Soul Master Boss Fight

[Draco4472]

Attempted this boss a couple times and having trouble. Is it worth trying to keep fighting him? or should I try a different route. If I should try to fight him, what charms should I use?

[Hexamicor]

Make sure you at least have the first nail upgrade, otherwise it's a lot harder than it should be.
You can try saving up for the Quick Focus charm from Salubra, it's useful in this fight with how little healing opportunities there are. Long Nail from Salubra's shop helps too, as you can't get many hits off on Soul Master while he teleports everywhere.
I don't know how many charm notches you have, but those are two I feel would help most in this fight.

It took me a few hours of trying with the first nail upgrade to beat him, he's pretty hard the first time.

[Morphic]

Long Nail and first Nail Upgrade is, IMO, a must.

I had a difficult time at first with him but I found that "Mini Boss" Soulknight guy harder lol. IMO, you shouldn't need Quick Focus to Heal if you can get the Timing/Spacing down on his one "charge" attack. The one where he has his 4 orbs circle around him while he moves from 1 side of the screen to the other. You can "hop" over his lower Orb and walk/dash away from him and immediately heal before he starts another attack, usually.

At least that's what worked for me when I needed to heal. Oh and there's a second phase.

[rato]

Just the first nail upgrade should be enough.
The best moment to hit him is when he stand still and shoots fireballs, you can hit him from below. Also, pogo him when he use the side-to-side dash.

[Shade]

You can heal twice during the rotating orb attack. Just dodge it once and then immediately start focusing - I don't think I've ever been hit by the orbs on their return path.

As with most bosses, Fragile Strength is a big help if you have it available. The Soul Master goes down crazy fast if you have both Fragile Strength and the first Nail upgrade.

[ZeroKelvin]

Oh, and for the record, you DO have to beat this guy. He gives you one of the all-important mobility upgrades in the game. You'll get stonewalled later if you don't.

Just learn his patterns, and he becomes predictable. My second playthrough, got him first try pretty easily.

Cool boss, though.

[Draco4472]

Thanks for the advice, I'll start saving for fragile strength. With 6 notches which charm is recomended beyond fragile strength and longnail?

[Shade]

You probably won't have any particularly impressive 1-notch-charm other than Thorns of Agony at this point, although you could replace Longnail with Mark of Pride if you have that already (since the latter is basically just an upgraded version).

[Aeternalis the Abyssal Alchemist]

Do you have the Howling Wraiths spell yet? That can help with this fight.
You get it from the top-left part of Fog Canyon. You just need to get past some Charged Lumaflies. Then once you get passed all the Lumaflies, go into the next room on the left. Then use Mantis Claw to climb up, then left again. You will reach an area called the Overgrown Mound. The spell is located somewhere inside.

[Draco4472]

How effective is the Howling wraith spell in this fight? Currently getting 2 the boss's 2nd deflation with just the 1st nail upgrade on good runs. And how much is it to repair the fragile strength gem? I used it on my 4th attemept and found it effective.

[Draco4472]

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I DID IT AND WITH 1 SHELL LEFT

[Draco4472]

thanks for the advice! that as an intense fight!

[Hexamicor]

Now let's wait for him to find The Mantis Lords...

[Draco4472]

Originally posted by McCramer:

Now let's wait for him to find The Mantis Lords...

Already have, tried the fight once and died pretty quickly. Figured I would come back with an upgraded nail, so once I clear what I can of the city of tears I'll try that again.

[Aeternalis the Abyssal Alchemist]

Originally posted by Draco4472:

How effective is the Howling wraith spell in this fight? Currently getting 2 the boss's 2nd deflation with just the 1st nail upgrade on good runs. And how much is it to repair the fragile strength gem? I used it on my 4th attemept and found it effective.

The Howling Wraiths spell is specialized for fighting flying enemies. It does 20 damage multiplied by 2 hits aimed upwards. Since major bosses don't take knockback, it will always get hit both times by Howling Wraiths, resulting in 40 damage.
You can also buy a charm called "Shaman Stone" from Salubra in the Crossroads. When equipped, increases the damage of spells by 33%.
The cost of spellcasting can also be reduced by another charm called "Spell Twister". It is found in the Soul Sanctum, in a hidden room just before the Soul Master boss fight.
It is possible to upgrade Howling Wraiths into an incredibly powerful spell called Abyssal Shriek, but you don't get it until very late-game.