With Frey having regained her powers and learned the truth about why her mother sent her to New York City, it's time to take the fight to Susurrus, who is hell-bent on destroying the city of Cipal once and for all. As a result, Chapter 12 of Forspoken is pretty much all action and will really put players' combat skills to the test.
When all's said and done, completing Chapter 12 should take players around 40 minutes, though at least ten minutes of this time will be made up of cutscenes and credits. Susurrus can be a tricky boss fight though, particularly when playing on harder difficulty settings, so players may want to set aside a little longer just in case.
The Reckoning
When players first regain control of Frey, they'll find themselves in the lower city, where they'll need to take on several waves of powerful enemies. Before doing so, they'll probably want to stop off at the crafting table in Finders Keepers to stock up on Healing Draughts or upgrade some of Frey's equipment. Whenever they're ready to proceed, they should head for the quest marker and the city square.
Prav's magic can be used to deal with the first wave of enemies, after which, players should switch to Frey's magic to take care of all of the birds. After a while, an Altered Goliath will appear together with a pack of Canis Dirus. Though Olas' magic is best against these foes, players may be better off using Sila's magic if they haven't had a chance to unlock or upgrade that many of Olas' skills.
The Calm Before the Storm
Once the Altered Goliath falls, players will be automatically transported to the Archives, where many of Cipal's surviving population are holed up. If players are short of Healing Draughts, they can get a few more by speaking with the Councillors. Now's a good time to make any other last-minute preparations too, as, immediately after leaving the archives, the final battle in Forspoken will begin.
How To Defeat Susurrus: Murmuration
The first phase of the Susurrus fight sees players riding on the back of Cinta, who now takes the form of a giant fire-breathing dragon. If they hold the right trigger, players can have her breath fire and should use this to damage Susurrus while also picking off any of the golden birds that he sends Frey's way. Each wave is indicated by a large red X appearing on the screen, making it fairly easy to plan ahead.
Unfortunately, each breath of fire only lasts for a certain amount of time, so players should try and sync their usage up with the waves of birds as best they can. Worst case scenario, they can always pop a few Healing Draughts if needed, though these are best saved for the battles to come. Once Susurrus' health bar has been completely depleted, players will need to hold down both the left and right triggers to bring an end to the phase.
How To Defeat Susurrus: Revenge Incarnate
The second phase of the Susurrus fight is quite a bit trickier than the first, though players do unlock a useful new skill that can come in handy when dodging attacks. Pushing in the two analog sticks in allows Frey to use the Skip ability, which makes her temporarily invulnerable to damage and allows her to zoom around the map. It will come in useful at several points throughout the fight, though players should keep an eye on their stamina while using it.
For the most part, all of Susurrus' attacks during this phase can be dodged using Flow, though there will be points where three copies of him appear above the archives and prepare to blast Frey with golden lasers. Whenever this happens, players should use their recently acquired Skip ability, or use some of the nearby structures for cover. In terms of attack, players should use Frey's magic and go to town. Every now and again, he'll spawn in a wave of enemies, but in Frey's awakened state, these can be taken out in just one or two hits.
How To Defeat Susurrus: True Form
Once his second health bar has been depleted, Susurrus will confront Frey in his final form. Throughout the first part of the phase, he'll switch between four different combat styles, each based on one of the four Tantas. Players should pay close attention to the colors surrounding his torso, as this will tell them which style he is using and which magic set players should counter with. Purple is Frey's magic, red is Sila's, blue is Prav's, and Green is Olas'.
Unlike a lot of the other bosses in Forspoken, Susurrus moves around the battle area a lot during this phase, making it very difficult to remain properly locked onto him when using Flow to dodge. As a result, this is arguably as much a battle against the camera as it is a fight against Susurrus. Still, with enough time and a little bit of luck, players should be able to get the hang of things.
At half health, a short cutscene will play out and Susurrus will gain access to a few new attacks. Players should continue to dodge liberally using Flow and counter using Frey's magic whenever a window of opportunity presents itself. He does have one pretty nasty attack that sees him summon a flock of Golden Birds, but players can avoid this pretty easily using Skip providing they time it right.
When players eventually whittle his health bar down to zero, Susurrus will use his final attack, which Frey will somehow be able to withstand with a little help from the Tantas. Once this happens, all players need to do is hold down the two triggers again as they did at the end of the first phase. This will lead to Susuruss being defeated and the fight coming to an end.
After a few more cutscenes, the credits will roll and players will get a chance to save the game. Frey's story is not quite over yet though, as there's technically still one final chapter for players to look forward to. Chapter 13 is more of a free-roam Epilogue than anything else, though there are a few new Detours available for players in Cipal, one of which allows Frey to rechallenge some of the game's main bosses.
Forspoken is available now on PS5 and PC.