Octopath Traveler 0: How to beat King Pardis III

Defeating King Pardis III and his evolving forms requires strategic preparation and adaptive tactics in Octopath Traveler 0’s final chapter

Understanding the Final Confrontation

As Octopath Traveler 0’s Master of All and the concluding antagonist of the Master of All Chapter 8 quest, King Pardis III embodies tyranny within the kingdom of Edoras. This despotic ruler has orchestrated widespread suffering across Orsterra, making his defeat essential for restoring peace. Having already overcome his guards and advisor Gonska, players face the culminating battle against the monarch himself.

Essential Preparation: The quest recommends level 32, but successful completion typically requires characters in the mid-30s to 40s range. This difficulty spike reflects Pardis’s position as the narrative’s climax. Before engaging him, thoroughly explore his castle to defeat all three elite officers; neglecting this allows him to summon them during your confrontation, dramatically increasing the fight’s complexity.

Phase One: King Pardis III Battle Mechanics

This initial form, while formidable, represents a tempered version of his earlier unbeatable encounter. His attack patterns demand careful attention to vulnerability rotations and status effect management.

• Vulnerabilities: Spear, Dagger, Staff, Ice Magic, Holy Magic (Swaps to Sword, Bow, Book, Fire Magic, Holy Magic)
• Attack: Single-target sword damage with potential 4-turn Dread infliction
• Flood of Despair: Applies SP Sap and No Switch to one party member for 2 turns
• Wild Infernal Blade: Fire damage distributed randomly across three targets
• Ring Emits an Eerie Light: Triggers vulnerability rotation
• Frightening Pressure: Front row damage combined with 3-turn Dread
• On Your Knees: Activates if he completes a boost uninterrupted, dealing front row physical damage plus Dread, Can’t Switch, Bleeding, and SP Sap for 4 turns

Strategic Insight: While Wild Infernal Blade’s random targeting presents unpredictability, the true threats are Frightening Pressure and especially On Your Knees. The latter triggers when you fail to break him after he begins charging (indicated by Ominous power flows forth from the ring). This devastating combination of status effects can cripple your party, making boost interruption paramount. Success here reveals his true identity: Pardis the Scholarking.

Phase Two: Pardis the Scholarking Tactical Evolution

This enhanced form introduces counter mechanics and more aggressive abilities, requiring adaptation from standard boss strategies.

• Vulnerabilities: Spear, Dagger, Staff, Ice Magic, Holy Magic (Spear, Bow, Tome, Fire Magic, Holy Magic)
• Attack: Single-character damage with possible 4-turn Dread
• Wild Infernal Blade: Fire damage to three random party members
• Threatening Pressure: Front row Speed Down and Dread for 4 turns
• Ring Emits an Eerie Light: Weakness rotation following break
• Flood of Despair: SP Sap and No Switch on one member for 2 turns
• Physical/Magical Counter Stance: Counters physical attacks with Frenzy of the Absolute (damage +3 Shield), swapping to Magic Counter Stance turn-end which counters magic with Lightning damage and 3-turn Paralysis
• Magical Power overflows: At ≤25% health, gains permanent Physical/Magical Attack Up
• Divine Blow: Reduces one character to 1 HP
• Unyielding Blade of Ruin: Single-target damage with 4-turn Bleeding
• On Your Knees: Same trigger and effects as previous phase

Advanced Tactics: Periodically, he adopts Repel Elemental or Physical Attacks stances, indicated beneath his vulnerabilities. Unlike mobile iterations with five vulnerability sets, this version features streamlined rotations. His counter mechanics punish predictable attack patterns—observe his stance before committing to physical or magical assaults. Divine Blow creates emergency healing situations, while Unyielding Blade of Ruin’s Bleeding effect demands prompt cleansing. This phase maintains the dangerous On Your Knees punishment mechanic.

Phase Three: Master of All Ultimate Challenge

The culmination of Pardis’s transformation presents the game’s most demanding encounter, now with Princess Alaune as guest support to balance the extreme difficulty.

• Vulnerabilities: Spear, Dagger, Staff, Ice Magic, Holy Magic (rotates through Sword/Bow/Tome/??/Holy Magic → Axe/Fan/Ice Magic/Wind Magic/Holy Magic → Spear/Bow/Fire Magic/Lightning Magic/Holy Magic)
• Crushing Death: Front row Shadow damage with 3-turn Dread
• UraaaAAARGHHH!: Physical damage to front row
• Crush: Single-target damage with 3-turn Dread
• Pulverize: Physical damage to three random members
• Rip and Tear: Single-target physical damage with Can’t Switch and SP Sap for 3 turns
• Ring Emits an Eerie Light: Changes vulnerabilities
• Ultimate Barrier of the Absolute: Counters non-weakness attacks with Chaos Vortex, inflicting Poison, Bleeding, Silence, Sleep, Paralysis, Dread, and Weakness for 3 turns on one target
• Divine Blow: Reduces character to 1 HP
• Divine Impact: If allowed to Boost uninterrupted, reduces front row HP to 1

Princess Alaune’s Support: She provides initial full HP/SP restoration and periodic front line healing/buffing. When Master of All nears defeat, a cutscene triggers where she fully restores party HP, SP, and BP. However, the boss gains 21 Shield points, creating a race against his Divine Impact charge. This phase demands constant vulnerability monitoring and status management.

Practical Execution Strategies and Common Pitfalls

Pre-Fight Preparation: Ensure your party includes reliable healing (preferably multi-target), status cleansing capabilities, and diverse damage types to address rotating vulnerabilities. Characters with shield-breaking efficiency prove invaluable across all phases.

Phase-Specific Approaches: During phase one, prioritize breaking Pardis when he begins boosting to prevent On Your Knees. In phase two, constantly monitor his counter stance—engage physically during magical stance and vice versa. For the final phase, strictly attack only vulnerabilities when Ultimate Barrier is active; use Almighty Soulstones if necessary. The barrier dissipates upon breaking him.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: 1) Attempting the fight under-leveled (below 35), 2) Ignoring castle officers who then join the battle, 3) Using non-weakness attacks against Ultimate Barrier, 4) Allowing boosted attacks to complete, 5) Neglecting status cleansing against Bleeding/Dread effects, 6) Failing to adapt to vulnerability rotations.

Advanced Optimization: Coordinate breaking to coincide with his boost warnings. Time your own boosts to maximize damage during broken states. Position characters strategically—those vulnerable to status effects might benefit from back row placement. Conserve high-damage abilities for when he’s broken and vulnerable.

No reproduction without permission：Tsp Game Club » Octopath Traveler 0: How to beat King Pardis III Defeating King Pardis III and his evolving forms requires strategic preparation and adaptive tactics in Octopath Traveler 0's final chapter