The Manticore in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the first proper boss fight you’ll face on the main path of the game. Forget about that weakling boar or pillar-wielding soldier – the Manticore means business. Best this mixed-up monster and you’ll unlock a valuable air dash ability. He may be large and look intimidating, but if you follow our Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Manticore boss fight guide below, you’ll learn the key tips and tricks required to make the lion look like a kitten.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Manticore boss fight key tips
© Ubisoft
The Manticore Boss Fight is a two-stage battle that can be deadly due to his high damage, but if you play sensibly and follow the advice below, you’ll be able to get through with barely a scratch.
Equip air damage or Athra-boosting amulets
The Manticore’s life bar takes a lot of chopping, but you can speed up its decline by equipping amulets which boost your damage in the air or your Athra when taking hits. Both are available to unlock before this point. The air damage amulet in particular is very useful here.
Dodge under him
The Manticore’s fastest attacks come out through swipes in front of him. You can keep dealing damage effectively by dodging under and behind him often. Just watch out for the tail swipe he’ll use if you stick around there. Many of his attacks are unblockable, so focus on dodging instead until you trigger his Reckless attack. Speaking of which…
Parry his Reckless charge
Every so often, the Manticore will emit a yellow glow and charge toward you with a Reckless Attack. Resist the urge to run or get out of his way. Instead, let him come to you – he’s not as fast as you think – and parry as he reaches you. It’s one of the easiest to parry attacks, so don’t be scared. You’ll deal a huge chunk of damage and also stun him, letting you follow up with a length aerial combo after.
© Ubisoft
Don’t forget your Athra surges
The Tier 1 Athra surges you’ll have access to at this point (Verethragna and Vayu’s Wave) deal huge chunks of damage to the Manticore and will make you invincible when activated. Make sure you use these before you reach maximum charge (two tiers) so that you’re constantly building up to another powerful attack.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Manticore moves
The Manticore is a large boss which deals high damage, but thankfully he only has a few moves at his disposal. Here are the key ones to be aware of and how to counter them.
Claw Swipe
© Ubisoft
If you stand up close, one of the Manticore’s basic attacks sees it raise a paw before swiping with a leap forwards. You can technically parry this hit, but it’s much safer to dodge through and under the Manticore before hitting it.
Tail Stab
© Ubisoft
The Manticore’s eye gleams red and its tail lifts up before stabbing at Sargon’s location.You can avoid this by sprinting left or right until the tail stabs down. Where the tail impacts, a pool of poison is left behind temporarily. Avoid running over it or standing on top or you’ll take constant damage. When you dodge the hit, attack the Manticore while it is vulnerable.
In phase two, the tail stab burrows underground before bursting out for a second hit after around one second. The poison pool appears at the point of the first hit. Keep moving left and right until the second hit, then attack the Manticore while it is recovering.
Ground Smash
© Ubisoft
If the Manticore leaps into the air (with a glowing red eye or not), start sprinting left or right. It will soon slam back down at Sargon’s position. So long as you’re sprinting, it won’t hit you and you can attack afterwards. Try to stay close after it lands, as rocks will fall from the sky either side of the Manticore.
Spine Spray
© Ubisoft
While at range, the Manticore will sometimes fire a wave of spines out from its tail. It’ll fire four in the first phase or eight in the second phase. The easiest way to dodge them is to run or dodge backwards where you’ll have more room to stand in the gaps between them.
Reckless Charge
© Ubisoft
Very infrequently, the Manticore’s eye will glow yellow and it’ll charge directly towards you. Let it come and parry at the last moment for a high-damage Vengeful Counter. It’ll be stunned briefly afterwards, letting you get stuck in with some extra damage.
Orb Summon (Phase Two)
© Ubisoft
In phase two, the Manticore will start by summoning a sinister purple orb. This will try to move over you before attacking directly down with a lightning bolt. Trigger the attack, then move left or right to avoid it. Crucially, the orb can be destroyed. Either fire arrows/chakram at it, or jump and strike it in the air. Make this your priority to destroy the orb as quickly as possible.
That’s all the advice we have in our Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Manticore boss fight guide. But you can get more advice for the early game in our beginner’s tips and tricks guide here!
