The Shieldbearer is one of three familiars in the current Early Access state Witch fire. He is the first boss you can beat in your overall quest to stop the witch from unraveling her evil plans. He is also a progression gatekeeper, meaning his defeat is the only way to unlock new content and advance the plot. That's just how rogue-lite games work.
The Shieldbearer has to be the easiest of all three boss fights, at least for players who have become one with the game's combat and movement mechanics. However, he can be troublesome for new (or unprepared) players rushing through the maps because the game never explains one of his boss phases where you continuously take damage for no reason.
The following is a complete walkthrough of the Shieldbearer boss fight Witch fireincluding an excellent strategy to cheese him for easy farming. After you finish reading, you will realize that he is not as threatening as you first thought.
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How to find the shield bearer
The Shieldbearer can be found on the northern edge of the Scarlet Coast i Witch fire. The map can be unlocked by picking up Scarlet coast chart after entering the lair on the Isle of the Damned. The Shieldbearer is not locked behind a Gnosis level requirement, so you can choose to face him at your default, Gnosis 0.
When you reach the location marked on the map above, you will find a glowing green abyss. Spend 2,500 Volatile Witchfire Crystals to unlock the barrier and take a leap of faith into the misty void. The Shieldbearer is located in a huge underground canyon in Witch fire. You will fall through the air for about 6 seconds. Remember to double jump before you hit the ground or lose a good chunk of your health before the boss fight even starts.
Jump into the glowing abyss from the northernmost rift. This allows you to land directly on top of the Shieldbearer to cast your most powerful spell from the air.
How to beat the shield bearer in Witchfire
Despite being the main familiar of the Scarlet Coast, Shieldbearer is actually a fairly easy boss to beat Witch fire. He is one improved version of Swordsman with the same moveset, but gains a couple of new abilities when he loses health.
The Shieldbearer has three Soul Sigils (weak points) that are only revealed if you
dash in your second stamina bar
. Shooting all three orbs will stun him and give you a temporary damage boost. Therefore, upgrade your stamina stat to at least 15 before facing him. This also gives you more stamina points to avoid his other attacks.
Phase 1
The shield bearer flies to a far corner of the arena before pouncing on you with a powerful attack. The speed at which he comes at you is much faster than the normal or elite Swordsman, so be ready to dodge in time. You can jump in the air or dash to the side to avoid his pull. The shield bearer will be stuck in his attack animation for about 2 seconds. Use this window to unleash as much damage on him as possible.
Always activate Shieldbearer at medium range. His melee swings have almost double the range. His attack speed is also faster than normal.
Phase 2
The shield bearer begins summon Revenants after reaching 75 percent health. These are mostly smaller enemies, slow and easy to kit due to the large arena. You don't have to waste your time on them. The summon will always appear behind the shield bearer, so if you keep your distance, they'll have to cross half the arena to get to your spot. Focus on peppering the Shield Bearer instead.
Phase 3
The final phase of the boss fight is where things can get a little tricky. The shield bearer summons a shield after reaching 50 percent health to gain two new abilities. First, the shield blocks all incoming bullets. You either have to rely on an area of effect attack like explosions, or aim for the head and other vulnerable parts of the body.
Second, and most importantly, the shield bearer uses the shield to create a large green-colored dome in the arena. Stay inside the dome at all times! You continuously take Decay (poison) damage per tick by remaining outside the acidic sphere.
This is the hardest part of the Shieldbearer boss fight Witch fire. You don't have much room to drag him inside the dome. You also have to deal with the Revenants he keeps summoning. All you can do is massacre the Revenants to get inside the toxic bubble while keeping an eye on the shield bearer to avoid his jump attack.
Shieldbearer can chain attacks if you don't retreat after taking a hit. Refrain from boxing yourself in with your back against a wall. Always have plenty of space on all sides to make a refuge when needed.
Best weapons to use against the shield bearer in Witchfire
You can use the Echo shotgun (upgraded to M2) to ost the shield bearer in Witch fire. Its pellets explode on impact, igniting the boom and amplifying the damage. Wait for him to do his jump attack, and freeze him with Frost Cone as soon as he lands. This will give you a few extra seconds to unload some extra rounds into his face. When he retreats, reload your Echo and repeat the same strategy when he does his leap attack.
You can also switch to Vulture's demonic crossbow, which does massive explosive damage. It takes about 10 arrows to reduce him from 50 percent health to zero within 15 seconds. Since demonic ammo is limited, you can clear all enemy camps and loot all ammo chests before starting the boss fight.
The gameplay below shows how the Echo + Vulture combo makes short work of the shield bearer. He is not as dangerous a boss as most players tend to think when leveling up Witch fire. You can cheese him before the second phase of the boss fight begins.
Another weapon combination that proves effective against Shieldbearer is Hangfire and Midas (upgraded to M2) in Witch fire. Hangfire does explosive damage on every reload, bypassing the shield. Midas, on the other hand, can easily clear Revenants and deal massive critical damage to Shieldbearer thanks to its large clip size.
Rewards
The shield bearer always drops random items from a loot pile. You have a good chance of getting strange coins and gems to sell for gold back in the Hermitage. You can also expect to get some Second Mysterium Incantations and Large Witchfire Clusters to further enhance your Preyer.
Be careful not to click on the portal while looting. Since the items are right under the portal, you may accidentally go back to the Hermitage without claiming your rewards.
