Is it possible to defeat The Lightreaper at the start of Lords of the Fallen?

Lords of the Fallen, in typical Souls-like fashion, can get quite challenging, especially pretty early in the game. Developed by CI Games and Hexworks, it takes a lot of inspiration from the likes of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and other FromSoftware titles when it comes to difficulty and enemy encounters.

And much like a traditional Souls-like experience, Lords of the Fallen doesn't shy away from pushing you headfirst into some really challenging boss fights, with the best examples being Pieta and even the Congregator. However, even before you meet those two early-game bosses, another very challenging encounter gets thrown your way - The Lightreaper.

Much like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's Genichiro Ashina or Demon's Souls' Demon Vanguard, Lords of the Fallen's The Lightreaper is a boss that is essentially a late-game encounter, who makes an appearance pretty early in the game. While you are supposed to die to it in order to progress the story, what if you manage to defeat it?

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Can you defeat The Lightreaper when you first encounter the boss in Lords of the Fallen?

The Lightreaper is a constant threat that looms on the Crusaders, even after defeating most of the chosen Lords of Adyr (Image via CI Games, Sportskeeda)

The Lightreaper is arguably the coolest and most initimidating enemy in Lords of the Fallen. I mean, he's introduced as a force that overpowers the Dark Crusader, ultimately beheading him. Although you do encounter the boss later in the game, as a proper finale to one of the most intriguing and engaging chapters of the story, you do get a chance to kill the demonic creature pretty early within the tutorial section.

Right after you exit the cave where the game teaches you the ropes of combat, realm traversal, puzzle solving, and general gameplay system, you face your first boss - Holy Bulwark Otto. Unsurprisingly, being the very first boss in the game, Otto is quite easy to deal with. It can be defeated with just a few charged heavy attacks and parries.

However, once you do defeat Holy Bulwark Otto, a short cutscene ensues that sees the arrival of The Lightreaper. And once it ends, you are pushed into the boss fight. Fortunately, you are supposed to lose in order to progress through the story. However, if you do play your cards right, you can actually defeat it.

And if you somehow do manage to defeat The Lightreaper at this very early point in the game, you will get a completely new cutscene that concludes the boss fight. You will also get all the rewards that you'd otherwise only obtain after defeating the boss later in the game. However, I cannot stress this enough, defeating The Lightreaper at this very early stage is nigh impossible.

The Lightreaper first appears right after the Holy Bulwark boss fight (Image via CI Games, Sportskeeda)

Not only will this require a good amount of practice, but also dexterity and proficiency with the game's combat systems. You will also need to be very patient and only attack when The Lightreaper gets off his infernal dragon mount. The best starting class to use against this boss is either Orian Preacher, Pyric Cultist, or Blackfeather Ranger, due to their ability to use ranged attacks.

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Lords of the Fallen is scheduled to be released on October 13, 2023, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC.