Pieta is the first real boss in Lords of the Fallen, and she serves as a massive skill check for players who have made it this far. Her high mobility, large area of effect attacks, and tankiness will come as a shock as the game to this point has been as hard as a typical Soulslike intro. Unfortunately, if you were looking for something as simple as the Asylum Demon, you’re in for a disappointment.
Note: This guide is for melee characters. Spellcasters have more options when it comes to combating Pieta from long-range.
How to beat Pieta in Lords of the Fallen
You’ll meet Pieta, She of Blessed Renewal, at the end of the Abandoned Recopse near the entrance to Skyrest Bridge. She has two phases, and most people won’t have too much of an issue getting through the first one. However, she sprouts wings and shows her true power when she loses around an eighth of her HP.
Fortunately, there’s a way to make this fight easier. After you lose to her once, you can return to the area just before her arena and use your Umbral Lamp to the left of the boss gate to reveal a human-sized mass of moths. Interact with this, and you can summon Iron Wayfarer to assist you.
For all his bluster, Iron Wayfarer is a pushover compared to Pieta. He’ll fall pretty quickly, sometimes as soon as the beginning of the second phase, leaving you to do all the hard work yourself. However, I’ve found that if you enter the fight and hit Pieta with ranged attacks that will deaggro her from Iron Wayfarer long enough to save him from some damage. Having him live into the second phase is very useful because that’s when the challenge really starts.
Here’s how to beat both of Pieta’s phases:
Phase 1
During Phase 1, Pieta isn’t too tough. She’ll walk toward her target slowly, and when close, she’ll slash with her sword. These slashes cover a long, wide arc, but you can parry them. In fact, the best way to beat Pieta’s first phase is to parry these predictable swings until she staggers, hit her with a Grevious Strike, then repeat.
Her most dangerous attack in Phase 1 is her sword beam. It’s strong, and the beam travels fast. So, to avoid it, you’ll need to watch for the tell, which is when she raises her sword in the air. When she does that, get ready to dodge right or left.
Phase 2
This is when things start getting really tough. Pieta has wings now and can speed all around the arena, so there’s no retreating from her. When she enters this phase, she’ll always use the same attack, a quick dash from one end of the arena to the other straight up the middle that leaves a large area of effect attack in its wake. Usually, if Iron Wanderer is with you, he’ll just let this hit him and die. However, if you move to one side of the area right as Pieta transforms, he’ll follow you and avoid it, keeping him in the fight.
Unfortunately, there’s not a good way to cheese Pieta in her second form. She’ll stick pretty close to you, only retreating to perform an attack in which she summons two angels, which dash across the arena and leave a trail of area of effect damage. Luckily, if you get extremely close, you can avoid this entirely. Alternatively, if you’re far enough away, it’s easy to gauge which parts of the arena the angels are attacking.
Pieta’s weakness here is that her regular sword attacks can still be parried. If you have Iron Wanderer around, let him draw her aggro at the start of the phase and hit her as hard as you can. Once he’s down, start playing it safe and studying her patterns. It shouldn’t take long to spot when she’s open to be parried. It doesn’t take much to stagger her, especially if you hit her with charged strong attacks when the opportunity presents itself.
Patience is the key to winning against Pieta in Lords of the Fallen. Doing so will get you the following:
- Vestige Seed x1
- Umbral Scouring x8
Make sure to shine your Umbral Lantern where she falls to find the Stigma she leaves behind. Soulflaying gets you:
- Remembrance of Pieta, She of Blessed Renewal
- Umbral Scouring x2
