How to Beat Warden Davids in Octopath Traveler 2

Just as Osvald sees the bright light at the end of the tunnel, literally, he is stopped by Warden Davids and two prison guards. This sadistic guard is the man who muzzled Osvald at the start of his chapter, and now it is time for vengeance. Here is how to beat Warden Davids in Octopath Traveler 2.

How to Beat Warden Davids in Octopath Traveler 2

Warden Davids will jump you, and he is essentially the opposite of Osvald in every way. He is bulky, a physical attacker, and he comes with two minions in the form of Prison Guards. However, he does have ample elemental weaknesses.

To prepare for the fight, make sure you are at the recommended level. It is possible to grab that victory without being at level 6 or 7, but boss battles are time-consuming affairs in Octopath Traveler 2. There is nothing worse than being shuffled to the game over screen and having to start over.

Second, unlocking Osvald’s Elemental Barrage is a great idea, as Warden Davids has two elemental weaknesses. This will make it easier to break Warden’s shields.

All of Warden Davids’s Weaknesses in Octopath Traveler 2

• Shield Points: 5
• Weaknesses: Dagger, Staff, Lightning, Fire
• Steal / Drop: Inspiriting Plum Basket

Prison Guard Weaknesses

• Shield Points: 1
• Weaknesses: Dagger, Ice, Lightning

Now that we have our foundation, let us get into actually bringing the Warden Down. Osvald is our primary form of damage and shield breaking, but he is a glass cannon with no way to self-sustain. Fortunately, Emerald has Recovery. When Osvald does not need to recover HP, Emerald should use his Stab in the Dark to whittle away the Warden’s Shields and do damage.

Osvald should begin the match with Elemental Barrage. Elemental barrage costs 10 SP and deal either fire-, ice-, or lightning-based damage to random foes 3-5 times. This will allow you to quickly break at least one Guard and whittle down the Warden’s shields.

Keeping the Guards broken is essential for one reason: the Warden hits hard. Know Your Place does close to 100 damage, his basic attack does close to 60 damage, and his charge attack, Prison Time is a party hitting move that lands twice, with each member taking around 100 damage.

By himself, he is quite a threat who can keep you on your toes. Especially if you are not moderating your SP consumption. But it is much, much worse when his Guards are allowed to sneak in their own attacks as well. By defeating the guards (who have over 1,000 HP), you will have a chance to attack the Warden on his own. Until the Warden loses half of his health. At that point, he will re-summon his two-guards.

Fortunately, this is around the same time you will get access to Osvald’s latent ability, and it is also a sign that the fight will soon come to a close. Just make sure to prioritize keeping your party alive and keeping the guards broken with Stab in the Dark or Elemental Barrage. Then unleashing an 3x boosted attack once you have the Warden broken.

Repeat this cycle until he eventually goes down. Whenever you get an indicator that the Warden is about to use his charge attack Prison Time, always defend unless you are confident you can break him. If you break him, you interrupt the attack and it’ is likely he will not use it again for several more rounds.

Good luck! If you are curious as to what the other skills available are, here are all skills for the eight primary classes in Octopath Traveler 2.