For the most part, ANNO: Mutationem treats the player fairly gently in the early sections of the game. However, that changes when Absalom appears. He is, for all intents and purposes, the first example of the game pushing back a little. And push back he does!Absalom has an impressively large repertoire of attacks. He can teleport, he has unparryable attacks, he can throw a multitude of projectiles your way, and he has some pretty fast moves to accompany all of this. Oh, and he hits like a truck. Thankfully, he is far from unbeatable. He has a number of tells, which, once you catch on to, will spell his doom.
Absalom's Attacks
Versatile and fast, Absalom can be everywhere you want to be. However, all his attacks have tells. While he can seem a little overwhelming at first, once you familiarize yourself with his attacks, his weaknesses start to shine through. If any particular attack is giving you issues, consult the chart below.
|
Backhanded Slash |
|
Absalom winds up a sword swing and performs a downward slash. The windup makes this an ideal attack to parry. You could also roll through him (or phantomstep through him) and attack his back, as well. In his second phase, Absalom will start teleporting behind you before he performs this attack. This can be a little more tricky, but it is still a very reactable attack. |
|---|---|---|
|
Lunging Slash |
|
Here Absalom will wind up by twisting his torso away from you while sheathing his sword. This attack is pretty quick and will be followed up by a second attack in the opposite direction. When you see him winding up for this one, you are better off rolling behind him; prepare to roll through the follow-up attack as well. In the second phase, the only difference is that Absalom will teleport behind you for the follow-up slash. |
|
Low Slash |
|
This attack is Absalom's lone unparryable attack. So, you will have to roll through him and dish out damage to his backside. If he hits you with this he will follow up with a hefty attack. During his second phase, Absalom will start to teleport behind you when doing the crouching attack. This is tricky, but he still has a long enough wind-up time that you should be able to roll away in time. |
|
Projectile Slash |
|
Absalom will teleport to the other end of the screen and swing his sword with enough force that it generates a wave of energy. These are easily rolled through. They are also short enough that you can double jump over them if you like. If Absalom does this attack up close, you can parry the sword swing. In his second phase, he will perform this attack more frequently, often bouncing around both ends of the arena as he sends them your way. |
|
Power Wave |
|
Absalom will ascend and slam back down into the ground, sending individual waves of kinetic energy in both directions. These projectiles are far too tall to jump over, so you need to roll through them. During his second phase, there will be two waves. These are pretty close to each other. Your roll has recovery frames, so you won't simply be able to roll one after the other. Instead, you will have to roll through the first wave, then momentarily run backward, and then roll through the second wave once your roll has recovered (it takes about a second). This sounds trickier than it is. |
|
Column Summon |
|
Absalom will hover above the ground and summon three mysterious columns. When you scan them, you will reveal a number for each column. This is the order you should destroy them in. It is worth noting that if you get the order wrong, Absalom will lunge at you with a powerful, screen-sized attack. He will also perform this attack if you take too long. If you destroy the pillars in the correct order you will stun Absalom. This is huge, as he only does this attack after you have already stunned him and dealt severe damage. If you play your cards right, you could finish the fight right here. If during Absalom's Column Summon you take too long, run to the right. This will give you enough time to roll through his giant wave attack. If he teleports to the ground, it is too late to run. Just prepare to roll the attack as best as you can. |
Absalom Boss Battle Strategy
When fighting Absalom your first priority is going to be whittling down his shield. You are looking for a number of key attacks. You want to look for his standard, backhanded slash. Ideally, you should parry it. Otherwise, you can roll past him and hit him with your greatsword (don't get too carried away, just one or two slashes).
Look to roll past his projectiles, and always roll away from him when he does his crouching slash (there will be time to follow-up with a greatsword slash after you do). Do this until you wear down his shield. Now, you will want to get a few slashes in before you land the fatal attack. Otherwise, you are leaving damage on the table. Absalom will now summon his pillars.
When Absalom summons his pillars, you will want to scan them as quickly as possible. Once you have seen the numbers, destroy them in the order of the numbers that appeared above them. Once you do, he will be stunned. Once again, get a few quick attacks in and then land the fatal blow. At this point, Absalom will enter into his second phase.
Once Absalom is in his second phase, he teleports far more frequently. He will also start teleporting to the left and right of you, sending projectiles your way. However, these attacks are still slow enough that they shouldn't pose too much of a threat. He will also start sending two shockwaves in a row when he pounds his fist into the ground.
However, while he is certainly tougher in this form, the gameplan is largely the same as it was in the first phase. Look for that backhand slash and parry it, while rolling past the crouching attack. Don't allow your health to fall behind the half-way mark, as Absalom has some very damaging attacks.
Tips
- If you play your cards right, you can kill Absalom before he ever gets to his second phase. You will need to get attacks in before you land your fatal attack, as well as after while his shield is still recharging, in order to do so.
- After you land a fatal attack, Absalom will jump to the center of the screen. You can preempt this and roll toward the center of the screen, which should allow you to land a few attacks before he is able to summon the pillars; his shield will not have recovered, so you can get some more damage in.
- Remember that you can go to the equipment menu and heal there, you don't have to use the d-pad. This is super useful when you are low on health and vulnerable.
- Don't use any high commitment attacks (like your charged sword strikes). Absalom is too fast. He will punish you and kill you.