How to Beat Crimson Rector Percival in Lords of the Fallen

While he may not be a towering individual like the Congregator of Flesh, the Crimson Rector known as Percival can be an impressively difficult fight for players who accidentally stumble upon him. Lords of the Fallen has a habit of surprise-dropping bosses and if you’re not prepared, it often turns into a bit of a bloodbath. Fortunately, while Percival isn’t an essential fight when it comes to beating the game, he does guard a very useful shortcut and drops a pretty decent ring. So if you want to know how to beat Crimson Rector Percival in Lords of the Fallen, look no further than this guide.

Where to Find Crimson Rector Percival

In order to track down Percival, you’ll first need to defeat The Hushed Saint, one of Lords of the Fallen‘s major boss fights. After that brawl, you’ll gain access to the Vestige of the Pale Butcher, otherwise known as the Hamlet when you open the fast travel menu. From this spawn point, run to the right and along the bridge to traverse the small river. Note that if you haven’t yet knocked over the plank that creates this crossing point you’ll need to shift into Umbra and cut around the left side of the cliff, looping back around.

On the other side of the bridge, follow the lit torches to your right through the cave system until a rusted iron gate appears. There’s no way to open it and you won’t have a key in your inventory but if you’d made it this far in Lords of the Fallen then you no doubt already know that certain barriers can be crossed thanks to the Umbral Lamp. Hold it up and glimpse the world of the deal to see that in this alternate plane of existence, the gate doesn’t exist. Keep the lamp up and simply walk through.

Related: Lords of the Fallen Cuts Into 8 Minutes of Lore & Gameplay in New Trailer

You’ll be funneled into a shallow valley with a collection of water that’ll slow your pace when you begin wading through it. On the other end, you’ll see a demonic hound patrolling. What you likely won’t see is the flame-spewing version of that same enemy hiding behind the wooden barriers on the right. When you get close enough, it’ll start breathing a torrent of fire like a flamethrower and when it dies, the body will detonate with a small explosion that deals a surprising amount of damage. Deal with these two foes however you like and charge up the right side of the rising valley.

An axe-wielding marauder (I don’t know if that’s its actual name but marauder feels right) and his hound will approach, charging down the hill. The dog is easily killed but Axe Man is protected by an Umbral spirit. Either shift into Umbra and remove his protection or simply run around him and proceed up the path, your choice. If you do change planes, then you’ll need to deal with a Womb of Despair, one of the flying creatures that spawns Remnants. They’re a pain to fight but if you kill it you can claim a Vestige Seed as your reward.

Speaking of which, I HIGHLY recommend taking that Vestige See you just acquired and planting it to the right of the Womb of Despair’s brood. It’ll make the run to Percival MUCH easier since coming all the way from the Hamlet every time is both a waste of time and puts you in much more danger.

From your blossomed seedling, head back to the route you were going and dive into what appears to be a full-scale battle between Axe Men and Mace Men, with Crossbow Folk taking the occasional potshot. I’m aware that these enemies have actual names but man, Womb of Despair just really took it out of me. Whether or not you participate in this battle, your target is the wall at the end of this path. My advice would be to avoid all the melee attackers and take out the marksmen; their bolts are faster than you think and transitioning into the boss arena can leave you exposed.

Right, now that you’re at the archway that leads through the wall you’re about to come face-to-face with Crimson Rector Percival.

How to Prepare for Fighting the Crimson Rector Percival

First things first, let’s prepare for the fight. Percival is all about holy damage and Radiant spells so the first thing you’ll want to do is apply a Holy Ward. While this won’t let you take some of his more devastating hits, it’ll let you survive the Radiant build-up that his sword will dish out with each hit. It’s also worth noting that he’s just a human, so using Bleed Salt or Poison Salt on your equipped weapon can be a useful damage buff. In fact, the poison might actually be the best way to counter his most annoying special moves, so keep that in mind.

There are no optional summons in this fight and though I’m not entirely sure why some bosses have summons and others don’t, my suspicion is that AI companions aren’t available when fighting “sinner” enemies like Scourged Sister Delyth or Gentle Gaverus.

Related: Is There Co-Op in Lords of the Fallen?

How to the Beat Crimson Rector Percival Boss in Lords of the Fallen

Walk through the archway and you’ll see Percival on your right. He’ll instantly cast a Radiant spell on himself that coats his sword in a golden energy that doubles its length. Obviously, this is what will be dealing all the holy you want to avoid as much as possible. Oh, since he’s dealing slashing damage it’ll also apply a small amount of bleed on every hit but as long as you block his sword, the build-up is negligible.

The thing about Percival is despite his Super Saiyan sword and his swift movements, his actual attacks are very slow. I’d go so far as to that at this point on Lords of the Fallen, the Crimson Rector is the easiest boss to continually parry or dodge. His most frequently used combo is an overhead downward swing followed by a horizontal swipe. The first attack takes him aaaaaaages to wind up (probably because his magic sword is too) so it’s easy to block. If there was ever a boss to practice your parries, it’s Percy.

After the second swing of his combo, he’ll reset his position which is your cue to take a few swings and sink some early damage into his back. When he’s recovered, he usually jumps back and while that may seem like a chance to rush Percival down, he covers himself by leaving behind a glowing aura that will swing its sword just like the real thing. Dodge to the left or right and the apparition will dissipate after a single attack.

Once his Raidance ghost vanishes, Percival usually closes the gap himself with either a flying overhead smash that can be dodged by rolling left or right or a running thrust that tracks your position probably a little more than it should. Given the relative length of his blade, I’d recommend dodging into him, preferably to the left. If you’re not blocking and this move hits you, Percival impales you on his blade and throws you across the arena, dealing a hefty amount of damage and adding a big chunk to your holy damage build-up. Avoiding the thrust, the Crimson Rector will chain together another two hits: An upper-hand swing and a sweep that stretches around his back so be cautious not to dodge too far behind him.

Related: Do You Need to Play Lords of the Fallen 2014 Before LotF 2023

After about a minute of combat, Percival’s Radiant spell will dissipate. It’s easy to tell when this happens because his sword loses its glow and his halo disappears. In this state, he’s just a regular Sword Man with a bigger health pool. He’ll string together the same combos but won’t leave behind the auras when he retreats. Now is really when you want to capitalize on damage. He deals less damage and his reach is significantly lower, so get aggressive and start swinging!

You want to use this time for all its worth because in around 20 seconds, he’ll cast the spell again and you’ll be back at square one. At around half health he alters his magic by adding a circle of healing around himself. I know, right? You heal up to full multiple times in a boss fight and he does it once? So unfair.

When the healing circle comes into play, things get interesting. I learned this by complete accident by the way and I see plenty of people completely missing it. As Percival ignites the healing circle, take the risk and shift into Umbra. You won’t gain a second chance if you die but you’ll notice that the arena is filled with little… polyps, I guess, of Umbral energy. If you bait Percy close enough to one of these growths and hit it, the explosion won’t harm you but it briefly stuns him and instantly deactivates his Radiant spell. He’ll be left as a Sword Man who is MUCH easier to fight.

Always try and keep a position close to one of these growths because Percival will use his magic again if the fight goes on long enough. If you can continually negate its effects and block his hits from this point, all you need to worry about is squeezing in enough hits to regain some of your health. Rinse and repeat and Percy will eventually succumb to your might.

Once the Crimson Rector is defeated, you can access a shortcut up to the scaffolding surrounding Skyrest and you’ll gain the Crimson Rector Leggings, the Ring of Brilliant Protection, and a Vestige Seed. Sinner Judged!

If you’re looking for more on the game, check out our article ranking all the starting classes from worst to best in Lords of the Fallen.