Godfall is not short on fire-based enemies and bosses, but none quite live up to Grieves Sunsteel. A mountain of a man, Grieves Sunsteel is first amongst Godsmiths, and honestly, his title should instill some level of terror into you. This guy forges weapons for literal gods - and he’s the best at it.
Being a deity-pleasing blacksmith is one thing, but Grieves is also an incredibly potent combatant, and master manipulator. Before Orin can get two words in, Grieves is already trying to sway him to the Darkside. When rejected, Grieves grabs his mighty hammer and staunch bucket and charges headlong to beat some sense into you.
Grieves Sunsteel’s Attacks
Grieves is unique (so far) in the sense that he has truly a ridiculous number of Power Attacks. Everything from stamping his feet, to swinging his hammer, to jumping around, to even yeeting lava at you - it’s all unblockable. That’s only the beginning too - this fight has a whopping FOUR phases and Grieves is more than willing to drag this fight out.
Phase One
|
Attack |
Description |
Counter |
|---|---|---|
|
Charge |
Grieves Sunsteel will charge at Orin and quickly attack. This attack will always be used when the battle first starts. Grieves can use this throughout the fight, but due to the nature of the fight, you might not see it all too often. |
When Grieves gets close, dodge to the side and counterattack. |
|
Power Stomp |
Grieves Sunsteel will briefly flash red and then stop, sending ground-based projectiles out in all directions. This attack doesn’t do much damage, but it will knock players back if they are hit by either the shockwave or the projectiles. |
When you see Grieves flash red and raise his foot, dodge backward, then quickly dodge back into range once the attack is over for a counterattack. |
|
Power Bucket |
Grieves Sunsteel will briefly flash red and then empty lava out of his bucket in a lobbed fan pattern. This attack will deal decent damage, and then inflict Ignite for bonus damage. |
This attack comes out in an arc, so dodge behind Grieves and then continue your attack. |
|
Power Hammer |
Grieves Sunsteel will briefly flash red and then slam his hammer down, igniting a cone in front of him. The hammer deals heavy damage, and the lingering flames will quickly inflict ignite. This attack is often combos into an immediate Power Bucket. |
LIke with Power Bucket, dodge behind Grieves, and attack. Be prepared to dodge again to avoid his potential follow-up attacks. |
|
Perilous Charge |
Grieves Sunsteel will briefly flash blue and then sprints at Orin. This attack moves surprisingly fast and deals heavy damage. |
Parry this attack to Stagger Grieves. This can be difficult due to the speed of the attack and the tightness of the parry window, |
Phase Two
Phase Two will trigger once Grieves Sunsteel has lost roughly 25 percent of his HP. He will immediately retreat to one of the grated segments of the arena. This will be the start of a new gimmick that will persist through the entire fight, He also gains some attacks whilst retaining his old ones.
|
Attack |
Description |
Counter |
|---|---|---|
|
Arena Ignite |
Grieves Sunsteel will retreat to one of the grated segments of the arena and then set it ablaze. If Orin goes into this area, he will suffer ignite and take damage over time. |
There is no counter to this. You will be forced to stay away from Grieves whilst he is in his flames. Throw your shield when you can, and use any ranged Weapon Techniques at your disposal. |
|
Summon Minions |
Whilst the arena is ablaze, Grieves will summon Fireblood Servitors to help in combat, These will come out of the fire, and charge at Orin. They will explode when close to Orin, and/or on death. |
You need to kill these as soon as possible. The best way to do this is to deal enough damage to kill them, and then dodge backward to avoid their explosion. If you leave them alive, they can overwhelm you - especially if Grieves decides to join the brawl. |
|
Lob Flames |
Grieves will frequently lob fireballs at Orin whilst he is standing in his flame segment. These can’t be blocked, inflict ignite and deal good damage. |
You have to dodge these as getting his can lead to massive damage. Simply dodge forward, and you should be ok. |
|
Leap |
One of Grieves Sunsteel’s only new melee attacks is his jump attack. |
This can be dodged quite easily and leaves him somewhat vulnerable to a counterattack. |
Phase Three
Phase Three will start once Grieves hits 50 percent HP, and he becomes even more dangerous. His attacks are more aggressive, he is more relentless, and his arena manipulation is expanded.
|
Attack |
Description |
Counter |
|---|---|---|
|
Enhanced Arena Ignite |
Grieves Sunsteel will fall back and then ignite multiple sections of the arena. |
like before, you can’t really counter this. Keep out of the flames and focus on ranged attacks. |
|
Enhanced Summon Minions |
Grieves Sunsteel will summon even more Fireblood Servitors, and these will swarm from every fiery segment. |
These minions can easily overwhelm you, so deal with them before they become an issue. Ranged attacks or attacking in melee then retreating is the best way to tackle them. |
|
Power Grab |
Grieves Sunsteel quickly flashes red and then grabs Orin. If this attack lands, this attack will deal heavy damage and ignite Orin. This can do enough damage to kill Orin if you aren’t at full HP. |
This attack is deadly, so you need to dodge it. The best way to avoid it is to dodge (multiple times if needed) backward to get out of range of Grieves. |
Phase Four
Grieves Sunsteel is getting desperate at this point, but he is also getting more dangerous. Everything you’ve seen thus far is dialed to eleven. More areas are set ablaze, more minions are summoned from every corner of the map, and more fireballs are launched your way. The same counters apply, only you will have to move more carefully and deal with more things flying at your face.
Preparing For Battle
Complete The Hunts
Fighting Grieves Sunsteel before you take out his lackeys is a recipe for disaster. This is already a difficult fight, and piling on potent debuffs will only lead to disaster. Kill them in their hunts first, and then take on Grieves.
- Sunflare Ravager: -1 Lifestone Charges
- Nyak Summoner: Banners can’t be placed.
Skills
All kinds of abilities can do work in this fight, but the two that stand above the rest are Finesse and Weak Points. Finesse will increase the efficacy of your Dodge, and unlock the ability to cancel your Dodge and go into a slide.
Weak Points will show points on Grieves that can be struck for bonus damage. Not only that, but you will see blue points that, if struck, will stagger Grieves making the fight easier. This will require heavy investment into the skill tree, however.
You could also consider buffing your Weapon Techniques to reduce cooldown, or investing in Shield Throw to give you more ranged options. Grieves likes to hide in his fires, so having ways to deal with him more often can shorten the fight.
Weapons
For weapons, Dual Blades, Polearms, and Hammers are fantastic. Dual Blades and Polearms are fast, and can quickly respond to Grieves' attack after you have dodged his flurry. Polearms also have the added benefit of having a ranged Weapon Technique.
Hammers on the other hand are much slower but are excellent for countering Grieves Sunsteel and landing crushing blows on his weak points. You can take two weapons, so consider bringing a Polearm and Hammer and swapping when required.
Battle Strategy
This battle can be long, arduous, and pretty darn difficult. A lot is happening on screen, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed - especially in later Phases. Just remember that so long as you knock Grieves down a health bracket, death will allow you to retry from that Phase. You can win with attrition if you need to.
When it comes to a battle plan, this boss is very reactive. You need to dodge his endless supply of Power attacks and then counter with devastating hammer blows or rapid spear thrusts. Don’t get greedy though, as Grieves is surprisingly fast and you don’t want to get caught up in his flames.
As the fight progresses, make sure you deal with any minions before luring Grieves out of the flames with ranged attacks. Once he is out of the flames, then continue dodging and counterattacking. The power of Weak Points as a skill cannot be overstated, as this will not only increase your damage but will open new ways to stagger Grieves.
Grieves will occasionally try to use a blue Perilous Attack. You want to parry these every time you see them to stagger him. This can lead to massive damage - even more so if you invested in Weak Points.
Even though Grieves gets more powerful as he cycles through his Phases, he doesn’t really change all that much - especially once you hit Phase Two. You just need to take what you’ve been doing and apply it in a more hectic environment. Once you’ve cracked it, Grieves should go down without much hassle.