Ancient Troll Fight Guide - Stoneshard

Introduction

The Ancient Troll is the first major Boss in Stoneshard. Like all Stoneshard Bosses, the Ancient Troll is a puzzle-fight, which means it can be overcome with the right strategy, catapulting you into the mid-game.

Initiating the Quest

The Troll Hunt Quest is not available at the start of the game.

To unlock the quest, you must reach character level 10 or reach 4000 Mannshire reputation.

The Mannshire Elder

When either requirement is met, speak to the Mannshire Elder, Knud. He can be found outside his home, chopping wood, or inside, sitting at the table or sleeping in the bed.

The next time you speak to the Mannshire Elder, he will offer a unique string of dialogue, stating that the Governor of Mannshire is looking for a mercenary.

The Governor

Governor Weber is found in his chambers on the second floor of the Mannshire Castle.

Governor Weber offers a long dialogue, in which he explains that an Ancient Troll has attacked a nearby Signal Tower, mauled its garrison, and devoured the unit of guardsmen sent to scare it off.

He now wants to hire a mercenary to kill the Ancient Troll, in exchange for a great Reward. 

When you accept the quest and make the necessary preparations, follow the quest marker to the Signal Tower to initiate the fight.

The Reward

As a reward for killing the Ancient Troll, Weber promises 4000 Crowns, and a unique item - a Jousting Cloak. 

Additionally, killing the Ancient Troll allows you to loot the Signal Tower itself, where you can find a unique tier 3 helmet, a tier 3 spear, a Smoke Bomb, and the Lion Banner, which you can raise over your Caravan camp.

Ancient Troll Overview

The Ancient Troll is a fearsome enemy with high damage and a hefty health pool protected by a moderate amount of armor. He occupies a 3x1 tile area, 3 tiles wide and 1 tile deep. You can stand behind him.

However, this boss can be defeated comfortably around the time that you unlock him thanks to a weakness that lies within his moveset.

Boss Moveset

The Ancient Troll has access to 5 active skills which it will use in different circumstances.

Claw Swipe

Claw Swipe is the Ancient Troll's default melee attack. Hits very hard, with half of the damage penetrating armor. Avoid at all costs.

Used only when the player is adjacent to the troll, and Shockwave is on cooldown.

Shockwave

Shockwave is a large AoE attack, which is split across 2 turns. The first turn is the windup, when the game marks the affected tiles with dark cracks. On the second turn, damage is dealt based on your proximity to the troll. The AoE can have a different shape, depending on your exact positioning.

The Ancient Troll uses Shockwave any time that it is off cooldown and the player is in range. The Troll prioritizes Shockwave over Claw Swipe when you are adjacent to him.

Rock Toss

Rock Toss is a dangerous long-range 3x3 AoE, which deals more damage with every tile of distance separating the Troll from the player. The 3x3 area is usually centred on the character, making Dash​ or some other type of Charge necessary to avoid it. The Troll can also "miss", such that the area is not centred on the character, allowing you to safely step out of the way,

The Ancient Troll will only use the Rock Toss if the distance between the player and the troll is 2 or more tiles. The Troll must see the player character to use Rock Toss.

Deafening Roar

Deafening Roar is an AoE attack which deals damage to your head, while also having a chance to cause Stun, Daze, or cause you to drop your weapon. Fortitude helps you resist dropping your weapon and reduces the duration of Stun and Daze.

The Ancient Troll only uses Deafening Roar if the distance between the player and the Troll is 2 or more tiles. 

Troll Regeneration

Troll Regeneration is a multi-turn effect, similar to Shockwave, during which the Ancient Troll regenerates health and cannot perform other actions. Dealing Damage with a melee attack interrupts the healing and ends the effect prematurely.

The Troll will only use Troll Regeneration if his health is below 60% and the player is not adjacent to him.

Indomitable

Passive effect which allows the Troll to use skills even when Dazed, and prevents those skills from being put on cooldown by skills like Sudden Lunge​.

Boss Behaviour - IMPORTANT

If you read nothing else in this guide, know that the Ancient Troll does not attack you when you step away from him.

The Ancient Troll will choose skills based on your position relative to him. If none of the skills have their conditions met, the Troll will instead approach the player character. This way, the Ancient Troll will follow the player around the arena.

However, if you get too close to the arena entrance, the Troll will attempt to return to the tower while passively regenerating health. During this time, if the Troll receives damage, he will once again become aggressive and resume his normal behaviour.

Fight Strategy - SPOILERS

This section will show and explain the most consistent strategy to kill the Ancient Troll. Since the fight is meant to be a puzzle, this section explains the solution. If you want to try to solve the fight yourself, I encourage you to stop here and return if you run into trouble.

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Fighting the Ancient Troll in close combat is by far the safest and most consistent approach. This may seem strange, as he deals high damage with his Claw Strike, but I will explain what I mean.

Deafening Roar and Rock Toss are by far the Troll's most dangerous moves, as they introduce a lot of variance into the fight, which can be hard to play around and may lead to unavoidable damage. However, the Ancient Troll will never use either of these moves if you remain no more than 1 tile away from the troll at all times. 

At the same time, since the Troll does not take attacks of opportunity against the player, you can always walk away from the Troll to avoid being hit by Claw Strike. This makes Shockwave the only threat, which can always be avoided with the correct positioning. At the same time, since Shockwave is always prioritized over Claw Strike, the turn when Shockwave is off cooldown becomes the Troll's main weakness, as it becomes a safe window to attack him.

This enables you to slowly back away from the Troll, delivering a strike every third turn, while dodging the Shockwave. This is known as the Troll Dance. You never want to take a hit from Claw Strike, as it is essentially a punishment for getting the Dance wrong.

Preparation

There are 3 key ways in which you can prepare for this fight:

1. Tier 3 Melee Weapon
2. Smoke bomb
3. 1 splint, 1 healing salve and 1 bandage for each mistake you will make

This fight is partly a damage check, as you need to out-damage the healing that Ancient Troll receives from Troll Regeneration. This is possible to do with a tier 2 weapon, but upgrading to Tier 3 can cut the time of the fight in half, thereby reducing the opportunities for the player to make mistakes.

Throwing a smoke bomb at the start of the fight guarantees safety from the initial Rock Toss. More on that in the next section.

Every major mistake you make will result in you being hit by another Rock Toss or Claw Strike. On average, either one will cost you a splint, 1-2 healing salve charges, and maybe a bandage charge. Bring an amount of medicine proportional to your confidence in your own ability. 

Naturally, it is important to eat and drink before the fight, so you do not waste time during combat.

Evading the Initial Rock Toss

The fight will always start with the Ancient Troll using Rock Toss.

The safest course of action is to bring a Smoke bomb as soon as the fight begins. The Troll can only use Rock Toss if he can see you. By throwing the smoke bomb directly in front of the Troll, you can prevent him from using Rock Toss, allowing you to close the gap safely. 

The AoE is placed randomly and may be evaded by taking a step away or toward the Troll. If the AoE is centred on you, the only way to avoid it is with Dash​, or Distracting Shot​, if you have it. 

This first Rock Toss should be survivable for all characters, but the attack deals less damage the closer that you are to the Troll.

Maintaining Troll Aggro

The most challenging part of the strategy is knowing what to do when you reach the end of the arena. As mentioned previously, if you move too close to the entrance, the Troll will lose aggro and return to the tower, while healing in the process. This is to be avoided. The best way to do that is to navigate around the Troll and start kiting him in the opposite direction, back toward the tower.

First, get the Troll to use Shockwave while you are standing to one side of him. The Shockwave AoE will assume the shape of a 3x3 square. At that moment, you can evade the AoE by stepping past the Troll, ending up directly at his side.

Next, you need to get out of melee to not get hit by Claw Strike, so step diagonally away from the Troll, continuing to move behind him. 

Lastly, take one more diagonal step in the opposite direction, once again toward the tower. 

This sequence should reset the rhythm of the fight, allowing you to kite the Troll back toward the tower. Once you get close to the tower, you can repeat this process in reverse to continue kiting the Troll back toward the entrance. 

Troll Regeneration

Troll regeneration dictates the pace of the fight and is another reason why killing the Ancient Troll in melee is much easier than from range. This effect can be interrupted by dealing damage with a melee attack, so getting close to the Troll is a priority. This can be facilitated by a charge skill like Dash​ or Mutilating Lunge​, but can also be achieved with a melee attack skill with 2 tiles of range, like Hooking Chop​ or Nail Down​.

Be careful when using a Charge Attack skill like Mutilating Lunge​ to interrupt the regeneration, as that can result in you being hit with Claw Strike, as is shown in the video at 4:27.

Gameplay Footage

This written guide is accompanied by video footage:

Conclusion

The Ancient Troll is a puzzle-fight, which can be comfortably overcome as soon as you unlock it by using the right strategy. The best way to deal with the Ancient Troll is by fighting him in melee, as the Ancient Troll does not take attacks of opportunity against the player and is vulnerable every time Shockwave is off cooldown. To prepare for the fight, make sure to have a tier 4 melee weapon, a smoke bomb to prevent the initial Rock Toss, and enough medicine to recover from a sufficient number of mistakes.