How to Kill Deathstalker in The First Descendant: Full Boss Guide

The First Descendant introduces one of its toughest bosses yet: Deathstalker. This poisonous and resilient enemy challenges players with its high-damage attacks, debuff mechanics, and an enraged phase that can wipe out entire teams if not handled properly. In this detailed guide, we’ll break down how to defeat Deathstalker by focusing on its weaknesses, the best strategies, and key mechanics you need to master to come out on top.

1. Deathstalker Overview and Weaknesses

Deathstalker is a toxic-themed boss that comes with a set of specific resistances and weak points that players must exploit to win the battle.

Weaknesses and Elemental Resistances:

• Attack Element: Toxic
• Weak Point Type: Pierce

Elemental Weaknesses:

• Electric: Very weak (Best for DPS)
• Fire: Normal resistance
• Ice: Strong resistance
• Poison: Very strong resistance (Avoid using poison attacks)

To maximize your damage against Deathstalker, prioritize electric damage for your attacks, as it is highly vulnerable to this element. Avoid using ice and poison-based weapons as Deathstalker resists these elements.

Destructible and Removable Parts:

• Destructible Parts: Back Core Cap, Core Cap, Sensor, Balancer
• Removable Parts: Back Core, Core

Deathstalker’s back core and cap parts are particularly vulnerable and can be destroyed to reduce its defensive capabilities and deal significant damage.

2. How to Beat Deathstalker: Key Strategies and Mechanics

To successfully take down Deathstalker, you’ll need to master its attack patterns, manage debuffs, and execute critical mechanics during its immune and enraged phases.

Avoid the Rings by Double Jumping

Deathstalker periodically releases ring-shaped bone attacks that expand outward, dealing heavy damage if you’re caught inside them. The best way to dodge these rings is to double jump or use your grapple hook. Alternatively, you can position yourself below elevated ground or lure the boss toward ramps to avoid these rings entirely.

Shoot the Floating Skulls

Throughout the fight, Deathstalker will launch floating skulls that track players and deal significant damage on contact. These skulls are fragile but deadly, so always prioritize shooting them down as soon as they appear to prevent unnecessary damage to your team.

Use Clocks to Remove Debuff Marks

Deathstalker applies a dangerous HP-reducing debuff over time, which accumulates in stacks. Once you reach four stacks, your max HP will be halved, leaving you vulnerable to a one-shot kill. You can remove these stacks by standing in the clock circles that spawn during the fight. As the clock’s bar fills, the debuffs will be removed, so make sure to take advantage of this mechanic before your HP drops too low.

Bring Ajax or Yujin for Support

To effectively survive the fight, bring Ajax or Yujin for extra defense and healing. These characters excel in sustaining the team’s health and shields while helping mitigate the effects of Deathstalker’s poison and debuffs. Their abilities can help keep your team alive during critical moments.

Slot in Perfect Antivenom

Deathstalker’s poison-based attacks can quickly drain your health over time. Equip the Perfect Antivenom mod to negate the poison effects and reduce damage from toxic attacks. This mod is essential for improving your survivability in this fight.

3. Dealing with the Enraged Phase: Finding the Correct Skull Puppet

Once Deathstalker enters its enraged state, it spawns several puppets around the arena. These puppets play a key role in either ending the enraged phase or wiping your team.

Find the Skull Covering Its Eyes

To end the enraged phase, players must find the correct puppet, which is identified by a skull covering its eyes with its hands. Once found, communicate with your team to position around the puppet and stand in its radius. After a short time, the puppet will be destroyed, and Deathstalker’s enraged state will end.

Avoid the Smiling Puppets

As you search for the correct puppet, you’ll also encounter smiling puppets that resemble the unmasked face of Deathstalker. Avoid getting too close to these, as they deal massive damage when approached. Carefully navigate the area to avoid triggering these deadly traps while hunting for the correct puppet.

4. Optimizing Your Loadout and Team Composition

Your loadout and team setup are critical to surviving and defeating Deathstalker. Here’s what you need to bring:

Shields Over Health

Given Deathstalker’s ability to reduce your max HP, focus on building shield-based characters like Enzo. Shields are not affected by the HP-reduction debuff, allowing you to tank more damage. Equip mods that enhance your shields and cooldowns to keep them up as much as possible.

• Enzo: Build for full shields and low cooldowns using Overwhelming Shield. This setup allows Enzo to sustain massive amounts of damage without worrying about losing health.
• Ajax and Yujin: These characters are great for healing and providing additional protection for your team.

Use Electric Weapons

Since Deathstalker is very weak to electric damage, equip weapons and abilities that deal electric damage to maximize your output. Avoid using ice and poison-based attacks, as they will be largely ineffective.

Bring Antivenom for Extra Safety

As mentioned, Perfect Antivenom is highly recommended for this fight to neutralize Deathstalker’s poisonous attacks. This will prevent the poison from stacking up over time and increase your survivability in the long run.

5. Rewards for Defeating Deathstalker

While the specific rewards for defeating Deathstalker may vary, bosses in The First Descendant typically offer a variety of high-tier loot, including:

• Weapon upgrades
• Mod enhancements
• Crafting materials

In addition, defeating Deathstalker can provide unique gear drops related to the toxic theme of the boss, potentially including items that boost your resistance to poison-based attacks or offer increased shield regeneration.

Conclusion

Deathstalker is one of the most challenging bosses in The First Descendant, requiring precise strategies, teamwork, and the right loadouts. By focusing on electric damage, mastering the immune and enraged phases, and leveraging shield-focused characters like Enzo, Ajax, or Yujin, you can overcome Deathstalker’s deadly mechanics. Avoid the ring attacks by double jumping, shoot the floating skulls, and find the skull covering its eyes during the enraged phase to successfully defeat the boss.

Equip your team with Perfect Antivenom and prepare for a tough but rewarding fight. With the right preparation and execution, Deathstalker will fall, and you’ll be well on your way to claiming victory and powerful rewards. With tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to conquering Deathstalker and claiming victory.