Arks are imposing colossi that act as field bosses in Eternal Strands. They're some of the main enemies players will have to face in order to progress through the game, and the Ark of the Stricken Earth will be the first that Brynne fights in the game.

As an introductory boss fight, the Ark of Stricken Earth is one of the easier ones to beat. However, if you're at a loss about how to take this gigantic construct down, or if you're looking to get or upgrade the Ensnaring Blast power, here's a quick guide to help you out.

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Ark of Stricken Earth Boss Guide in Eternal Strands

Ark of the Stricken Earth's armor weakspot in Eternal Strands
Eternal Strands Ark of the Stricken Earth armor weakpoint

Beating at the Ark's toes until it dies won't work. Fighting giants in Eternal Strands is much like fighting large monsters in Dragon's Dogma or Shadow of the Colossus. To beat this boss, you need to strip away its armor and attack its weakspots.

The Ark of Stricken Earth's armor is held up by round buttons as shown in the image above. Climb the Ark, destroy all the buttons keeping a piece of armor in place, and once that armor piece falls off, start hitting the exposed weakspot. Each weakspot makes up a chunk of the Ark's health, and once that spot grays out, you'll have to repeat the process to a different body part until the Ark falls.

Use Ice Wall to pin the Ark's legs and make climbing easier. If it slams its fist to the ground, freeze it to make reaching its head and shoulders easier.

Tips

  • You can use your bow to shoot armor buttons and weakspots.
  • When an armor piece falls off, you can use your telekinesis powers to throw it at the Ark.

How to Get the Ensnaring Blast Power

Ark of Stricken Earth's harvest spot in Eternal Strands
Eternal Strands Ark of Stricken Earth Harvest spot

Beating the Ark of the Stricken Earth for the first time will reward you with Ensnaring Blast, a Strand power that pulls in objects and entities in a target area before blasting them upward. It's a useful tool for both controlling crowds and clearing clutter.

Upgrading powers is an essential part of progression in Eternal Strands. You can further upgrade Ensnaring Blast by fighting the Ark of Stricken Earth again. This time, it'll come armed with a large staff, and it will use new attacks against you. However, it'll also be much easier to fight, as you can essentially execute it after a certain point.

Fight the Ark as usual and break off its chest armor. This should expose a glowing spot — make your way to that spot, and you'll get the option to Harvest it. Press the button that appears on your screen, and Brynn will siphon the magic from the Ark, killing it and upgrading Ensnaring Blast in the process. Harvesting magic from the glowing spot in the Ark's chest is essential to getting the Ensnaring Blast upgrade.

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Eternal Strands
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Released
January 28, 2025
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

ESRB
T For Teen // Violence, Sexual Themes, Drug Reference
Developer(s)
Yellow Brick Games
Publisher(s)
Yellow Brick Games
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
PC Release Date
January 28, 2025
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
January 28, 2025
PS5 Release Date
January 28, 2025
Genre(s)
Action, Adventure, Fantasy