The Gardens Boss is the second major challenge you’ll encounter in Abyssus, waiting at the end of the Gardens depth. While the fight might seem straightforward at first, the limited arena size, relentless attacks, and gradual escalation across phases can quickly overwhelm unprepared players. Beating this boss requires a mix of sharp movement, precision aiming, and an understanding of its attack patterns.
This guide broke down the Gardens Boss’s moveset in stages and then offered up the best strategies, weapons, and play to defeat it.
Learning the Gardens Boss Moveset
Like most bosses in Abyssus, the Gardens Boss has three phases. Not only will each phase teach you new moves, but intensity and attack speed also ramp up, so you’ll always need to compensate.
Phase One: Testing the Waters
The first phase is fairly easy and designed to test your ability to read the arena. The boss attacks with slow-moving tidal waves that float across the platform and shockwave ripples that release outward in pulses. Both are easy to dodge if you’re reading—tidal waves can be jumped, and ripples can be dodged with good timing.
The manager also has a melee attack with close range, but it’s hardly ever dangerous if you stay back. This phase is simply learning to deal with the timing of the attacks and getting proficient at dodging and setting up for shots.
Phase Two: Escalation and Chaos
Once it destroys its first block of health, the Gardens Boss enters Phase Two. During this phase, the normal tidal waves and ripples are faster and more difficult to dodge. The boss also places two new items:
- Orb Attack – The boss fires dangerous orbs throughout the arena, so you need to be careful while dodging overlapping attacks.
- Summoned Grunts – Fainten, slightly weakened foes appear, and you’re constantly trying to avoid the boss attack while removing adds before they engulf you whole.
The boss enters invulnerable state momentarily when phasing. Do not waste ammunition as the boss becomes invulnerable. Heal, reload, or reposition for the next phase of attacks during the time.
Phase Three: Relentless Pressure
By Phase Three, however, the boss isn’t actually moving that much differently, but speed and attack rate skyrocket. Tidal waves are in near-constant waves, ripple pulse leaves you with no time to breathe, and orb barrages keep you running around nonstop.
The battle at this point is one of stamina. Breathe easy and watch for dodging while casting set weakspot hits over and over again is how you come out on top.
Strategy to Defeat the Gardens Boss
Movement and Positioning
The space is tight, so movement control is important. Never stand still—always strafe, jump, or side-dodge towards you. When on tidal waves, strafe with them in the same direction, not opposite to them, to have more room to sidestep follow-up ripple waves. Watch the ground carefully: radiating land shows where ripple pulses will manifest, giving you a split-second warning to move out of the way.
Targeting the Weakspot
The weakpoint of the boss lies in the middle of its chest cavity and glows like crazy if you have a decent angle. Defocusing there definitely speeds up the fight, especially if you’ve got weapons or upgrades that have more weakpoint damage. Do not fire at the body unless you absolutely cannot get a precise shot.
Brine Revolver is one of the top weapons for this fight because of its incredible single-shot damage. Provided you have good weakspot hits, you’ll deplete the boss’s life bar in mere seconds. Pair it with Soul Wheel mods like Keen Vision (weakspot damage) or Aspects which provide accuracy and critical yield boosts.
Shotguns and high-damage weapons do function, but you need to handle them—something not advisable to do in this fight with the melee attack and small arena. For safety as well as for functioning, the revolver remains the best candidate.
Fighting Grunts
When the adds spawn during Phase Two and Three, remove them quickly. They’re not nearly as tough, but having them in there will be chaos when you’ve been trying to be dodging orb attacks and tidal waves as well. If you clear the arena, it will allow you to concentrate your full attention on the boss.
