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To make matters worse, a tantalizing boss lies in wait to attack players on their way through the Foetor’s Lair. To give beginners a fighting chance, here’s a look at how to find and defeat the Harvest Child boss in Darkest Dungeon 2.
Where Is The Harvest Child Located?
Players looking to find and defeat the Harvest Child will need to select the Foetor path while at an Inn. There are usually only a couple of paths that are selectable from this screen so it may take multiple runs to gain access to the Foetar but, being a main path, it shows up pretty frequently.
Once players set out into the Foetar, they’ll need to locate the Lair for the zone, aptly named the “Harvest House.” This large dungeon-like structure will feature two battles with regular enemies and then a final battle against the Harvest Child itself.
It’s recommended that players be stocked up on healing items and stress reducers as just getting to the boss can be a bit of a struggle for some, depending on what enemies they come across and how long it takes to locate the Lair.
What Can The Harvest Child Boss Do?
The Harvest Child is a hulking boss represented by a baby-like entity emerging from a Cornucopia. To make matters even more alarming, the boss has access to two piles of strange, disgusting-looking meat, all combining together to create a rather stomach-turning boss battle that will have players fighting for their lives against a tantalizing foe.
Although it seems imposing, the Harvest Child really only has one specialized mechanic that players need to be aware of. This mechanic revolves around the piles of Fetid Meat and Putrid Meat that spawn alongside the boss. Although they’re inanimate objects, they get their own “turn” on the attack order list and will fill the air with a sickeningly sweet smell that will transform the player’s party into a band of ravenous zombie-like husks should they not be careful.
If a player fails to resist the Sickeningly Sweet “attack,” they’ll be put into a catatonic state that has them pushing past other players (swapping their order on the team) in a race to reach the front of the line. If they succeed, players will be forced to command them to chow down on the pile of offending meat with a newly acquired skill called Feed the Hunger. Each time a character is forced to use this skill, they’ll take one stress damage and lose 15 percent of their maximum HP.
The safest way to help players resist the clarion call of the meaty sub-enemies is to eliminate them entirely. Once they’re gone, it’s much easier to focus down the Harvest Child itself and reap the rewards of the Lair.
Stats For The Harvest Child
Here’s a look at the Harvest Child’s base stats:
120 HP 1 Speed
Resistances:
10 Bleed 60 Blight 10 Burn 30 Stun 30 Move 30 Debuff 33 Deathblow Resistance
Tips To Defeat The Harvest Child Boss
Here’s a look at some of the smartest things players can do when facing the Harvest Child boss, to help them succeed in the battle against the tempting Siren-like monster:
Teams that have a high damage output or are capable of stacking Burn and Bleed can ignore the Meat surrounding the Harvest Child and instead attack it directly. Defeating the Harvest Child will end the encounter immediately. Both Bleeds and Burns can be used to take out the Harvest Child even faster. The main objective during this fight for “slower teams” is to quickly eliminate the Fetid and Putrid Meat that spawn with the Harvest Child. The faster that players clear out these two sub-enemies, the easier the fight becomes. Blight resistance goes a long way in this fight as some of the Harvest Child’s attacks are capable of applying some pretty hefty Blight afflictions onto characters. Paracelsus (The Plague Doctor) is incredibly helpful in this fight (and most other fights) as she’s capable of healing and removing Blight (although it’s important to note players can only use Battlefield Medicine three times in one battle). Players should carry Blight Removal and Healing items into the fray, as stacking Blight can quickly drag a character to Death’s Door should the fight drag on. Characters like Boudica (Hellion) and Barristan (Man-At-Arms) are good choices for Front-Line characters for this fight as they are capable of applying Immobilize to themselves, helping to keep other players from racing to the front of the pack to eat the Meat should they be tempted. Any characters that reach the front of the line after being tempted by Sickeningly Sweet will have all of their applicable skills removed and replaced by one that forces them to eat from the Meat spread around Harvest Child. Keeping characters from reaching the front of the line is paramount to keeping them sane. Jester is incredibly helpful for this fight thanks to their ability to remove Stress from characters. Players should consider upgrading Paracelsus’ Ounce of Prevention ability with a Mastery Point prior to entering the battle against the Harvest Child as it gives characters access to Blight Resistance while simultaneously removing one Stress (from everyone, each use). Once the Fetid and Putrid Meat are gone, players can focus all of their attention on attacking the Harvest Child without worrying about its specialized mechanic. Although the Harvest Child is imposing-looking, it’s actually one of the easier bosses in the game, and should be easy for most teams to handle as long as they’re well-equipped and fairly healthy entering the fight.
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