Thymesia, like most soulslikes, is quite difficult. With punishing mechanics and limited resources, players really need to understand how to fight every opponent they come up against in order to stay alive. The Hanged Queen isn't the hardest boss in Thymesia, but can still be quite the challenge if players aren't aware of her tactics.
Players will find The Hanged Queen at the end of The Royal Gardens Zone. She is the second boss (not counting Varg) players will face after Odur in the Sea of Trees. The Hanged Queen matches The Royal Garden with her monstrous and demonic crystal form, and is fought in a huge arena with pools of blood everywhere. While The Hanged Queen has some cool abilities, like being able to heal in the fight, her attacks are incredibly slow and telegraphed, making her a bit less difficult than Odur.
The Hanged Queen's Moveset
The Hanged Queen uses a variety of different attacks in her fight. Knowing how each of her attacks works is key, as this knowledge will help players counter them. Here's a breakdown of the Hanged Queen's attacks and how players can evade them, as well as deal damage back.
Fly Slam
- Attack: The Hanged Queen will fly up quickly and descend slamming her claw down.
- Counter: This attack is telegraphed by The Hanged Queen flying up into the air. As The Hanged Queen flies up, players should be ready to dodge away. This attack doesn't deal too much damage, and also doesn't stagger Corvus, so it isn't the end of the world if players are tagged by it. However, as it's used frequently in the fight, it's still a good idea to learn the timing of it.
Arm Slam and Swing
- Attack: The Hanged Queen raises up one of her arms for a long windup, then slams down onto Corvus. After a short delay, she swings her claw backwards towards herself, cleaving nearby her again.
- Counter: Once again, this attack has a long windup to it, while The Hanged Queen raises one of her claws above her head. Once she finishes winding up, she'll swing down fast, so be prepared to dodge quickly. Dodging to the opposite side of the claw will also help the player avoid the swing backwards from her second attack.
Scream Projectile
- Attack: This move will start with The Hanged Queen jumping backwards away from Corvus. She begins breathing in, arching her back upwards and exposing her neck. From there she'll scream outwards, firing a projectile that will stagger and deal heavy damage to Corvus if it lands.
- Counter: This move is telegraphed by The Hanged Queen jumping backwards. Once she jumps back, check if she's beginning to breathe in and prepare to dodge if so. The projectile that she fires is quite slow, so players can opt to dodge it as it travels. Definitely look to dodge towards her to close the distance between her and Corvus.
Bite
- Attack: The Hanged Queen will reel her head back slightly before quickly biting in front of her.
- Counter: This attack is probably one of her fastest moves and is harder to dodge. It only deals about 90 damage to Corvus though, so it's not too dire if it lands. Pay attention to her if she reels back, and make sure to learn the timing of this attack to guarantee a successful dodge.
Blood Heal
- Attack: The Hanged Queen will begin to suck blood off of the ground, regenerating her health rapidly.
- Counter: This move cannot be interrupted. However, The Hanged Queen is vulnerable during this time, so players should look to use their sword to chip away at her health bar while she channels.
Ultimate: Flying Explosion
- Attack: The Hanged Queen will fly up into the air and wrap her wings around her body, she then explodes violently dealing massive damage to anything nearby.
- Counter: In order to avoid this attack, players will want to move as far away from her as possible. Dodging backwards with Long Dodge will typically do the trick.
Loadout Tips
While The Hanged Queen isn't too difficult of an encounter, there are some useful tips that may help players along the way. Short Claw is a fantastic tool for this boss fight, as the level 2 version of the talent allows Corvus to heal. As far as weapons go, all Plague Weapons work here. Using one the player likes, or their strongest one, should do the job.
Both Long and Short Dodge will help in this boss fight, in order to close the distance between the player and their opponent. Long Dodge is particularly useful in dodging her ultimate explosion attack. As for which potions to bring, any will do the trick, but the Long Lasting potion can be quite useful as The Hanged Queen doesn't launch out attacks too quickly, letting the player back off and heal up with it if needed.
Gameplay Tips
- Keep close and keep hitting. The Hanged Queen is slow on her attacks, and only fires one to two large attacks. This means players should feel free to go as ham as they can while ensuring they pay attention to any of her windups.
- Be aggressive. The player should ensure that The Hanged Queen has as little breathing room as possible, especially ensuring that she isn't able to heal up during the fight. The only time the player should move away is during her ultimate attack.
- Be patient. While The Hanged Queen only has one phase, she is quite tanky with her ability to regenerate health. Players should be sure to stay on their toes for the entire fight, as it can be a long one if she gets heals multiple times.