Tucked away downstream in the Recluse River, players will find a nondescript entrance to the Eastern Nameless Mausoleum. Inside is a challenging foe named Rakshasa that wields a great katana. This is one fight whose difficulty will vary greatly depending on your build. Let’s go over the best ways to tackle this lethal enemy.
General Tips
The boss can’t be staggered while she is attacking, but can be staggered by power attacks in between attacks.
Almost all the boss’s attacks can be parried (except the jumping power attack).
When the boss stomps her left foot, she will start slashing back and forth. She can’t be staggered out of this attack, and she will continue to slash while you’re in range. Roll backwards to get her to stop, or parry a swing.
A good time to hit her with a quick ranged attack is when she does the foot stomp, but make sure you’re out of range of her sword.
Strategy
While preparing for this boss, you’ll want to make sure you do it before heading out to the secluded Eastern Nameless Mausoleum, because there isn’t a site of grace nearby to make quick adjustments. Upfront, this is a humanoid-tarnished boss, so you’ll want your PVP setup. That means hard to dodge spells if you’re a caster, and a good parrying shield like the Buckler are effective. Neither of these are absolutely necessary, but they can make the fight much easier. Also, keep in mind that these types of bosses can heal with a flask once in the middle of the fight.
This boss does quite a bit of damage per hit. Her attacks also buildup Bleed, but you’ll likely die from the damage before the status procs. If you’re having trouble staying alive, then making some adjustments to help your damage protection will surely help. Here is a quick list of methods to increase your damage resistance:
Boiled Prawn / Boiled Crab – Item that gives physical damage negation. Requires progression in Blackguard Big Boggart quest line to purchase these items (60 seconds increased damage protection).
Incantations – Require a seal and certain level of Faith to cast.
Golden Vow – Provides +10% to all damage negation, and a +15% damage increase. Last 80 seconds. Found on Mt. Gelmir in the Corpse Stench Shack (location early in “Part 1” of our guide).
Melee Strategy
This boss doesn’t have a long list of moves, and most of them are pretty generic to humanoid enemies. The main one that you’ll want to note is her big slash combo. She stomps his foot, then swings her great katana side to side while stepping towards you. These slashes do a lot of damage, and she will keep doing them if you’re in range. You also can’t stagger her out of the attack by doing a power attack of your own. Consequently, the best approach is to either parry the attack with a shield, or roll out of range (then she’ll stop the attack).
On the topic of parrying, all of her moves can be parried, except for the jumping sword smash. If she does jump, then dodge out of the way, and perform a quick attack. Or, if you’re a little further away, you can time your own jumping attack to land right after hers.
Parrying is usually strong against tarnished
If you’re not good at parrying, and you’re trying to hit her with melee attacks, you’ll want to time jumping power attacks in between her attacks. Heavy attacks will stagger her, but only if she’s not attacking. You can also backstab this boss, but it is risky. Her horizontal slashes can easily catch you while you try to roll behind her, and she’s fast enough that there isn’t much time between her attacks.
Her jumping attack is the best time to counterattack
If you wait for the right moments to strike, and keep rolling or parrying, then you’ll find that this fight becomes pretty simple. Don’t try to bite off more than you can chew, and you’ll be wearing her gear in no time.
Ranged Strategy
When you enter the area, the boss has a little animation where the spirit forms in front of you. This has just enough time, that you can start a bigger spell or ash of war to hit her right when she can take damage. This boss doesn’t have any ranged attacks of her own, so for ranged players, this fight will strictly involve dodging attacks and waiting for good times to hit her.
The best attacks will be fast ones that are harder to dodge. This boss doesn’t have any particular weaknesses or immunities, so you have plenty of options:
You’re probably aware of these already at this point, but just in case you had switched them around, make sure you have the correct talismans equipped to buff your spells.
For basic ranged attacks, this boss is pretty good at dodging them. We found the best time to hit her is when she starts her big slash combo; roll backwards out of its range, then shoot off an attack as she’s finishing up the second slice. If you’re not far enough away, her slice attack will land, on account of her being un-staggerable during this attack.
Her big slice combo is a good time to land a ranged attack
For creating distance, you’ll usually want to back roll away from her moves (unless you’re up against a wall, obviously). Be careful with sprinting away, as she can also sprint and catch you in an attack. While she quickly transitions into her next attacks, the actual moves are pretty slow and give you quite a bit of time to get away from her. Attack her at the right times, and avoid her attacks; she’ll be defeated in no time.
Moveset
Stab – She strikes the classic samurai pose (with the sword horizontal above her shoulder), then stabs at you. If it lands, you can expect another poke to be incoming. For melee players, parry the attack, or roll to the side for both stabs, and hit her with a quick attack.
Big Swing Combo – The boss stomps her left foot, the steps and swings her great katana back and forth. Her steps propel her surprisingly far forward. If you remain within range, she will keep doing this attack indefinitely. If you’re not parrying this move with a shield, then it’s best to roll backwards and wait for her to finish. For ranged attackers, you can hit her as she finishes the move.
Jumping Sword Slam – She jumps in the air and slams her sword down on you. This is the easiest move to counterattack. Wait for her to land and attack her. If you’re melee, then a jumping power attack of your own is probably best.
Vertical Slice Combo – She often only does this combo when you’re close. She does a vertical slice, then stabs, then a horizontal slice. Again, she can’t be staggered while attacking, so dodge away, or parry this move.
Flask Heal – Rakshasa will use her flask to heal a chunk of life after you’ve taken down about half her health. She can only do this once. If you think she’s backing off to heal, you can press your advantage and score some hits. She sometimes does this move even if her flask is empty.
Running Attack – The boss will run at you and either do a big slice, or a stab. If it’s the slice, then she can follow up with another stab. Parry or time a good dodge. This attack can be countered, but make sure she’s done attacking.
Kelson is a spud head from out west. He is most happy when holding a milky tea with too much honey and playing a sprawling role playing game or reading a fantasy novel. His video game tastes vary but his main genres are looter shooters, RPGs, and real time strategy games.
90,000, Rakshasa’s Great Katana, Rakshasa Set
