Slay the Spire 2 introduces alternative versions of Act 1: Underdocks and Overgrowth. Ceremonial Beast is one of the three bosses that will be waiting for you at the end of Overgrowth.
Even though it is not as aggressive as the Vantom, it is still very dangerous. This Ceremonial Beast boss guide will help you understand its patterns so you can get through the first act of the game without an issue.
Attack Pattern
The Ceremonial Beast has a very straightforward pattern, but players can easily fall for one of the common baits against this boss.
Prolonging the fight is a grave mistake, but you should take your time in the early turns to make full use of the big window surrounding its Stun.
Turn 1
The beast will buff itself with Plow for the first turn. Meaning you can chip away at its health, or possibly set up cards that will help you later on.
Plow makes it so that once the player brings its HP below 150, it will get stunned and lose all Strength.
Turn 2
On the second turn, it will prepare to deal a whopping 18 damage, which is quite high for initial turns. Moreover, it will also buff itself with 2 stacks of Strength, which you will notice is a frequent pattern for the Ceremonial Beast.
Your best course of action is to either block yourself or ensure you can bring it around 150 HP this turn. You can also inflict Weak on it to reduce the damage received and combine it with blocks.
Turn 3
For this turn, if you previously blocked its attack, the Ceremonial Beast will deal 20 damage and buff itself with 2 stacks of Strength. Each turn it goes unstunned, its damage increases by 2, so tanking the damage will not always be the answer.
If the Ceremonial Beast was stunned from the previous round, it will debuff you with the Ringing effect. This effect makes it so that you can only play one card in the turn.
Your goal will be to dish out as much damage as you possibly can. If your build revolves around one-shotting the enemies, such as the Sovereign Blade, you can use this turn to set up and play it in the next.
Turn 4
The real threat begins now. Ceremonial Beast will deal 15 damage to the player. With the Ringing effect, it will be extremely difficult to completely negate this.
If your prior round was a setup for maximum damage this round, make sure you kill it in one shot or at least have enough health to tank the attack.
Turn 5
The Ringing effect will now be gone, and if you survived, you will notice that the Ceremonial Beast is redoing the entire setup again from Turn 2.
It will deal 17 damage and buff itself with 2 stacks of Strength. This time, however, there is no Plow effect, so you cannot rely on the Stun. You will have to block whatever you can and attack until it’s down.
Do Not Prolong the Fight More Than Necessary
After the first rotation, the boss will continue to deal damage and buff, and inflict the Ringing effect in alternative rounds. So, the longer the fight carries on, the more difficult it will be for you to survive.
We suggest bringing the boss to as close to 150 HP as possible and blocking whatever damage comes your way. You should do this without stunning the boss, then take one turn to dish out maximum damage.
If done correctly, the boss should be at around 70 HP in the turn where you are afflicted with Ringing. This will make it much easier to finish off the Ceremonial Beast without losing your sanity.
Once the boss is down, you can make your way to the second act of the game. This act will define your entire run, so make sure you make the most of it!
If you are running with the Regent, be sure to check out our complete Regent guide to get the most out of the Cosmic King.