Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon/Stage 2 - Frigid Hell

=Stage 02 - Frigid Hell=

Boss Fight: Focalor
This is actually one of the harder bosses in the game. Focalor has 140 HP and doesn't leave himself open often.

The first thing he does is shoot a laser straight forward. You can crouch under it. If you're playing as Miriam, you can slide to get closer to him and maybe get a few hits in. Watch for the icicles above you, though - he then shoots a second laser at the ceiling which causes the icicles to fall down. The icicles will get lodged into the ground.

Now, he will dash across the screen. As Zangetsu, you must jump on top of an icicle and then jump over him as he passes to avoid damage. Miriam jumps higher, so you don't need to bother with the icicle if you have her.

Next, rocks will begin falling from the ceiling. 3 sets will fall down. On normal mode, just stay still and they won't hit you. After the third set falls, quickly move to one side, as then Focalor will drop from the ceiling on top of you.

He will then move to one side of the screen and summon a shield of bubbles. He will fly around the screen in a figure 8 pattern before shooting all the bubbles away. After this, the cycle repeats. The bubbles will pop with any damage. During this attack is a good time to deal damage, but it is tricky to avoid getting hurt yourself, especially if you're relying on Zangetsu's short range sword - Miriam's whip gets the job done a bit better. You can also use her slide to escape impending damage.

For subweapons, Zangetsu's whip can do a decent job of popping Focalor's bubbles and attacking the body at the same time, but I actually find the tarot card does it even better if you plant it in the right spot in the ground. Miriam's boomerang sickle works wonders here if you can find it, jumping up and throwing it during the bubble attack pops a lot of the bubbles as well as passes through the boss multiple times. If you can't find it, the triple daggers work fine too.

For his desperation move, he dashes really fast at the right wall. You just have to jump over him - I recommend Miriam's high jump - but it's tricky.

Nightmare Mode

In nightmare mode, he sports 40 extra health, there are more icicles on the ceiling, and his attacks are more dangerous. Now, the falling rocks will drop on top of you as well. Just tap one direction repeatedly and you should be fine. When Focalor drops on top of you, it now makes a shockwave, so you need to jump as well as get out of the way.

Alfred


After defeating Focalor, you'll meet Alfred. He's a wizard who has weak attacks and low health, but very powerful subweapons. If you choose to kill him, Zangetsu will receive the very useful double jump. If you want the true ending and nightmare mode, you should ally with every character. For more information, check the characters and endings (spoilers) sections.