RYKARD, LORD OF BLASPHEMY

Phase Strategy

Rykard is a gimmick fight — and FromSoftware wants you to know it. The moment you enter the arena, a glowing item sits directly in front of you: the Serpent-Hunter great spear. Pick it up. This weapon trivializes the encounter by design. Its heavy attacks fire ranged blade projectiles that stagger Rykard reliably, and its reach extends far beyond what any normal weapon can achieve.

This is not a test of reflexes or build optimization. This is a spectacle fight — a reward for completing the Volcano Manor questline. Embrace the gimmick.

Phase I — God-Devouring Serpent

The arena is a circular platform surrounded by lava. The serpent emerges from the center and lunges with sweeping head attacks. Its reach is deceptive — attacks that look like they'll miss often clip you at the edge of their hitbox.

Critical: Do not lock on. The serpent's head is too high and too mobile. Free-aim your Serpent-Hunter heavy attacks at center-mass. Each charged R2 deals massive poise damage and interrupts most attack windups.

Your positioning matters more than your dodge timing. Stay at mid-range (10-15 meters) and spam charged R2s. The serpent will lunge toward you, but the Serpent-Hunter's projectiles stagger it before the lunge connects. When it does break through, roll to either side — never backward into the lava.

The serpent has two attacks worth memorizing:

• Sweeping bite — Telegraphed by a coiled wind-up. The bite travels left-to-right. Roll into the direction of the sweep.
• Lava vomit — The serpent rears back and sprays molten rock in a cone. Sprint perpendicular, do not roll. The lava pools persist for 8 seconds and deal damage-over-time.

Phase 1 ends when the serpent's HP reaches zero. Rykard himself emerges from the corpse.

Phase II — Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy

Rykard grafts the serpent's skull onto a massive blade and wields it like a zweihänder. The arena does not change, but the fight does. Rykard adds ranged skull projectiles, a lava-lake attack that covers 40% of the arena, and a flaming sword combo that chains into itself unpredictably.

The Serpent-Hunter remains the correct weapon. Do not swap. The strategy is identical: stay at mid-range, spam charged R2s, roll when he closes distance.

New attacks in phase 2:

• Flaming skull barrage — Rykard swings his blade and launches 6-8 homing skulls. They track slowly. Strafe-run in a wide circle; do not panic-roll.
• Rancor rain — He raises the blade skyward and summons exploding projectiles above you. Sprint perpendicular to the blast zones. The tells are small orange circles on the ground.
• Lava lake — Rykard plunges his blade into the arena floor. Half the platform becomes molten. This is the most dangerous attack in the fight. Sprint to the safe half immediately. The lava lasts 12 seconds.

Rykard's sword combos are telegraphed but erratic. He swings 2-4 times in sequence, then pauses. Do not try to punish mid-combo — he will clip you with the follow-up. Wait for the pause, fire one charged R2, reset spacing.

Attacks & Counters

| Attack | Counter | |--------|---------| | Serpent sweeping bite (P1) | Roll into the direction of the sweep, not away from it. | | Lava vomit (P1) | Sprint perpendicular. Do not roll; you'll land in the pool. | | Flaming sword combo (P2) | Roll on the final swing only. Punish with 1 charged R2. | | Skull barrage (P2) | Strafe-run in a wide arc. Skulls track slowly and miss if you maintain speed. | | Rancor rain (P2) | Sprint perpendicular to orange circles. Do not stand still. | | Lava lake (P2) | Sprint to the opposite side of the arena. No counter — pure avoidance. |

Recommended Loadout

The Serpent-Hunter is mandatory. Everything else is optional:

• Weapon: Serpent-Hunter (great spear, found in the boss room). Two-hand it for maximum damage. Upgrade level does not matter — the weapon scales with fixed damage against Rykard.
• Talismans:
  • Spear Talisman (boosts charged attack damage)
  • Flamedrake Talisman +2 (fire damage reduction)
  • Crimson Amber Medallion (HP boost for lava-lake mistakes)
• Spirit Ash: Mimic Tear +10 with the Serpent-Hunter equipped. The mimic will spam charged R2s alongside you, doubling your stagger rate. Rykard becomes a joke.
• Items: Fireproof Dried Liver (boosts fire negation for 60 seconds). Pop one before entering the fog gate.

If you are struggling in phase 2, the issue is positioning, not damage. Stay at range. Let the Serpent-Hunter do the work. Do not greed follow-up attacks.

A Note on the Gimmick

Some players complain that Rykard is "too easy" with the Serpent-Hunter. This misunderstands the fight's purpose. Rykard is a narrative climax — the grotesque endpoint of the Volcano Manor questline, the devourer of champions, the praetor of blasphemy. FromSoftware wants you to feel like a dragonslayer wielding a legendary weapon. The difficulty is in getting to Rykard, not in beating him.

If you want a harder version of this fight, try it without the Serpent-Hunter. You will quickly realize why the spear exists.

This is not Malenia. This is not a test. This is a victory lap.

Lore Pause

Rykard's transformation into the serpent was voluntary — he fed himself to the God-Devouring Serpent to "devour the very gods" from within. His consort, Tanith, remains in Volcano Manor after the fight. Speak to her to continue the questline. She will be found devouring Rykard's corpse. You can attack her to complete the encounter and claim the Consort's Set.

Rykard's Great Rune is unique — it restores HP on enemy kill, making it invaluable for dungeon exploration and crowd-heavy encounters.

Related Bosses

After Rykard, the Volcano Manor questline concludes. If you completed all of Tanith's assassination contracts before fighting him, you will have access to the Blasphemous Claw — critical for the Maliketh fight in Farum Azula. Do not skip this side content.