Welcome to the first part of our Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch boss battle guide. By now you should have had a chance to grab yourself of a copy of the game, and started your epic adventure with your new best friend Drippy into lands and dungeons unknown. If you haven't purchased a copy already, check out our review and grab your coat.
Throughout your adventure you will encounter a number of quite challenging boss battles, all of which are best handled using differing techniques and certain types of spells and elemental familiars. We will try to keep this guide as spoiler-free as possible, but please don't ruin the storyline for yourself by scrolling down to sections you haven't reached yet.
Location: Deep Dark Wood
Attacks: Windfall, Bellow
Try to be at Level: 5
The Guardian uses two special attacks: Windfall and Bellow. Bellow simply stuns you, so you can try to combat this by defending as soon as you see that orange charging glow around the enemy. Windfall deals out a lot more damage, but once again you can lessen the effects by defending. Don't worry, despite his powerful attacks, this guy is a complete slow-poke, and shouldn't cause too much trouble, even if you're still getting to grips with the rather energetic battle system.
At this early point in the game you will only have two spells: Healing Touch (3MP) or Fireball (4MP). Your other option is to simply select 'Attack' and beat the Guardian with your twig wand. The best method is to keep on the move and hit the Guardian with as many Fireballs as possible, making sure to pick up all of the blue MP orbs and green HP orbs that Drippy and the enemy drop. At one point the screen will pause and Drippy will jump in telling you that the Guardian is out of puff, this is your 'Chance' to give him a good kicking, so save your MP and keep pressing attack until the Guardian is back on his feet. If at any point you see a big golden orb on the battlefield, make sure to pick it up and select attack. This will unlock your special move, Burning Heart, and will deal a great amount of damage. However, the orb doesn't stick around for long so make sure that you grab it as quickly as possible.
Location: Ding Dong Dell
Attacks: Mousefire, Tailspin
Try to be at Level: 9 or 10
Hickory Dock is much faster than the Guardian and will run at you with his magic staff and sometimes even give you a sly little kick. Like the previous boss, Hickory Dock only has two special attacks. The first, Tailspin, confuses you, but can often be avoided by defending or by dragging your new Thumbelemur onto the battlefield (as Drippy says, he's not the sort to get confused). The giant rodent's other attack is Mousefire, which, luckily for you, backfires every time if you defend against the attack. This flips the enemy onto his back and gives you a 'Chance' to smash him with your Mite familiar or send a few Fireballs his way. As long as you stay defensive, and keep moving, Hickory Dock shouldn't pose much of a treat after you've hit him a few times with Fireball. As always, keep on the lookout for those golden orbs, and make sure to use Oliver's Burning Heart rather than your familiar's special attacks, as Hickory Dock is weaker against fire.
Location: Golden Grove
Attacks: Everblade, Savage Swipe, Rampage, Headlong Rush
Try to be at Level: 12
This boss has three stages: in the first stage the enemy will walk fairly slowly equipped with a sword and shield, in the second he becomes faster by ditching his sword and shield and opting for rush attacks, and in the third stage Gladiataur will get really fired up and start using his Headlong Rush and Rampage moves. Block the Gladiataur's sword-swipe attacks – Everblade and Savage Swipe – and keep moving around the field to avoid his melee moves. Keep switching between your Mite and Oliver to deal the most damage, using Oliver's Fireball and Mite's Cut Loose (10MP). You can also use Oliver's new spell called Frostbite (6MP), which deals a decent amount of damage but uses up more magic points. During the third stage, Drippy will throw the Gladiataur's own shield at him offering you a 'Chance' to strike, at this point hit him with as many Mite attacks as possible, as Oliver's physical attack deals little damage. Make sure to pick up the golden orb, which deals out a decent attack if you use your Mite's special move.
[Note: The next major battle will be Rusty's Nightmare, which is not covered in this guide.]
Location: Temple of Trials
Attacks: Mind Over Matter, Devastation, Soul Seal
Try to be at Level: 15
The last of the three trials is a boss battle, and really will test your strength as Esther will be practically of no help at all. As you might have spotted, Bashura has a mighty big shield on his back, so make sure you hit him from the front. His main attacks are Mind Over Matter, a circular blast, Soul Seal which nixes characters, and Devastation a big attack which hits your whole party. Bashura may also swipe at you with his swords, so make sure you keep back. If you have a water familiar, or the Seed Sprite (Sid) who can use Water Bomb (4MP) then make sure to use them in battle. If not, use Oliver's new Pulse (9MP) or Frostbite. Your Mite's physical attacks won't do a great amount of damage, but are useful when you run out of MP. Keep defensive and allow Esther's familiar to use its special Ice Age attack when the golden orb appears, but don't let Esther use it herself.
Location: Old Smokey
Attacks: Blazing Breath, Tail Flail, Volcanic Roar
Try to be at Level: 18
Congratulations, you've finally reached the peak of Old Smokey. Unfortunately, you must now defeat Moltaan, a fire boss sent by Shadar to burn to you to a crisp. Moltaan has three main attacks: Blazing Breath, Tail Flail, and Volcanic Roar. Tail Flail is easy enough to avoid as it is just a circular tail swipe, but keep defensive if you're nearby. Moltaan's Blazing Breath will also cause a decent amount of damage if you don't defend, but Volcanic Roar is the one you really have to look out for as fire hits the whole of your party in one big unavoidable sweep – make sure that you defend as soon as you see the boss charging. As Drippy helpfully points out, Moltaan's weakness is his tail, so use your Seed Sprite (Sid)'s water bomb attack on it as much as possible. If you don't like using your Seed Sprite, you can use Oliver's Frostbite spell instead, or your Mite's attacks if he is strong enough. Once again, allow Esther's familiar to use its Ice Age attack if a golden orb pops up, and keep Esther's tactics set to 'Keep Us Healthy'. Remember to watch out for the flames left on the battlefield, which can harm you if you run into them.
Location: Castaway Cove
Attacks: Hubble Bubble, Alakaz..um..., Al-Khombo
Try to be at Level: 20
Good news: you're about to gain your own genie – isn't that cool? Bad news: you have to defeat him in battle first. He may seem like a right plonker, but don't underestimate old Al, as his special attacks can be quite damaging. Al-Khemi's favourite attack is Alakaz..um... which has our genie friend reaching into his cauldron to grab what he hopes might be a fiery sword to swipe at you with, but luckily for us there is a 50 per cent chance that he may pull out a rather dashing parasol instead. If Al happens to get lucky and reaches for his fiery sword, keep back and keep defensive. If however, he picks out a parasol this is your 'Chance' moment to get up close and use your Mite to hit him as many times as possible before he regains his sword. Keep using Oliver's Pulse or Frostbite attack from a distance to slowly grind down Al's health.
Once the genie's health is depleted by around half he will start using the move Al-Khombo where he slashes wildly several times with his sword. As soon as you see this charging quickly switch to defend to avoid taking too much damage. When the genie is on his final leg he will constantly spam you with the special attack Hubble Bubble. This can deal out huge amounts of damage if you don't defend at the right moment, as Al will hide away in his cauldron and countdown from ten before he hits you. While the countdown is ticking, use this time to stock up on health, and then select defend at around two or three seconds before he attacks, otherwise your defence timer will run out before Al has started his attack, which could end the battle for you completely.
[Note: The next major battle will be Swaine's Nightmare, which is not covered in this guide.]
Location: Autumnia
Attacks: Pyre, Fell Wind, Bleak Midwinter
Try to be at Level: 21
Flippin' 'eck, it's ruddy Shadar! But don't worry, this whole experience isn't as daunting as it first seems, as you only have to wear Shadar down to half of his health. Unlike most of the other boss creatures you have faced so far, Shadar is quite quick and teleports around the battlefield a lot. His three main attacks are Pyre, which hits one target and creates evil blue flames on the field, Fell Wind, and Bleak Midwinter. Fell Wind sends an outward evil blast and can be easily avoided or defended against, however Bleak Midwinter targets the whole of your party and can be pretty destructive if you don't defend. Your best bet is to use familiars who have strong physical attacks, such as your Mite and any fire type familiars that you may have picked up at Old Smokey. Generally if you are over Level 20 the battle shouldn't take that long – phew!
There's no need to cry – check back soon for the next part in our Ni No Kuni boss battle guide.
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