Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault takes you through different realms in each world, and Kalina has its own Day and Night runs. After making your way through the Night Realm, you will eventually face Thalaam the Forgotten Ruler.
Thalaam is the boss waiting at the end of Kalina’s Night Realm, and while his fight is different from The Herald, he can still be challenging because his attacks become increasingly dangerous as the battle progresses.
In this post, we will show you how to defeat Thalaam the Forgotten Ruler in Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault. We will go through everything you need to know before the fight, explain all three phases, show you how his shield mechanics work, and cover the rewards you receive after defeating him.
How to Defeat Thalaam in Moonlighter 2 The Endless Vault
Thalaam has a different fighting style compared to The Herald, but the overall battle still includes three phases and shield sequences that you need to break.
Before entering the fight, bring the weapon you are most comfortable using. You will have plenty of openings to attack Thalaam, so using a weapon you know well will help you take advantage of them.
We also recommend visiting Eris and upgrading your maximum health and maximum number of potions before challenging him.
The later phases can become much more aggressive, and having extra health and healing available gives you more room for mistakes.
Phase 1
Unlike some other bosses, Thalaam starts the fight without a shield.
This means you can immediately begin damaging him. Your main goal during the opening phase is to learn his attacks, dodge them properly, and take advantage of the openings he gives you.
Charging Attack
One of Thalaam’s most common attacks is a straightforward charge.
He will rush toward you in a straight line and can repeat the attack multiple times. Fortunately, there is a brief delay between each dash.
This makes the attack fairly easy to dodge.
Once you avoid the charge, you can use the opening to shoot him with your gun from a safe distance. When his attack sequence ends, move closer, land a few hits, and then pull back before he starts another attack.
Try not to stay next to him for too long. A few safe hits are better than getting greedy and losing health.
Jumping Ground Slam
Thalaam can also jump into the air and slam down onto the ground.
He performs several slams during this attack sequence, so the safest strategy is to wait for him to finish before moving in.
Once the final slam is over, you will have a short opening to attack.
You can technically try to land hits between each slam, but this is risky. Unless you are extremely confident with the timing, I recommend waiting until the entire attack finishes.
There is no reason to sacrifice health for one or two extra hits this early in the fight.
Charged AoE Attack
At some point, Thalaam will sit on the ground and begin charging a large area-of-effect attack.
You will see a red circle appear around him. At first, the circle looks faint, but it gradually becomes deeper and more vivid as the attack gets closer to activating.
How you deal with this attack depends on where you are standing.
If you are already close to Thalaam when he starts charging, you can continue attacking him and then dodge away at the last possible moment.
This gives you an opportunity to deal some extra damage before escaping the AoE.
If you are far away, though, do not rush toward him. Simply get outside the red circle and wait for the attack to finish.
The First Shield Sequence
After you remove the first third of Thalaam’s health, he retreats to the center of the arena and begins charging himself.
He gains a purple shield with four segments, and you need to destroy all of them before the regular fight continues.
During this sequence, Thalaam uses two main attacks.
The first involves repeatedly slamming the ground and sending a circular fire shockwave across the arena.
You can simply dodge through or away from the shockwave to avoid it.
The second attack sends fire projectiles around the arena. Their landing positions are marked with red circles on the ground, so keep watching where you stand and move out of the marked areas.
While avoiding these attacks, pay close attention to the barrels that Thalaam drops.
Attack the barrels until you receive the prompt to use Rapture, your backpack attack.
Once the barrel is ready, stand behind it, aim toward Thalaam, and activate the backpack attack.
Each successful hit removes one segment from his shield.
You need to repeat this process four times to completely remove all four shield segments.
Once the shield is gone, Thalaam returns to the normal fight, but his attacks now become more dangerous.
Phase 2
During the second phase, most of Thalaam’s previous attacks return with additional effects.
The fight is still familiar, but you will need to be more careful about where you move.
Charging Leaves Fire Behind
Thalaam’s charge attack now leaves a trail of fire behind him for a short period.
You can still dodge the initial charge easily, but remember not to immediately move into the burning trail.
Give the fire a moment to disappear before moving through that area.
Slam Attack With Fire Projectiles
His jumping slam attack also becomes more dangerous.
Thalaam now throws multiple fire projectiles around the arena, covering much more space than before.
Instead of trying to attack him during this sequence, focus on finding a safe area.
Watch where the projectiles are landing and move toward the available gaps.
Once the attack ends, you can move back in and start dealing damage again.
Tracking Fire Laser
Thalaam gains a new attack during Phase 2: a fire laser beam that tracks Will.
The tracking speed is relatively slow, which makes the attack easier to avoid than it might initially appear.
Keep running and maintain your distance while the laser follows you.
Once the attack finishes, Thalaam has a short recovery period. This is a great opportunity to move in and land several attacks.
His charged AoE attack remains unchanged, so you can use the same strategy from Phase 1.
Continue avoiding his attacks and taking advantage of openings until you remove another third of his health.
Phase 3
After losing more health, Thalaam returns to the center of the arena for another shield sequence.
This time, however, he has only one shield segment, and the attack pattern is different.
Fireball and Shockwave
Thalaam sends out a slow-moving fireball, and its landing position is marked on the ground.
When the fireball lands, it creates a fire shockwave that spreads across the arena.
Watch the marked landing location and be ready for the shockwave.
When it reaches you, dodge to either side to avoid taking damage.
After the first one or two fireballs, Thalaam loses his shield and returns to his normal fighting patterns.
The Final Battle
Thalaam will now use the attacks from the earlier phases while the fireball and shockwave mechanic continues adding extra pressure.
You need to manage everything at once.
Dodge his charges, stay away from fire trails, avoid the projectiles, deal with the laser, and keep watching for the fireballs and their shockwaves.
The best approach here is to stay patient.
Take advantage of every safe opening, but do not get greedy. The final phase has enough attacks happening that trying to force extra damage can quickly cost you more health than it is worth.
Eventually, you will completely deplete Thalaam’s health bar.
However, the fight is not actually over yet.
The Final Shield
Just when it looks like you have defeated him, Thalaam gains his shield again.
This time, the shield has three segments.
Fortunately, the barrels that appear during this final sequence are already ready for your Rapture attack.
Simply move toward each barrel, use the backpack attack, and send it toward Thalaam.
You need to successfully hit him three times to remove all three shield segments.
Do not worry too much if you miss a shot. The barrels will continue dropping into the arena, giving you more opportunities.
Once you land all three successful hits, Thalaam’s shield will shatter completely, and you will finally defeat him.
The Reward
After successfully defeating Thalaam the Forgotten Ruler, you will receive two chests containing high-quality relics.
You will also obtain a new crafting material called Alabaster Candle.
Thalaam can be a long fight because of his multiple shield sequences and the surprise final phase, but once you learn when to attack and when to focus entirely on dodging, the battle becomes much easier to control.
The most important thing is to stay patient, avoid getting greedy during small openings, and make good use of Rapture whenever the shield mechanics appear.