Rathbreaker is the first mandatory boss of Act 2. This guide breaks down the encounter and its mechanics to help overcome this boss.
This guide is written for VULKK.com by Vuk Radulovic
Edited by RubyRose.
Rathbreaker is the first boss in Act 2 and a key obstacle, as defeating him is necessary to progress further by finishing the Earning Passage quest and moving past the Vastiri Outskirts. As such, Rathbreaker can pose quite a challenge, especially for players who rush through Act 1. This guide will cover basic and advanced strategies and provide combat tips to help you successfully defeat Rathbreaker.
The same tips and strategies listed here also apply to the Endgame Atlas version of this boss. Caedron, The Hyena Lord is the Boss Encounter for the Savannah Map and shares the same attacks and patterns as Rathbreaker while being much tougher and more aggressive.
Where to Find Rathbreaker
As you leave Vastiri Outskirts, start looking for a vast clear area with a bunch of Hyenas in a lined-up formation.
Those Hyenas foreshadow the boss, so when you see them, you will know that you are in the right place. You can take the hyenas down and prepare for the encounter.
Preparing for the Encounter
In this fight, you will take damage from Rathbreaker, hyena mobs, and the spear throws from the walls – all of which are physical damage types. Since that is the case, having a lot of Armour is advised to mitigate some of that damage and make the fight easier.
The boss has two Sun Clan Scavengers, the smaller centaur-like enemies next to him, that can be taken down before the fight. Taking out these enemies first will not aggro Rathbreaker.
Rathbreaker is a formidable foe for two reasons: He has a very strong ground slam attack and he summons a lot of mobs during and after the fight. For those two reasons, having a quick and strong healing potion is a must, as well as a decent AOE skill to take down the mobs.
Rathbreakers Attacks and Strategies Explained
The first thing you need to be aware of is that if you come close to the walls, the invulnerable archers will start throwing spears at you. With this in mind, we advise you to stick to the edges of the cliff where Rathbreaker is and fight there since archers don’t have enough range to hit you in the position shown below.
Do not run down the cliff as this will reset the boss and recharge his health and shield. If you need to retreat be sure not to go too far, and again, don’t go near the walls, always stick to the edges of the cliff.
The best way to fight Rathbreaker is by exploiting his weak attacks – Charge and Downward slash. Do not overuse roll – you only need to roll just before the third ground slam, and once he charges onto you. All other attacks are very simple to avoid.
The Hyenas are another problem once they begin to spawn, take them down as soon as you can. These mobs will not stop attacking you and there is no way to disengage them; to make things worse, since you are fighting in a very close space, they can even body-block you. Taking the mobs down as they appear should be your top priority.
Ground Slash Combo
By far, the most dangerous skill that Rathbreaker has is the 3-hit ground slash combo. The good thing is that you will see it coming. Rathbreaker will rise up for a second and then slash the ground twice. These two attacks are not that strong and even if you get hit, it shouldn’t be a big problem.
This third attack is a massive ground slam that has very good tracking and cannot be blocked, as indicated by the red glow.
The trick here is NOT to roll too soon – hit roll once you see Rathbreaker going down and slamming the ground. Also, this attack, although strong, is pretty slow – if you are close to Rathbreaker, roll toward him or simply run behind his back.
He will try to turn to hit you, but if you are standing behind his back you will surely dodge his attack and you have an opening for a few hits. Just in case you do get hit be ready to use the potion instantly as you won’t have much time before the next move that Rathbreaker does.
Ground Slam
The less potent but more annoying version of the Ground Slash combo is just the Ground Slam that Rathbreaker occasionally does. The pattern is the same the only difference is that it is not that strong but you will also not see it coming that easily.
Rathbreaker will rise up and perform a quick Ground Slam with the same tracking as the Ground Slash third attack.
Luckily, the amount of damage is not the same so even if you do get hit, it won’t be too bad. However, he can do these Ground Slams several times in succession especially when hyenas appear. This attack is trickier to avoid by moving behind the boss so you should roll once he rises and starts coming down to perform the attack.
Hyena Summons
Once you get Rathbreaker down to around 65% of HP, he will start summoning Hyenas. These mobs will come in packs charging from both sides of the cliff.
Although mobs are fairly easy to deal with, the trick here is to kill them but always keep an eye on what Rathbreaker is doing, Ground Slash and even Ground Slam combos are still far more dangerous than these mobs.
Keep in mind that hyenas will just keep coming so killing them is imperative as you don’t want to get overwhelmed. Furthermore, positioning is the key here as hyenas can corner you and prevent you from rolling away from Rathbreaker’s attacks. The best way to prevent this is to keep moving, stay away from the far edges of the cliff, and take down at least one pack of hyenas as fast as you can.
Spear Charge
One of the less predictable attacks that Rathbreaker has is its Spear Charge; Boss will rise up with his axe glowing, and charge towards the position where you were at the moment of when he started the attack.
This attack has no tracking and is super easy to avoid, you don’t even need to roll. However, the charge will be followed by a rain of spears coming down in a line that usually falls in the opposite direction of the charge. Luckily, the amount of damage you get from spear hits is not that high so you can simply avoid the attack and hit the boss.
Downward Slash
The easiest attack to avoid is the simple Downward Slash that the boss does when you are close to him. Rathbreaker will rise up and slash once – the ability is very slow and this is your opening for attacks.
You can easily get several hits before he does it again and even if you do get hit, it won’t be too bad compared to some of his other attacks.
Archer’s Charge
The most dangerous part of the fight comes after the fight ends; although this sounds contradictory, bear with us here. As soon as Rathbreaker dies, Archers that were on the walls during the fight will come down and charge at you.
Hyenas will still be coming from both sides of the cliff. This means that you can easily get cornered on the edge of the cliff and die from the mobs. Be sure to run left or right as soon as you defeat Rathbreaker, to avoid getting body blocked.
Don’t forget, if you die at this point, the Earning Passage quest will still be completed as you took down Rathbreaker. If you are not confident enough or in a bad position just run down the cliff and fight archers and hyenas as they follow you and go back for the loot after clearing the area.
About the Author
Vuk Radulović is a historian with a keen interest in the gaming industry. Some of his favorite games include Hearthstone, Path of Exile, Stellaris, and The Witcher. When he’s not working or gaming, he enjoys reading fantasy novels, with The Demon Cycle series being one of his favorites.
Vuk is the owner of Fantasy Warden. You can also catch him on Facebook.
