General Lothaire, the Eagle-Bearer is the Valor Mortis first boss, but you encounter him twice. The battle at the end of Chapter 1: Revival is a scripted defeat. You are supposed to lose there, and the loss costs you nothing. The real fight happens at the end of Chapter 2: Regroup, at the far end of the Valley of Ashes.
To win the Chapter 2 encounter, plan for two phases and two complete health bars. Use Fire Transmutation to ignite Lothaire, shoot the weak spots on his body with the Pistol, and then finish filling his stagger bar through attacks or well-timed parries. Capitalize on the stagger with a stun attack. Dodge every red-flashing unblockable, watch for shoulder-gun shots after his melee combinations, and eliminate the one-hit soldiers immediately when they appear during the second phase.
The Chapter 1 encounter is a scripted loss
The first meeting with Lothaire takes place on The Battlefield at the end of Chapter 1: Revival. This encounter closes the chapter by ending in William’s death. It is not the version of the battle that you must overcome to continue normally.
General Lothaire confronts William during the battlefield encounter.
Where the real General Lothaire fight happens
The decisive encounter is at the end of Chapter 2: Regroup. Lothaire waits at the far end of the Valley of Ashes, with the Quarry listed as the nearest Lantern. By this point, you have the Pistol needed for the central weak-point strategy.
| Fight detail | Chapter 2 rematch |
|---|---|
| Boss | General Lothaire, the Eagle-Bearer |
| Chapter | Regroup, Chapter 2 |
| Region | Valley of Ashes |
| Nearest Lantern | Valley of Ashes > Quarry |
| Fight structure | Two phases with one full health bar in each phase |
| Main offensive plan | Ignite with Fire, shoot body weak spots, build stagger, then use a stun attack |
| Main defensive plan | Parry readable melee strings and dodge red-flashing or uncertain attacks |
Use the Fire, weak-point, and stagger cycle
Lothaire’s main opening is not a single attack that you punish once. It is a repeatable sequence built around Fire, Pistol shots, and stagger. Use the same sequence in both phases:
- Ignite Lothaire with Fire Transmutation. Fire begins the setup and prepares you to pressure the weak spots on his body.
- Switch your attention to the visible weak spots. Shoot them with the Pistol while the boss is burning. Weak-point hits add a large amount to his stagger bar.
- Complete the remaining stagger safely. Continue attacking when an opening is clear, or parry a predictable melee strike if you are comfortable with its timing. Both approaches can help finish the bar.
- Use the stun attack when the stagger occurs. The stagger is the payoff for the setup, so be ready to convert it into direct damage instead of backing away unnecessarily.
- Check your Nephtoglobin after the stun attack. If the bar is full, you can immediately ignite Lothaire again and begin another cycle.
- Reset instead of forcing the sequence. If the boss starts an unblockable attack or you lose a clean angle on the weak spots, defend first and restart the setup when the pressure ends.
Phase 1 sword, spear, and shoulder-gun attacks
During the first phase, Lothaire fights primarily with a sword and spear. His close-range offense uses melee combinations rather than isolated single swings. The predictable parts of these strings can be parried, allowing you to add stagger pressure while defending, but a red flash marks an unblockable attack that you should dodge instead.
Do not assume that successfully reading the first swing makes the entire combination safe. Follow the sequence through to its actual end. Lothaire can stop after a melee combination and fire the guns mounted on his shoulders, turning what looked like a finished exchange into a ranged threat.
The shoulder shots have a gold-flash cue. Watch that flash rather than dodging immediately when it appears. Let it nearly disappear, then dodge the incoming shots. This is a visual timing rule, not a promise of an exact frame window, so use the fading flash as your practical signal.
Lothaire’s battlefield stance and weapon threat define the opening phase.
Phase 2 large-arm attacks and summoned soldiers
After the first health bar is depleted, Lothaire enters the second phase with another full bar. He drops the sword and attacks with a large arm. This phase adds more unblockable attacks, especially among the arm swings, so the red-flash rule becomes even more important.
One arm attack is also a grab and inflicts heavy damage if it connects. When Lothaire begins swinging the large arm, do not commit automatically to a parry. Look for the unblockable warning and prioritize a dodge whenever the attack cannot be safely read. Creating a little space is also a sensible response to an unfamiliar arm sequence.
Lothaire can summon soldiers from the ground during this phase. These reinforcements die in one hit, but ignoring them allows a simple distraction to interfere with your defense against the boss. Clear them as soon as they become active. A Pistol shot or Fire can remove them quickly, after which you can place your attention back on Lothaire.
Weak spots reappear after the transformation, so the same Fire, weak-point, and stagger cycle remains available once the soldiers are cleared.