To progress in Saros‘ campaign, you need to face Shepherd, the boss of the Acolyte’s Haven biome. Fighting this massive creature will require attention to dodging attacks that come from the boss’ head as well as its multiple tentacles, and consistency in dealing damage. Each of the three phases in this fight will challenge your reflexes in different ways.
If you would like some help to prepare for this fight, here’s a complete explanation of how to beat Shepher in Saros.
How to prepare for the Shepherd boss in Saros
The Shepherd boss is found close to the end of the Acolyte’s Haven biome. You’ll need to grapple onto a ship, which will take you to the boss fight. However, before you even enter the biome, we recommend unlocking the overdrive charger nodes to increase the speed at which you get Overdrive, and applying at least the Damage Enhancement II protection and Artifact Destruction trial Carcosan modifiers.
For your proficiency level, it’s best to get to level 40, but we recommend reaching at least level 35. On your first attempt, you’ll need to clear out a side path that teleports you back to the ship. On subsequent attempts, you can just skip to the ship, but we still recommend clearing out as many enemies as you can to get your proficiency level higher.
As for your weapon, make sure to pick up a long-distance weapon. In our opinion, the smart rifle is the best option because you don’t really need to aim, which allows you to focus entirely on dodging the boss’ attacks. Another great weapon to use is the ripsaw chakram as your discs will stay in the tentacles and the boss and deal damage over time. As long as you hit a tentacle with a chakram, they’ll get destroyed eventually.
When it comes to power weapons, we recommend the prominence or nova lance since the boss rarely moves, giving you more than enough time to aim and hit them with either weapon.
How to beat the Shepherd boss in Saros
The fight against Shepherd is a long one, and feeling overwhelmed by the endless sequences of attacks this boss throws at you is only part of the challenge. Luckily, you face this massive octopus-like creature on a long platform. Although the boss does stay at one end of it, you should not get near it during the fight. By keeping your distance, you give yourself more time to respond to its moves. Like in other boss fights, falling off the platform won’t kill you. It may even be a solid strategy to evade some attacks.
Similar to the majority of the bosses in Saros, the Shepherd has three health bars and three phases, which we’ve detailed below.
First phase
As soon as the fight starts, the Shepherd will be invulnerable. Instead, you must destroy four out of six of their tentacles. The side tentacles and front tentacles are associated with certain attacks. When one is destroyed, that tentacle won’t perform any attacks, so, of course, it’s best to get rid of them as soon as possible.
The side tentacles will slam the ground, creating a circular wall of corrupted (yellow) orbs. After, the other side tentacles might follow up with a slam attack of their own. The safest way to deal with this attack is to jump and dodge toward the center, timing the dodge with the corrupted wall to avoid getting hit.
Another attack you’ll want to become familiar with occurs when the two front tentacles rush toward you from where the boss is located. They will surround you and form a narrow corridor through which a wave of regular (blue) orbs will pass. The best option here is to shield up and absorb the orbs.
Any of the tentacles are capable of performing the third attack, where one of the tentacles emerges from the side of the ship and sweeps across the platform. Jumping over it is the way to go, but there will be a wave of blue orbs that immediately follows it, so get your shield up.
After you destroy four tentacles, the boss will come out of the water, repeat the previous moves, and weave in a few new attacks. However, at this point, it’s best to focus all of your damage onto the boss rather than the tentacles.
For the first new attack, the Shepherd fires vertical lines of nova and regular orbs. Position yourself between the red lines and get ready to shield the incoming blue orbs.
The other new move occurs when the Shepherd opens its mouth and fires off five nova orbs, with each orb splitting up into homing projectiles. The best strategy is to bait them to one side of the ship and then move to the opposite side, always dodging when possible.
Second phase
In general, the arena stays the same in the second phase, but now two of the boss’ tentacles will make the arena smaller and the Shepherd will appear on either your left or right.
One of the new attacks is a sequence of three nova waves. The first usually comes from the left side, followed by one in the middle and one on the right side. The middle tends to be the best place to stay, allowing you to quickly dodge to the side of the first wave once it passes.
Things get complicated when the boss pairs the nova waves with corrupted ones fired by its tentacles from the side. The corrupted orbs will cross the arena from one side to the other, so the best strategy is to jump and dash to the opposite side the corrupted wave is moving to.
The second move Shepherd performs is a combination of firing three vertical corrupted lines from its mouth and two nova (red) arcs of orbs from its tentacles on the side. You will know it is about to use this attack because its tentacles open and begin to channel red energy. Time your jump so you are in the air when both arcs cross the arena, and use your dodge to escape from the corrupted lines.
Eventually, Shepherd will move its unhappy face near the arena and fire vertical nova lines, followed by a large wall of blue orbs. Your goal here is to avoid or parry the nova orbs and absorb the regular ones with your shield. Just be careful because it can also fire nova arcs from its tentacles right after this move.
Shepherd will also use a new iteration of the five nova orb attack in this phase, but this time it is paired with lateral sequences of corrupted orbs. The idea stays the same, though: bait the nova orbs then move to the opposite side. The only difference is that your position will depend on which tentacle is firing the corrupted orbs.
After its second health bar drops below 50%, the boss will change to the opposite side of the platform and add three new attacks to its moveset: a regular orb triple-line wave, a corrupted torrent that will follow you for a few seconds, and a quick volley of nova orbs. While you can simply absorb the first, escaping the second requires baiting it to one side of the platform, then dodging to the other. To avoid getting hit by the nova attack, dodge sideways when the projectiles get close.
Third phase
The boss transitions from its second phase to the third by sending massive waves of regular and nova orbs. Throughout the third phase, Shepherd will mix some attacks from the previous phases with the new ones.
It won’t take long for Shepherd to use a new move: a slamming attack with one of its arms that will create waves of nova energy on the ground. You need to time your jumps and hold your dash for the waves fired by the boss from the end of the platform.
In this phase, Shepherd will constantly fire large waves of regular, corrupted, and nova orbs. Use your shield for the regular orbs, dodge the yellow orbs, and avoid or parry the red projectiles.
Whenever Shepherd raises its arm, you must prepare to dodge or shield up to avoid a massive, funnel-shaped sequence of nova and regular orbs. When the center is blue, activate your shield and, once the funnel hits the ground, start moving forward to avoid the nova orbs. However, if the center is red, wait for the funnel to get near the ground, then move sideways with your shield up.
For the remainder of the fight, use what you previously learned to dodge the attacks until you defeat the boss.
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