fader (boss): valheim ashlands

observations:

1. weapon choice: fader is pierce resistant. spear, knife, and atgier are sub-optimal here. any sword, including dyrnwyn (since it is mostly slash anyway) is fine. shock mace is fine, which is what i used. shock berserker axes might actually be really good here, if you have high enough axe skill to justify. if you are a solo completionist and want to attempt to one-cycle the boss without dying or leaving the arena, you will probably want 2x of whatever weapon you choose, for the extra durability.

i am not sure whether lingering health and lingering stamina are better for boss fights. i tend to think that the targeted application of the one-time potions is better, but i am open to other opinions.

2. fader's attacks: the only really dangerous attack is the spike swarm, which leaves a lingering fire carpet that deals insane DOT. this specific attack caused all my deaths. everything else can basically be shrugged off with heavy armor and fire res potion. when running from this attack, you may as well just sheath your weapons for the speed boost.

the problem is the fire carpet left by the spikes doesnt really look any different than all the other nonsense that visually clutters the fight. so, be careful what fire you stand in. some of it is safe, some of it isnt.

fader is another boss, like the queen, which is clearly balanced to encourage co op. for a solo player, your main problem is stamina management and just being patient. the first time i died, it was due to trying to push through his attacks and deal some damage because i felt i was circling too much. fader is actually a lot more generous than the queen as far as providing openings for melee damage. i was able to get off many block-cancel primary combos with the mace in between his attacks. but you need to respect the spikes when he rolls that attack.

like the queen, fader also has phased attacks based on health. from 100% down to 75% health, he is relatively tame. at 75% health, he starts to be more aggressive with the AOE nukes. at 50% health, he seems to start using adds. so, recognize that as you start the fight, it will get uglier and your windows of opportunity to deal damage will get narrower.

i am not sure what player behaviors trigger what attacks. if you are far away, he seems to tend to prefer meteors. but up close, it seems like anything goes.

3. adds: like the charred warlock's adds, fader's green skeletons have very low health. demolisher if they are close. these are basically just a stamina tax and nuisance.

4. corpse recovery: consider disabling auto pickup and also taking off the megingjord belt before you fight. when you pick up your body, you dont want to be encumbered. this caused my second death. if you werent wearing megingjord when you died, your corpse wont be over 300 weight when you try to pick up. the arena gets nuked as the fight goes on, and there are stone drops everywhere, clogging your inventory.

save bonemass for a difficult corpse recovery. the fight is so long, dont bother using it for 5 minutes of physical resistance mid-fight. as stated above, the only real dangerous attack here is the fire carpet DOT, so i am not sure how much bonemass would really help anyway. eikthyr power might actually be better here mid-fight, to reduce stamina drain.

5. the arena: this is a particularly odd arena spawn because it is right on the shore; almost half the arena is surrounded by water. this might have the effect of being less likely to be surrounded by ambient spawns during the fight, but water is also unsafe since it can boil you, slows you down, and applies wet effect. also, being partially surrounded by water makes corpse recovery vectors more limited. so, make your own decision as to whether you want to locate a different arena before fighting.