Dungeons are a massive part of most JRPGs, andYs Memoire: The Oath in Felghanagets it right from the jump, with the Zone of Lava being the first of many in the game, offering many avenues for exploration and some of the most challenging encounters on top of that.

What makes matters even more dire is that there is no way out of the dungeon until you complete it, meaning you cannot backtrack your way out of it for equipment upgrades or new gear. What you currently have on you will have to make due, which can be daunting to newcomers. Fortunately, you’re never truly stuck, no matter how high the odds seem stacked against you!

Adol running across a shallow pool of lava as the ground shakes beneath him, a sign that Guilen, the Fire Eater, is approaching in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.

Guilen, The Fire Eater Overview In Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana

Being thefirst boss in the first dungeonof Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana,Guilen, the Fire Eater,will test your patience and will be your first skill test. Not only is battling a large fire serpent on a shallow pool of lava already giving the upper hand to Guilen but there aregimmicks you must learn how to resolveto defeat them.

Despite beingunable to leave and obtain upgrades for your equipment or purchase new gear,you should bemore than readyfor this fight if you haveexplored theZone of Lavato its fullest up to this point. So long as you have theBroadswordand theSmall Shield(from Illburns Ruins), it will be much more manageable!

Adol landing the finishing blow on Guilen, the Fire Eater, in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.

1,100 HP

Level 15

Level 15seems to be the area you want to be when facing Guilen, the Fire Eater, in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, and that iseasily achievable if you’ve been exploringas you’ve been progressing through the story. If you areLevel 13 or lower,we suggest youfarm up to at least Level 14before attempting this fight.

Aside from that,having the Broadsword and the Small Shield will help you out tremendously.While you’re able to still get the Broadsword if you missed it, you can no longer obtain the Small Shield, so that will be pretty substantial if you don’t have it. If thisencounter isn’t clicking with you,don’t forget that you can alwayslower the difficulty temporarily upon dying to a bossif you just want to move on with the game!

Guilen breathing fire while slithering overtop lava in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.

How To Defeat Guilen, The Fire Eater In Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana

On paper, therereally isn’t much to Guilen, the Fire Eater,in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, as the fire serpent doesn’t have many attacks. However,what makes this encounter so challenging are the gimmicks at play,forcing you to do specific things if you want any hope of emerging victorious.

Overall,Guilen only has maybe three attacks, four at most,and that’s about it. But it willbecome increasingly more difficult to hit them as the fight goes on,which will surely trip many players up that aren’t anticipating it. So, let’s dive into how you can overcome this hurdle!

Guilen diving into a pit of lava in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.

Adol - Smothering The Flames

When the encounter opens up,Guilen will emerge out of the pit of lavain thebottom left cornerof the arena, having him fly toward Adol. Since you have just acquired theVentus Bracelet,it’s time to put it to use to solve one of the main gimmicks of this battle.

AsGuilen approachesyou,jump and then use the Ventus Bracelet to propel Adol even further in the airwith a sudden gust of wind toavoid his attack.From here,jump above Guilen and use the Ventus Braceletto project wind down onto them, eventuallyputting out their perpetual fire.

Adol running away from a pit of lava that Guilen is about to emerge from in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.

With their fire doused,you’re able to now hit them,allowing you todamage them considerably.You will also noticeparts of their body begin chipping off,but we will touch on that a bit later. For now, just continue to slash away at them until they retreat!

Guilen - Fire Breath

Theonly attack Guilen has access toafter emerging from the lava is itsFire Breath,having itsteadily blow fire out of its mouthas it effortlessly slithers around the arena. For now, thiswon’t be much of an issueat all, as you can juststay at the back end of its long bodyto attack it, avoiding the fire entirely!

Guilen - Into The Lava Pits

After damaging it enough,Guilen will make a break to one of the five lava pitsin the arena. When you see it disengage from you,keep an eye on where it’s going and run away from it,as thesplash damage from the lava can hurt youpretty significantly if you’re too close!

Guilen - Out Of The Lava Pits (Shorter)

Some time will pass, andGuilen will emerge from one of the five pitsof lava. Again,keep an eye out for which pitof lava begins boiling over, thenrun far away from it,as itwill damage you if you get hit by it.You may also notice something here.Guilen is a bit shorterthan before!

Adol - Smothering The Flames, Part Two

Aside from being a bit shorter than before,this phase of the encounter is more or less the sameas the previous one. Use theVentus Bracelettosmother Guilen’s flames,thenstay near its backside and land attacksuntil it flees.Plunging attacksdeal tremendous damage, so tryjumping and attacking right as Adol begins his descentfor quick and easy damage!

Guilen - Back Into The Lava Pits

Dealing enough damage will haveGuilen dart toward one of the pits of lavaagain, which will behandled the exact same wayas before. Watch which pit of lava it’s going for, thenget out of dodge to avoid taking any unnecessary damage,as it can add up pretty quickly!

Guilen - Out Of The Lava Pits (Even Shorter)

Stand near the center of the arenaagain and wait untilGuilen decides to emerge from one of the five pitsof lava again. Like before, as soon as yousee one of the pits of lava begin to boilover,get as far away from it as possibleto avoid damage. And, as you likely noticed,Guilen is even shorternow.

Not only is Guilen shorter than before, butthey are also much faster,which does shake things up quite drastically. It’s an interesting twist thatcan take quite some time to adapt to,but thegeneral strategy remains the same,but with much more caution than before!

Guilen reentering the pit of lava in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.

Adol - Smothering The Flames, Part Three

Using yourVentus Braceletyet again,put out Guilen’s flamesandbegin attacking its cooled-off body.While you still have room to stay at the back of the fire serpent, youwon’t have as much leewayas before, sooverstepping even a little bit will have you run into the firethat’s constantly blowing out of its mouth.

Plunging attacks also work wellhere, as they willmaximize your damageand keep you relatively safe unless you whiff the attack and are somehow left in front of Guilen. Nonetheless,keep attacking until it decides it has had enoughand makes another break for the lava pits!

Adol running away from where Guilen is about to emerge to avoid the lava in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.

If you didn’t break off the rest of Guilen’s body during this phase, it will keep repeating until you do, as you will see only its head rush toward one of the five pits of lava. So, if you’re not on the next step, don’t worry; you just need to do a bit more damage!

Guilen - Back Into The Lava Pits… Again

Making itslast dash to the pits of lava,thehead of Guilenwill dive into one of the five, forcing you tocreate distance from the one it choosesto avoid damage at all costs. This is the final stretch, so lock in!

Wait patiently until youbegin seeing the lava boilover from one of the five pits, andget away from it,as per usual, andget ready to dodge Guilen’s head.It isFAST,so you mustbe prepared to dodge its initial attackwhen it launches itself out of the pit of lava. Then proceed to the next step to close it out!

Guilen entering the pits of lava once again in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.

Adol - Smothering The Flame, Part Four

Finally, you’re on thefinal stageof the encounter, but it issubstantially more challenging and trickier.Not only is itjust the head of Guilen,but it isblazingly fast,making it quite difficult to stay on top of. Use yourVentus Bracelettoput out its flames,and thenonly use standard attacksfrom here on out.

Keeping up with it is the hardest part,but youdon’t want to get too impatientand go for a plunging attack or use your Ventus Bracelet, as it isstill perpetually breathing fire,which will deal massive damage to you.Be patient, catch up to it, and land a few attacks,thenrinse and repeatuntil Guilen is slain!

Adol watching Guilen emerge from the pits of lava in Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.

There is a slight chance Guilen hops back into a pit of lava and will reemerge, forcing you to put its perpetual flames out with your Ventus Bracelet once more before attacking it. So, if you don’t kill it fast enough, be prepared to go through that whole rigamarole again!