How to beat Duorduor in Octopath Traveler 2

The Duorduor boss is one of the tougher early-game bosses, and it can take you quite a while to bring the gigantic boar down. Thankfully each boss (and enemy) in Octopath Traveler 2 has a specific set of weak points and a somewhat predictable moveset, so once you know that they are fairly easy to overcome.

But how exactly do you take on Duoduor? Check out this guide to see the full strategy including the weaknesses and moveset.

How do you beat Duorduor?

You will fight Duorduor at the end of Agnea's first chapter, and it can be both long and challenging due to the relatively weak skillset of Agnea and her friend Gus. You should also have an additional companion that you've picked up from the town with you, so make sure to use them when you can.

Duorduor Weaknesses

As is the case with any enemy in Octopath Traveler 2, you will want to hit the weak points of Duorduor as much as possible - especially considering the higher shield level of five. Here are the main weaknesses for Duorduor:

• Dagger
• Axe

This is perfect, as the Dagger is Agnea's primary attack and the same is true for Gus with the Axe. If you make sure to recruit a companion with one of these two weapons that would also be perfect.

Duorduor strategy

This is going to be a long fight, so you will definitely want to come in well-prepared. Make sure that you have enough Healing Grapes as Gus' 'Special Brew' skill can only heal a small amount.

In typical fashion, you will want to focus on breaking the boss' shield, making sure to save enough BP to capitalize when it is vulnerable. It is best to just use Agnea's standard Dagger attack while you're breaking down the shield, alongside Gus' 'Chop Wood' ability, as that does a double hit.

In a tight spot, if you really need to break the boss before their next turn, you can use a single BP with the Chop Wood skill to break four times, and then get the final weak point hit with a standard attack from Agnea. This is only worth using if you really need to heal, or if you've got an excess of BP however, as otherwise it can feel like a bit of a waste.

In normal circumstances, though you can break Duorduor's shield within three to four turns, and then you will want to unleash your most powerful attacks with all of your saved BP. Chop Wood again isn't a bad option, and 'Ruinous Kick' for Agnea can deal some real damage.

You could also consider using Lion Dance to improve Gus' attack, but this is only really worth it if Agnea's turn is the first after you have broken the boss.

Duorduor Move Set

In terms of what Duorduor can do to you though, here is a list of the boss' moves and what they do:

• Attack: Single target physical damage.
• Snort: Magic damage to all party members.
• Whimper: Single target physical damage that leaves the attacked character unconscious for a few turns.
• Boar Rush: High damage single target physical attack. Needs to charge, and is signalled by text that states 'the Duorduor looks agitated!' Additionally buffs physical damage and speed.
• Call For Help: Duorduor summons two Forest Marmots.

You can largely play around both the standard Attack and the Snort ability, as they don't deal a huge amount of damage. You will just need to make sure that you don't drop below around 150 HP, as then things can start to get risky.

Whimper is a very frustrating ability to deal with, as if encountered at the wrong time it can really throw any plans you had out of the window. Thankfully the unconscious state doesn't last for too long, but when your party member is down is it best to focus on support actions like healing until they return to the battle.

Boar Rush is by far the most dangerous ability, as it can deal at least 120 damage even when you're blocking. It does have a very obvious tell and gives you enough time to prepare, but unless you're full HP or the boss is nearly broken, your best course of action is to Defend to lighten the blow.

It does seem to have the tendency to miss a fair amount though, so you can sometimes risk it if you're feeling lucky. Just make sure that you've got enough HP, or have a few Olive of Lifes to bring back a dead party member if push comes to shove.

Finally, the Call for Help ability will happen at about the halfway point of the fight, and the boss will summon two Forest Marmots to draw your attention away for a short while. This ability is only used once, and the Marmots are thankfully a bit of a pushover.

The Forest Marmots are weak to Daggers, so the best course of action is to break them with Agnea and then use Chop Wood to continue whittling away at Duorduor. They shouldn't take more than a few turns to remove from the battlefield, and they don't deal enough damage to really be concerned about.

Make sure to check out our Octopath Traveler 2 preview though if you want to see our thoughts on the game's demo.