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Metaphor ReFantazio’s turn-based JRPG combat leans far closer to Shin Megami Tensei than Persona, which means the game is not afraid to destroy you and make you feel weak. The game having no consequences for death similar to Shin Megami Tensei IV allows for an experience where players are encouraged to fail and pick themselves back up again. One key example of this is the boss fight encounter against Heismay before the second dungeon in the game. This boss fight has a hard-to-figure-out gimmick that has caused joyful frustration in the player base. If you are having difficulty beating this boss, here is a guide for how to defeat Heismay in Metaphor ReFantazio.
How to Defeat Heismay in Metaphor: ReFantazio
Before even walking into the boss fight, it’d be wise to look over your party and make sure you have a lineup that won’t get immediately destroyed. Heismay primarily uses AoE slash attacks, so it’s recommended that you don’t challenge him with any Archetypes that are weak to those such as the Gunner class.
As soon as the battle begins, Heismay will use his shadow clone technique to create four duplicates of himself. While these clones are in play, his press turn count will increase to five. Allowing him to utterly decimate your party very quickly.
In order to get rid of all of these shadow clones, you’ll need to attack the real Heismay. Be warned though: If you attack any of the clones by mistake, your turn will end immediately with no damage done! Don’t even think about using AoE attacks either as Heismay is immune to them.
While it may appear that the gimmick of the battle is simply to guess and pray you attack the real Heismay, the key to this battle is actually a visual clue many players have trouble spotting: The real Heismay has a visible shadow! Any time he uses the shadow clone technique, target the one with a shadow and then spend the rest of the turn whittling down his health.
The first few times you destroy his clones, Heismay will waste part of his turn regenerating them. This will only last a few turns, however, as eventually he’ll realize you’re wise to his trick and stop summoning clones, turning the encounter into a normal boss fight. By the time that happens though, he’ll likely be low enough on health for you to destroy him.
Once Heismay has been defeated, you’ll obtain the Sandslick gloves weapon for the Brawler Archetype and more importantly be able to progress the plot.
