When my attempts on a Soulsborne boss reach the double digits, I like many, scan the wiki articles for what I might need to do differently. For the most part, these are only so helpful, because my level skill limits how I might implement the friendly advice.
In the case of Amygdala, I actually needed to ignore the guidance I first read, because it was making things more difficult than it needed to be. As with most bosses, I found a clumsy, simple, brute force method that works. It won’t work every time, in this case, but it’ll get you there eventually.
Preparation
No real prep for this one. I brought bolt paper along for a damage boost.
Do make sure you open the shortcut/lift up before you go in – this is one of the more painful routes through an area, best not to repeat it.
I realised on my third playthrough that this was one boss where the hunter axe may have been better than Ludwig’s Holy Blade. For one aspect at least, if you opt for/are forced into strategy 2 below.
Tactics
Strategy 1 – wait until he bows
So the advice (meant to make this fight cheesy easy) was to get under him. It took me a long time to understand the merits of this, and I still don’t think its worth it unless you have to (See strategy 2).
This strategy will not, unfortunately, work every time and may take either a very short or very long time. It depends on what moves Amygdala decides to throw at you. Stay close and in front of him, and the moves you are hoping for are more likely. He has a lot of different attacks; on some attempts he’ll use all the abilities you don’t want to see, on others he will spam the favourites.
Get in the arena, break left or right to avoid his first strike (or heal if you don’t avoid it), back up from him and lock on. Unlike most bosses, you want to be in front of him. Your looking for a distance where one or two dodges back get you out of his slam attacks.
You are looking for the moves when he bows his head. There’s a big slam like he’s having a paddy – the tantrum attack. There’s also a 3-hit combo where he pushes his right hand forward, then the left, then he leans back to have another tantrum attack. His head stays on the ground for a while, giving you time to run in.
As the head drops, sprint straight at him and do one big swing. Two if you’re feeling saucy early in the fight. A running swing or a R2 attack (don’t charge up). Then, back away to where you were. Get ready to repeat.
That’s it. That the whole fight. If he uses lasers or his face ooze, stay away. Take a breather. If you’re a bit pinched up against the edge of the arena, use this time to move around him a bit, keeping the same distance.
At some point, you’ll get a chance for a visceral. If you’re like me, these don’t happen very often. You’ll see a ton of blood come out of his face, and the head will whip up, but get ready because its coming back down.
Don’t move, wait for him to flop, then calmly (as calmly as anyone can) position yourself in front of his face and R1. If you miss, you got a free hit, get one more in and run. If you do it right, you get a visceral, and his head will actually dip once more for an extra cheeky hit before you run away.
If he keeps spamming the tantrum attack, you can keep hitting him. If he keeps cycling through the other moves, you have to be patient. Sometimes really patient.
Now, if he pounces. This is where you have a choice. Either way, you need to run towards him or to the side and roll and hope you don’t get squished.
If you do get squished, but you are not underneath him, roll and roll and roll away, then heal and try and continue strategy 1.
If you get squished and/or you’re underneath him, you can try to escape, or its time for strategy 2. If phase 2 has started, this is a good choice.
Strategy 2 – get under him
This strategy works well but takes practice, and is actually harder in phase 1. In the end I beat Amygdala handily without this, but in my second playthrough it helped me but it was very messy.
The trick is to get under him. Between his feet, just in front or just behind his feet. A lot of his attacks will just miss you here, and when he jumps to squish you, he will always land around you if you don’t move. It is even more counterintuitive than rolling into attacks but it does work.
He lands the same way every time he jumps. His head will be behind you, as if he’s sticking it out of the TV screen. Knowing this, you can about face and take a swing at his head after he’s landed. You then snuggle yourself back up around his feet.
This tactic failed for me a lot before I realised that strategy 1 was easier and more straightforward. He stomps around a lot, if you’re too close to his head his swings will still get you underneath him, and in phase 1 he doesn’t consistently use the jump.
Phase 2, however, is when this method works much better. He will spam the jump and give you lots of chances to bop him. If you’re using the Hunter Axe, the overhead swing will connect with the dipped head very well. If you can’t make it to the head and back each time, the legs can be hurt, and take more damage if they are wounded enough.
So, use Strategy 1 for as long as you can. Once he jumps on top of you or you get stuck underneath, switch gears.
Phases
He pulls his own arms off to hit you with them.
This means his reach is longer, but he’s also going to add a big magical burst to each melee attack. This makes running in harder, and you need to put more distance between you and Amygdala. It is still very possible to run in and get one swipe and then get away.
If things are going your way, you will see him (at some point) take a moment to heal his injured parts. You’ll see a blood effect. He doesn’t regain hit points, but the savaged areas (including his head) are better armoured. Sounds bad, but it means you’ve got a second chance to break his skull and do another visceral.
Watch Out For
He will always go for a cheap shot when you return to the arena. Prepare to run and roll.
There’s different paths the lasers can take – straight line, zigzag and little dots. Dodge left or right in any case, but be especially careful of the line because there’s a second one coming the opposite way.
The jump, as previously mentioned, will decide how this fight goes. The main thing is to quickly decide if it hits: Am and I going underneath to heal or rolling for the boundary to heal?
Remember that Phase 2 has bigger reach and the magic enhancement on his slams takes a few seconds to subside.
In Other Words
- Look for the moves that make him bow his head. Run in and bop him.
- If he leaps on you, you can stay under him.
- In this case, hit his legs or swing for the head after a jump.
Of course, remember that all of this is optional. This win is more for the glory than a cool unlock, although you will be able to do more Chalice Dungeons if that’s your wish.
Keep on Hunting!
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