standing. Therefore, you need to kill as many of them as possible. Otherwise, the battle may get considerably longer. The key is to swing your weapon effectively, and not stop.
- red orb - the boss raises his and shoots out an orb (the gesture resembles the bowling-ball throw). The attack is highly dangerous, mainly due to the fact that it permanently lowers your maximum health points. This means that, with each attack that you take, the amount of health points that you will be capable of regenerating, with health potions, drops. Additionally, if the orb hits a nearby Infested, he explodes and deals additional damage, which is quite high.
Tactic
The battle with The Judge is quite demanding but, at this stage of the game (i.e. at the very end) you should already have sufficient weapons, armor, and quite a few shards and health potions. All of these can aid you in the battle but, before you start it, remember to place runes in your gear (mainly the ones that increase your resistance to fire). The battle itself has been divided into two phases - one short and another one that is a bit longer. In the first phase, atop the Citadel, especially watch out for The Judge's strikes at close range. This phase lasts until you deprive the boss of the predetermined amount of health (it has been separated with a line). Then, the fight moves over outside of the Citadel, to the yard. There, the array of the boss's attacks is enriched by the summoning of the Infested and by attacking from the balcony. During this attack, try to kill as many of the summons as possible because otherwise, the boss uses them to regenerate some of his health (after he drops back to the arena). Also, watch out for the fire attack that the boss summons and it is best if you stay in movement, and combine your attacks with blocks, into lethal sequences. During the battle proper, use the moment at which the boss slams into the ground. Dodging the claw attack gives you the opportunity to attack his back, at the moment at which he jumps. To sum up: try to run around, when the boss summons the Infested, kill as many of them as possible. At the moment, at which The Judge jumps down on you, especially use the moment when he hits the ground, and attack his back. Watch out for the red "sphere" that he throws - if this projectile connects, you lose some of your health points. This means that no health potion can regenerate it.
Challenge
Condition to obtain the bonus: Make sure that the boss does not kill any of the summons with the fire attack from the balcony.
Hints:
- exploit the moment at which the Judge signals that he is about to go to the balcony,
- wear an armor with high resistance to fire,
- kill as many of the summoned Infested as possible,
- watch out for the red orb fired by the boss,
- use a shard of protection against fire.