Sea of Stars has released after what has felt like years of anticipation, and after only playing the game for a few hours, it’s been an absolute joy to experience. The classic RPG callbacks to titles like Chrono Trigger are palpable, but what’s also somewhat surprising is its old-school difficulty. That isn’t to say that the game has been particularly challenging so far, but it requires more strategy than one might expect. Without proper planning and execution, even basic enemies have the chance to knock out a party member or two, and the first genuine test Sea of Stars will throw at you is the early boss, Elder Mist.
You’ll fight Elder Mist after conquering a brief dungeon that will test your knowledge of the game world so far, your platforming abilities, and how well you can grasp how live mana works. Once you finish those three trials and have some time to rest up and cook some meals, Elder Mist will challenge you as a final test. If you go in guns blazing, he’ll mop the floor with you, but we’ve got a handy guide to help you beat this first significant challenge in Sea of Stars.
How to Beat Elder Mist
When the fight begins, you may think that Elder Mist is the only foe you can attack, as he’s the only enemy that will directly attack you. If you try to attack him, he’ll counter by slashing the entire party with his sword, doing a fair amount of damage. You won’t survive for too long if you just wail on him, so instead direct your focus to his sword and keep pelting it with attacks, magic, or attacks enhanced with live mana. The sword has 90 HP, so it will take a few turns to knock it out. Once you do, you can direct all of your attention to Elder Mist. Just be aware that he can revive the sword after a few turns, meaning you’ll need to divert your attention back to incapacitating the sword lest you want to have your entire party slashed.
Eventually, Elder Mist will start to charge up a move that you’ll want to break. If you’re unable to break the charge before his turn, he’ll heal himself a fair amount, mitigating your efforts up until that point. Don’t forget that, even if you don’t have enough MP to use magic to break his charge, you can boost yourself with live mana to attack him with Lunar-aligned attacks if you’re Valere or Solar-aligned attacks if you’re Zale. Garl has no alignment though, so if anyone is going to be boosted with live mana, make it either Valere or Zale. Garl should mostly be focused on healing duties, using his Nourish ability to heal a major amount of health to anyone who needs it, while getting hits in whenever he needs to. Eventually, Elder Mist should fall without too much of a fuss.
And that’s how you defeat Elder Mist in Sea of Stars! If you want to know more about the game, make sure to check out our documentary on its creation and our other coverage, including our review, the achievements list, and more.
