South of Midnight: Rougarou boss battle guide

Rougarou in South of Midnight is arguably one of the easier boss fights you will encounter. In Cajun folklore, a rougarou (or loup-garou) is a mythical creature — a shape-shifting werewolf that prowls the swamps and bayous of Louisiana. However, this version of the mythical creature looks like an owl or some other bird. You will have the pleasure (or displeasure) of facing it in Chapter 7: A Barman is Hard to Find.

If you think that once the battle ends, you'll leave empty-handed, well, think again. After defeating Rougarou, you'll get not one, but two achievements in South of Midnight (Owl Do You Do and An Owl for an Owl). That said, here is everything you need to know about Rougarou and how to defeat this boss in South of Midnight.

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How to defeat Rougarou in South of Midnight

Rougarou's quick to the air, given its size (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

The thing to remember about Rougarou is that this fight is in a closed area of sorts. You will not have the freedom to move about as you please, but rather be limited to an area of Rougarou's choosing for parts of the fight. Your moves will have to be calculated and precise. That said, if you are playing South of Midnight on higher difficulties, you may want to be extra cautious.

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Rougarou's Attack Patterns and Abilities

Rougarou's eye can pierce a mortal's soul (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Rougarou is predictable for the most part, and as such, you should exploit this pattern. Here is a list of the abilities that will be used against you during the fight:

• Jump Attack: Rougarou can close the gap by jumping up in the air and landing on top of you. Keep moving to render this ability useless.
• Wing Swipe: Rougarou will extend his wing outward to try and swipe you. This only occurs when you are in close range. Keep a distance to avoid this attack from triggering.
• Dive AOE: Rougarou can do what can only be described as a "backflip" and immediately dive onto the ground. A red circle will indicate the AOE. Move out of it to avoid taking damage.
• Fire Breath: If you maintain a distance from Rougarou, he will initiate a charged attack in a straight line. You can either dodge and get out of the way or take advantage of the time it takes to power up the attack and attack Rougarou instead.
• Wing Defense and Bash: If you attack Rougarou too often, the boss will use its wing to shield itself from the blows. During this period, your attacks will be rendered useless. It is best to move back and wait. If you don't move back and keep attacking, eventually, the Wing Defense phase will end with a Bash that will inflict damage.
• Charge Attack: Once inside the Tornado, Rougarou will use a Charge Attack. The room will go dark, and the boss will not be visible until it's ready to attack. Shortly before the ability is used, two eyes will appear from out of the darkness. This is your cue to start moving left or right. After an initial buildup, the attack will be launched. This happens five times during the Tornardo phase. Listen to the music to help with cues. A drum goes off shortly before the eyes appear out of the darkness.

That's about everything related to Rougarou's attack patterns and abilities in South of Midnight. Keeping these in mind, formulate your strategy to deal damage and rotate out of the fight to create some distance from time to time.

I would recommend that you attack in bursts to avoid taking damage from the Bash at the end of the Wing Defense. Keep moving to avoid getting pinned down. Look for cues and use them to hit and run.

Rougarou's not the friendliest bird in the bayou (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Furthermore, you'll need to sustain no damage at all if you want one of the aforementioned achievements. It's not a compulsion, but if you want to collect all of the achievements, take care while fighting this boss.

On a side note, if you'd like to up the ante, you could try out these performance mods in South of Midnight. I would highly recommend the mod that removed the HUD. It'll give you an absolute cinematic experience.

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In a nutshell, to defeat Rougarou in South of Midnight, listen to cues in the Tornado, avoid taking AOE damage, and keep moving during the fight. Don't keep engaging the boss as it can use the Bash to break your attacks.

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Read more South of Midnight articles here:

• Is South of Midnight Premium Edition worth buying?
• Is South of Midnight coming to Nintendo Switch?
• Is there a multiplayer mode in South of Midnight?