Captain Raphael is the boss at the end of Chapter 9: In Ruins, and the fight takes place in a massive arena. In a game where the boss difficulty ranges wildly from challenging to just jumped-up regular enemies that are walkovers; Captain Raphael leans more into the challenging side of things. The good thing is he just has 1 phase, the bad thing is, he heals. But we have a way to ensure he is not able to do that, making the fight significantly easier.
Here is the entire setup, strategy and tips to bring this boss down as you move towards the concluding chapters and story progression in Valor Mortis.
Strategy for defeating Captain Raphael
Level: Anywhere from 48-50 is fine, so that you have the points to activate certain Skills
Melee Weapon: Go with the Sword or Rapier -whichever has worked best for you so far. We will not be relying on parrying, so there are no preferences.
Firearm: We will be using the Pistol in specific cases.
Transmutation: A fully upgraded Fire Transmutation – with the skill of every melee attack increasing the time for which the status remains active on the enemy.
Skills: Melee Attacks restore Nephtoglobin is the most important one – ensure that is upgraded well. Other than that, any points that are available to get the Increased Damage from Transmutations is also a good node to invest in for this fight.
Ambers:
- Dilated Moment – This is vital for one specific move that the boss does, so have this on for sure.
- Limit Break – Converts surplus healing into temporary max health.
- Bottomless Well – Restores Nephtoglobin over time
- Lunatic’s Grasp – Increase Status buildup on enemies, but reduces resistance to these effects.
The boss has just 1 phase, but he does get some new moves as his health starts depleting to ~50%, so you can consider that as a second phase. However, as far as health bars go, you just need to get through one.
The problem is – he heals himself in between, just like Shuten Doji in Onimusha, or Vicar Amelia all those years back in Bloodborne. Also, the heal is a substantial one. You can interrupt it, the problem is – you will generally be at some distance, and by the time you make it to him, it is more than likely that he would have completed the healing.
That is where Dilated Moment comes into play – we are going to use it not to hurt, but to interrupt the healing process. Once that is done – switch over to the Fire Transmutation. He will, though, heal 3-4 times, so be ready to switch, and keep the Pistol fully loaded at all times.
The cycle that we are going for over here, is to inflict the burn status, and every so often, keep melee attacking him so that the duration increases. Let’s go through his moveset, and what to do in each case.
Shield Transmutation – Wait for it to be done, and resume whatever attack you were planning.
Stasis AoE Waves – Initially he will do 1, then do 2 such waves. These can be jumped over, and you can move towards him as you jump and avoid; so that you are able to get in a couple of thrusts from your Rapier. It is important that we avoid this – as we have a debuff of less resistance to these status effects from the Amber.
Pistol – He will whip out the Pistol and fire one shot. Strafe right/left to avoid taking damage.
Grenade – He will occasionally lob a grenade at you – Again, easily avoided.
Sword Slashes – He will do 3 in a row, then a delay followed by either 1 or 2 slashes. Easily avoided if you stay out of range. He does keep moving forward with these attacks, so keep moving backwards to continue to stay away from him.
Rapid Thrust Attacks – He will do leaping thrust attacks, with the last one being a Red Glowing One. You can perfect dodge the last one to get in a good counter attack.
Healing – Whip out your pistol and interrupt his healing.
Running Strike + Follow up attack – He will mostly shout ‘For the Emperor’ and charge at you, then leap and do a full wind up with his sword and then attack. It is a pretty telegraphed attack, and easily avoided. He will end this with 1, or sometimes 2 slashes.
Flaming Sword Slam – He will set his sword aflame and bring it down to cause Fire AoE in a straight line. This is a Red glowing attack, and you can go in to land a few of your own hits after this.
Flaming Sword Swipe – He will set his sword aflame, and do a horizontal swipe that covers a good amount of area, and will immediately apply Burn status. Stay well away from this arc.
Tips To Keep in Mind for the Captain Raphael Boss Fight
- Keep Stamina in reserve – when you go in to attack, don’t get it down so much that you don’t have any left to dodge his slash attacks
- In the second phase, whenever you see him setting his sword on fire, keep distance. Avoid the swipe attack at all costs, even if it means losing the opportunity to attack the other fire move.
- If he has not used his healing, and you have done damage, that is going to be his likely move. He will always jump back when preparing to heal. Take that as a sure tell, and be ready with your Pistol. Close in a bit of a distance for an easier shot.
- Don’t panic dodge when he does his attacks – they have a certain cadence, so time your dodges in line with that, else, again, you will be out of stamina before the moveset is complete.
- For the last sliver of his health – go and unload your Blunderbuss and Grenades to take him out.
Once defeated, you unlock a Trophy, get 50,000 Catalysts, and the story moves ahead significantly as you get captured in the end, for the next chapter that plays out in a way unlike anything that you have experienced in the game so far.
