Archons Folly

Beyond the Bronze Gate lies Jack of Blades, although perhaps not quite as you remember him. Jack’s fearsome Dragon form isn’t the only thing you’ll have to deal with here—he’s able to conjure up Minions to do his bidding for him. As you might expect from an ancient being of near-endless power, this is going to be your toughest battle by far.

Before you even contemplate tackling Jack, you should familiarise yourself with his attack patterns. Every so often, he takes flight and circles the arena—and it’s important to watch what he does next. If he swoops down and hovers above one corner of the battlefield, he’s either preparing to unleash a volley of fireballs, which can be dodged, or a powerful jet of flame. You can avoid the latter by hiding in one of the alcoves at either side of the area. Note that you can only harm Jack with Ranged strikes while he hovers in the air.

When Jack touches down, you’ve a few moments to hotfoot it over and lay on some heavy Melee damage—keeping watch for his lunge attack. Be extremely careful; if Jack suddenly pushes off the ground, he’s readying to send out a huge, earth-rending shockwave—you can avoid its devastating impact by quickly sprinting into one of the corners nearby. Needless to say, Slow Time is invaluable here, giving you a few additional moments to react—and retaliate.

Once you’ve whittled around half of Jack’s health down, Minions start materialising in the arena. Be extremely cautious here—as tempting as it is to focus your attention on the smaller enemies, Jack continues to swoop around, unleashing his deadly main attacks. The last thing you need is a red-hot jet of fire burning through your under-garters—so be ready to evade at a moment’s notice.

Eventually, victory is yours, leaving you with one final decision to make: do you cast Jack’s mask into the flaming pits of Archon’s Folly or claim its unearthly power as your own? Sadly, no strategy guide on Earth or elsewhere can help you make that choice.

And, no, that doesn’t mean you can get a refund.