Metaphor: ReFantazio – How to Beat Homo Avades Boss Guide

Metaphor: ReFantazio players are going to have to decipher the game’s unique combat system if they want to know how to beat Homo Avades. It may seem like any other turn-based combat RPG, but there are subtle nuances that make this ATLUS title stand out from the developers’ other offerings.

Homo Avades is one of the first major bosses the player will face in the game and allows them to get more familiar with the combat, which will take them forward through the rest of the game. However, this boss can become quite the hurdle for new players, and our Metaphor: ReFantazio guides will ensure you can take down every threat that pops up!

You will encounter Homo Avades at the end of the Regalith Grad Cathedral dungeon during the “Thwart Zorba’s Plan” quest. Taking down this mismatched corpse is essential to stop Zorba from enacting the “Day of Calamity” plan. Homo Avades will probably be most players’ first major threat in the game and a skill check for many who have started their Metaphor: ReFantazio journey.

Given this can become a long boss fight, you would do well to use some of the early-game areas to farm MAG and level up your squad to face this monstrosity. You will have also just battled through various mobs populating the Cathedral, so your party is not going to be in the best shape once you finally face this boss.

How to Prepare to Fight Homo Avades?

To fight Homo Avades, you should ideally be Level 15–16, but you can also take on this boss with slightly lower levels if you are on an easier difficulty setting. Metaphor: ReFantazio will allow you to replenish your HP and MP before this fight, but you will not be able to visit any Merchant. So, when going through the Regalith Grand Cathedral, try to limit the use of your recovery items for this fight.

The boss has several attacks that can hit quickly and deal a lot of damage, making short work of your team if you are not prepared for the encounter. By going for a damage-focused approach, you can make short work of this grotesque creature.

Unlike the bosses the player would have faced so far, Homo Avades has several weak points, each with specific weaknesses and resistances. You can choose Archetypes that deal weakness damage to each part, thereby improving your chances of gaining additional turns.

Suggested Party

Character	Role
Protagonist	Equip the Protagonist with the Mage Archetype so you can use the Bot skill against the Right Hand and Left Hand of the boss to target its weakness. Alternatively, you could also make the Protagonist the Healer and set him in the back of the battlefield.
Strohl	Equip Strohl with the Knight or the Brawler Archetype. This will give you access to either Shield Arts or Perfect Punch, respectively, to deal Strike Damage against the Shell of Homo Avades by placing him in the front on the battlefield.
Hulkenberg	Whatever you choose to equip onto Strohl, go for the other option for Hulkenberg. So if you choose the Brawler Archetype for Strohl, give Hulkenberg the Knight Archetype and place her on the front of the battlefield as well.

The key to beating Homo Avades is his weak spots with appropriate attacks that will deal maximum damage per turn. You will first have to attack the Shell before the rest of the weak spots reveal themselves. The Heart, which should be your main target, can only be reached with ranged attacks at first, but will later come into range for melee attacks as well.

Optional	No
Weaknesses	Right Hand: Pierce, Fire Left Hand: Pierce, Fire Shell: Strike
Best Archetypes	Mage/Healer, Brawler, Knight
Difficulty	4/10
How to Cheese Homo Avades?	No known methods to cheese Homo Avades.
Rewards	1000 EXP, 500 A-EXP, 2200 MAG, 3000 Reeves Spoils: Avades’s Eggshell
Worth the Trouble?	Yes

Homo Avades is a level 20 boss and has several attacks that the player will encounter throughout the fight. The major change comes when the Shell cracks and his heart is exposed, which should lead to not only different attacks but also a new battle strategy for the player to target the heart as much as possible. Homo Avades will use the following attacks during the fight.

Attack	Effect
Swiping Arc	Deals Slash damage to all party members.
Hamon	Targets a single party member with weak Light damage.
Mahama	Targets all party members with weak Light damage.
Ambush Assault	A charged attack that will take a turn to prepare and use Almighty element.
Shell Regeneration	Heals the entire Shell torso.
Sour Scream	Used to grant itself four extra turns when Heart health is very low.

To reduce the kinds of attacks Homo Avades can use, first target the Right and Left Hand with the Mage or Knight Archetype after Gallica has pointed out that they are a weak point.

The Bot Skill or Jump Thrust Skill will help hit the weakness of these spots. Taking them out will ensure every subsequent Swiping Arc will miss the party. The boss will also not be able to use complete Shell Regeneration due to its damaged arms, which will only perform an Incomplete Regeneration.

With the arms out of the picture, you can focus on cracking Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s Homo Avades’ Shell by using the Knight’s Shield Arts and Brawler’s Perfect Punch. Breaking open the shell will force Homo Avades to come within range on the ground, where you can bring the full force of all your attacks against the heart. The boss is resistant to Fire, Ice, and Light, so avoid using any of these elemental attacks.

After dealing some damage to the heart, Homo Avades will retreat to regenerate its Shell and launch an Ambush Assault using Assailants. You can move to the back and use Guard to reduce incoming damage from this attack. You will also be prompted by the game to use Gallica to distract the Assailants, allowing you to once again focus your energies on Homo Avades.

Go through the same cycle a few more times while managing the health of your party, and it shouldn’t be long before you take down this Metaphor: ReFantazio nightmare! You will get a lot of EXP, MAG, and Reeves for taking down this boss, and you can use them to level up your squad for future threats.

Which boss is your favorite in Metaphor: ReFantazio? Let us know in the comments below and check out our other Metaphor: ReFantazio guides for more tips and tricks on how to beat the game.