Boss battles in Othercide are the true test of your tactical abilities. That isn’t to say reaching the bosses is a cakewalk, but these creatures from the depths of suffering are a step above anything else that come before them. The Deacon may only be the second boss you’re pitted against in the game, but what you’ve faced before won’t be enough to prepare you for victory. Let our guide answer your prayers to overcome the Deacon and live to fight another day.
The Deacon Stats and Info
Before getting into the tactics of the fight, we need to know what we’re going up against. The Deacon has a big step up in HP from the Surgeon at 22,000, but this time you’re allowed to bring four units to face him instead of three. Don’t get too excited, though, because you’ll need them all to deal with his abilities.
His first skill is an instant attack called Curse. This will deal damage in an AOE, but if you have any daughters within melee range then they will also get delayed.
Next is a charged skill called Mass that you’ll want to keep an eye out for. This hits everything in a hexagonal grid surrounding the Deacon after a charge. Make sure not to leave any daughters in range because this attack can do upwards of 3,000 damage.
Confession is a reaction skill that will make the furthest daughter “penitent”, meaning she can still perform all her normal actions, while all your other daughters will be immobile and delayed.
The final trick you need to watch out for is Fervor, which will trigger as a kind of transition into the second phase when the Deacon hits 50% HP. This will reset his initiative to zero, meaning he will take a turn immediately after yours.
Once in his second phase, two new skills are added. First is another reaction skill called Holy Cross, which damages any units in a cross shaped AOE when attacked.
Last is Liturgy, which is the biggest AOE attack the Deacon has. It’s charged, so you’ll have a chance to get safe, but will do 900 damage if you can’t get a unit clear.
The Deacon Tips
Easily the most annoying and dangerous skill the Deacon uses is Confession. Because of how it functions, the only unit you’re probably going to be able to use after it is activated is a Soulsinger. Plan ahead and keep a Shieldbearer at the back when the fight begins so she gets the “penitent” status. When that happens, run her in to start hitting the Deacon with Slam to start delaying him as soon as you can. From there, keep your Soulsinger, or two if you want, at range to attack and use their Intercepting Round and Shadow Round skills.
As for your Blademaster, hopefully you’ve had her learn Accepting Stance so she can get in a lot of damage as she gets buffed. It can also combo with Shadow Round if that’s active too.
Otherwise, just keep an eye out for Mass and keep putting in damage when you can.
Phase two isn’t much different than the first, except for how terribly you can get trapped by Confession and hit by Liturgy. There’s really not a lot you can do but tank the hit. Holy Cross isn’t too bad as long as you’re familiar with the shape. Just attack from angles that keep you out of the area it will hit when activated and you should be fine.
Rewards
When you’ve managed to deal the final blow to the Deacon you’re granted some nice new Remembrances to play with. First is the Heavy Key, which will have all your new daughters start at level 7, and the Clock Key gives you the ability to skip an era. You can combine that with the Buried Gear you got from the Surgeon if you wanted to immediately jump to the third era on a new run.
