Remnant: From the Ashes - Singe Boss Guide

Remnant: From the Ashes has been out for more than a week, and the general consensus for Gunfire Games’ attempt at a new IP – and an action role-playing one at that – has been very positively received. It’s not surprising, given that the game manages to make itself an engaging and well-thought out shooter that took a lot of what’s good with its contemporaries and gave it a unique flair.

The game also features a lot of exciting, yet pretty challenging, boss fights, and for this guide we’re taking a look at one of the two bosses you’ll meet before heading to the mysterious Labyrinth, which holds many portals to other worlds. The deadwood dragon boss Singe can be extremely challenging for some newer players, especially when playing solo, but one can overcome him easily if you exploit some very key weaknesses of his. It may not outright cheese him, but these tactics will give everyone a decent start on properly beating him despite his highly aggressive and dangerous attacks.

Meeting Singe

Singe can be found in the Earth realm, in the section just before finding the mysterious tower that leads into the Labyrinth, a key point in the game’s story. Since Remnant: From the Ashes takes a stab at dynamic generation in almost all aspects of its gameplay, you will either face this boss or The Ent as prerequisite for the Labyrinth. Singe is daunting not only because of his actual strength, but because of his highly-aggressive nature. Fighting him on higher difficulties can be a real pain solo, but it’s doable if you know when and where to attack, as well as your priorities once the balls of flames start raining.

Singe has five main skills to speak of, all of which are offensive in nature and will really mess you up hard should you get hit by any of them. In addition to fighting him, the level will constantly spawn basic enemies that turn into fire devils when hit. These can easily overwhelm you if you’re not careful, so keep that in mind while fighting this boss. Singe is also extremely reactive and constantly on the move, which can work both to your advantage and disadvantage – the real secret is knowing when and where to follow him or back off.

Singe and the level design

One of the key factors that makes Singe a challenging boss is his level design. While you’re fighting him in a fairly open area with some ruins in the corners, it’s filled with puddles of oil which easily catch on fire thanks to Singe’s attacks. You will want to take note of these flaming puddles, as burning damage is a real killer in these early stages of the game. If you don't bring any Hydro Coolants with you, you’re going to have a bad time.

There’s really no big secret to dealing with these puddles save for knowing where they are and how to traverse the level itself. For one thing, you do not want to stay on the ruins, even if there are no puddles by them for two specific reasons: one, the fire devils can trap you there easily, and two, one of Singe’s attacks charge at you from a distance. With the ruins blocking most of your movement for dodging, that leaves you quite open to such an attack. The best thing to do is to always move in a circular manner, whether clockwise or counter-clockwise. This keeps you out of the way of most of the flaming puddles, and you’re able to track Singe and the fire devils’ positions quite easily.

Keeping your path in a circle and Singe and the other enemies within your sights is one-half of the battle, and the rest relies on properly timing your attacks and when to back off. That said, here are a few more things to remember when traversing the fiery level.

• Singe may, at times, cut off your circular path with his charging attack, leaving you vulnerable to a melee combo from him. If this happens, do not try and run across the level and risk getting caught in the blazing puddles. Not only can you get jumped by fire devils here, Singe can also end up getting you with fireballs from behind. The best approach is to run back in the opposite direction, and once again go back to a circular approach.
• On the off chance that you get singed by the flaming puddles and you find yourself burning, you can literally stop, drop and roll – or in this case just dodge roll in order to quell the flames. This saves you from using Hydro Coolants, so make sure to alternate between sprinting and regular movement to conserve stamina for when you need to dodge.

Keep your distance and know when to unload your bullets

Singe is one of those bosses that requires a bit of precision placement in order to defeat. Stay too close to him and he’ll use his dreaded three-swipe combo which can stagger players and deal tons of damage. Stay too far back and not only will you deal insignificant damage; you’ll also have to contend with his charge attacks and the continuous flame breath attack. Thankfully, you’ll know if you’re in the proper range when he’s unloading his fire balls at you.

Dodging these fire balls is straightforward – you can strafe around them if you’re a bit farther back, but they need to be dodge-rolled if you’re closer. The fireballs are really quirky in that they can deal burning damage even without outright hitting you; in the case of the latter, you’ll know since you’ll take a lot of damage in addition to getting staggered. If the former happens, you’ll see your health ticking down due to being set aflame.

Always try to fire every time Singe is in the middle of his attacks, as you get a chance to stagger him that way. The flame breath attack is similar to Claviger’s radiation rays, but it’s a bit easier to deal with since it moves slower and has a shorter arc. During its lifespan, you can close the gap next to Singe and attack him directly on his neck, which has a chance to stagger him if he’s in his fire-breathing animation. That said, remember to make sure that there’s no fire devils nearby, as they may hinder your escape once Singe comes to and tries to melee you.

Here are some more tips to remember when you’re fighting Singe:

• Try not to fight him at melee range. If you do, make sure you’re at his sides and not his front, since he will most likely do his triple swipe to attack you. Dodging these is fairly simple, but with the level being filled with tons of hazards, and not even mentioning the fact that you can get swarmed with fire devils, it’s better if you don’t encounter this skill at all from him.
• Singe has a habit of moving from place to place very quickly. You do not want to just stand and keep firing on him all the time. Only fire when there are openings and when you’re safe from fire devils, since it’s very likely that they will hinder your movement if given the chance.
• There are benefits to attacking his tail (just like some bosses in Dark Souls) as destroying it before he dies drops Dragon Links, a material that can be used to craft the Smolder, a fairly powerful fire sword. The tail is not a weak point though, and as such it may take a while to get him down by attacking it. Of course, getting behind him to assault that tail is another matter entirely, so keep that in mind if you want to aim for a secret weapon.

Fighting the fire devils

One of the most tedious things to deal with in the boss fight against Singe are the fire devils, which you will encounter in spades. These are seemingly normal enemies that are suddenly set ablaze and turn incredibly aggressive and resistant to bullet fire. When dealing with them, here are some tips to remember.

• After they turn, always try to kill them using melee combat. Not only does this conserve bullets, the fire devils are also more resistant to bullets. The fire devils stagger pretty easily, and with a weapon that can hack more than one enemy at once, you should find yourself killing them easily even if you’re surrounded by a pack of them.
• The fire devils can catch Singe’s fire balls for you, and in a pinch can save your life. You’ll always want to line up the fire devils properly so that they can be used as a shield against Singe’s attacks, and this is also a very effective way of zoning so you can easily circle him properly.
• Always prioritize killing the fire devils near you before Singe, as they can easily overwhelm you with their numbers.

Stay tuned for more tips, tricks and guides to Remnant: From the Ashes. Check out a guide on how to deal with the Claviger boss here.