Once you get the hang of the combat system in Bandai Namco’s Tales of Arise, its bosses will be the biggest challenges. Along with the five Lords, you’ll encounter a variety of different threats on your travels, each having different weaknesses. We won’t be looking at all of the different Gigants aka the large roaming Zeugles that can be defeated in various side-quests. For more details on those (along with other collectibles), head here. If you’re having trouble leveling up or affording items and equipment, then check out our guide here for some tips on earning Gald and farming EXP.
Keep in mind that each boss can be a doozy on Moderate difficulty and above, especially in the early going when you lack any armor or resistances. You can reduce the difficulty at any point from the Settings menu if things get too rage-inducing. Without further ado, here are all of the bosses encountered in the main story. Spoilers follow so be warned:
- Lord Balseph
- Ice Wolf Leader
- Ooze Hive
- Lord Ganabelt
- Zacarania
- Kisara
- Lord Dohalim
- Venoflage
- Temararus
- Grinymuk
- Lord Almeidrea
- Meria Phein
- Kalmarzel and Kaldinzel
- Lord Vholran
- Eljarania
- Great Astral Spirit
- Subsumer
- Vholran (Alphen-only)
Check out the videos below from omegaevolution and CGInferno on YouTube for how to beat all of them.
Naturally, those aren’t all of the bosses that can be fought in the game. There are a number of secret bosses to face, three which will be familiar to fans of the previous games. Check out all of them below, though again be warned, spoilers follow:
- Edna (from Tales of Zesteria)
- Eizen (from Tales of Berseria)
- Chronos (from Tales of Xillia 2)
Finally, those seeking the toughest challenge can partake in the last sub-quest “The Reminiscence Device.” It sees players taking on Phantom versions all of the Lords, one after another. Once you’ve defeated each one in separate fights, you must then fight them all at once.
However, it’s more like two Lords will be active at a single time. Upon felling one, another will arrive to take its place. Once that’s all done, you must face off against a Phantom version of Zephyr who’s level 100. Complete all of this and you’ve truly conquered all of the bosses in Tales of Arise. Check out the videos below from Rubhen925 on YouTube for tips.
Tales of Arise is currently available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. For more details, you can read our official review here.