Tales of Arise Lord Dohalim Boss Fight Guide

Each boss battle in Tales of Arise represents a unique challenge, and almost every one is a significant difficulty spike. While Lord Balseph and Lord Ganabelt were the final bosses of their respective areas, Lord Dohalim actually functions as a sort of mid-boss for Elde Menancia. 

Despite that fact, he's every bit as challenging as the last two Lord battles. You'll need to go in fully prepared and knowledgeable, so here's everything you need to know before facing the Lord Dohalim boss fight in Tales of Arise. 

Tales of Arise Lord Dohalim Boss Fight - Preparing Your Party 

This is the first boss fight that you'll have a full roster of five characters for, and you'll absolutely want to make sure that Kisara is in your party. Dohalim hits hard, really hard, and Kisara is an effective way to tank the boss. You'll also need her Boost Strike to stop a specific attack. With that in mind equip Kisara as well as possible. 

For this battle, it's actually best to keep Rinwell out, as here low HP and defense will be a detriment with Dohalim's flurry of attacks. It's recommended that you play as either Law or Alphen; Law can build combos and effectively deal damage, while Alphen can use his Blazing Sword attacks when Dohalim is staggered. Opal is a great accessory to equip for this battle as it can reduce Earth/Wind damage by 50 percent, two elements the boss uses in spades. 

Unfortunately, for this battle, you won't have proper warning to prep, so unless you totally know it's coming you likely won't have gone back to town and bought items/cooked food. Luckily, there's a good long gap before another boss battle after this, so don't be afraid to use your entire stock of healing items. 

Lord Dohalim Phase 1

Lord Dohalim doesn't have as clear-cut phases as the previous two lords, but luckily he has one big tell that you'll come to recognize. When the battle kicks off go full-force on Dohalim for a bit, as he'll be incapacitated until he launches his big Mystic Art, B Naturae. You have a good 20 seconds while Dohalim charges this attack, and he'll glow yellow while doing so. Learn to watch for this attack as it's your cue to go all-out during that time. Once he actually launches B Naturae, however, back off and focus on dodging the falling rocks that crash to the ground. At this point, Dohalim will start hitting your party with a barrage of magic and physical attacks. A lot of the physical attacks the boss does with his rod can look similar, but you'll always want to try and dodge those as they're the most damaging. With that in mind, here are a few specific attacks to watch out for. 

• When Dohalim flips into the air with his rod quickly dodge to the side before he crashes down on you. 
• Dohalim will throw his rod straight forward and you'll have a split second to dodge either back or to the side. If you're far enough away during this attack the rod won't hit you. 
• When Dohalim jumps in the air and spins his rod around him, he'll come crashing down directly below. 
• When Dohalim does a jump to the side back off immediately as he'll do an AoE wind attack.

Every once in a while Dohalim will slump a bit and hold his head in his hands, just like when he casts B Naturae. Again, this is your cue to really hit him hard with Boost Strikes, artes, and whatever else you have. In terms of Boost Strikes, you can use your entire party's the second you get them, except for Kisara. Make sure you have her Boost Strike prepped for when Dohalim hits about 75 percent health, which is when the second "phase" will start. 

Lord Dohalim Phase 2

Once the first section of Dohalim's health bar is gone he'll introduce a massive new attack to his repertoire. A bright golden light will shine out of the boss followed by a short AoE blast, then he'll charge straight at you with an attack that takes him all teh way across the battlefield. He'll continue to do this 2-3 more times, and the only way to stop him is with Kisara's Boost Strike. While he's in the middle of his charge call Kisara in and use her shield to stop Dohalim in his tracks. 

At this point, you've seen all of Lord Dohalim's attacks, and it's now just a test of endurance. The charge attack is by far the most damaging the boss has, and if you find yourself in real trouble don't be afraid to pause and switch your Party Tactics to "Focus on Healing." The good news is that on top of Shionne's healing, Kisara also has the Guardian Field attack that restores health to all allies in its radius. That's partly why it's so important to have her in this boss battle. 

Avoid Dohalim's attacks when you can, get combos going when he's stunned, and make sure to keep the healing up. Eventually, you'll get the boss down to zero and come one step closer to getting your sixth, and final, party member in Tales of Arise.