Eldest Souls boss Aryana, First of the Moon is a tough opponent, and figuring out how to beat her is challenging. With constant movement and a limited hitbox, Aryana's defenses will make short work against any unprepared challenger. She leaves little opportunity for attacks against her as she pushes her opponents into the corner of the arena. Nonetheless, this Eldest Souls Moon Goddess does have her weaknesses, and knowing when to strike in combat will be the key to defeating her.
Aryana becomes available to fight in Eldest Souls once the hero can venture to the easternmost part of the map. There are a few other bosses that are available to fight before her, and it's recommended that these are defeated before her. Every boss that is defeated in Eldest Souls awards a new Shard and skill point, allowing players to strengthen any one of the skill trees. Fighting Aryana with limited resources in Eldest Souls will prove to be a more challenging fight than fighting any of the other bosses, so here are a few tips for defeating her.
How to Beat Aryana, First of the Moon in Eldest Souls
Aryana, First of the Moon in Eldest Souls has multiple weapons at her disposal, but what she may use can be narrowed down based on the phase of the moon. The moon at the base of her platform has three phases, a new moon, a crescent moon, and a full moon. Like the different phases of Eldest Souls boss Eos, God of Unity, each of these phases determines the kind of attack that Aryana uses, and while they can be predicted, they're often quick and make it difficult to counter Aryana.
During the new moon phase, Aryana sticks to ranged attacks that move slowly but deal heavy damage. She may fire a beam of light that swings in a semi-circle pattern across the map. Another attack during this phase is a mid-sized area-of-effect attack that follows the hero and slams down into the ground spawning a crystal. The crystal will eventually explode, sending five shards in multiple directions. Lastly, her third attack in the new moon phase is a crescent-shaped wave of energy, something that will be seen again in the Eldest Souls final boss fight against Eksyll - Princeps.
The crescent moon phase nearly mimics the new moon phase, but this time Aryana's attacks become more aggressive. The beam of light swings back an additional time, her crystals can be spawned separate from any attack and in greater numbers, and her energy wave moves swiftly. Additionally, the spears at the bottom of her platform begin to retract and shoot out. The pattern of spear attacks works its way either from left to right or vice versa.
Aryana's final fighting phase is the full moon phase. This phase is not exclusive to the final part of the fight. Aryana exclusively uses her spears in a number of attack patterns. Aryana may use a left to right attack strategy again, but more commonly she'll retract them all at once, and fire them off in pairs or all at once. Unlike the Eldest Souls fight against The Guardian, Aryana's attack patterns are difficult to read during this phase, but it's also her least damaging attack. A couple of Bloodburst attacks will recover enough health for the hero to prevent death.
Defeating Aryana is challenging, but it is possible. The best skill tree to use is Windslide, focusing on the Storm's Eye branch. This tree allows passive damage to rack up against Aryana, all while players regain their health. Additionally, it helps keep the hero mobile with the Windslide attack. Players should focus on using Charge and Bloodburst attacks in the new moon and crescent moon phases, and light attacks during the full moon phase. The Shard players receive after defeating Aryana is one of the best Shards in Eldest Souls, and, if equipped to the dash slot, it will grant a small number of shields whenever an attack is successfully dashed through.
Eldest Souls can be played on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, and PC.