Dark Souls II Walkthrough, Part Twenty-Two: Earthen Peak - Mytha, the Baneful Queen
Well, Earthen Peak has sure been a blast to explore, but your time here is sadly at an end. There's only one more path you haven't yet explored, and it's going to lead you straight to the ruler of this grungy place. And when you finally meet her? Suffice it to say that heads will fly. (One head for certain, at the very least.)
Earthen Peak
- Return to the room with the arrow chest, not far from the Central Earthen Peak Bonfire, and go up the ladder this time. There's a rogue on your left when you come up; dispatch it, then check the room it was watching over. (If you go the other direction you'll find an alternate way to clear the lift room's enemies.) Go up the stairs here.
- There are two pyromancers ahead with their backs to you. If you can, smash the poison jars beside them and they'll suffer slow deaths. Be careful looting them, as another spear-carrier lingers nearby.
- Beyond the room opens up. To your left are two spear-wielders watcing over a door; to the right is a pyromancer on a ledge. Wipe out the pyromancer first, then go up the stairs, ignoring the guards for now. We'll get back to 'em.
- There's a split ahead. To your right is a room full of poison jars, and in it several of those poisonous insects you fought earlier in this area. Carefully clear them out. In here you'll find a corpse containing a Small Smooth & Silky Stone and a Pharros' Lockstone location that... just... seems to poison you. Great. There's also a chest in here, though if you try to open it it'll eat you whole. Attack the chest instead, then draw back and let it smash the additional pots in the room so it'll poison itself to death. Check its corpse after it dies for Dark Gauntlets and a Work Hook.
- If you go left on the stairs you'll find a red phantom. It's a tough customer and will occasionally heal itself, but if you manage to wipe it out you'll receive a Brigand Armor +5. Sweet! Its sickle has surprising reach, so keep on your guard constantly. I found stairs to be very useful in this fight. Before leaving this guy's perch, investigate the walls to the left and right of the line of pots. The left has a hidden niche containing a Petrified Something; the right has another hidden niche containing the area's last Bonfire, Upper Earthen Peak.
- Now for the guards by the door. Though it doesn't look like it, these dudes are standing in front of a pool of poison. Even worse, the boss behind them is standing in a pool of poison. The solution? Go back to the Central Earthen Peak Bonfire and use the Bonfire to light a Torch. Use it on the base of the windmill that's peaking through the wall in the adjacent room. This will remove the poison. Then you can wipe out the thugs normally and take on the boss with less trouble. Check the former pit for a skeleton that holds a Poison Stone...
- ... then head inside. Egads! Boss!
Mytha, the Baneful Queen
What a happy creature that rules over this crumbling kingdom. Mytha is not that difficult a boss, especially if you have a shield, though she's nigh-impossible if her lair is flooded with poison. If it is, come back after destroying the windmill (noted above) and most of her lair will be dry brick. Poison hurts you and heals her, so, yeah. Get rid of that stuff.
Mytha is equal parts physical and magical. Most of the time she'll assault you with her spear, if you're at a distance, or her tail if you get too close. Occasionally she'll bust out magic as well. Her attacks are as such:
- A simple jab in your direction. Usually she'll follow this up with a second swipe or an overhead jab, and occasionally she'll sweep the ground with her spear. Regardless, be ready to dodge three times, and only move in to attack once she stops going after you.
- A mighty jab in your direction. Mytha will rear back a bit, then cover a huge distance and attempt to impale you. If she's successful, you're usually dead. Fortunately, this is followed by a decent lag time as she recovers, making it a primo opportunity to whack her.
- A tail sweep. Mytha only performs this if you're close; if you like to fight at a range you may never see this attack. Nothing special.
- A head fling. She will throw her head at you, and shortly after it lands, it will unleah a shockwave of deadly energy. Bound back, away from the shockwave, until it wears off. This is one of the best opportunities to hit her, as she takes quite a while to recover.
- And, last, head magic. Mytha will either cast one fast-moving bolt of energy at you or five slower, spread-out bolts in a general area. Roll to avoid either.
Though she's got a lot of attacks, the same strategy is going to apply throughout this battle: circle. Circle constantly. Wait for Mytha to attack, sneak in a hit, and pull back. Defend and repeat until she's dead. Occasionally Mytha will bound away to regenerate a bit of health in the poison surrounding her lair, but most of the time she's constantly hunting to kill you. Roll to her right to better avoid her spear, and just generally beat her down. Nothing much else is needed.
- After beating Mytha you'll earn a Mytha the Baneful Queen Soul, and you'll unlock a passage out of her lair. At the top you'll find a lift; hop on and it will shuttle you to the peak of Earthen Peak. Up here you'll find a path to a new area, the sweltering Iron Keep, and down the first flight of stairs on your left you'll find the first Bonfire, Threshold Bridge. Woo! Another area completed!
