Afterimagehas many formidable foes spread throughout its many zones, most of which will grant you new Afterimages, allowing you to reach new areas and explore even more of Engardin.Lush Wolfis the first boss you will encounter, setting your expectations high for the later boss fights in the game.

RELATED:Afterimage: Combat Tips

Despite being the game’s first boss encounter, Lush Wolf still has some tricks up its sleeve and can prove troublesome if you aren’t anticipating them, especially since you don’t have access to many weapons or healing items. The good news is this encounter is more than manageable once you get the hang of things.

Lush Wolf Overview

As touched on in the opening section, theLush Wolf is the first boss encounterin Afterimage, serving as the “Tutorial Boss,” so to speak.

This encounter willteach you the basic strategies and general gameplayto expect going forward. You will have tolearn its attack patterns, find a way around them, and land attacks to emerge victorious,which will be how all other boss fights are handled.

Renee looking down into the Lush Wolf’s Arena before their encounter in Afterimage

The difference between the Lush Wolf fight compared to all the others is yourlack of Afterimages and Weapon variety.However, this means that itsmoveset is limited, easily telegraphed, and not all that demanding.

130

Renee mid-swing with her sword as she attempts to strike the Lush Wolf in Afterimage

5

11.5

Renee running in the opposite direction from the Lush Wolf as it Jumps forward to close the gap in Afterimage

x1Talent Point

+2 EXP

Renee running away from the Lush Wolf as it performs a powerful Biting attack in Afterimage

Lush Wolf Boss Fight Guide

Being the game’s first boss fight, theLush Wolf’s movesetis very limited, offering onlyfour movesto look out for in total. However, while the Lush Wolf is relatively weak, so are you in this state of the game.

For the most part, this encountercan largely be handled by evading its attacks, attacking it during its recovery, and repeatingthat pattern until you have it defeated. For a more detailed look at its attacks and how to handle them, the sections below will have you covered!

The Lush Wolf performing a powerful downward Slash with its razer sharp claws in Afterimage

Preemptive Jump

While seemingly harmless at a glance, thePreemtive Jumpaction from the Lush Wolfenables it to immediately follow it up with a more powerful attack,catching you off-guard and placing you in a rough situation.

Preemptive Jump has theLush Wolf jump forward toward you with a short hop,dealingno AoE damage of any kind when it lands,allowing you toquickly run away from it,positioning yourself to go on the offensive immediately after.

Renee jumping over the Lush Wolf as it attempts to Dash through her in Afterimage

However,as soon as the Lush Wolf lands, it will almost always immediately perform Fierce Bite or Strong Slash,soavoid moving toward it whenever it lands,or you could receive immense damage as a result.

Theycan also perform its Piercing Dash move after Jumping,but it isinfrequentand will almost always be the other ones previously mentioned.

The Lush Wolf transforming into a large, colorful, three headed beast after its health is depleted in Afterimage

Fierce Bite

Fierce Biteis an attack of the Lush Wolf’s that has itquickly lunge forward with its mouth wide open before swiftly snapping it shut,deliveringlarge amounts of damageto anything caught between its sharp teeth.

This move istelegraphedwith abright yellow lightthat appearsover the Lush Wolf’s mouth,giving you ample time to run away from the attack.Let the animation play out, run back toward the Lush Wolf to land an attack or two,and run in the opposite direction again.

Lush Wolf willalmost exclusively use this move after its Preemptive Jump,but itcan also use it freely,so don’t rule it out of its arsenal if it is standing idle after another attack. This attack alsohas a very tiny hitbox,so you don’t have to create that much distance to avoid it.

Keep an eye out for theflash of light, create distance, then close the gap and land a few attacks of your own before retreatingto prepare for its other attacks. This will be the best way to handle its Fierce Bite attack!

Strong Slash

Strong Slashis very similar to Fierce Bite in that it iswell-telegraphedand handled similarly on your end. This attack has Lush Wolfswing its front left claw downwardin anarc-like motion,covering the space in front of itself.

You cantelegraph this moveby looking for thered trail that starts following its clawas it raises its paw before striking. Theattack is quick and devastating,so avoid getting caught by it at all costs, or you could be in grave danger.

Toevadethis attack,run in the opposite directionof the Lush Wolf when you see the red glow appear. Unlike the Fierce Bite, however, theStrong Slash covers a much broader and further distance,so you will need tocreate much more spacethan before.

After the attack animation plays out, you canrun toward the Lush Wolf and land an attack or two before returning to the defensiveand preparing for its other attacks. This and its Piercing Dash are itsmost common attacks,so be ready to deal with this one often!

Piercing Dash

Lastly, we have itsPiercing Dashattack, which sees theLush Wolf hunker down before swiftly propelling itself forwardwithtremendous speed and velocity,dealingexcessive damageon contact.

Piercing Dash iswell-telegraphed,as you willsee the Lush Wolf get down in a prone-like position before it bolts forward.There will also bea red trail behind it,so you will have lots of time to avoid it.

To counter this attack,simply time your Jump just before it makes contact with you to have it zoom by beneath you,allowing you toland, run toward it, and land several attacksof your own.

This attackcan be tricky to evadeat first, but once you get the timing down, you will dodge it every time from that point onward. We suggestJumping right before the Lush Wolf reaches you,thenstalling your descent to the ground with aerial attacks.

Doing this willkeep you in the air a bit longer,allowing you tocompletely evade the Piercing Dash attackfrom the Lush Wolf. After you land, you can land a decent amount of attacks on the Lush Wolf, so go all out before returning to a more defensive approach!

Rinse and repeat these strategies until the Lush Wolf’s HP is depleted!

Lush Wolf Second Phase

After youdeplete the Lush Wolf’s HP,it willtransform into an otherwordly creatureofdeep purples and bright pinks with three heads.While we would love to show you how to defeat this cool and colorful beast,this is a scripted encounter,andyou will have to die hereto progress the story.

Youcannot deal damage to the Lush Wolf during this phaseof the fight, sosave your resources and timeand just succumb to its wrath. However, after your death, you will learn of theConfluences(Checkpoints) and be told tohead to the nearby village.

Lush Wolf Second Encounter

Once youmake it to the village,you willencounter another Lush Wolf,except this time, it has roughlyhalf of its HP left.This Lush Wolfhas the same moveset as the previous one,so you willhandle it the exact same wayas last time.

This Lush Wolf also doesn’t transform,so after its HP is depleted, it’s dead, and you will receive aTalent Pointand…Two EXP… for your efforts. From here, you can continue your journey and run into even more formidable bosses!