A Plague Tale: Innocence's gameplay is mostly focused on sneaking past or disposing of enemies in a stealthy manner. However, a few moments change up the flow for more direct confrontations or running away.
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The penultimate boss in particular is a one-on-one bout where you have no choice but to fight. Nicholas is the physically intimidating knight hunting Hugo and Amicia throughout the campaign and the heroes finally fight him in Chapter 15. He can be tough at first, especially if you do not know what to do. Fortunately, this guide will help you sort out how to beat him and the best strategy to do so.
How To Hurt Nicholas
To this boss fight's credit, it does a great job of utilizing mechanics you have been taught to use this whole time. It is all about putting out the flames with the extinguisher and then using the rats with Hugo's power to cover Nicholas. You have to do this three times in total, and his tactic changes up slightly with each time.
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Nicholas has no long-range moves, so don't worry about being attacked from a distance.
Having the first two upgrades for the strings and pouch also helps make the battle easier. With these two, you'll now reload the sling faster, fire it more quickly, and take less time to achieve maximum accuracy.
Strategy
- Only rats do damage to Nicholas — to summon the rats, put out the torches above the mounds with Extinguish
- During the second and third phases, you have to use extinguish on Nicholas and his sword
- When close to a flame, use L1 to throw rocks quickly without charging up the sling
Amicia and Hugo start out hidden from Nicholas and surrounded by valuable resources you should immediately pick up. It is best to stay concealed as much as possible. When his back is turned, extinguish the torches and flames on the ground. If Nicholas spots you, he is easy to outrun. Once you're out of his vision for a few seconds, he'll lose track of you.
Using Extinguish so many times uses up a lot of resources. Fortunately, there are plenty of materials to make more so you won't find yourself lacking the one thing you need to beat Nicholas.
During the second phase, extinguishing the flame on his sword is challenging. It is easiest to lock on to the sword if you are facing the side of his sword while slightly behind him.
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Once you extinguish the flame on the sword, he will quickly reignite it by dragging it across the ground. To make sure you have enough time to get the rats on him, first extinguish any flames near Nicholas and then extinguish the sword. Immediately after, order the rats towards him.
For the third and final phase, his whole body is set aflame, which makes it easier to extinguish. Simply do the same strategy for the second phase and he should be done in no time and the boss will have been defeated.
Next: Things You Need To Know About The Story In A Plague Tale: Innocence
