How to beat Chaos Advent in Stranger of Paradise

Your first real test of Stranger of Paradise comes when you square off against the Chaos Advent. This boss is definitely a notch above the enemies you’ve mowed through on the way here, with lightning-fast combos, an unblockable grab attack, and two phases to learn. Thankfully, once you know the tricks to knock them out, they aren’t all that tough. Here’s how to beat Chaos Advent in Stranger of Paradise.

Note: This guide assumes you are playing on “Action” difficulty or lower.

Some prep-work: we recommend having Mage at or around level 10 as one of your two equipped Jobs during this encounter to negate Chaos Advent’s elemental switching. The Mage’s “Ruin” ability is also a solid hitting ranged attack to have equipped. A solid 90% of Chaos Advent’s attacks can be blocked with proper Soul Shield timing — however, when Chaos Advent imbues their sword with an element, you will still take damage while blocking. You can negate Chaos Advent’s sword elements by countering with an -aga spell of the opposite element. For example, when they ignite their sword with fire, cast a Waterga on them to douse the flames.

Phase 1 is a pretty simple phase to get through. Soul Shield his attacks, douse his flaming sword when it pops up, and wait for the right opportunity to get some long-range attacks in. You regain MP when you Soul Shield properly, so timing your blocks is key to letting you cast Ruin. Let Jed and Ash run wild on Chaos Advent, and at 50%, you can Soul Burst to regain MP and phase change to Phase 2.

Phase 2 is a little more complicated — this time, Advent will imbue their sword with the ice element. You can remove it with Firaga, but be careful when charging it up. Chaos Advent’s ice attacks can close the gap to you very quickly and chain up to four times in a single combo. Furthermore, the boss will charge up a flaming palm animation — this attack (Fiery Hold) is your first introduction to grabs, and it cannot be blocked. You must dodge to the side to avoid getting hit with it. Your potions may be running low at this point, so if you need to prioritize defense, do so. Sneak off some Ruin snipes when you can and let Jed and Ash do most of the work, and Chaos Advent will be down in no time.