Tancred, Master of Castigations is a major boss hidden away at the bottom of the Tower of Penance. 

Preparation

To get to him, you must start at the top and descend through the entire structure, making your way past crossbowmen, poison-spewing enemies and all sorts of other foes. Collect the Lords of the Fallen Vigor and loot dropped by enemies to prepare for subsequent upgrades.

Before you begin the fight, be sure to put down a Vestige Seed in the area outside of the boss arena. That way, if you die during this boss fight, you won’t have to descend through the tower again.

How To Beat Tancred?

Tancred’s most basic move is a two-hit strike with his weapon. He’ll charge up, step in with a horizontal swing, and then backhand for the second attack. If you dodge forward and to the right after the second attack, you’ll stick close and be in the perfect spot to get a few hits.

It usually takes him a moment to recover and to start a new move, so use this time to attack, buff yourself, heal, or do any action that requires not being interrupted.

He also has a two move shield attack. The first is a short step forward while the second is a full lunge. So, be mindful of both.

Also, keep an eye out if a shield ever starts to glow. That means an AOE wave is coming. So, dodge roll through it as it approaches to avoid taking damage.

Another attack he’ll use to close the distance is his rush. The delay between when he brings his hand back and swings forward is short, so be ready to dodge. 

If you are in a good position, you can commit to an attack while he’s sliding to a stop.

When he’s about to do his overhead attack, he’ll hold his weapon above his head and it will glow with golden light. There’s a moment of pause between when he brings the weapon back and before he strikes. That’s the best time to dodge.

He can ready himself quickly after this attack, so be cautious if you’re going to commit to anything more than a single light attack. 

One of his magic attacks is a barrage of homing spells. He’ll arc his weapon in front of him and then hold it straight up. It will shoot five homing spells one after another. While you can dodge roll out of the way of them, there’s a better strategy.

While he’s charging the attack, make sure you’re in a neutral state so you regain stamina. When the ball of light appears, run in a wide circle in one direction to avoid the spells and stay far enough away from him to avoid having to dodge a melee strike.

Another magic attack is a sustained beam of energy. If he’s readying this attack, you’ll see his weapon glow as he holds it behind him. Then, he’ll point it at you and fire the radio and beam.

Keep running or dodge rolling in the same direction until it fizzles out. It’s a war of attrition.

In addition to the cooldowns, he will almost always take several steps between each attack, allowing you to get hits in without fear of retaliation. This time can also be spent healing, casting buff spells, or using Lords of the Fallen Items, so capitalize on those moments.

Remember how to react to each attack and avoid getting greedy. Thanks to his times between attacks, heal overtime spells are incredibly useful against him.

How To Beat Reinhold The Immured?

Once you whittle his health to zero, prepare for phase 2: Reinhold the Immured.

This time, his body contorts. He runs on all fours and his movements become more beastial and erratic, giving him a whole new suite of attacks. He has a powerful jump. He can use to close distance and take a chunk out of your health. 

To avoid it, you’ll want to dodge as he starts to arc down toward you from the air. If you get behind him, he can stand on his back legs, teeter for a moment, then fall back to try and squish you. He’ll remain on his back for a few moments after the attack, leaving an opening to hit him with a combo or charged heavy attack.

If his head and neck start glowing red, he’s going to spit a fireball. Dodge roll or run to the left or right to avoid it. Be aware that it leaves behind a pool of lava, so avoid going back that way for a few seconds. 

It can be hard to see with his gyrating, but if you’re close, he’ll pull his left arm back to instigate a grab move. It deals a lot of damage, so be sure to not get greedy with hits and always watch out for it when in melee range.

He can also slam his head down, striking in front of him with the weapon sticking out of his skull. Circle strafing is enough to avoid this attack if you’re close. But dodge roll if you’re uncertain, you can avoid it. 

He has a melee slam attack that causes the ground in front of him to erupt with lava. Like with his other fire attack, the lava will stay on the ground for a few seconds. If you move behind him to avoid this move, he likes to follow it up with the standing slam attack.