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There are many boss encounters inThe First Berserker: Khazan, all with their own unique gimmicks that can range from extraordinarily challenging to pure chaotic, forcing you to learn how to answer it if you want any chance of surviving. AndAratrais one such battle, as there are several gimmicks you must account for if you want to avoid being bodied by an oversized Spider.
Fortunately, once you learn how to overcome these hurdles, this encounter is easily one of the more manageable and straightforward encounters and will feel like a walk in the park by comparison. It will still be challenging but without the feeling of it being insurmountable!
Aratra Overview
Aratrais thefifth bossencountered in The First Berserker: Khazan, which hasmany gimmicks and tricks up its sleevethat can make your life immensely difficult if you don’t account for them. And, to make matters worse, thefirst gimmick is found outside of the boss encounteritself.
You mustfind and ignite three explosive barrels within the Scoffa Cave,which will cause the debris and rubble tocollapse on Spider Nests,simultaneouslyblocking cave entrances into the boss arena.Not only does this make it so that randomSpiders don’t appearduring the encounter, but itlimits where Aratra can reappear after running away!
How To Defeat Aratra
After preparing for the encounter by seeking out anddestroying all three Spider Nests,you can finally take down Aratrawithout having tons of Spiders interferingwith the battle. There aretwo phasesto the encounterand a small gimmickthat will make things substantially more manageable once you figure it out. While this fight can be challenging, it isone of the easier ones,especially after you get the hang of it!
Aratra: Stab Attack
When theencounter begins,the Aratra will likelykick things off with a sharp and swift stabfrom its front leg, which covers a surprising distance in front of itself. As soon as yousee it pull its leg back, guard the instant it shoots forward,allowing you to land aReflection!
Aratra: Leaping Double Stab
Following that, Aratra is likely going to perform aLeaping Double Stab,usingboth of its front legs to perform a vicious stabthat deals substantial damage. You can tell this move is coming, asAratra will back up a bit,bending its legs down andcompressing them before springing forward.
Wait for the Spider to lunge forward andguard just before it strikes,landing aperfect Reflection,allowing you tofollow up with an attack or twoafterward!
Aratra: Rapid Stabs
ItsRapid Stabsare next, having Aratra performthree swift stabs with its legsin quick succession, forcing you toReflect them or risk getting Exhaustedor taking massive damage. These attacks will besimilar to the first attack,but thespeed can be trickyto adapt to.
Reflect the first attack,and themoment you see the leg raise back up,you know theother two are following,allowing you todeal with them the same way.If youdon’t see the leg raise upafter the first attack, itdid a single staband isgoing to be doing somethingelse after!
Aratra: Scoop And Slap
From here, the Aratra will likely execute itsScoop and Slapattack, having itextend its front leg forward and behind youbeforedragging it toward itself, pulling you inward.It will thenfling its leg forward, slapping you away from itand dealingconsiderable damageif both actions hit you.
The moment yousee the Aratra place its leg behind you, guard just as it begins pulling its leg toward itself to land a Reflect. Thenguard immediately again after it pulls you inward,as it will slap you away.You won’t be able to attack muchhere, so just focus on Reflecting both actions!
Aratra: Stabbing Barrage
Next, Aratra will go into itsStabbing Barrage,having it performa series of five attacks in a row.Thefirst fourattacks will be withone of its legs,with thelast being with bothof them. TryReflecting the first four,as thetiming will be very similar to the Rabid Stabsattack from earlier.
Thefifth attackwill bevery similar to the Leaping Double Stabattack, as Aratra willlean back on its hind legs before lunging forwardwith a devastatingstab with both of its front legs.The moment yousee it lunge forward, guard to Reflect it,causing the Spider to becometemporarily stunned,allowing you toland a barrage of attackson it!
Aratra: Burst Attack
One of the most potent attacks of Aratra’s is itsBurst Attack.As always, you mustland a Counterattackto punish this action, allowing you tofollow up with several more attacksof your own, as it will betemporarily stunned.To do this, pressL1+Circle/LB+B just before the attack lands,dealing massive damage to Aratra and stunning it!
Aratra: One Leg Down
After beating up on the Aratra for a little while,one of its front legs will be cut off,causing it to beslightly less effective.We stronglyrecommend targeting a specific leg from the startof the encounter to have this happen sooner, as you canspeed the encounter up substantiallythis way!
Aratra: Venom
Lobbing off one of its legs will cause Aratra toslather its remaining leg in a thick coat of Venom,making itssubsequent attacks much more dangerousthan usual. However, it willlose access to some of its more potent attacks,which can work in your favor. But, as a result, it willalso gain a handful of attacksthat can be challenging to deal with!
Aratra: Venom Leaping Slam
During this state of the encounter, one of Aratra’s new actions will be itsLeaping Slam,having itjump high into the air,landing directly on top of you,covering a tremendous amount of ground and creating asizable shockwavethat can be tough to evade.
Wait for Aratra to leap high into the air,thenguard as soon as you see the large Spider about to crash into the ground.Just guarding will also work here, but it will erase a large chunk of your Stamina Gauge. After it lands, you canget in a few hits of your ownif you’re close enough!
Aratra: Venom Bite
A common action of Aratra’s in this state is itsVenom Bite,having itperform two rapid bites.The Spider willscurry toward you, reel its body back, then lunge forward with two bitesback to back. When yousee it reel its body back,guard as soon as you see it snap forward,thenguard again to Reflect bothbites, allowing you to follow up with one or two attacks!
Aratra: Venom Grab
From here, it will likely go for itsVenom Grab,having itcharge forward with its remaining leg extended outwardwhile itsmouth glows with a bright green.If this action hits you, Aratra willgrab you, pin you down, and damage you tremendouslywhiledrastically increasing your Venom Gauge.
As itbegins charging at you,wait for it toreel back and dart toward you.Just as it lurches forward,evade to the left or right of its mouthto avoid being grabbed. If you’reoff by even a little bit, you will be caught,andtrying to outrun it will almost never work.After evading its grab, you canunload several attackson it!
Aratra: Venom Webs
Periodically, Aratra willbegin drawing in some energybefore sprouting out aspray of Venom Websthat cover a decent range in front of itself. As soon as yousee it begin pooling in energy, simply run away from ituntil it sprays its webs, then wait for its next attack!
Aratra: Venom Ball
After a while, Aratra willslather its leg in Venom again,except this time, it willhurl a Venom Ball at you.Wait for theball of Venom to get closeto you, thenevade to the left or rightto dodge it completely, allowing you to avoid taking damage and Venom build-up!
Aratra: Escaping
Attack Aratra a bit more, andit will eventually scurry away in an attempt to escapethe arena. As itbegins climbing the wall, throw a Javelin at its backside.Sometimes, it willknock it down, allowing you to land several attackson it before it runs away!
Aratra - Second Phase: Appendage Regeneration
Now, it is time for thesecond phaseof the encounter, where things get slightly more challenging.Aratra will appear from one of the tunnels near the topof the arena whileregenerating the leg you lobbed off in the first phasebefore leaping back down into the arena!
Aratra - Second Phase: Venom Claws
Like at the end of the first phase, Aratra willslather its claws with Venom,except this time,it will be both of its front legs,which will be troublesome asit will have access to its complete move list from earlierin the encounter. So, be on the lookout for them!
Aratra - Second Phase: Venom Stabs
With its Venom-soaked legs, it willperform a series of Venom Stabs.This movestarts with a violent stab from its right leg,followed bythree consecutive stabs with its left leg.We stronglyrecommend Reflecting them,as you can’t risk the Venom build-up or Exhaustion this late in the fight.
AfterReflecting the first stab, wait for a brief moment and Reflect the next one,thenquickly Reflect the remaining twoattacks, as they will come out substantially faster. You canland a few attacks afterward,but do not get too carried away here!
Aratra - Second Phase: Venom Burst Attack
From here, Aratra will perform anotherBurst Attack,except it isslightly differentfrom the first phase. While theanimation is similar,it ismuch faster,so be prepared toCounterattack the instant you see it move forward.Landing a Counterattack willdeal massive damage, while staggering it,allowing you tounleash a barrage of attackson it!
Aratra - Second Phase: Cutting Off Both Legs
Continue fighting Aratra until youlob off one of its legs.As it’s temporarily stunned,instantly focus on the remaining leg and don’t let upon it. After several hits, youshould hack that one off as well,making itimpossible for Aratra to escapethe arenaor perform any of its more annoying actions!
Aratra - Second Phase: No Claws, Exhausted
With both of its legs cut off,Aratra will be close to being Exhausted,sokeep unleashing attackson it until itsStamina Gauge is depleted.From here, you cancontinue your onslaught, carving large chunks of its health awayin seconds. You are now in the driver’s seat, and victory is in range!
Aratra - Second Phase: No Claws, Bite
Since Aratrahas no claws and can no longer escape to regenerate them,itonly has access to a handful of attacks,with one of them being itsBite.Deal with this the exact same way you did earlier,then prepare for the next attack. Don’t try attacking after this, as it will recover relatively quickly!
Aratra - Second Phase: No Claws, Venom Grab
Another familiar attackAratra has access to without its front legs is itsVenom Grab,having itcharge toward you with its bright green mouth.Again, this action ishandled exactly the same way,except you must be prepared toattack immediately afterward.
The moment you dodge the grab,run behind Aratra and begin to attack the pustuleson its backside. After enough damage,some of the pustules will explode, dealing substantial damage.This is how you will deal the most damage at this point in the encounter!
Aratra - Second Phase: No Claws, Leaping Slam
Finally, its last attack is itsLeaping Slam,a move you’remore than familiar withat this point, but this is the last attack it has access to if you successfully cut off both its legs. As itleaps into the air, wait just before it crashes downandguard to Reflectthe attack, allowing you tofollow up with a few attacks of your own.
From here, it willrepeat the same three attacks until it is defeated.If youdon’t cut off both legs,Aratra willescape the arena again and reappear with a new leg, and rinse and repeat its entire move catalogagain, so you should focus on cutting them off as soon as possible!
