Dr. R. Hermann is a two-phase boss fight in The Last Faith that requires you to recognize patterns in order to defeat him. Here's a quick and digestible guide on how to best Dr. R. Hermann in one-on-one combat.
How to kill Dr. R. Hermann in The Last Faith
Since this fight has two phases, I'll separate everything you need to know it make it easier to understand. Before engaging him, make sure you have plenty of Vitality and Healing Injections on hand. You'll need both for the learning phase of this fight.
Phase 1
This phase is mostly about recognizing when to attack and when to move. Dr. R. Hermann is largely a melee combatant in this phase, and each of his different attacks ends with a follow-up one. All of his melee attacks also hit in a large cleaving area in front of him or behind him, and they must be avoided if you're looking to win the fight. Dr. R. Hermann always attacks in pairs if he is performing a melee attack, meaning you should always expect a follow-up even if the moment that presents itself looks safe.
Dr. R. Hermann has several different combos he can utilize, but the most important is which follow-up attack he is performing. You want to attack just after the follow-up but before the next sequence attacks. He recovers very slowly after two melee attacks, which is why you want to capitalize during these critical moments.
Dr. R. Hermann also has two other special attacks you should watch out for. The first in a ranged attack using his veiny arm as the firing platform.
To avoid this, simply crouch under the attack until it has concluded. Rarely will you be close enough to punish it, but if you are, he takes a while to recover from using it.
The second attack is a screen-wide one that covers sections of the arena with tendrils that come from the ground.
When using this attack, Dr. R. Hermann will scream, which is your tell it is coming. The attack comes in two waves, and the second wave always attempts to hit you regardless of where you are on the map. You want to run to a section to a section of the arena that last had a stalk of veins. The first set will disappear when the second set spawns, so take advantage of that fact.
Once you deplete his health bar, Phase 2 will begin almost immediately.
Phase 2
In Phase 2, Dr. R. Hermann will cease using melee attacks entirely and switch to a full-on ranged mode to face you. Instead of attacking you directly, he will sink into the ground and disappear from sight. During this, he will follow you while submerged. You can tell here he is by the blood pool on the ground following you. Avoid this pool as it deals big damage to you if it touches you and it heals the boss.
When Dr. R Hermann re-emerges, he will attempt to do one of two things. First, a normal re-emerge is one where he is completely stationary and doing nothing for about three seconds. This is your massive window of opportunity, so take full advantage of the idle time and attack with your strongest skills.
With the second type of re-emerge, he will launch himself into the air and spit blood bolts at you. Once he lands back on the ground, he will immediately resubmerge into the ground, which also launches blood bolts at you. You want to avoid all of these bolts as they deal heavy damage if they land. He may use this setup several times in a row, so be ready to move at a moment's notice. Don't try to attack him during this, as it will just get you hit.
His final attack in phase 2 sees him launching several blood orbs that bounce around the arena. This is his most deadly attack, as it's easy to get mixed up by the orbs and take big damage from them. Stand in between orb bounces, and make slight movement adjustments as necessary to avoid this attack completely.
Once you've successfully dealt with all of these, Dr. R. Hermann should go down nice and fast. Just rinse and repeat until his health bar reaches zero a second time.
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