How do you beat the Skinstealer in Lords of the Fallen?
From Software may be done developing Soulslike games with their release of Elden Ring, but many fans of the genre have been singing their praises to the remake of Lords of the Fallen that came out this year from Hexworks (published by CI Games).
Like any true Soulslike, Lords of the Fallen contains a lot of ghastly and ghoulish monsters, each with their unique fighting style and abilities that each player has to best. Though each enemy has varying levels of difficulty, one monster has managed to stump many players, so here’s a quick guide on how to beat the Skinstealer.
Who is Skinstealer in Lords of the Fallen?
Skinstealer is one of the non-optional bosses in the game; he resides in the Cistern and is necessary to progress further in Lords of the Fallen. Not much is written about Skinstealer lore-wise, but he is said to be a more watered-down version of one of the game’s main bosses—the Lightreaper.
As for his appearance, the Skinstealer looks just as grotesque and macabre as other bosses in the game, but he does have a sleeker and more agile appearance. Probably the most prominent thing about him is that he has four limbs, each holding a blade from which he can vary his attacks.
Skinstealer is usually located at the top of the stairs of the Cistern after you walk through the sewer area, but he also appears in other locations as an enemy. Skinstealer can appear in these places as well:
– Upper Calrath B
– Lower Calrath
– Sunless Skein
– Bramis Castle
Typically, Skinstealer appears in arenas that are considered pretty narrow, informing the player on how they should take him on.
Skinstealer’s Attacks and Their Counters
Skinstealer likes to do a lot of lunges and generally does multiple slashes with his blades. He has five kinds of attacks that players should look out for when facing him:
Dash Lunge – A quick dash attack dealing on strike with Skinstealer’s weapon.
Counter: Block the attack or dodge if there is considerable space around you.
Charge Strike – Skinstealer will charge forward and swing his blade at you.
Counter: Quickly perform a dodge or block the attack.
Double Blade Charge – A quick attack that will have Skinstealer spread out its arms and dash toward you.
Counter: Immediately recognize the stance, then dodge to the side.
Ignited Double Blade Charge – An enhanced version of the Double Blade Charge; you’ll see that the blades will be imbued with fire, and when you get high, it will build up Ignite.
Counter: Just like with the previous attack, immediately dodge to the side when you recognize the stance.
Double Blade Combo – Skinstealer will advance by making alternate wings with his blades.
Counter: Dodge to the side, and make sure Skinstealer doesn’t back you up against a wall.
How to Fight the Skinstealer
Skinstealer is expected to use his speed to get to players, but what’s great is he can also be blocked. With that being a given and the Skinstealer’s usual narrow arena, some players have surmised that the game encourages players to fight Skinstealer head-on and prioritize parrying his attacks rather than dodging them.
You have to be careful when blocking and dodging because relying on that too much can easily deplete your stamina. Make sure to also evade when you can, and constantly circle Skinstealer, just watching for whatever kind of moves he will do next.
Take note: Skinstealer is weak against Smite, Bleed, and Poison. So when you catch it in its brief moments of idleness, lob it with some poison to deplete his health, even during times when you’re not attacking it.
On that note, a player could beat Skinstealer by exploiting its weaknesses; it does feel like cheating. Just use some Forsaken Grenades and keep your distance in the room where Skinstealer is.
The idea is that you essentially just lob poison bombs at it without triggering the boss fight. Skinstealer will remain in his place but will still receive the damage from the bombs. With enough bombs, you can just leech his life away and watch him slowly die.
It’s not the most noble of battles, but it should be a quick cheat for anyone wanting to loot the character for its items.
What Do You Get When You Beat Skinstealer?
Skinstealer is a non-optional enemy in the game, and players must defeat him to get the Drainage Control Key.
Besides the key, defeating Skinstealer will also get you a Vestige Seed and random pieces from the Skinstealer set of weapons. These items will also drop when you encounter Skinstealer as a random enemy:
– Regular Deralium Nuggets
– Vaus Rune
– Skinstealer Armor
– Skinstealer Helm
– Skinstealer Leggings
– Skinstealer Sleeves
– Skinstealer Knife
– Skinstealer Cleaver
– Skinstealer Spear
– Skinstealer Shield
WARNING: DO NOT PROGRESS RIGHT AFTER BEATING SKINSTEALER
Some players have reported on GameFAQs that a tricky shortcut right after the battle with Skinstealer will lead you to fail the quest line if you’re not careful.
After you beat Skinstealer and obtain the key, you will go down the cistern to drain it, then go to the Revelation Depths; at this point, you will find an elevator shortcut, but players say DO NOT USE IT as it is said to trigger a failed quest line.
It’s advised that you use Vestige Seeds in the Depths, and when you arrive at a place where you have to kick a bridge shortcut, there is a room on the left with a wooden wall; break the wall and proceed down a path where you’ll find an NPC (the same NPC you’ll see in an Umbral Memory with the Shuja Helmet).
Finish all the dialogue with them, then return to the Vestige of Catrin and talk to Byron.
Multiple players have also had this problem, so it’s best to take caution if you don’t want to waste your hard-earned XP suddenly.
