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Slitterheadhas many unique aspects that bleed into its overarching narrative and gameplay, making for the perfect blend of weirdness that we can get behind. Even with all the glaring issues that hold it back from being truly remarkable, it’s still a fun, rewarding, and exhilarating experience if you may look past its shortcomings.
Drifting Devil is a prime example that puts everything awesome about the game on full display, turning a boss fight mission into a bizarre and eerie experience. While the fight against Yin Yue is still pretty good, the other things surrounding the encounter is where it’s really at!
Starting Drifting Devil In Slitterhead
Unlike other boss encounter missions in Slitterhead,Drifting Devil does not lock the Primary Rarityslot,allowing you tochoose both Raritiesfor the mission. We went withEdo and Anita,as theygel quite well together.Anita’s basic attacksbecome a chaotic blur of damage and speedwhen she activatesBurning Edge,making her the obvious second choice here.
Despite making a solid choice for any mission,Julee cannot join you on this mission,so you better search for someone else you’re good with if you were expecting her to be able to tag along.If Anita or Edo isn’t your cup of tea, Alex, Tri, and Doni will also workrelatively well here!
As expected, thefirst phase of this encounter won’t be too complex,as Yin Yue will only have access to a few basic attacks. He will also have access totwo unblockable and unparryable attacks,both of which aretelegraphed with a bright red flash of light.He willcharge straight at you if he’s far awayfrom you.If he’s closer,he willperform a Lunging Strike.
Hischarging attack can be evaded by rolling to the left or rightas he gets closeto you or by switching to a different character that’s behind him. TheLunging Strike can be avoided by running away from himor by also jumping to someone else, not in the area.
From here, we strongly recommend usingEdo’s Burning Edge and Angel Stepcomboto carve away at Yin Yue’s health, wherehe will eventually start summoning in lesser Slitterheads mixed in with little ones.When these Slitterheads enter the arena,focus them first, then go back to the same strategy until you drop his health past the first blipon his meter.
Chase Yin Yue
GettingYin Yue’s health down past the first section of his health gaugewillcause him to flee,having youchase him out onto the main street.Once you arrive, abrief cutscene will play,tossing you into thesecond phaseof the fight.
Ensure you are healed up from the first phasebefore you begin your pursuit,or you will be off to a rocky start. This phase is themost challenging part of the mission and the encounteras a whole, so do not go in ill-prepared.Double-check if both of your Rarities are topped offbefore leaving the first area!
Right from the jump, there will be astandard Slitterhead and several lesser and little Slitterheads surrounding Yin Yue,making it a sea of chaos.Focus on the lesser and little Slitterheads first,as they don’t take long to defeat, especially when usingBurning Edge,then turn your attention to thenormal Slitterhead.
Some of the little Slitterheads have pustuleson them, meaning if theyattack you enough times,they can inflict you withPoison(Level 2), which is apotent Poison that will rapidly and aggressively deplete your health,so be wary of them. Aftertaking care of all of the additional Slitterheads,turn your attention toYin Yue.
He will have the same attacksas the first phase, so justactivate Buring Edgeand unleash your offense on him,dodging everything he throws at you just as you did earlier.Keep this up until you lower his health quite a bit,triggering abrief cutscenewhere he calls in more waves of Slitterheads.
Defeat The Waves Of Slitterheads
Uponsummoning in waves of normal, lesser, and little Slitterheads,Yin Yue will leap back into the arena, ready to create even more damage to you. Like before,focus on the lesser and little ones first,then the normal ones,then Yin Yue.From here, go back into your offensive flow to deal considerable damageuntil he essentially flash-bangs you.
WhenYin Yue illuminates with a bright white light,he willcall forth more and more waves of Slitterheads,which willeventually get to a point where it’s unmanageable.At first, you shouldfocus on the additional Slitterheads just as you did earlier,but you willultimately have to focus all your efforts on himwhen things get too wild.
Whittling Yin Yue’s health down to the halfway point will have him run awayfrom the area, leaving you with the remaining Slitterheads he summoned. UseBurning Edge to finish them off, heal up, and begin chasing after Yin Yue yet again,entering his third phase.
Chase Yin Yue Again
Replenish the health of both your Rarities,then beginchasing after Yin Yue,chasing him into themiddle of the main street,where he will be waiting for you. Approach him totrigger another cutscene,kicking off thethird phaseof the encounter, which isn’t nearly as challenging as the previous one.
Phase threewill have somelesser Slitterheadsin the area, sofocus on them firstand eliminate them as fast as possible. From here, you willdeal with Yin Yue the same way you did the previous two phases.This time, fortunately,his flash-bang attack that summons tons of Slitterheads is goneand has beenreplaced with aBlood Orb attack.
This attack has himspin several Blood Orbs in a circle in front of himself before launching them toward you with tremendous speed.you may eitherevade at the last secondto avoid taking damageor switch to someone else entirelyto have the CPU do all the heavy lifting.
Aside from this change in his move list,the rest of his attacks are the same from earlier phases,so popBurning Edgeandget up close and personal to destroy his health bar.Getting him downtoward the last node in his health gauge will trigger another cutscene,pulling you into theAbyss.
Escape From The Abyss
Chipping Yin Yue’s health downtonearly the final nodewill have himdrag you into the Abyss,which is adark version of the facility.You willpermanentlyhave theCorrosion Ward(Level 3) andStowing Ward(Level 1)ailmentsapplied while in the Abyss.
Corrosion Ward(Level 3)substantially reduces your Blood Weapon’s durability,breaking it nearly instantaneously when guarding.Stowing Ward(Level 1)prevents you from evadingand alsoreduces your attack and movement speedslightly. Youwon’t be able to use your Skillswhile here either, so be on high alert as you navigate through the darkness.
Fight Through The Abyss
Jump to your Rarityand beginnavigating the tight corridors of the Abyssuntil you getambushed by Yin Yue.While youcan’t evade or use your Skills,youdeal massive damage with normal attacks,so justget up close and start swingingto defeat him swiftly. Pushslightly forwardto fight asmall group of lesser Slitterheads,hack away at them toeliminate them quickly.
Thenew area of the Abyssis more of the same, having youwade through tight hallwaysuntil you run intoYin Yueagain.Deal with him exactly how you did earlierto warp to a new part of the Abyss. From here,follow the narrow corridorsuntil you reach theMaster’s Room,whereYin Yue is slumped over at the foot of the bed,snapping you back into the real world.
It’s time for this encounter’sfourth and final phase,which ismore of a victory lapthan anything, asYin Yue won’t have much health leftat all. He willteleport much more frequentlyand willlaunch Blood Orbs at youto try and keep you away from him.
Closing the gap on himwill have him implementone final new move:theBlood Orb Field,having himsummon many Blood Orbs around himselffor a brief time before theydetonate and deal substantial damageto anyone caught within it. When yousee the Blood Orbs begin floatingaround him,create distance between you and himto avoid it altogether.
Youroverall strategy here is to keep switching to your other Raritywhenever they’re behind him, allowing you torun up behind him and get several hits inbefore he focuses you. ActivateBurning Edge to quickly stagger Yin Yue,thenfinish him off with a barrage of attacksto end this long-winded boss encounter!
Drifting Devil Rewards
Putting a stop to Yin Yue’s madness andclearing Drifting Devil for the first timewill put a pretty hefty24 Skill Tokensin your pocket for you to spend on any Rarity you feel deserves it.They are shared,so keep in mind that after you spend them, they cannot be used on another Rarity.
More ‘Talk’ dialogue conversations will unlockwhen defeating Yin Yue, soexhaust all of themas soon as you finish the mission tounlock the final stretch of missionsavailable in Slitterhead. You’re almost there!
