In the sun-kissed setting ofEnotria: The Last Song, you will encounter crazed actors, freakish artists, and bizarre performers. While all of them provide some challenges, the first real menace on your journey isCurtis, Prince of Laughter, who sets the tone right for the rest of this Italian folklore epic.
Enotria: The Last Song Review
This Souls-like proves that FromSoft doesn’t have a monopoly on the sub-genre anymore.
You will face Curtis after climbing the peculiar and Canovaccio-cursed streets of Quinta. These streets are teeming with corrupted actors who are ready to confront anyone.
When you arrive at the intersection by the Church of Maja and spot Pulcinella though, it means you are about to face a more serious threat, called Curtis, Prince of Laughter.
Curtis presents a tough challenge for those who haven’t mastered parrying, a core mechanic thoroughly emphasized inEnotria: The Last Song. However, with some fine-tuning to your build and proper preparation, he can be easily unmasked to hunt for the next boss.
How To Prepare For Curtis, Prince Of Laughter Boss Fight?
Curtis is a hard-hitter who wields a long spear that he also uses as a sword. His relentless combos almost leave no room for more than a single hit. His spear has a long reach as well, rendering dodging quite dangerous, at least in the first phase.
Beating Curtis starts by wielding a weapon similar to his, a weapon with a long reach. That’s where some of thebest early game weaponscan be incredibly useful, such as theColossal Greaser,Juniper Sword, orStage Ultragreatsword.While these weapons do wonders, they will not be enough to defeat Curtis, Prince of Laughter. Enhancing them is key to dealing serious damage.
Thanks to its outstanding damage output, the Colossal Greaser is one of the best weapons to use against Curtis. It can be found near the Old District Road Reality Knot.
InEnotria: The Last Song, the Reality Knots near boss arenas also provide an equipment enhancement table. These allow you to enhance your weapons before taking on bosses.
You will find one of these tables in Church of Maja Reality Knot, right next to Pulcinella, one of the main characters in the game.
Provided that you have enough Memoria andEfestite Fragmentin your arsenal,enhance your weapon up to level 3.It’s also essential to level up your Trickster stats to increase your Stamina, as parrying and dodging drains your Stamina pretty quickly.
InPath ofInnovators, choosing the Path of Fury will not only help you defeat Curtis but will also be beneficial when facing other bosses.
Indeed,Enotria: The Last Songprovides a flexible build system that allows for experimentation, but focusing on the Path of Fury has been particularly helpful for me when dealing with Unraveled enemies,which are essentially staggered enemies in Enotria’s fancy terminology.
Curtis, Prince Of Laughter Moveset
Although he is the game’s first real boss, Curtis does not have many surprising attacks and frustrating gimmicks. Look at the quick rundown below to know how to avoid some of his attacks.
How to Avoid?
Swinging Into Thrust
When Curtis enters a flurry of attacks, he swings twice right before thrusting his spear. It’s fairly easy to parry all of these attacks if you watch his weapon carefully. Do not dodge as consecutive attacks are likely to catch you.
Polearm Flurry
Curtis enters a flurry of attacks where he swings his spear four times, with each attack being fairly easy to parry. attempt to perform a perfect parry to fill up his Unraveling Meter faster.
Spear Slam
Curtis simply slams his spear into the ground in the first seconds of the battle. You can either dodge or parry.
Spear Feint
Curtis swings his polearm towards the left but then feints his attack to hit from the right. When he starts swinging from the right, either perform a perfect parry or get behind his back to land a few hits. Do not dodge as it’s a good opportunity to chip away at his health.
Vis Infusion
As soon as Curtis infuses his spear with Vis, he slams it onto the ground and follows up with a deadly attack with a long reach. Instead of dodging and parrying, try to get behind pillars or go really far away where he can’t reach you.
Polearm and Shield Attack
Right after Vis Infusion, he conjures a shield and tries to bash you with it. As long as you see the shield, get away from Curtis as fast as possible instead of trying to parry and dodge.
Slow Thrust of Death
Right after equipping his shield, Curtis gears up for a slow but lethal attack that tricks you into trying to parry. Dodge to your sides instead of backwards do avoid getting hit with this one.
How To Beat Curtis, Prince Of Laughter?
Parrying is the heart and soul ofEnotria: The Last Song’s combat formula.While dodging also works at times, mastering how to perfect parry is one of theessential tips for beginners. So, if nothing else, the Curtis, Prince of Laughter boss battle, will ensure you realizeEnotria’semphasis on parrying.
Alongside landing hits, perfectly parrying an attack by the enemy slowly builds up their Unraveling Meter. Once full, you can perform a devastating attack that often finishes off minor enemies and seriously hurts bosses.
This is also the key to taking down Curtis, as his Unraveling Meter can be filled up pretty quickly as long as you parry his combos.
Curtis always initiates the fight withcombo attacks that can be easily parried until his health bar is reduced to around 35%. He tends to telegraph his attacks before striking, too, giving you the chance to execute a perfect parry.
However,he also has a feint attack where he starts attacking from the right but switches to the left, which is also quite easy to recognize after facing him a few times.
The key to beating Curtis is parrying his combo attacks as much as possible during the first phase.Right after parrying, he also provides an opportunity to land a single hit.
Perform a perfect parry and land a single hit if you’re using a colossal weapon. Do nottry to land a second hit (or a third hit if you’re using a lighter weapon) after a perfect parry.
Curtis will always punish you when you are trying to land another hit, especially if you use a sluggish colossal weapon, like the Stage Ultragreatsword.
You should be able to stagger Curtis at least twice before he enters the second phase,where he infuses his spear with Vis and becomes much more aggressive.This is where you need to depend on dodging and putting as much distance as possible between yourself and the Laughing Prince.
During the second phase,Curtis becomes much faster and deals more damage. That’s why it’s a good idea tododge his attacks and hide behind pillars.While doing the latter will cause you to lose your pin on him, it will also partially protect you as he completes his vicious combo.
Instead of attempting to use Armonia Flasks in between combos, it’s better to stay far away from Curtis while regaining your health. The drinking animation takes quite a while, so taking cover behind the pillars should save you from a lethal attack.
In the second phase of the battle, you will find that only a few of Curtis' attacks can be dodged. Most of the time, you must dodge rather than attempt to parry those attacks. Be especially cautious when he’s gearing up for a slow attack, as it drains your health bar in a single hit.
Here are some other helpful tips to aid you in the fight against the Prince of Laughter in Enotria:
Rewards For Beating Curtis, Prince Of Laughter
Beating Curtis will grant you15,000 Memoria alongside 250 Curtis Mask Shards, which will help you build his mask later in the game. Alongside the whopping Memoria and Mask Shards, you will also get the following rewards for beating the first boss ofEnotria: The Last Song.
As long as you are comfortable with perfect parrying, Curtis should not be a real problem. Although he is no pushover, perfect parrying can unmask him and all the other bosses in Enotria’s corrupted yet beautiful world.
Four Mechanics To Look Forward To In Enotria: The Last Song
Enotria: The Last Song adapts and builds on many Soulslike mechanics, here are some of the best we found in the demo.
