How a great monster fights
Every MVP that roams the open world now fights like a boss. When the hunt begins, a banner names the MVP and its epithet, such as Baphomet, Lord of the Labyrinth. Its stats, skills, loot, MVP reward, tombstone and return are the same as before.
The fight has three phases. At first the MVP fights as it always has. As it weakens it enters a second phase and then a final one: it pauses, a banner announces the change, and the MVPs that can talk say a line to everyone nearby. Beasts and machines show what they are doing instead. Each phase change also refills the MVP's Break shield, unless it is Broken at that moment; weaknesses you found stay revealed.
Signature attacks
In its second and final phases, an MVP uses its signature attack. The danger is marked on the ground with gold sigils and the MVP's own casting circle, a banner tells you how to dodge it, and the MVP holds still while it charges. Every pattern leaves somewhere safe within a few steps. In the final phase the attack comes faster and with one extra wave.
A signature hit takes a share of your health whatever your armor, so moving matters more than defense. Anyone held in place when it lands (frozen, stunned, asleep, stoned or stopped) takes less, because they could not walk out. One signature attack can only take so much of your health in all, and magic immunity, or being somewhere the MVP cannot target you, turns it away.
Break the MVP while its attack is warned and the pattern collapses. A Broken MVP starts no new pattern until shortly after it recovers.
The MVPs and their signatures
The banner's advice for each pattern is repeated here. Read the ground first: the sigils show where the next wave will land.
- These encounters belong to the MVPs that spawn in the world. MVPs called up by a Dead Branch, Bloody Branch or an event, and the Covenant seal guardians, keep their own rules.
| MVP | Epithet | Signature | How to dodge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baphomet | Lord of the Labyrinth | Scythe Sweep | The scythe cleaves the near half, then swings back. Stand where it just passed. |
| Osiris | King of the Dead | Curse Rings | Curse rings close in from the edge. Step outward over each ring after it falls. |
| Drake | Captain of the Drowned | Broadside Cannon | Three cannon lines fire across the deck in turn. Step out of the next lane. |
| Orc Hero | Champion of the Orcs | Hero's Stormcall | Thunder sweeps the field in three bands. Step into the band that just struck. |
| Orc Lord | Warchief | Warchief's Quake | Shockwaves roll out from the warchief. Step in behind each ring. |
| Eddga | Tiger King | Burning Pounce | Flame pools form under every hunter, twice. Keep moving. |
| Maya | Queen of the Ants | Hive Collapse | The nest caves in around the queen, then beyond her. Get out, then come back in. |
| Golden Thief Bug | Hoarder of the Sewers | Gilded Scatter | Coins rain on alternating squares. Hop to the dark squares, then back. |
| Moonlight Flower | Nine-Tail Fox | Moonlit Hammerfall | Hammers fall in a cross through her. Step off the lines. |
| Phreeoni | Desert Glutton | Sand Maw | Sand bursts in a wedge toward the nearest hunter. Sidestep the wedge. |
| Mistress | Queen Bee | Thunder Lattice | Lightning draws a plus, then an X. Stand between the lines. |
| Pharaoh | Undying King | Curse of the Sands | Cursed sand sweeps the hall in three bands. Follow behind each band. |
| Amon Ra | Sun of the Pyramid | Judgement of the Sun | Fire marks your feet, then meteors fall far from the king. Come close. |
| Dracula | Lord of the Night | Night Swarm | Bat swarms surge at the nearest, then the farthest. Leave each wedge. |
| Doppelganger | The Mirror Knight | Mirror Rush | He charges a line at the farthest hunter, then back. Step sideways. |
| Dark Lord | Lord of Glast Heim | Hellfire Cage | Fire walls rise far from him, then close in. Come in, then get out. |
| Turtle General | Warlord of the Isle | Shell Bastion | He slams the ground around him, then the ring beyond. Out, then in. |
| Garm | Beast of Lutie | Frost Howl | A freezing howl fills a wedge toward the nearest hunter. Sidestep it. |
| Stormy Knight | Knight of the Storm | Blizzard Charge | A frozen lance line, then the crossing line. Step off each line. |
| Tao Gunka | Giant of the Shore | Gunka's Stomp | The giant stomps around himself, then the ring beyond. Out, then in. |
| Valkyrie Randgris | Chooser of the Slain | Judgement of Valhalla | Holy light in a plus, an X, then the far ring. Read each shape and move. |
| Samurai Specter | The Cursed Blade | Moonlit Iai | Two half-moon slashes, left then right. Cross to the side just cut. |
| Detardeurus | Black Dragon | Twin Breath | Fire breath at the nearest, dark breath at the farthest. Leave each wedge. |
| White Lady | Lady of Louyang | Jade Fan | Her fan sends wind rings outward. Step in behind each ring. |
| Evil Snake Lord | Serpent of Kunlun | Coiling Serpent | Spirit coils tighten from the edge. Step out over each fallen ring. |
| Lady Tanee | Queen of the Grove | Banana Barrage | Fruit volleys land where you stand, twice. Keep moving. |
| Vesper | Core Guardian | Core Purge | Purge beams fill a cross, then the outer ring. Leave the cross, then come close. |
| Egnigem Cenia | The Crimson Knight | Crimson Charge | She charges a line at the farthest hunter and back. Step sideways. |
| Kiel D-01 | Master of the Academy | Gravity Lattice | Gravity crushes alternating squares. Hop to the clear ones, then back. |
| RSX-0806 | Mining Engine | Drill Lines | Drill lines bore across the floor, then across again. Step off each line. |
| Atroce | Beast of the Veins | Rampage | Two charging wedges, nearest then farthest. Leave each wedge. |
| Gloom Under Night | The Nameless Dark | Hour of No Names | Darkness falls far from it, then near. Come in, then get out. |
| Gopinich | Beast of the Deep Mine | Burrow Quake | The ground erupts on alternating squares. Hop to the still ones, then back. |
| Ifrit | Lord of Flame | Hellfire Crown | Fire rings burst outward from the flame lord. Step in behind each one. |
The MVP reward
The player who deals the most damage to an MVP earns its MVP reward, delivered straight to their bag, or at their feet if the bag is full. MVPs have their own reward lists, including the new MVPs of the newly opened regions.
Tombstones
When a returning MVP falls, a tombstone marks the spot. Click it to see the boss's name, the time of its death and the player who dealt the most damage. The tombstone disappears when the boss returns.
Class reasons to hunt
- Blue Mages learn three techniques only from bosses, by watching the move and helping Break the boss.
- Red Mages add a page to their Duelist's Ledger for each MVP that falls carrying three of their marks, which strengthens their hexes against bosses.
- A Summoner with Spirit Sight can read from a tombstone when its MVP will return.
A great hunt is still a real risk
MVPs can be Broken like other strong enemies, which gives a party a window to strike. Death rules apply in full: a party does not make a character safe, and possession is not a second chance to try the same fight.