Stuck on buff red dude; are there any alternate paths?

[minstrelofmoria]

I'm currently at the boss who's a buff red dude (not to be confused with an old red dude.) I don't feel tough enough for him yet, even after using the item that weakens him, and I want to explore somewhere else and gain experience. The map indicates an alternate path up, but I can't reach the rope to use it. Is this really my only option?

I did the village sidequests, and I collected a lot of side treasures. I can't figure out what to do with those thorn-spitting vines that revive every time you damage them, though.

[LazyJoeBeard]

I have run into a few buff red dudes that had boss bars so I am not sure which one you are talking about.

[Seisachtheia]

I believe you're talking about the 4th Sol, in which case no you're bottlenecked into his encounter. There's no other Sol you can reach or attempt - you do have to beat him first.

There's no real way to get "tough enough" to beat him other than just learning his combat flow. If you're stuck on the fight for a while it might be beneficial to go watch a video of somebody beating him so you get a sense of how they move.

[Kerse]

There's an item you can use to make the fight significantly easier. It's called the Gene Eradicator, you insert it into a machine right outside of his mutation chamber and it *really* messes with him. He coughs up blood and staggers in the middle of the fight.

If you did in fact get this item, then your problem is probably that you haven't mastered the Unbounded Counter since it is relatively new by this encounter. Just keep at it, eventually the fight will click and the patterns will be obvious.