Saros: Desecrated Fortress Guide

Description:

Likely capital or major fortress of the former civilization. Site appears to have been subject to a prologue siege far in the past: presumed power-struggle within fallen alien civilization.

Warning: may contain remnants of a defending force.

Collectibles:

• Halcyon: 25
• Audio Logs: 11
• Holo Log: 1
• Text Logs: 2

New Weapons:

• Nova Lance

Upgrades:

• Eclipse Thread

Enemies:

• Architect
• Aurelia
• Confessor
• Excubitor
• Harbinger
• Hollower
• Keeper
• Primal Osteomaw
• Prime Custodian
• Promise
• Veil

Walkthrough:

Return to the Bridge Controls to find Lina waiting there. Arjun can talk to her at least twice to learn a bit more about what’s going on. After that, search around for both Aether and Lucenite, activate the bridge. It will rise up from the depths below.

Go across the bridge and you will arrive at the entryway of the massive fortress, our present zone to navigate. There can be an audio log at the base of the stairs leading up into the fortress itself. You will also get to see the creature you saw back in the Shattered Rise. This creature nests on the heights of the fortress.

You will find a new cycle resource: Honorarium Seals. These can be used toward the end of the run. They will be used to open gates in an optional area there. They are unique to the Fortress. The Seals can only be used here.

There is a unique side room that bears mentioning: The Timer Room. This is an odd room that's hard to complete because if how its set up. Getting in here, you need to activate a pair of switches on the wall by shooting them. Once activated, the gates for all the rooms in the area will go up. Then they start coming down slowly. Arjun needs to rush from chamber to chamber and activate 2 buttons in each to progress through. There is an Augmentation at the end so there's incentive to try. You need to largely ignore the items in the room to have a chance of reaching the end.

Keep going forward until you reach the Eclipse Device. You must activate it here (and only will now be available when you enter the Fortress). With the fortress active, it returns to a time under active assault. The defenses are now active. This takes the form of bombs dropping from the ceiling. Go forward to the glowing ball just ahead to the right after that. This will give Arjun a new upgrade: Eclipse Thread.

The Eclipse Thread is a very useful upgrade and can be key in exploration, as well as accessing different parts of the attached rooms. Those faint lines some saw in the Blighted Marsh can now be traversed within an Eclipse Zone. An Eclipse Thread lives up to its name only be accessible within an Eclipse Zone.

As you reach the middle of the Fortress, having taken your second Eclipse Thread, you will see a podium with the orb of a Power Weapon off to the left. Claim this Orb to unlock the Nova Lance. This is a powerful precision weapon. It charges up before firing and is loosed when you release the trigger. It's capable of precision damage and you will be able to see Weakpoints highlighted in Blue on the enemy's bodies.

Within the Eclipse Zone, you can find a Golden hologram of someone from Echeleon II within a side chamber. You can also find Eli (who is succumbing to the Shore). You can talk with him if you can find him. Navigate through the next portion of the Fortress to find its mid-boss, the Aurelia.

Aurelia can be a hard fight because not only are you dealing with it, there are a number of Confessors and Promises added in. The Aurelia has a lot of far sweeping attacks. It will commonly create hovering orbs that unleash a short-lived beam that sweeps in Arjun’s direction. It can also unleash a sphere of Nova energy that has a narrow linear ring of Corruption around it.

Defeating it opens the door at the top of the stairs. It gets added into the normal enemy pool for any mini-boss room. But, expect to fight it on any subsequent run to reach the end of the Fortress. The mini-boss room is right there. Go on up and, carefully, cross the room to the far door.

Crossing through the massive doors and getting the objective update to Ascend, you can find the door with the Honorarium Sigil marked on it. You can use the Sigils to open doors here. You can find various useful items here, which includes a Log in the back right (behind 3-4 doors). Just through the first one you can find some Halcyon. More is found through the other doors. Take the time to explore the doors with the Sigils you've collected.

After that, it’s a simple matter of ascending to the tower’s top. But this can take a few forms. Either it’s navigating a series of Eclipse Threads, or using a mix the Threads, careful timing with a Dash to land on slow moving platforms, Grapple… all your movement techniques are being tested. And for very good reason. Head down the hallway and take the elevator up.

The relaxation period is done. You need to face the boss of the area, the Architect.

Boss - The Architect

Time for your first flying, and very mobile boss. This thing can be brutal to fight, but it’s also rather predictable. Also, you better have mastered using Grapple, because that is key to surviving this fight. Any weapons with homing properties or means to absorb projectiles are now key.

The first phase of the fight isn’t too bad (the warm-up and getting acquainted). The Architect is very mobile, so keep that in mind as you are approaching. It has a few attacks you will need to deal with.

• Unleashes a Nova Beam from its face. This beam leaves a line of Nova energy on the ground that you will need to evade (or parry away).
• Swoops over the arena, clawing the ground, leaving walls of Energy sweeping toward the sides.
• Hovers to the side of the arena and unleashes massive waves of Corruption Energy with Nova Energy for the top and bottom lines.
• Fires a ring of Energy at Arjun while hovering.
• Hovers loosing a spray of Corruption energy.
• Flies by, unleashing a Spiral of Energy at Arjun.

Things don't get any easier with the second phase of the fight. The Architect will become invulnerable and then fly into the middle of the arena. It will slam down on top of the tower, breaking away the outer ring of it. Grapple Points are revealed with this. Arjun is also thrown from the Arena and will need to Grapple back onto it. I hope you've been practicing with Grapple because this is now a core mechanic of the fight to avoid dropping into the pit below and taking damage.

• While in the middle of the Arena, the Architect fires a blast of energy above itself. It waits a moment before flying away. This energy then falls down in large rings around where the Architect was.
• The Architect can land in the middle of the arena, generating a blast that launches Arjun off the smaller arena.
• While hovering the Architect fires massive shots of Nova Energy around a core of Energy (or the other way around) toward Arjun.
• The Architect lands on one of the towers before firing 4 bursts of energy toward the Arena (which you can shoot down). If these impact, they loose a blast of energy and masses of Corruption in a short burst that then roll across the arena.
• The Architect lands in the middle of the arena briefly, before taking off, loosing a tall wall of Energy.
• Hovers at the end of the arena, firing wall-sized bursts of Corruption energy.
• It can mix in its a Nova beam with any of its Hovering attacks

Here we are, Phase Three. Everything it's done is possible now. The Architect is actively breaking the remains of the Arena apart now. Each section that breaks away at least exposes another grapple point. It will have almost all of its attacks from above, but some will get switched out for the following:

• Takes off in the arena, loosing 3 rings of energy.
• From the nearby Tower, fires its Nova beam, same effect as before.
• Slams into the Arena, launching Arjun from there (you must grapple back to avoid damage).
• Lands on the side of the Tower and fires bursts of Energy

At 50% of its final health bar, you will need to watch for the Architect to come to the edges of the arena. It will slam in, and start loosing bursts of attacks.

• Slams palm onto the arena, loosing a circle of energy and circle of Corruption.
• Sweeps arena from one side to the other with a fiery beam of energy while on the side of the arena.
• Fires smaller bursts of energy while on the side of the arena.

Beyond the Architect

Having defeated the Architect, it's time to move on. There's only a bit of game left to conquer now. Turn around and face the center of the Arena. You will see a Teleporter is now active that will bring Arjun back to the Passage. A cutscene runs while you are there with some dire consequences.

Video Walkthrough