Greymanes casually strolling into the Sanctum of Absolution in Crimson Desert, expecting another routine cleanse and calling it a day, are in for a rude awakening, for Antumbra’s Sword awaits them. Antumbra’s Sword is sadly no pushover. This is not the kind of boss encounter you can coast through, as the fight demands more than just hacking and slashing away, and is a skill check on how well you have picked up on the game’s broader combat mechanics.
However, for a fight as demanding as Antumbra’s Sword, the rewards are worth the trouble, so here are a few tips to make the fight a bit more bearable.
Table of Contents
- Where to Find Antumbra’s Sword in Crimson Desert
- Antumbra’s Sword Attack Patterns
- How to Beat Antumbra’s Sword in Crimson Desert
- Rewards for the Antumbra’s Sword Boss Fight
Where to Find Antumbra’s Sword in Crimson Desert
You’ll encounter Antumbra’s Sword as an optional boss in the Sanctum of Absolution. While you’ll cleanse the Sanctum for the Witch of Wisdom subquest for the Witches faction, you can’t do so without having bested Antumbra’s Sword. Consequently, defeating him also adds progress toward the Cloister of Ruination quest for Antumbra Order and adds a very powerful weapon to your arsenal.
You can make out the Sanctum of Absolution from the Scholastone Institute’s Abyss Nexus if you look toward the south. It appears as a set of ruins perched on top of a mountain, which you need to hike up to reach.
There’s also an Abyss Nexus close to the sanctum that you can unlock as a convenient fast travel point. It comes in handy if you decide to take a break after the constant thrashing from the boss and return later.
Note: If you’ve stumbled upon the Sanctum of Absolution by pure chance rather than having a quest marker lead you there, then you won’t find anything interesting until you’re halfway into Chapter 5 and have met Elowen, the Witch.
Antumbra’s Sword Attack Patterns
While the tips we’ve got for this fight reduce your reliance on dodging, knowing how to deal with Antumbra’s Sword’s attacks still helps when things do not go as planned. It’s particularly useful if you want to win purely with skills rather than anything that feels cheap.
| Attack | Description | How to Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Three-Hit Combo into Slam | This begins with a standard three-hit combo, followed by a fourth strike where he slams his sword into the ground. This impact calls in phantoms that focus their attacks at the point of contact, sending out void energy slicers in a fan-shaped area. | You can tell this sequence is coming if he does not teleport after the first swing, and your best option is to parry that opening hit to stop the combo before it escalates. |
| Shadow Warp | He disappears after the first swing and reappears to strike again, repeating this three times, with the final attack being a heavy uppercut. | Parrying the first swing can interrupt the entire sequence, but if that does not work, dodge into him as he reappears to swing. The last hit carries a red glint, which means it cannot be parried. |
| Void Ring | Antumbra’s Sword raises his weapon and drives it into the ground, sending out vertical dark slicers that spread outward in a circular pattern. | You will need to maneuver carefully between the gaps in these slicers to avoid taking damage. |
| Ultimate | It’s not a true ultimate, as he can use it multiple times, but you’ll notice a red glint in his eye, followed by a war cry, after which he slams the ground three times, each slam summoning two phantoms while also sending out slicers. | It is one of his deadlier moves, so keep your distance and dodge into each phantom as they appear, as timing here matters more than anything else. |
How to Beat Antumbra’s Sword in Crimson Desert
Antumbra’s Sword isn’t stacked with a wide range of moves, but they’re plenty deadly to take you out in one to three hits. He only has a single health bar, yet he’s plenty sturdy too, so that your damage can feel underwhelming, as compared to other bosses you’ve fared against.
What matters here is his yellow posture bar, which, once filled, staggers him for a few seconds, and that is exactly what you’ll want to exploit.
Antumbra’s Sword Boss Preparation
Because the boss is so quick and constantly warping in and out of the arena, it’s hard to get a hold of him and land consistent attacks. This can be off-putting, but a reliable way to deal with this is to invest in the following skill upgrades.
- Focus Level 3 to unlock Focused Insight. This slows down time and makes it easier to read an enemy’s attacks and land successful parries.
- Force Palm Level 3 to unlock Expertise. This allows you to chain up to three Force Palms that can temporarily render enemies vulnerable, provided you have enough Spirit to pull it off.
- Blinding Flash Finisher in the Stamina skill tree. This gives you a reliable way to close distances and land hits when an enemy is out of reach.
As for gear, it is worth holding off on this fight until you have the Darkbringer longsword and have beaten Crowcaller toward the end of Chapter 5. Slapping the Crow’s Pursuit Abyss Gear into the Darkbringer stacks well with its Ator’s Orb effect and significantly boosts your damage output.
That said, we managed the fight using the Soul Spear only, which is also a hard-hitting weapon, even if its innate ability is useless against bosses, while donning the Frostcursed Armor set for its solid defense and resistance against the cold debuff in the area.
Beyond that, bring plenty of healing items, not just basic options like Grilled Meat, but something like Clear Soup that restores a large chunk of health. Also, keep a few Palmer Pills on hand, around three to five is reasonable, for you’ll likely fall three to five times to the Antumbra’s Sword boss.
Antumbra’s Sword Boss Easy Strategy
Now then, our approach is not the most respectable one, but we’re helping you beat a boss that’s borderline broken and one who rarely stays put in one place.
So, as soon as the fight begins, immediately enter Focus mode and let him take the initiative. His first swing is usually a straightforward attack rather than something fancy like Void Ring.
This’ll help you parry that opening strike with ease, which builds up his posture, something you can tell when he stumbles slightly. Right after that, follow up with three Force Palms using three consecutive R3 presses, which adds more damage to his posture and briefly leaves him open to damage.
During this window, we then recommend landing a few solid hits, but without overcommitting to a combo, as Antumbra’s Sword will catch you off guard by retaliating fast.
When you’re close to breaking his posture, use the Blinding Flash Finisher if you can’t get a reach on him. This’ll deal some solid hits, and at the same time, break his posture and fully stagger him, and give you a longer window to unleash your flurry of attacks.
However, keep an eye out for his more punishing move, in particular, the move with the red glint and war cry, as it can undo a good attempt if you’re careless. Always try rolling into his phantoms whenever they appear and rely heavily on Focus mode to keep track of his movements.
Stick to this pattern of parrying, Force Palms, and posture breaks, and you’ll bring him down in no time.
Rewards for the Antumbra’s Sword Boss Fight
For defeating the Antumbra’s Sword, you’re rewarded with loot worthy of an intense battle. You get one Abyss Artifact, but the biggest prize is his longsword, Vessel of Dark Pursuit.
Vessel of Dark Pursuit comes equipped with Wound of Darkness, and this unique Abyss Gear imparts the same ability to send dark slicers toward enemies. Plus, it’s already been refined four times, making it deal a maximum of 25 damage, which you can refine even further.