As well as being a strong enemy, he arrives seemingly out of nowhere and can potentially catch you off-guard. Thankfully you don’t have to beat him, just survive him. He’ll target your party leader with reckless abandon, occasionally splitting off to attack another party member. As such, it’s best to kite him around with your selected character, allowing your party to wail on him until the fight ends.
Where To Find Him
Upon leaving Mount Dhiara in Elde Menancia from its southernmost exit, a cutscene will begin immediately in which the party decides to take a little break. This leads directly to the fight with the Mysterious Swordsman. There aren’t many campsites nearby until after the encounter ends, so be sure you’re prepared before you take this path! The closest places to rest, recharge, and restock are Talka Pond or the Ridge. Ensure that you’re going into this fight topped up on healing gels and life potions, just to be on the safe side!
How To Prevail
Here are the stats for the Mysterious Swordsman himself, giving you a rough idea of what to expect. As you can see, due to an absence of weaknesses, there aren’t really any characters or abilities that can be exploited against this boss. However, this also frees you up to not worry about micromanagement so much within your strategy. It shows that he’s not particularly strong against anything either. As mentioned in the opening, perhaps the best strategy here is simply to run around the arena, letting him chase you while your party members get the hits in. Ideally you will want to control a melee character so Shionne and Rinwell can attack the Swordsman from a reasonably safe distance. You’ll also need to be ready to pop a healing item or the like at a moment’s notice. Despite his upsettingly high level of hitpoints, you’ll only have to damage him by a fraction before the encounter ends. At a rough estimate, he’ll lose about 5 – 10% of his HP before the next cutscene triggers and the fight wraps up. Try to avoid letting him catch you or any of your team though. In my encounter with the Mysterious Swordsman, he was two to three-shotting my party with ease, over the course of a single combo. This was despite me being appropriately leveled and having most of the best gear currently attainable. However, while he’s distracted by a team member, that’s the prime opportunity to dive in and do some damage yourself.
