Tales of Iron, a beautifully drawn 2D souls-like adventure, throws everything it has at you in its climactic final boss battle. This three-phase fight tests your patience, movement precision, and mastery of mechanics. The difficulty ramps up and shifts with each phase, making it essential to understand each stage’s unique rhythm. Here’s how to survive all three stages and bring justice to your fallen kingdom.

Phase One: The Hardest Start

The first phase of the fight is arguably the most punishing. The boss uses an unpredictable sequence of attacks, making it difficult to deal consistent damage. Your best bet here is to rely on poison, which can apply passive damage over time while you wait for safe openings. This helps shorten the fight and reduces the risk of mistakes.

The typical attack sequence goes something like this:

• Dodge twice to avoid sweeping melee attacks.
• Hold your shield up to block the incoming stone projectile.
• Prepare to parry when the yellow attack appears.

The parryable yellow attack is your primary opening. Successfully parrying this will give you a brief window to get a safe hit in. Resist the urge to heal during this stage — it’s too risky. Wait until the boss transitions between phases to drink your bug juice. These transitions are the safest time to restore health.

Red flashing attacks where the boss leaps toward your position can be dodged simply by rolling to either side. Stay mobile and patient. Most of your success in this phase comes from recognizing attack patterns and sticking to the “dodge–block–parry–counter” loop.

Phase Two: Learn and Repeat

Surprisingly, phase two is the easiest of the three. Unlike the chaotic first phase, this one follows a predictable and repeatable sequence, which makes it perfect for learning and executing a pattern-based defense.

Here’s what to do:

1. Stand in the center of the map and block the initial projectile with your shield.
2. Hold your ground to avoid the boss’s red dive attack.
3. Dodge away when he follows up with a second red leap aimed at your last position.
4. Run toward him when he charges with a red rush attack, then dodge through him.
5. Turn and repeat in the opposite direction.

After this loop, the boss will tire out, giving you a window to land up to four hits. Dodging toward him slightly can buy you just enough extra time to get that fourth hit in. When he knocks you back to the middle — don’t panic. It causes no damage. Simply raise your shield to block his next spear throw and restart the loop.

Save your poison and ammunition for later. This phase is about discipline and pattern recognition, not speed.

Phase Three: Aggressive Endgame

The third phase is the fastest and most chaotic, so your strategy must change. Instead of staying away from him, stay close and dodge into him as often as possible. This drastically reduces the threat from many of his more unpredictable attacks.

At this stage, unleash everything you’ve got — poison, arrows, melee combos. The goal is to burn his health quicklybefore mistakes pile up. His movement is rapid, and it becomes harder to read whether he’s going for a tongue lash or an acid spit. Luckily, if you’re always in his face, many of these attacks become irrelevant.

Some attacks to watch for:

• Red flashing tongue lunge: Stay close and dodge forward.
• Acid spit: If he’s vomiting, dodge and capitalize with a few hits.
• Aerial tongue leap to the other side: He misses completely if you’re on the opposite end, giving you time to chase and punish.
• Backflip knockback: This deals no damage, so ignore it and stay aggressive.
• Yellow parryable attack: Time your parry well to stun him and get extra hits.

The End of a Kingdom’s Nightmare

Once the final blow lands, Reggie watches the Warchief fall — his enemy defeated, but the cost unclear. His kingdom is saved, but the fate of his brother lingers in the air.

This fight is all about rhythm. Use poison in phase one, conserve your strength in phase two, and go all-out in phase three. Adapt your tactics to match the flow of the battle, and the final boss will fall just like the rest.