Ability-gating is a common gameplay element in Metroidvanias, and Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is no exception. Set decades after the events of the first game, you play as Lilac, a gifted Attuner with the ability to cure the Homunculi of their madness. As you explore the desolate, melancholy landscape, you'll notice several areas you can't access.
Whether it's a weird-looking wall blocking your path or a platform that's just out of reach, you'll often find yourself stuck looking for a new ability to progress. Garm's Iron Stake is one such ability that allows you to use a Ground Slam to break breakable floors. Considering the impressive map size in Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, players might find it difficult to figure out exactly how to unlock this ability.
How to Unlock Fast Travel in Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
The world in Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is pretty big and exploring it all isn't easy without fast travel. Here's how to unlock it.
Obtaining Garm's Iron Stake (Ground Slam Ability) in Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
Garm's Iron Stake is unlocked as a reward for defeating Garm, The Giant Gravedigger. This is the main boss in the Magicite Mine region. Similar to the Shackled Beast, Garm packs quite a punch behind his attacks, so you'll have to play defensively and utilize every small opening you get to bring him down.
We recommend exploring the Tethered Steeple region before taking on Garm, the Giant Gravedigger. If you defeat the Shackled Beast and unlock the parry ability, this fight can get significantly easier. The closest Respite to the boss is called Floral Coven, where you can equip your Relics and choose your abilities before starting the fight.
Once you manage to defeat the boss, Garm's Iron Stake automatically gets unlocked, and you can access the previously unbreakable vine floors that you've seen in other parts of the region.
How to Beat Garm, the Giant Gravedigger in Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
Garm, the Giant Gravedigger is a single-phase boss, but after losing a certain portion of his health pool, he gains an additional attack in his moveset. The boss can be Frozen, which means Lito's Glacial Fist is still a pretty solid ability to have equipped in your inventory.
Both Vanquisher and Spirit Piercer are good choices for Nora's abilities for this fight. Vanquisher does more Break Damage, while Spirit Piercer has a faster attack speed.
If you've got the Shackled Beast's Counter equipped, then the last slot goes to either Muinn or Yolvan. Yolvan has a faster Break Damage buildup, but Muinn's attacks are Auto, which means you won't have to press any button to use him.
Equip Relics that offer more resistance instead of damage to survive the boss's attacks.
Garm, the Giant Gravedigger's Main Attacks
- Leaping Slam: Garm, the Giant Gravedigger leaps up in the air and slams down, creating two shockwaves that travel horizontally outward.
- Kick: When players stick close to Garm's melee range, Garm performs a kick attack that does massive damage and also knocks Lilac back.
- Ground Drill: Garm starts drilling the ground for a duration, during which lava rocks start flying out of the ground, which can damage the player.
- Flame Whirlwind: After losing about 60% of his HP, Garm lets out a scream and adds this attack to his moveset. He starts with a Leaping Slam attack, and after the shockwave, he creates a whirlwind of flame, after which six lava rocks fly off the ground.
Garm, the Giant Gravedigger Boss Fight Strategy
The biggest tip for defeating Garm, the Giant Gravedigger is to take things slow. At this stage of the game, the boss can easily deplete your entire health pool with two or three attacks. Being overly aggressive isn't the right answer when it comes to defeating this difficult boss.
His attack pattern is simple, and all of them can be dodged easily. If you've got the Shackled Beast's Counter, you can trigger the counterattack using the shockwave after the Leaping Slam attack.
Shackled Beast's Benumbed Howl Ability can help you deal decent damage and also trigger the Frost status effect in this fight.
If you're using Yolvan, the Black-Winged Huntsman as one of your Homunculi, try to avoid getting too close to the boss and keep holding down the ability button to build up Break Damage. With Muinn, however, you'll have to get close and use Lito and Nora's abilities to break his stance.
His Leaping Slam is the best time to deal damage in this fight. When he jumps into the air, dodge to the side. Wait for the shockwave and dash through it to get a few hits. However, this strategy won't work after he has 40% of his HP left since he will usually follow it up with the Flame Whirlwind attack.
In that stage, you'll want to bait out the Kick attack and use the Shackled Beast's Counter to inflict damage. Follow it up with Nora's attacks and then back away to safety. Rinse and repeat until the boss's health pool drops to zero.
Defeating Garm, the Giant Gravedigger unlocks the White as Snow achievement in Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist.
Where to Go After Getting Garm's Iron Stake
While Garm's Iron Stake is mainly used as a traversal ability to unlock new areas, it also has a lot of use in combat. To use the ability, you'll have to jump up with Lilac and hit the down and attack button together. The damage from it isn't exceptional, but it does decent Break Damage on enemies in the game.
Garm's Iron Stake opens up a couple of different locations in Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist. However, if you haven't tackled the Crimson Forest yet and defeated Veol, the Crazed Wolf, that's what you should do next. Later, you've got two options: Subterranean Waterway and Crystalline Realm.
We recommend going to the Crystalline Realm first, since you'll find another neat traversal ability here.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist might just be one of the best games this year for fans of the genre. While the original set a high bar, the sequel did more than enough to live up to it. The traversal abilities in the game don't take too long to unlock and always add meaningful progression while exploring the beautiful world.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- January 22, 2025
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Violence, Blood, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Adglobe, Live Wire
- Publisher(s)
- Binary Haze Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- Early Access Release
- March 25, 2024
- PC Release Date
- January 22, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- January 22, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- January 22, 2025
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- January 22, 2025
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
