The Glade – Giants

The first boss encounter is quite an easy one, but it can be tough if you use the wrong tactics. First of all, you’ll be attacked by a single Giant and following a short cut scene, Dust will unlock the Parry skill. This is a big clue here, as unlikely as it seems, you can actually parry the Giants attacks. Just as the Giant pauses and begins his swing, hit X and hold it (timing is quite forgiving on normal/hard) to parry the attack. Once the Giant is stunned, you can hit him with two or three combos. Repeat this cycle until the Giant falls, unlocking the next stage of the battle. This time, Dust will need to face down two Giants. Repeat the same process of parrying and counter attacking, but take care not to get trapped between the Giants or to get caught when both of them swing at once. If you get into trouble, remember to use the dodge or jump whirlwind attack to get out of there.

Aurora – Fuse

Fuse is a very different kind of boss to the Giants and will attack Dust with a lot of homing projectiles as well as some nasty vertical fire attacks which are quite damaging. He’s also quite evasive, but once Dust gets in close, he is susceptible to all of the melee combos I tried on him. It’s easy to lose Fuse in the confusion of the battle, so a trick I used often was to power up Fidget’s dust ball attack with a few taps of the Y button – this causes the balls to home into Fuse a little bit, allowing you to guide Dust in close and also knocking him off his feet on a few occasions. Repeating this process a few times will ensure the battle is over fairly swiftly.

Cirromon Caverns – Shielded Golems

Fighting the two Shielded Golem creatures in Cirromon Caverns is remarkably similar to fighting the Giants from earlier, with just a couple of added twists. The first is that this time, there are exploding pods all over the place which Dust must avoid in order to succeed. The second twist is that these Golems are basically impervious to damage unless stunned, so you really do need to parry their attacks in order to cause any damage at all. Repeat the process, again being careful to avoid being hemmed in or getting hit by the pods and you will be victorious.

Mudpot – Lady Tethys

You’ll find Lady Tethys at the bottom left of the ‘Mudpot Basement’ but unfortunately, defeating her requires a tiny bit more patience than some of the other bosses. Basically, it’s the same deal of parrying often and avoiding her attacks (especially the projectiles) but you also need to bear in mind that you can’t use Fidgets attacks to help you this time. Tough it out and she will reward you with new ability!

The Sorrowing Meadow – Knife Hands

This boss (like the Giants and Shielded Golems) is more of a distraction than a proper boss like Lady Tethys or Fuse. I beat him simply by using Fidget’s firestorm ability (unlocked by defeating Fuse) and then repeating battering him with combos. Parry is useful too if you need it (although I didn’t.)

Dorimo Mansion – Kane

Kane is a proper boss and quite a tough one in my opinion. My favourite tactic is to keep moving around a lot and in particular, to focus on using a combination of Dust’s flying whirlwind attack and any of Fidget’s projectiles. You’ll find Kane spawns some zombies once he starts to weaken, so just keep up whatever it is you’re doing at that point and you will soon pick up the W.

Blackmoor Mountains – Numerous Encounters

I’ll just provide a quick note about the Blackmoor Mountains because there are a total of four mini-bosses which you will need to defeat in order to progress. You’ve come this far though, so you’ll have no trouble with these guys. Use Fidget’s projectiles in conjunction with Dust’s Whirlwind and when you face the second encounter (with three baddies)  be sure to use parry and dash to avoid getting surrounded and beaten down.

Endgame – General Gaius

The fight with General Gaius is actually more time consuming than it is tough, but it’s a lot of fun and if you’ve been enjoying the Dust story as much as I did when I got here, then you’ll be happy to play through it I’m sure! At first, just keep hitting Gaius with simple combos and avoid his attacks (especially his powerful dash attack.) Once you defeat him for the first time, things do get a little more tough because Gaius will begin to use a little more variety, as well as calling his own minions into the fray and using some projectiles. By the second time you defeat him, he will be using electric projectiles often and some flying ship support amongst his arsenal – just keep on the offensive and dodge/escape when you need to. As things go on, avoid the environmental hazards which start to appear and keep plugging away. It’s noteworthy that Gaius is actually susceptible to some of the moves which you wouldn’t expect a boss to be, such as throws – especially useful when you include the air throw which is a good counter for his jumping attacks.

General Tips – Bakers Dozen Guide