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How to Beat Cortus The Bloodthirsty in The Relic: First Guardian

Luke Addison05 mins
corvus the bloodthirsty in the relic first guardian

Last updated on August 4th, 2026 at 12:55 pm

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By this point, you’re more than a few hours into The Relic: First Guardian, and if you’re here, you’re struggling with a certain boss. Don’t worry though, we’re here to explain exactly how to beat Cortus the Bloodthirsty, one of the most heartbreaking bosses in The Relic: First Guardian.

Read on for location, tips, tricks, and what rewards you’ll get when you do beat him.

How to Find Cortus the Bloodthirsty in The Relic: First Guardian

Cortus the Bloodthirsty, like a lot of other bosses, is one you’ll happen upon, rather than intentionally search out. Hidden away behind a fenced off village in the Faded Mist Forest. With a Tibelle’s Blessing right outside, you’ll have to open the gate to the forest, at which point you’ll be ambushed by an onrushing. Kill it quickly, and it’ll drop the first note of many, and the start of a new Event, The Sawblade That Devoured the Refuge. Don’t get ahead of yourselves, this isn’t much of a Bloodborne reference.

Follow the linear path through the village, ensuring you pick off the common enemies, and picking up gold and treasure on your way through. Within a few minutes you’ll end up in a slightly larger open area, and at the other end, a creepy, cackling Cortus the Bloodthirsty stands. Now you’ve found him, and now you need to know how to beat him.

corvus the bloodthirsty location

How to Beat Cortus the Bloodthirsty

Cortus the Bloodthirsty is one of the easier bosses for this stage of the Faded Mist Forest. He’s not as easy as Cleaver, but nowhere near as hard as The Winged Woman, or as frustrating as Philip, The One Who Lost His Peace.

Cortus the Bloodthirsty is a slow moving boss, until he isn’t. Once his health bar opens at the top of the screen, you want to take advantage of his prowling and throw a Shard of Emberflame, and follow that up with your own elemental ranged Relic Magic. I always stick with fire, personally.

As already said, Cortus isn’t quick, until he is. He’ll prowl and prance around the arena, cackling, driven mad by his actions and his own slaughter of the village that took him in, and then he’ll rush you. His combos are simple to predict, but they can prove difficult to block, as he throws a fake attack in there every now and then.

CHEESE METHOD: The open area of the village is littered with barrels. Some ice, some fire. As with other bosses, you can use these to your advantage. With either type of barrel, make sure Cortus the Bloodthirsty swings his Sawblade and hits the barrel, not you, and is caught in the resulting explosion. If you can keep him in it long enough, by either hitting him or dodging around him and making him turn, he’ll end up with Frostbite or Burn. Do this with each barrel and then attack in the resulting breaks of defense, and you’ll make quick work of the man.

As is standard with most of the bosses, he has an air-based attack that’ll hurt if you don’t dodge or block, but again, keep your eyes peeled, as he telegraphs this.

UPCOMING BOSSES

If you keep your distance, he will throw elemental attacks at you periodically. Don’t try and block these, just dodge. You’ll also notice the arena is littered with elemental barrels, if you can either destroy these when he’s next to them, or make him destroy them in a Sawblade swing, you’ll have an easier time of it, just be careful not to get caught in the devastation yourself.

Once his health has depleted enough, he’ll become a little quicker, more frenzied, and his laughs even more unhinged. This is where your own speed with the sword and shield will come in handy. Don’t try and attack through his combos, instead choosing to block or dodge them. If the former, be prepared for a fake attack on the third strike in the sweeping combo, which absolutely will throw you off your rhythm.

When his combo has come to an end, this is where your skills come into play. If, like me, you’re using a Sword and Shield, use one of your attack skills to deal major damage, and then immediately back off, as he’ll no doubt be at a point where he’s ready to attack. Another combo dodged or blocked, then you’ll want to throw your elemental or Shard of Emberflame again, anything to keep the residual damage up.

At this point, you’ll be close to toppling the maniacal boss, and after a few more hits, you’ll have defeated Cortus the Bloodthirsty, and with that, complete the event The Sawblade That Devoured the Refuge, and warn some rewards for your trouble.

Rewards:

  • Mark for Madness
  • Cortus the Bloodthirsty Journal Entry
  • Relic Magic

For your next read, check out our review of The Relic: First Guardian, or our tips to make your time in Arsilthus easier.

Other The Relic: First Guardian Guides You Will Need


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