| “ | Has the Council reduced the Horsemen to common assassins? Or has Samael bought your loyalty? — Tiamat |
” |
Tiamat the Dusk Queen is a giant monstrous creature resembling a bat that haunts an area known as the Twilight Cathedral, acting as a Boss and the first of the Chosen that War must defeat and obtain the heart of the Chosen for Samael. She is one of the four tertiary antagonists of Darksiders (the other three being The Griever, The Stygian, and Silitha).
Overview
War arrived at Twilight Cathedral mounted on an Angelic Beast, but was then intercepted by Tiamat, who continued fighting with the beast while the horseman made his way into her lair. At the time War arrived, the Dusk Queen had already killed the angelic beast, and offered War a bargain, which the horseman refused. When defeated, Tiamat offered anything War desired in exchange for her life, but broke down and started laughing when War dryly asked her if she could restore the balance, dying as War ripped out her still beating heart.
Strategy
Phase 1 (Apocalyptic Difficulty)
During first phase of the fight, Tiamat will hover around the outskirts of the tower, never giving War a chance to attack her with Chaoseater. She attacks from a far by spitting fireballs from her mouth, that can do a hefty amount of damage to War, especially if he has only one Lifestone.
Her fireballs have quite a large range, so that War must use his dash ability to avoid them. They cannot be blocked. War should be careful if the fireball lands near any bomb growth, as it will ignite it, causing a second explosion that could catch him by surprise.
Since War's Chaoseater cannot reach the Bat Queen, and his Crossblade is ineffective against her, he must use other methods to defeat her. Luckily for him, there are numerous bomb growths around the area. However, the bombs are dormant, and so will not explode on their own. War will need to trigger them somehow. This can be done in two ways.
The first is to throw the bomb growth at her. Once it is stuck, he can target the nearby torches, and then the bomb growth with the Crossblade, so that as the Crossblade flies from the fire to the bomb growth, it carries the spark, which is enough to ignite the bomb.
However, War must be fairly close to Tiamat to target the bomb growth that is stuck to her, leaving him open for a fireball attack. Sometimes Tiamat will suddenly fly out of range, leaving her safe from the Crossblade. This technique is difficult, but more reliable than the second.
The second way to ignite the bomb growth is through timing. If it is thrown at Tiamat's face just as she spits her fireball, it can ignite and explode.
After either method, the result is the same. The force of the explosion will send Tiamut down to the tower floor with a bang. This is War's chance to let loose with the Chaoseater, and deal some heavy combos while he can. Tiamat only stays on the ground for so long, however, and soon wakes up, angry and ready for round two.
Tiamat returns to the outskirts of the Tower, but this time refrains from her fireballs. Giving War no time to use the bomb growth tactic again, she will soar into the air and swoop down at War with her claws. She swoops so low that they grind along the ground, so War can only avoid them by dashing to the side. It's best to Dash just as her talons touch the tower, for if he dashes while she is still in the air, she will alter her course.
Tiamat will shriek and swoop a few times, but will soon calm down and revert to spitting fireballs. War should use his bomb growth tactics to ground her again, leaving her open to more attacks from the Chaoseater. After War damages her enough through explosions and his sword, she will fall a final time, and be grounded for good.
Phase 2 (Apocalyptic Difficulty)
While War may feel relieved at having grounded the Bat for good, soon you'll see that you liked her better when she wasn't up close. Tiamat is perfectly happy to tackle War on the ground, with a variety of techniques to make him another one of her victims.
If War strays too far from Tiamat's claws, she will again spew fireballs at him. These are smaller than the ones that came before, and are best blocked. She will occasionally rise to the air, curl up her wings and slam into the ground, causing a shockwave to ripple outwards to deal decent damage and knock War off his feet.
If Tiamat is within range, she will attack you with her deadly, unblockable claws. These attacks deal high damage, but are slow; Tiamat rears back when she does this attack, giving War plenty of time to avoid it. If War thinks he can catch her unawares by dashing behind her to attack her blindside, Tiamat will attack him with her tail.
Sometimes Tiamat will ram at War, but by continually pressing each console's respective reaction button War can push her back, then jump and punch the Bat Queen across the tower, briefly stunning her and leaving her open to feel the sting of the Chaoseater.
The one thing to keep in mind is that Tiamat has no sure-fire way to damage War from a distance, so it is best for War to dash in, attack with Chaoseater, and dash out before she can retaliate in kind. The Bat Queen has a variety of tough close-ranged moves, but a weak ranged arsenal, so play against her weaknesses and you'll soon find the reaction button hovering above her head.
Quotes
- Tiamat and War, before battle:
- Tiamat: Has the council reduced the Horsemen to common assassins? (drops dead Ortho) or... has Samael bought your loyalty? Because...if you are for sale, Rider, then perhaps we can strike a...DEAL?
- War: You wouldn't like my terms...
- Tiamat and War, during battle:
- Tiamat: You should have considered my offer. Such a pity...
- Tiamat: This will not end well for you, Horseman!
- Tiamat and War, after ripping off her wings.
- Tiamat: (dying) Horseman....!
- The Watcher : Do it! Tear out her heart while she still lives! I want to hear her scream!
- Tiamat: I am...one of the Chosen. I can grant...your every...wish!"
- War: Can you restore the balance!?
- (Then while Tiamat laughs at War. He stabs her with Chaoseater and rips her heart out.)
Trivia
- Tiamat is a primordial goddess of chaos, rage and the sea in Babylonian mythology, a people who once enslaved the ancient Hebrews who wrote the Old Testament. The Hebrew term for the great flood depicted in the Old Testament comes from the word Tiamat.
Gallery
Video Strategy Guide
thumb|left|300px|Tiamat Strategy on Apocalyptic