Rogue Legacy 2 was developed by Cellar Door Games and was first released in Early Access back in August 2020 before receiving its full release in April 2022. The roguelike platformer has been well-received, exemplified by the game's 87 Metascore on Xbox Series X/S and 90 Metascore on PC.
Like many games in the roguelike genre, Rogue Legacy 2 can be unforgivably difficult at times. One of the game's first difficulty spikes comes when players encounter Estuary Lamech, the game's first boss. For those struggling to beat or even find the first boss, here are some tips and strategies.
Where To Find Estuary Lamech
Before players are able to defeat Estuary Lamech, it's helpful if they can find him first.
As Rogue Legacy 2 implements procedurally generated levels, there's no set route to finding him. Moreover, even when players find the door to his boss room (pictured above), they still have to work out how to get inside, as the doors are initially locked.
To open the door, players need to hear a clue from the blue floating aura that is next to the room. If the aura simply says, "You hear a thousand whispers, but you can’t make out a voice…" then the Aesop's Tome Heirloom is needed, which can be found by completing a mini-dungeon hidden in the procedurally generated world. Once that has been found, players will be greeted with two pages of text. The key bit of information in this text is, "There are two lamps beside the door. Both lamps must be quickly lit with a strike of the foot to open the doors."
So, to open the doors, players need to quickly spin kick the two torches. Unfortunately, however, players will find they can't light the two torches in time, as they extinguish too fast. Therefore, players need ANOTHER Heirloom - this time the Ananke's Shawl Heirloom - which will let them dash. Once the dash ability has been unlocked, players can open the doors with ease.
What Moves Estuary Lamech Uses And How To Avoid Them
Thankfully, Estuary Lamech only has six moves to worry about.
- Spear: Estuary Lamech will launch forward towards the player with his spear, which has an infuriatingly long reach. Players will need to jump all the way over the boss to avoid this.
- Beam: Lamech will shoot a powerful beam across the ground. Like with the spear, players will need to jump over the boss's head; a dash will probably be needed at the height of the jump.
- Fireballs: The boss will raise his staff in the air, causing fireballs to spiral around the room. Players should stay close to the ground and look for an opening to avoid them. The fireballs can be deflected if players are using the Valkyrie class.
- Jump Attack: Estuary Lamech will leap into the air and perform a spinning attack with his sword. Once he lands, large balls of magma will shoot into the air. Create plenty of distance to avoid the jumping attack and look for free space along the ground when the magma balls start raining down or deflect them if possible.
- Knives: The boss will throw waves of knives at the player. Again, keep a good distance away to elongate reaction times, making them easier to avoid. Like the fire and magma balls, the knives can be deflected when using the Valkyrie class.
- Sword: Lamech will first swing his sword directly towards the player and then swing it above his head, causing flames to burst into the air in front of him. To avoid this attack, jump and dash over his head immediately after the first attack. This is the hardest attack to avoid and requires excellent timing.
Tips For Defeating Estuary Lamech
Estuary Lamech can seem very tough at first, as he has a large health pool, and his attacks pack a mean punch, which will convince some players that they're under-leveled. However, although Estuary Lamech's attacks are hard-hitting, they are highly telegraphed. Consequently, players should be patient in the fight and never try to fight fire with fire. In fact, a good strategy is to forget about attacking him for the first minute or two and just focus on avoiding and learning his attack patterns. Due to how limited and telegraphed his attacks are, it won't take long to learn them all. Once players know his moves, he's deceivingly simple to take down.
As for which class to pick, the simple answer is that players should choose whichever they're most comfortable with. However, generally speaking, ranged classes should be avoided due to how fast Estuary Lamech moves, as just as players find a window of opportunity to pull out their bow, the boss will soon be on them again with another attack. The Valkyrie is a great option for the fight, as players can deflect the boss' attacks and gain 15 mana for doing so. The Valkyrie's weapon can also attack in multiple directions and has good reach, which is handy in a fight where players will constantly be on the move.
Finally, don't panic when he reaches his enraged state, which occurs when he reaches half health. Although his attacks will become more powerful, the patterns don't change, so just keep focused on his attacks' generous warnings and counter-attacks when possible.
Rogue Legacy 2 is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.