Wuchang: Fallen Feathershas plenty of nasty bosses in store for you, but to get to all of them, you have to get past Master Raider - Man-eating Dhutanga. No prizes for guessing why he’s so hostile.
Master Raider is pretty standard fair for the first boss of a soulslike, but that doesn’t mean he’s a pushover. In fact, Master Raider hasseveral combos that will put you flat on your rearif you underestimate him,as well as a nasty phase transitionthat you need to be aware of. Thankfully, there are a few ways to deal with him and leave him open to some of your own counterattacks.
Where To Find Master Raider
You shouldn’t have too many problems finding Master Raider, given that he’s a mandatory boss fight,but you’ll be able to fight him in Lightzen Temple. From the shrine, go up the stairs and through the temple structure, and then across the courtyard. From there you should finda set of double doors you may open, with Master Raider waiting inside.
Preparation For Master Raider
Unfortunately, due to how early this boss fight is in the game, there’s not much you can do in the way of preparation. Your weapon choices are limited, but I wouldrecommend using the standard Longsword and equipping the Blink Kick ability. It’s a fast attack that stuns Master Raider, and only costs a single point of Skyborn Might.
Outside of that, you can alsochoose to max out your Madness for the damage increase, though you will take more damage as well. If you find yourself taking Master Raider’s attack with no issues, but don’t hit hard enough, it’s a good option to have. If you want to raise your Madness manually, you canbuy some items from the Invoke tabat the nearby shrine.
You can also find someDazzling Fake Monk’s Robesin the courtyard before Master Raider, which have decent stats for this early in the game.
Master Raider’s Strengths And Weaknesses
Master Raider doesn’t have many weaknesses that you can exploit, again, due to how early in the game this fight comes. He hits quite hard, and his attacks are fast,which sometimes also combo into each other to make him a little unpredictable. However, Master Raider isvery easy to stun for a brief second with Blink Kick, which you can use to deal a little more damage or get him to back off.
Once you’ve got his health down to around half,Master Raider will start breathing fire, and thentake out a small bomb, which he’ll proceed to strike in the air. While it may not look like it, this isan attack with a very large radius, and can be extremely deadly. However, it’s alsoMaster Raider’s greatest weakness, as he’s extremely vulnerable when breathing fire and winding up the attack. Just dodge as he whacks his bomb, and you’ll be fine.
Master Raider’s Moveset
Most ofMaster Raider’s attacks are pretty slow, but he’ll use them back-to-back, and in quick succession. Knowing which attack is coming and which ones can be punished will drastically improve your chances of victory.
Counter
Charge
Master Raider will point his spear at you and charge, and will usually follow this up with one or two standard attacks
You can wait for Master Raider to reach you and then dodge into the attack and past him. You ca then follow up with a Blink Kick to stun him
Stamp
When Master Raider stand his spear up in the ground, a large slam with his right foot will follow, which is an area of effect attack.
All you’re able to really do is either time your dodge, or get some distance and wait for the stamp. Then rush in and attack.
360 Sweep
This one is tricky as there’s not much leadup and can catch you out. Master Raider will quickly raise his arms behind him and do a large sweep, throwing up dust.
If you see it coming, it’s another attack you can dodge through and then get some decent attacks in from behind.
Leap and Smash
Master Raider will do a pose and then leap into the air, and then slam into your location. He’ll then follow that up with a slow second slam.
His initial leap is quite easy to dodge, but you can simply Blink Kick him after to stun him out of his second slam.
Shovel Attack
Almost like he’s digging up the dirt with a shovel, Master Raider will sometimes spin and then plant his spear into the ground and then quickly raise it.
Again, it’s an attack to dodge through and get some strikes in from behind him.
5 Strike Combo
Master Raider’s quickest attack by far, he’ll attack with four fast slashes, and then end with a slam.
Dodge away from his initial barrage, and then anticipate the slam to run in and get some hits off.
Fire Breath
Master Raider will chant, and then breathe fire onto a bomb, before breathing fire at you if you’re near him.
You can run behind Master Raider while he’s prepping his bomb and get some hits in, and then dodge through his fire breath to keep attacking.
Bomb Strike
Following his Fire Breath attack, Master Raider will throw his now-ignited bomb into the air and strike it with his spear, sending damaging sparks everywhere.
Not much you can really do about this except time your dodge for when Master Raider strikes his bomb, or get LOTS of distance from him.
You candodge through most of Master Raider’s attacks, and a lot of them can beinterrupted with skills like Blink Kick. Keep him at a reasonable distance, and you should be able to reduce the variety of attacks flying at you.
How To Beat Master Raider
Master Raider can be a tricky customer, but he’s not too difficult once you memorize his moveset.One of his biggest openings is his chant, followed by his Fire Breath and then Bomb Strike. He spends a lot of time both prepping and performing these attacks, so it’s your longest window to get some damage in.
Similarly,Master Raider spends a lot of time recovering from most of his attacks, especially if you’re able to stun him out them. Due to this, he’s alsovery easy to stagger and open up with an Obliterate Strike. All you need to do iskeep the pressure up, follow up each of his attacks with one or two of your own, and you should be fine.
It’s worth mentioning that at around the half-way mark,Master Raider will light his weapon on fire, but this does nothing to his moveset besides each attack inflicting some Burn buildup. Keep your cool, remember his tells, and you’ll have him down in time.
