So...you've made your way to the end of a level in Volgarr the Viking, and after all the toils and struggles of getting there, you face the daunting task of beating the boss lest you have to go through it all over again. Well, I've got you covered on boss strategies to hopefully keep that death total and frustration factor as low as possible!

Each boss fight in Volgarr mirrors the way you handle any other new situation and follows a similar difficulty curve. By that I simply mean that most of it is about learning the enemy and your environment, developing a strategy, and getting your execution down. The difficulty, as in the levels, is more skewed towards figuring things out than in having ridiculous execution skills. As such, once you've got a plan that works, none of these bosses should give you trouble anymore. That's where this guide comes into the picture.

All of the strategies listed in this guide are developed by myself, as I didn't use any help in my time learning Volgarr. I don't say that to bolster my ego (okay, maybe a little) but instead to point out that there may be better strategies that I don't know. If so, just let me know in the comments, and I'll see about getting it in the guide with credit to whoever points it out.

That said, I do feel that each of the strategies I present in this guide work very well and aren't that hard to execute once you get used to the boss. They are also generally designed to do the most damage quickly since I do speed run the game myself, so it should be of some use to those of you trying to speed up your times as well.

One last thing: THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS GUIDE . While I don't specifically mention how to get to the secret stuff, the identities of all the bosses, with pictures, are shown below. Each section should be of sufficient length that you won't stumble onto the next by accident, but do beware of that if you're trying to avoid spoilers.

Now, enough of my prattling on. Let's get started with the first boss!

• Club slam - Pounds the ground with his giant club, causing a moving shockwave to travel along the ground from right to left. To avoid, simply get out of the way and double jump over the shockwave.
  
  
• Summon Lizardman - Not really a move, but throughout the fight normal green Lizardmen from the level will come up from between his feet and attack you. Typically this fight goes by fast enough that you'll either see just one or none at all. Dispatch them in whatever way you like. As in the level leading up to the boss, ducking as they approach means they pretty much won't hit you since their attacks hit high. This allows you to just crouch attack them with near impunity.

Lord Gyrgok always starts the fight with a club slam, so simply stay to the left and double jump over the shockwave. You'll notice that he has a giant shield which prevents you from hitting him low, so you must construct some impromptu stairs by throwing a couple of spears into the shield to allow Volgarr to jump up and attack his head. The main pattern to this is that when you hit near the height of your double jump from the shockwave dodge, throw a spear so that it is near the top of the shield. On the way down, throw another that'll allow you to reach that top spear. From that point, simply jump up to the top and wail away on his head until you see him prepare another club slam. Jump down and repeat, dealing with any smaller lizardmen as necessary.

With the flaming sword, you should only have to do this process once, as it only takes 8 hits to kill the boss. Since you attack so quickly, it's very easy to get this many strikes in one go if you set up your spear platforms quickly enough.

• Short Jump - Comes up from the side of one of the two platforms and jumps low to the ground over just one platform. If you're on the platform and don't move or roll through him, you'll get hit.
  
  
• Long Jump - Comes up from either the far left or far right and jumps completely over both platforms to the other side.
  
  
• Electric Shock - Jumps straight up the middle of the two platforms, floats in the air briefly, and electrifies the water in the arena. If you're in the water at this point, you will take damage.
  
  
• Electric Beam - Positions himself at either side of the arena and shoots a small electric beam horizontally that covers both platforms and the top of the water. Lasts too long to double jump to avoid.

This boss tends to give people the most trouble from what I've seen on forums, but he's really not as bad as he seems at first. The first thing people tend to think is that they need to memorize his pattern. While not necessarily a bad idea, it isn't required. The basic means of avoiding damage in this fight is to stay on the opposite platform from the side where you see him coming up. For example, if he is moving to come up from the far right, get on the left platform. In this way, you avoid damage from a short jump. Furthermore, if you stay around the middle of the platform and duck, it allows you to get a quick hit in should he do a long jump over your head. In this way, you can simply react to his pattern rather than learning it.

At the start of the fight, try charging up a spear, if possible with your equipment, and tag him with it when he makes his first short jump, which will always be on the opposite side from your entrance (you come in from the left on Path of the Crystal and right on Path of the Valkyrie). Anytime you jump from one platform to the other to avoid a short jump, try to tag him with a quick spear thrown behind you as you come down from the double jump. You may also be able to get in a sword hit if your timing is right. As already mentioned, if he does a long jump, then just duck and wait for him to get close enough to hit as he goes over you or throw a spear if you prefer.

If you have the flame sword, you can very easily deal massive damage when he goes for the electric shock attack. The increased hitbox allows you to hit him while he's in the air without jumping yourself. If you do not have the flame sword, you can jump up, throw a spear, do a double jump spin attack, and then throw another spear very quickly to get a decent amount of damage. He always does the electric shock attack at the end of his first "phase" of jumps, whereas the second "phase" of jumps is followed by an electric beam attack. This is very easy to see since he'll situate himself standing on either side of the screen. To avoid this, just jump down into the water and stay there until it dissipates. As soon as it goes away, jump back up on the slightly submerged platform on either far wall and then get back on one of the two main platforms in the arena.

Chances are good that if you maintain a flame sword until he does the first electric shock attack, you can kill him before he can do anything further.

Attacks

• Multi-beam shot - Positions himself at an upper corner of the screen and shoots three balls of energy one after the other, each being aimed more to the far side than the previous.
  
  
• Dash - Simply dashes across the middle of the screen from one side to the other. He will do this after a multi-beam shot once and then twice more before stopping.
  
  
• Summon beam shot - After his dash attack ends, Frakkus will sit still for a few moments on either side of the screen and eventually shoot a single ball of energy towards the middle of the floor. Upon hitting the floor, this summons a skeleton. Typically it is the weaponless one-hit shield skeletons, though it can be the other types as well.

Strategy

Immediately upon entering the arena, hit the boss with a spear, preferably a charged one if possible. He'll then move up to the top corner and start a multi-beam shot. To avoid this and the subsequent dash attack, throw a spear into the near wall (it doesn't need to be that high) and stand on that. When he goes to dash across, simply jump over his head, optionally timing it so that you hit him with your spin attack as he goes under you. Volgarr should be around the middle of the screen when you land, and you'll want to stay here at the bottom of the stairs and duck to avoid the next two dash overs. When Frakkus's sprite overlaps the sword sprite, you can attack to hit him as he flies over without coming out of your duck.

After two dash overs, he'll stop on the other side from where he started and sit there a few moments before throwing out a summon beam shot. With the flame sword you can very easily hit him 6-8 times before the shot comes out, possibly killing him on the first cycle if you've maxed your damage output to this point. You can still hit him with the regular sword, but the positioning of Volgarr is a little tighter so you run more risk of getting hit by just colliding with Frakkus. Ver 1.1 Update - Increased hurtbox on Frakkus during this phase makes hitting with a regular sword much easier, so wail away!

If he gets out the summon beam shot, just move to the opposite side from him and set up your spear in the wall again high enough that the summoned skeleton won't hit you as it approaches. He'll repeat the same pattern as before, and when you jump over him to the middle again you can throw spears at the skeleton's feet to kill it if you like. Don't get so preoccupied with the skeletons that you get hit by dash overs, though.

• Lunge - The snake's head pulls back a little, you'll see the tail shake rapidly, and then it will lunge at Volgarr with a biting attack that tracks your location. If it hits the wall, it will knock down some rocks as well.
  
  
• Rock slam - Fluffy will occasionally (usually every other attack) slam its head on the ceiling, loosing some rocks that you'll have to avoid. This can also drop slime enemies.

Safe but Slow Strategy

This is one of the more simple fights in the game with this method. If you stay towards the right half of the screen, Fluffy will only ever do its lunge attack. Ver 1.1 Update - He now does both attacks regardless of screen positioning. Still, staying right requires less execution skills, so it is still a bit easier than the other method. When you see his tail rattle very quickly, start walking left to avoid the bite. Once the bite misses, turn around and get in a few hits. Since the 1.1 patch, Fluffy now has a slightly longer vulnerability time than previous, so it is possible to get in three easy hits if you have at least the helmet. If you have less armor than that, it is still possible to get in three hits, though a little more difficult. You'll want to time a double jump spin attack (still moving to your left) so that it hits Fluffy on his lunge. Then you'll immediately throw a spear at him while still in the air to get the second hit. Upon landing, very quickly jump up and throw another spear to catch him before he retracts too far.

Avoiding the rock slam attack is now necessary with this method, though it isn't difficult. There's plenty of time to react to the locations of the rocks and move between them to avoid damage. He will do this attack between each lunge so be ready for it. Note that it can drop the hot sauce (red slime) enemies that should be taken out immediately to avoid any headaches they can cause.

While you open yourself up to damage a bit more easily here, you can end the fight much more quickly, so it's especially useful for speed runs. Start by building platforms with your spears on the left wall such that Volgarr is on the same horizontal plane as Fluffy. A platform at around double jump height should be fine.

From here, you can get one or two charged spear throws into his face before he does the lunge attack. When you see the tail shake quickly, time a jump such that your double jump spin attack hits him as he goes under you. Then immediately hold down to perform a down strike and go through his head (this will not damage you). Furthermore, a rock that falls from Fluffy hitting the wall will also hit him for more damage. His next attack will be to headbutt the ceiling and cause up to three rocks to fall for you to dodge. Sometimes one or more of these will be hot sauce enemies instead, so be sure to take those out. In my experience this move comes out too quickly to get any spears in him. His attack pattern loops back at this point, so just rebuild your spear platform and repeat until dead. It should only take about 2-3 lunge attacks before he's defeated.

• Spear Jab - Makes a small diving jab at Volgarr with its spear. Unlike the lower tier enemies in the level, this cannot be blocked with the shield, so simply roll under it.
  
  
• Diving Thrust - Positions himself in either the middle of the screen or beside one of the two fans and thrusts his spear directly into the ground. This creates a shockwave on either side that travels away from the location of impact.
  
  
• Energy Spiral - Flies up between the two raised platforms and shoots many energy balls, one after another, in a spiral pattern. Whether this is clockwise or counterclockwise depends on your location at the start of his charging animation. If you are to the right of him, it will be clockwise and vice versa.
  
  
• Spear Charge - Makes a horizontal charge at you with his spear. Only seems to occur if you are high in the air, typically due to the fans. With my strategy, this attack shouldn't ever come out.

Position yourself around the middle of the ground floor. He will always start with a spear jab that you should roll under to avoid. From this point you can quickly move towards him and jump attack and/or throw some spears. Usually what I do here is to jump up and hit him with a spin attack, throw a spear immediately, and then hit with another sword swipe while in the air.

The next thing he'll start to do is a series of three diving thrusts, first going to either side of the floor followed by the other side and then the middle. Each dive causes a traveling shockwave that you must jump to avoid. For the diving thrusts on either side, just position yourself on the other side from him and jump in when you avoid the shockwave. Slash with your sword as you get close and get in as many hits as you can.

If you've got really good timing, you can do a neat technique here to get a couple more shots in as well. When he's in the process of slamming down, you can do a double spear throw jump and then get your sword hits in on the jump in. The process here is to throw a spear, pause momentarily and then hit jump followed immediately by spear throw again. What'll happen is that two spears on the same plane will come out along with causing you to jump. Again, with good timing you'll get one or two spear hits before your jump in attacks. Caution needs to be exercised, of course, since messing up and being too late will get you hit by the shockwave and miss your jump in attacks, which may be worth more damage. Only do this if you're really trying to speed things up and feel confident with the technique.

When he uses the diving thrust in the middle of the floor, I wouldn't suggest trying this. Instead just get close beside him and jump as he comes down to avoid the shockwave and attack like normal. If you're close enough, your spin attack may hit as you go up as well, especially if you have the flame sword.

After these three dives, he'll once again do a jab, which can be handled as before. This will be followed by an energy spiral. Whichever side of the arena you are on at the start of his charging animation determines the direction of the spiral, so just get on one side and immediately run to the other side once the charge starts. Use the air vents to get up beside him and wail on him. The shield can block these energy balls once they reach your side. With the flame sword, you may very well kill him before this attack is done. If not, he'll just repeat the process as before.

The only other thing to avoid is getting caught in the air by the vents, which will eventually cause him to do the air charge attack. With this strategy, it shouldn't ever come out unless you mess up.

• Flame Shot - Shoots three flames, one after the other, that explode upon impact with the ground with a high verticle hitbox. One flame goes to the far right, another to the far left, and the remaining one to the middle.
  
  
• Electric Beam - Flies up with a visible charging animation before shooting several shots to the floor that extend across the ground upon impact.
  
  
• Moving Flame Shot - SImilar to the normal shot, this one adds in a few more shots in different areas as Fafnir moves around in the air.
  
  
• Energy Crush - Flies down near the floor with a ball of energy in hand. After a long charge time, a wide energy attack hits the middle ~80% of the screen, leaving holes in the floor with spikes that remain.

You can get in a few attacks as the transformation to his dragon form completes, but make sure not to accidentally collide with him and lose your flame sword. Spin attacks while he's flying work to deal some damage while you're waiting for your shot for major damage later. He always starts with the flame shot from the right to the left, so avoid those. It's unreliable to try to avoid them by standing on spears in the wall due to the large hitbox on the explosion, so I suggest just avoiding the area of an explosion altogether.

When he starts to charge the electric attack, the easiest thing to do is make a spear platform in the wall to stand on and completely avoid damage. You can also jump them with good timing in a pinch. Once he starts his moving flame attack, avoid the first flame that hits far left and then go over there to avoid all subsequent blasts.

Once he starts charging the energy crush move, get close and whack him as much as possible before retreating to the wall before the explosion. Without a flame sword you can get about 9-10 hits in and narrowly miss getting hit. If you've maintained your flame sword and gotten in just a few attacks prior to this, you'll likely kill him before the explosion even goes off. If not, the pattern just repeats, but you have to deal with less floor space and spikes, making dodging a bit more of a pain.

Hold down for victory!

• Bite - Rears his head back slightly before lunging down at Volgarr with a bite attack. Just walk in either direction to avoid.
  
  
• Swipe - Lowers one hand and swipes across the screen. Just duck or roll under to avoid.
  
  
• Fire Breath - Both hands lower briefly and shake slightly before moving up near his face as he breathes fire straight down. Will track you slowly.
  
  
• Fire Throw - Angles one hand in the air and shoots fire from that hand. Creates a shockwave on impact that travels in one direction. Just jump over it.

Avoid his bite attack by walking in either direction away from him. As soon as it misses, turn around and get in some sword hits. Duck under his paw swipes (you don't have to move at all). When you see him charging the fire breath, put a spear in one of his hands and jump on it quickly. This is your chance to deal major damage, as once the breath actually starts, the hands come up near his head. From here you can just wail on his head for about 8-10 hits with the flame sword. When he uses the fire throw move, you can make the spin attack from your double jump hit him in the head as you jump over the shockwave if you have the flame sword. In fact, in any lull of attack in which you feel comfortable, you can jump up and spin attack his head and even follow up with another quick slash if you have the flame sword.

Be wary of how quick the bite attack comes out, especially when he starts his second phase of attacking with two bites one after the other. It's easy to forget and get hit. Each attack is very well telegraphed, so just remain vigilant and you should be able to easily avoid them. As long as you manage to get a spear in his hand for the fire breath attack and get on it, this fight shouldn't take long at all.

Congrats! You've now beaten the game on the Path of the Valkyrie and achieved Ending A!

And that does it for all the bosses in Volgarr! If you've managed to beat all of them, then you have my congratulations. If you haven't quite gotten there yet, then keep trying!

If you have any questions, suggestions to improve the guide, or alternate strategies, just let me know in the comments below, and I'll do my best to get back to everyone.

Thanks for using my guide!