At the top of the wall you’ll find Rued, alongside a Rabid Wolf. You’ll want to kill this wolf first to make evading incoming attacks much easier. Be sure to lock onto the wolf if you find the mechanic useful, then bring it down with a series of light and heavy attacks. It doesn’t have anywhere near as much health as Rued, so it shouldn’t take long before it’s dead. If you’re having any trouble with the wolf, you’ll find a weak point on its side which you can exploit to weaken its defences. You can also use the fires nearby to light your arrows, inflicting greater damage on a single hit and causing some damage over time.
(1 of 4) Climb the wall to reach Rued and begin the boss fight.
When the wolf is dead, Rued will light his sword on fire. Any hit you sustain from him will now set you on fire, so you’ll need to perform a dodge or roll to extinguish the fire as soon as possible. You’ll find his weak point on his left foot, so be sure to aim for this (especially with fire arrows) to weaken his defences and leave him vulnerable to stun attacks. If you’re anywhere near Rued when he misses his initial sword attack, he’ll immediately follow it up with a second. To avoid this, it’s best to perform a roll rather than a dodge, or quickly follow a dodge with a series of swift light attacks. You can also retaliate with a heavy attack at this point, but you’ll have much less time to do so unless you have the Brush With Death skill, providing you with some breathing space as time slows after a successful dodge.
Once you begin to take Rued’s health down beyond the first quarter of the bar, he’ll begin to heal himself if you leave him alone for too long. This is signalled by a white aura of runes encircling him (see above), so whenever you see this be sure to interrupt him as soon as possible. You’ll also have to contend with Rued throwing some flaming projectiles at you from time to time. These can be returned to him if you time it correctly with the Missile Reversal skill, but if you don’t have that or aren’t too confident with the timing, a simple dodge or roll will suffice. When you bring Rued down to a quarter of his health, a brief cutscene will initiate, but this won’t last more than a few seconds. The fight will proceed in much the same way as it has so far, so keep it up and Rued will soon fall.
Decide Rued’s Fate¶
The choice of killing Rued or sparring him to be put on trial by Oswald (and in his view, God), may turn out to be more difficult than anticipated. To spare him will please Oswald and provide a potentially more satisfying end to the story arc, while killing him will please not only the vision of Odin, but also Finnr. To see the outcome of each choice, see the spoilers below.
If you choose to kill Rued, you are guaranteed to recruit Finnr to your longship crew, but Oswald won’t be pleased. In truth, this has no real impact on the broader story, but it does mean that you won’t be able to see Oswald kill Rued later, or have the chance to finish him off yourself later. Note that you will still be able to recruit Finnr if you choose to fight Rued later.
If you allow Rued to live, to be put on trial by Oswald and his God, this will lead to a satisfying end in the next quest, during which Oswald eventually fights Rued. If this transpires, Finnr will pledge himself to Oswald. If you choose to kill Rued later instead of Oswald, Finnr will join your crew and Oswald will accept Rued’s death at your hands.
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