Hollow Victory¶

After exiting the Outer Keep, you’ll be at the most south-west corner of the Skyhold. Follow the short path to the end to reach the Gaols where Pope Agnes is being kept prisoner. Inside, approach the window to trigger a cutscene. The Pope isn’t here, but another terrifying asterisk holder is!

Boss: Revenant Grace¶

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Whew, this ghostly kid sure is talkative; the more important thing is that he has the might to back up his words. Fought using conventional tactics, this battle is quite possibly the most annoying battle in the entire game. You’ll see why…

Every now and then, Revenant will use Possession to transfer his HP and MP to another character and take control of their actions. At the start, he will possess his allies only, but as the battle progresses he will start to possess your characters.

As you can imagine, having your characters be possessed is super annoying. Fortunately, you can boot out Revenant by inflicting more than 0 damage to the possessed character.

Revenant’s allies are a tricky bunch too. The Guardshield uses Phalanx to counter single-target physical hits for his allies, the Guardstave casts Stop or Thundaga and the Guardsblade uses Trample to deal more damage when he has more HP.

Of the three, the Guardstave is the biggest threat, because of Stop. If you have the Time Mage job, give your key party members Stop Immunity. Alternatively, you can cast Magic Mirror Blast to reflect Stop and Thundaga. Just remember to stock up on healing items.

Even if you KO the imperials, Revenant will eventually summon more, so you may wish to leave one of them alive. Preferably the Guardstave if you have Magic Mirror or Stop Immunity. Otherwise, spare the Guardsblade.

Despite this being a potentially frustrating battle, there’s a simple way to cheese it. First, you’ll need at least one character in the Exorcist job. You could also set Exorcist as their secondary job, but you should equip the Undo Trois support ability for a safety net.

Next, bide your time until Revenant posssesses one of his allies. When this happens, immediately boot him out. If the Guardshield is still alive and Revenant has possessed the Guardsblade or Guardstave, use magic or a group-based attack. Finally, for the clever bit…

When Revenant posssesses a character, the HP of his own body will drop to zero , similar to the ghost state. Once Revenant is back in his body, you can use Undo HP to revert his HP to its value during the turn he was possessing a character, which was zero, effectively KOing him!

Plan B¶

Oh no, the Pope literally is in another castle this time. Exit the Gaols back to the Outer Keep. If you need to, speak with the Adventurer again to rest up and restock on items. Afterwards, head for the exit to the right of the north-west stairs.

You’ll emerge on the west side of the Skyhold exterior. Continue following the perimeter path clockwise, through the next cannon house. Finally, enter the giant fortress towards the north.