Chapter 5 of Forspoken sees players come up against their first real challenge, which arrives in the form of the terrifying Tanta Sila. This powerful warrior is significantly stronger than anyone or anything that Frey has encountered so far during her time in Athia, so bringing an end to her reign of tyranny is far from easy.
The good news is that after a couple of relatively long chapters, Might and Main can be completed in around 30 minutes. Even if Forspoken players decide to take some time to explore all of the side content in Pioneers' Plain on their way to Sila's castle, they shouldn't need too much more than one hour to do so.
The Calm After the Storm
With the Breakstorm that forced Frey into hiding now over, players will be free to explore Pioneers' Plain in peace. A lot of the key points of interest can be found high up on the rocky ledges in the center of the area, so players should be sure to exercise caution while traversing it. Tempting though it may be to use Flow to dash around at breakneck speeds, falling to the area below can waste an awful lot of time.
There are quite a few points of interest in Pioneers' Plain, including a couple of Monuments, an abandoned fort, and another Locked Labyrinth. However, players' first port of call should be the Pioneers' Plain Belfry, which can be found in the center of the area and serves as a fast-travel point. By unlocking this location, players can easily return there in the event that they fall down to ground level, which will save them an awful lot of time in the long run.
Whenever they're ready to move on with the main story, players should make their way toward the quest marker, which will lead them straight to the entrance of Praenost Castle Town. Once there, they'll find the gateway guarded by a group of Errant Knights, which players will need to defeat before they can make their way inside. Frey will then stop to check out the floor plan for the castle, after which, players should enter the Refuge to their left to unlock it as a fast-travel location.
Praenost Castle
Praenost Castle Town is swarming with enemies and also hides many chests. There's nothing critical in any of them, however, so players will probably just want to head straight for the castle rather than opening them all. In order to gain access, they should head toward the quest marker on the left side of the castle, following the derelict path and climbing up walls whenever needed.
Upon reaching the marker, the weather will take a turn for the worse, making it very difficult to see what's going on. There'll be a few enemies lurking in the fog here, but players can feel free to skip past them and head straight for the next quest marker. There, they'll find a Recreant Knight who's being flanked by a group of Errant Knights and will need to defeat Sila's minions in order to gain access to the castle. Doing so will also reward players with the Aftershock nail design.
Once inside, they'll find themselves in a large hallway. There's a chest containing some Healing Droughts at the top of the stairs for those who need them. Otherwise, players should enter the corridor containing a bunch of paintings. Frey will examine the first one automatically, leaving players to check out the other five paintings on their own. After doing so, they should head for the large wooden doors at the end of the hallway, through which Tanta Sila awaits.
How to Defeat Tanta Sila
The battle with Tanta Sila is broken up into three distinct phases, the first of which is a very basic one-on-one. During this phase, she'll hurl fireballs at Frey, but these can be easily dodged either by using parkour or hiding behind the large stone pillars. The best strategy here is to keep moving with Flow and avoid getting too close to Sila. Then, it's just a simple case of pelting her with spells as often as possible.
Once players have depleted around a third of Sila's health bar, she'll use her magic to turn the statues decorating the throneroom into more Errant Knights. She'll also start this phase with a huge fireball, so players should be ready to get behind a pillar the moment they regain control. The knights can be taken out fairly quickly with a well-timed piece of Surge Magic, after which, the strategy is effectively the same as it was in the previous phase.
Eventually, players will chip away enough of Sila's health to trigger her final phase, which comes when her health bar drops to around one-third. She'll be overcome by her anger when this happens, erupting into a blaze of fury that completely destroys the throne room. Her health bar will be completely refilled at this point and her attacks will become more deadly, but beating her is far from impossible.
The best way to do so is by keeping one's distance and then moving in close immediately after Sila uses one of her big attacks. This not only gives players a bit more time and space to react to her powerful fire-based spells but also allows them to make the most of the short cooldown window that follows each of her main ranged attacks. Support and Surge Magic can also be useful here, so players should be mindful of their own cooldowns as well.
Upon her defeat, Sila will vanish into a cloud of ash, leaving behind nothing but her magic cuff. When Frey picks it up, she'll absorb all of its powers, allowing players to use Sila's magic as well as a few of her other abilities. At this point, the chapter will come to an end and players will be prompted to save the game. After doing so, the sixth chapter of Forspoken, Damned If You Do..., will begin.
Forspoken is available now on PS5 and PC.