When it comes to hidden bosses within The Relic: First Guardian, there are none more hidden in the early game than Erman, The Famished Lord, who hides within the base of a tower that holds more than just a boss and his secrets, and is one of the most easily missed Brutals in the game, if you’re not fully paying attention. Don’t worry though, in this guide we’ll walk you through where he is, and exactly how to beat Erman, The Famished Lord with ease.
How to Find Erman, The Famished Lord in The Relic: First Guardian
While exploring the open world of The Relic: First Guardian, you will eventually come across a ruined tower upon the top of a hill called Rampart of Hunger that looks rather simple upon first visiting, with a few looters dotted around and some loot to find within chests, but don’t walk away too quickly, as this location hides quite a few secrets.
As you explore this ruined tower, you can make your way onto a small ruined platform that holds a chest on it, seemingly looking as though this location is finished. However, there is more to find if you continue to walk around the destroyed platform, as you can find a part of the tower that is smashed open, revealing a small platforming section to complete that will lead you into the bowels of this location.
After you parkour down the tower, you will find yourself in the catacombs underneath the buried tower, filled with ghosts that block your path forward, known as the Underground Storehouse of Despair. Do not rush too fast towards the boss within this location, as there is a lot to find within, whether it be more Ancestral Power, good-quality loot, or just simply enemies to fight.
However, after you progress through these catacombs and head up a small lift, you will find yourself outside the boss room, as indicated by the rest spot located just outside.
How to Beat Erman, The Famished Lord
Now that you have managed to find Erman, The Famished Lord, you can begin to fight this monstrous enemy, as he employs a lot of fast and heavy-hitting attacks that keep you on your toes.
Throughout Erman, The Famished Lord’s boss fight, you as the player will need to be on your guard at all times, as Erman boasts a lot of fast attacks with long combos that can easily reduce your stamina bar if you are not careful. This can happen both through blocking at the wrong time, leading to a standard block, or by attempting to dodge each attack.
Our advice after fighting this boss would be to ignore dodging for most of the fight and focus on parrying his attack perfectly, as breaking Erman’s poise is probably the best opportunity you will have to do damage to him. The reason behind this is simply because Erman is completely unrelenting with his attacks, giving you next to no room to breathe between his combos, especially the longer the fight goes on, as his attacks do begin to get longer as the fight continues.
In terms of Erman, The Famished Lord’s attacks, there are a numerous amount of combos to look out for, whether it be a basic slam of his ghostly great hammer, a small one-two combo, his spiral attack which at the beginning of the fight hits 3 times back-to-back, or even his unblockable which is indicated by the usual symbol. However, the biggest attacks you need to worry about get employed much later in the fight.
After you slowly whittle down Erman’s health by breaking his poise and dealing as much damage as you can do through various attacks, skills and magic, he will eventually get more dangerous with his attacks as his combos from earlier begin to get longer with a new combo being introduced in which Erman begins wailing on you with his weapon for 7 hits.
UPCOMING BOSSES
- The Prodigal Bound in Dust
- Cleaver
The biggest threats, in terms of attacks, are the two Area of Effect (AOE) attacks that Erman will use once he gets lower than 50% health, in which he will slam the floor and one of two situations will happen.
One version of this unblockable attack is just a simple AOE attack that, once he slams his hammer on the floor, it will emit a burst of damage and will cause status build-up for a new status that will be described below. The other version of this unblockable attack is when Erman smashes his hammer into the floor after doing his two-hit combo of a downward and upward swing, where he then sucks the player in and then causes an explosion, generating the status ailment and causing damage.
For obvious reasons both of these attacks will have to be dodged to ensure your survival, but when it comes to the second attack that pulls the player in, it is imperative that you dodge during the explosion rather than being sucked in, as the initial attack that generates the vacuum will only damage you if his weapon collides with you, whereas the actual explosion can hurt you from a distance.
Along with these challenging attacks that Erman, The Famished Lord, employs throughout the fight, a new status effect is introduced known as the ‘Cursed’ status. The problem that this status effect generates for the player is that it reduces the amount of healing the player is allowed to do to themselves from sources like the Breath of Esser or Dried Meat.
Because this status effect badly limits your survival capabilities, it is paramount that you attempt to avoid this as much as possible; unfortunately, that is easier said than done. As said above, all of Erman, The Famished Lord’s attacks generate status effects built upon damaging the player to at least halfway per hit, meaning that if you take two consecutive hits, you will not be able to heal as efficiently as you could before.
That being said, although this status effect limits your healing options, it does not negate them, as you are still able to heal, but instead of potentially healing half your health bar using the Breath of Esser, you will instead barely heal 10%, drastically making it harder to stay alive.
Once you manage to defeat Erman, The Famished Lord, you will earn his loot and be able to continue through these catacombs before heading back to the open world, and the Event ‘The Last Feast’ will also now be completed. The items you will acquire from this boss are as follows:
- A new two-handed weapon – What Was Never Filled
- Erman, The Famished Lord Lore
- Relic Energy
After you beat Erman, The Famished Lord, we would recommend that you leave the catacombs and head to the nearest rest spot to get yourself back in tip-top shape.
For your next read, check out our review of The Relic: First Guardian, and don’t miss our tips for making the game a cakewalk.
Liam is a Senior Editor, Writer, and Critic for Thumb Wars and has been working with the team since day one. Liam is a big fan of all things gaming, as you will catch him playing all of the new releases from every genre you can imagine. Whether you find Liam gaming just for fun or spending his free time streaming, you will always find a smile on his face when it comes to all things gaming.
