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Up to this point, Steelrising has thrown a steady supply of bosses your way. But here's the thing: all bosses are not created equally in Steelrising. While the Unstable Automats can be tough in their own right, they are definitely not the same as a titan. And that is what the Bishop of the Cite is. Your first battle with a Titan.
This guide will take you through all the Bishop's attacks, when to take your turn and deal damage, and even the most optimal way to destroy him. If you were struggling with him before, we are confident that you will be able to put him down once and for all after reading this guide.
The Bishop Of The Cite's Attacks
Before we go into the strategy for fighting The Bishop of the Cite, we are going to delve into all of their attacks. This should act as a reference for anyone who is struggling with a particular attack. Otherwise, it will act as an overview of all the tools in the Bishop's toolkit.
Basic Combo
The Bishop will cycle through two combos. The first combo sees the Bishop swing their staff vertically, then sweep the staff horizontally, then swing the staff vertically again, and sweep the staff horizontally one more time. If you have a weapon that comes with a shield ability, these swipes are some of the few attacks that the shield is good for blocking. Otherwise, dodge through them, and get to the Bishop's back.
Staff Slam Attack
This attack will see the Bishop slam the butt of their staff into the ground. This is a powerful attack, but the timing is relatively predictable, as the Bishop has a giant wind-up animation. The Bishop will typically do this two times in a row. If they miss both attacks, then they will hunch over and are completely vulnerable. This attack sequence will be one of the best ways for you to deal damage.
Bible And Chain Grab
Turns out that bible isn't just for reading verses! If you get too far from the Bishop, they will fling their bible at you. This is not blockable and it does MASSIVE damage. When the Bishop pulls the bible back, it will swing a little to your right. It will hit just as hard if it hits you on the way back to him. So, the strategy here is to always dodge to the left. Do not screw around with this attack, it will be the death of you.
Spinning Blade Charge
Once you have done enough damage to the Bishop, he will start to use this attack. Here he extends spinning blades from the bottom of his body, and he tries to mow you down. The optimal way to deal with this attack is to dodge through him when he gets close, as this will preserve the most stamina. However, if you mistime your dodge, you could end up getting hit by those blades. So, you can also just rapidly dodge to the side. This works okay, but it can lead to some hairy situations where your stamina runs low at the worst time possible.
If you have a weapon with a shield, do not use it! This attack will tear through your shield and ruin your day. However, if you have a weapon that comes equipped with the counter ability, that will stop the Spinning Blade Charge. It is a fantastic option against this attack.
One more thing to note, during the final stage of this fight, when the Bishop is severely injured, they will leave a trail of fire behind them when they use this attack. So prepare yourself for that.
Recommended Equipment
While you can absolutely beat the Bishop of the Cite using any weapon found in the game, you are definitely going to have a harder time if you try to use one of the lighter-hitting weapons. The Bishop has a lot of health, and the damage you do when you have stunned him with those faster weapons tends to be pretty paltry.
Moreover, a harder-hitting weapon—like a Halberd or Hammer—will be able to stagger the Bishop far more often than your lighter weapon will be able to. However, we personally found it pretty enjoyable fighting the Bishop with the claws, even if it was a far tougher fight that way.
The Bishop Of The Cite Battle Strategy
The first thing to know about this fight is that there are three phases. In the first phase, you will only have to deal with the Bishop's staff attacks and Bible And Chain special move. And if you stay relatively close to the Bishop, he won't even use that Bible And Chain special. Which is good, as that attack is extremely dangerous. However, if in the heat of battle you do end up far enough away that the Bishop does use it, just remember that you always want to dodge to the left.
Our primary goal in the first phase is to dodge past the Bishop when he uses his basic staff swinging attacks and then hit him in the back. Otherwise, we are looking to dodge his Staff Slam Attack, as if he misses twice with it, he will be left vulnerable. If you are using a heavy-hitting weapon, like the Halberd, Hammer, or Wheel, you will want to go for the fully charged attack. After landing it, the Bishop will be stunned long enough for you to land a second fully charged attack. This will melt his health bar FAST.
Once you have removed a third of his health, the Bishop will start to periodically use his Spinning Blade Charge attack. When he does this, you are going to want to dodge past him. Do not try to attack him during it. He is all-but invincible (unless you have the counter ability on your weapon, at which point you should totally use that here). After about fifteen seconds of chasing after you, he will eventually collapse from exhaustion. This is another opportunity to land a big attack.
Finally, once you get the Bishop down to a third of his health, he will become enraged and will be consumed by fire. In this final stage, all of his attacks work the same, but they are a little quicker, do more damage, and will light you on fire (naturally). Beyond that, the Spinning Blade Charge attack will now leave a trail of fire in its wake.
However, you are still looking for the exact same things. If he starts using his Staff Slam Attack, dodge them and then attack him when he is vulnerable. Otherwise, dodge the Spinning Blade Charge and finish him off when he collapses.
The Easy Way To Kill The Bishop Of The Cite
If you are just looking to annihilate the Bishop without putting forward a real effort, your Shielded Musket will freeze the Bishop just like it does every other enemy. Freeze him, then smash him with a fully charged heavy attack. Keep doing that until he is dead. You can even stay far enough away that you won't have to deal with any of his moves except the Bible And Chain Grab, but as long as you circle to the left as you shoot, that won't be a problem either.