The world of Tunic may be cartoony, but it still contains its fair share of challenges. The player will need every upgrade and piece of equipment they can find if they're going to overcome everything the game has to throw at them. Having the right gear isn't enough, however: the player also needs the skills and information to make the most of their equipment.
Bosses pose the greatest challenges in Tunic, and none is a greater threat than the Heir, the game's final boss. As it is with the rest of the game's bosses, there is more than one way of taking this Big Bad down. Some strategies are easier and more efficient than others, however. Here's everything the player needs to know in order to defeat the Heir.
The Heir Basics
Defeating The Heir is as much about how the player prepares for this difficult fight as it is how well they avoid the Heir's devastating moves. Unlike other battles in the game where the player's skills can be trusted to carry them through regardless of their level of preparation, the fight against The Heir relies much more heavily on preplanning. Having enough Mana is very important: there are multiple ways of taking the Heir down, but the easiest one requires plenty of Mana. If the player doesn't have seven Mana Potions, it's a good idea to visit the Merchant and buy Blueberries with which to refill Mana during the fight.
The Fire Wand and Magic Dagger are important to this battle, as is the Inverted Ash (which allows the player to turn their Health Potions into Mana Potions) the Dagger Strap (which reduces the Magic Dagger's casting time), and the Anklet (which increase the player's movement speed). Knowing what to equip is important for beginners, but even veterans will benefit from it here.
How To Beat The Heir
As it is in Zelda, the player must know how to get the most from the special items they've collected in order to triumph in certain boss battles, and the fight against The Heir is one of them. As soon as the battle begins, use the Fire Wand and Magic Dagger simultaneously to freeze the boss. Doing so will immobilize The Heir long enough for the player to land several hits before dashing away to safety. The best time to refill one's Mana is while the boss is frozen: don't get greedy and go for an attack during the same stun period, however, as there isn't time.
Though the player can dash in any direction, this is a game in which some movements are safer than others. Dashing up or down will often leave the player in harm's way due to how quickly The Heir moves when executing a Dash Attack. The boss's sword can hit the player at a deceptively long range, too, so it's advisable to give the boss a wide berth when possible. The player will want to repeat this pattern of freezing the boss, striking, and then dashing away until the last of the Heir's health is depleted.
It wouldn't be a challenge if the final boss fell so easily, however: the Heir has a second phase.
During this phase, the boss's eyes and sword glow purple and the move-set will change. Thankfully, the original strategy of freezing the Heir, striking, and dashing away again works for the second stage as well. During this stage, however, it is advisable to dash backward after striking the boss, as that's the best way to get distance before the boss's follow-up strike.
The Heir's Dash Attacks during the second phase cover the entire platform and are followed up by a Slash in the opposite direction, so the player needs to be careful not to get caught. Failing to stun the Heir will allow the boss to introduce other, more difficult attack patterns that can quickly kill this iconic fox, so it's vital that the player sticks to the plan to take the Heir down.
Tunic is available for PC, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Playstation 5, and Nintendo Switch.