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Skalpel is another heavy-hitting boss inThe First Berserker: Khazan. While you need to chase some bosses down, he’s one who’ll be quite happy to come to you. Not only does he hit hard, but he’ll inflict the plague status on you as well. And to top it all off, you have to fight himtwice.
This guide will take you through Skalpel’s moveset, giving you tips on when you’re able to punish certain attacks, and helping you avoid certain pitfalls. We’ll also provide you with some suggestions for an effective build to fight him with.
Preparation
When preparing for this fight, I’d aim for a more guard-based build. Skalpel comes to you, so you aren’t going to need to chase him down. He also piles on with physical attacks, making the Brink Guard a very attractive option. Additionally,you’ll want to put points into the Counterattack skill tree.Skalpel has a couple of burst attacks that are very, very easy to counter, so you’ll want to lean into the Counterattack in this fight.
He also inflicts quite a bit of plague on you with his attacks. So, you’ll probably want a plague cleansing potion on your belt. Additionally, it is a good idea to have anecklace and ring on hand that will provide you with some enhanced plague resistance.This is less of a necessity in the first leg of the fight, butextremelyhelpful in the second.
If you want to go full-bore, you should have acquired theKnight’s Scroll from the Veiled Knives mission. So, you can outfit yourself witha full set of Knight’s armor that will mitigate his plague-inflicting attacksdramatically.Especiallywhen paired with the right necklace and ring.
Any of the three weapons can be successful here, but the Greatsword has the advantage of being able to follow up a guard with quick attacks. Also, since you will have plenty of opportunities to punish Skalpel, it is nice to be able to land extremely hefty attacks, and the Greatsword is fantastic for that. Lastly, a Greatsword build will include quite a heavy emphasis on strength, which meansyou will be able to wear heavy armor without your agility taking a massive hit.
First Form
As was already said in the preparation section, the best approach in this fight is to let Skalpel come to you,block his attacks, and take advantage of his recovery states. He’ll give you plenty of chances to dish out damage, it is just a matter of surviving his offensive bursts. Being reactive will provide you with plenty of chances to dish out damage, while initiating will likely lead to you eating some big shots, and he can kill youprettyquickly.
One of his primary attack patterns features two horizontal slashes followed by a vertical slash.The vertical slash is highly telegraphed,as it takes him quite some time to get his sword above his head. Once he has it raised, prepare to block the downward swipe. After that attack, you’ll be able to punish him.
If Skalpel starts dragging his coffin on the ground, he’s going to swing it up at you once he is in range, so wait for it to happen, andas he starts to lift it up, block. You should be able to Brink Guard this one fairly easily. Once again, there will be a pretty generous period for you to punish him afterward.
Leaping Coffin Attacks
The big opportunity todeal damage is after his massive, leaping, coffin attacks. He has a few of them, and they will provide different amounts of time to punish him. The bigger the jump, the more time it will take for him to recover. However, this attack comes in two forms.
Some of Skalpel’s attacks will slam down the coffin with the lid shut, using it as a bludgeon; others see him open the coffin mid-descent, causing the creature inside of it to snatch Khazan. The key here is towatch the coffin when Skalpel is in the air, as it will beglowing red and arms will be poking outof the side when he is going for the grabs. It is not subtle.
When Skalpel startshopping backward, andthenleaping forward,it will always end with the grab. He will performthree hopsand jumping coffin grab attacks in a row. The coffin stays open, flailing for the grab after the first two attacks, andit can grab you even if you are behindSkalpel. So, dodge to the side and away: you don’t want to be anywhere near that coffin. The third leap, however, has the coffin facing forward, making it bad at grabbing you if you are behind him. So,for that final leaping attack, dodge behindSkalpel.
Coffin Riding Attack
When Skalpel hops on top of his coffin and starts riding around on top of it, every time he stops, a massive explosion of blood will occur all around the coffin. If you just avoid him during this move,he’ll enter the coffin and heal. So, instead,attack the coffinand disrupt this attack. Multi-hitting attacks—like the Greatsword’s Inner Fury—do a pretty good job at ending this move before it can explode a single time.
If you are using the Dual Wield weapon, then theWhirlwind specialeats this move for lunch. Justmake sure you are in the airborne part of the attack when the coffin has stopped movingand is about to explode.
Skalpel’s Burst Attacks
Landing the Counterattack is an excellent way to dish out substantial amounts of damage, andhe has some particularly easy to counter attacks, so this is a pretty notable aspect of this fight.
Skalpel’s primary Burst attack during the first phase of the fight will see him turn his back, pause, and then follow through with a horizontal slash. Once the Burst Attack symbol appears on the screen, wait for the pause, then,execute your counter after Skalpel starts turning—post pause. The swing isn’t fast, so if you miss it, it is because you are jumping the gun.
Skalpel’s leaping Burst Attack, on the other hand, is very fast. So,if you see that he is quite far away from you when you see the Burst Attack symbol, you should get ready to throw out that Counterattack. This one doesn’t give you the opportunity to time the counter like his other Burst Attacks do. So, if your brain doesn’t clock it in time, you may want to just dodge to the side.
Five slashes, each with a slight stutter, where he’ll pause just before following through. Thesixth strike will always be the Burst Attack, so you’ll have a ton of time to ready yourself for a Counterattack.
Rushing Thrust Attack
This attack is well-telegraphed. However, it accelerates pretty quickly once Skalpel gets going. Ideally, you dodge this attack when you are close to a wall. That way you can turn around and punish him.If you attack Skalpel’s back,you won’t deal any damage to his health, butyou will severely damage his stamina. Skalpel tends to do two of these in a row as well.
Second Form
Skalpel will be at full health again once this phase starts. However, not for long. One of the quirks of this second phase is thatSkalpel will continuously lose health.
Most of what Skalpel does in this form is just an amped-up version of the previous form. However, his attacks are all quicker, he strings everything together, andsome of his attacks have new follow-ups. He’ll also inflict a concerning amount of plague on you in this form.
Second Form Preparation
The good ol' fake out, eh? Once he dies, Skalpel is going to be revived by his coffin, but you have a considerable amount of time to buff yourself up.That means healing, using a Plague Resistance Potion, using a Vitality Sphere, charging up your spirit, applying buffs through your spirit moves, and using any other consumable item that you think will help. There is a shocking amount you can do in the amount of time it takes for Skalpel to revive. Take advantage of that time!
Skalpel’s Second Form Attacks
As an example, all of Skalpel’sclosed coffin slam attacks will now end with the coffin openingafter the slam. So, you’ll need to be extra diligent about always dodging behind him now to avoid these grabs. However, some things remain the same. Skalpel will usethe exact same six-hit slashing combo that ends with the Burst Attack, so you will be able to look for that counter.
One of his new moves will see his sword be extended by plague energy. It will now reach nearly the entire arena. You’ll want to dodge through this attack. Thankfully, while this sword swing is massive, it isn’t particularly fast.
When Skalpel is at a distance, leaping into the air, and plunging his sword into the ground, he’ll send a straight line of plague energy your way.Dodge to the side the moment he collides with the ground.He’ll perform this attack three times in a row.
If Skalpel hovers in midair, then his coffin is about to fire energy into the ground, which will then fire directly at you in a straight line. He’s then going to float above the center of the arena and slam down, and finally, the massive pool of blood left after the slam will ripple before exploding soon after. You are going to want tododge and keep your distanceduring this sequence. Though, he will be recovering for long enough after the final attack that you will be able to leap in and land a few attacks.
Remember, his health is already constantly decreasing, so while it is nice to help him along by landing attacks, you can absolutely wait him out.This is also a great opportunity to use your Phantom Form, as you won’t take damage while you are in it. If things are getting hairy, and you are taking hits, use it as a panic button. You can alsouse it to dispel the plague effect.
The main game plan here is to dodge his new projectile attacks, be mindful of the fact that all his coffin slam attacks feature a grab component, and otherwise guard against his attacks the same way you did during the first form. Skalpel is on borrowed time, so, play cautiously and just take advantage of the opportunities he hands you.
