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Elden Ring

How to Beat the Invader Anastasia Tarnished-Eater in Smoldering Church

By
Matt Chard

In Elden Ring, you’ll fight a large assortment of bosses, included Invaders that act much like Online Invaders. This page will detail where you can find and beat Anastasia Tarnished-Eater.

Anastasia starting the fight in a typical manner, aggression.

Anastasia Tarnished-Eater Location in Limgrave

Anastasia Tarnished-Eater is simple enough to locate in Limgrave, she’ll spawn in as you approach the Smoldering Church. The Smoldering Church can be found by following the path east from Summonwater Village.

Attacks

Other than your regular sword strikes, Anastasia can perform multiple attacks. Here is a list of the main ones to look out for.

Two Hand Slam

She’ll grab her blade with both hands and slam down at you. This can be blocked (for a large amount of stamina), or roll either forward or backwards through the attack. If you roll forwards, it’ll leave her open for an attack or two.

Frenzy Slash

Anastasia will frantically wave around her Butchering Knife in a state of frenzy. Keep your distance and use this time to heal or attack from ranged. She’ll do approximately nine slashes.

Jumping Slash

She’ll jump in the air and slam down in a slashing motion. This can easily be avoided through blocking, rolling either side, or rolling forwards. This attack will leave her open for an attack or two.

Slash Combo

Anastasia will do a two-hit combo. The first attack will be a swipe followed up with an overhead slash. Roll towards the swipe attack, then move or roll either side to avoid the overhead slash.

Spin Slash

Anastasia will do a singular spinning slash. Block or roll forward/backwards to avoid.

Circle Slash

Similar to the Spin Slash, she’ll perform one slash followed up with another spinning slash in a circular motion. Roll backwards or block to avoid the first attack, you may need to roll to avoid the follow up depending on what stamina you’ve left to block it.

Strategy

As with all Invader battles, there’s no distinct phases in these battles. To begin with, there will be a large distance between yourself and Anastasia so take the time to prepare. She is most vulnerable after doing her Two Hand Slam attack where you can get behind her and backstab for big damage. This can be tricky due to the attack tracking you, so don’t go behind until the attack has hit the ground. If you’re not feeling comfortable of backstabbing her, you can use this opportunity to get a couple of slashes on her from the front.

The main problem Anastasia poses is the amount of damage she does which is expected when fighting someone who uses a giant Butcher Knife. For this reason, wait for an opening and get one or at max two attacks before retreating/blocking. Like most invaders, she is extremely aggressive and won’t give you much time to heal, so if you need to heal, keep a lot of distance between you.

If you wait until she does her Frenzy Slash attack, you can throw your entire ranged arsenal at her. If you’re a pure melee spec, keep your distance until she finishes. The best time to attack her is when she does the Two Hand Slam or the jumping slash. Be patient and you’ll eventually bring her to her knees although that won’t be the last of her!

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Bandai Namco Entertainment
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS4, PS5, XB One, XB X|S
  • Guide Release
    24 February 2022
  • Last Updated
    9 December 2022
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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Welcome to our guide for Elden Ring - the critically acclaimed open world game by FromSoftware, Hidetaka Miyazaki & writer George R.R Martin. This guide is a work-in-progress and currently contains the following:

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