Fallen Legion: Rise To Glory isn’t all bosses all the time, but the early game is certainly front-loaded with them. These bosses are all fights against fellow Exemplars, however, and every time you beat one, you unlock them as a playable character. This is important to note since Rise To Glory is trying to quickly introduce new mechanics and characters for you to experiment with.
Zulfiqar is the next boss in the early-game lineup, and he’s quite the catch. Zulfiqar is this game’s first tank, and this makes him a formidable ally. Of course, the catch is you need to beat him first, and he just so happens to be quite the foe as well. Zulfiqar might be a bulky chap, but he’s devilishly fast under all of that armour.
Zulfiqar’s Attacks
Zulfiqar is very basic in how he attacks, so much so we aren’t even going to pull up a fancy table - there isn’t enough to warrant it. Zulfiqar is all about getting in close and slashing you with his sword. The thing is, Zulfiqar is incredibly fast in close combat. This makes him an absolute nightmare to deal with since he will likely hit multiple times before you can do anything about it.
Not only that, but Zulfiqar gains new attacks as he takes damage, which changes up his combo game, allowing Zulfiqar to mix you up something rotten. Thankfully, there is a saving grace here - Zulfiqar doesn’t do that much damage. For the most part, at least.
In the early fight, Zulfiqar will jump close to your party and quickly unleash a slash attack. Sometimes he will follow this up with a second slash after a very brief delay. Other times, he will just fall back. If you parry any of his attacks, however, his combo will end and you will be able to counterattack.
As his HP lowers, he will start to mix in three-hit combos as well as his usual one and two-hit ones. These are dealt with in the same way - parry one of the attacks to break the combo, and then hit him back with your own attacks.
Zulfiqar’s most powerful attack - and one you should absolutely look out for - is his only named attack, Sky Splitter. Zulfiqar jumps into the air and does a downward slash that deals heavy damage. Zulfiqar will often combo this attack into itself over and over again. You are forced to land the parry, or there is a chance he will use this until an Exemplar dies.
Zulfiqar’s Mechanics
Zulfiqar only has one unique mechanic, and that is his ability to parry your attacks when he is charging toward you. This will reflect any ranged attack you throw, damaging whichever Exemplar is up front, and negate any damage inflicted by a melee Exemplar. To get around this, don’t attack Zulfiqar when he is moving in to attack.
Battle Strategy
This boss, more so than any other fight so far, is all about learning timings and having the reflexes to execute tight parries. Zulfiqar is very quick, but his attacks do have set parry windows that can be exploited. As a general rule, you want to parry once Zulfiqar reaches your party with his basic attacks. For Sky Splitter, parry once Zulfiqar has reached the height of his jump, and you should be good.
Outside of simply learning timings, you need to plan your attacks carefully. You can very easily deal damage to yourself if you are too aggressive as Zulfiqar will just bounce your attacks back at you. This is especially important to note with your current party, as two-thirds of it are ranged Exemplars.
With Zulfiqar down, you unlock him as a playable class.