Metaphor: Refantazio – Strategies to Defeat Bandit Chief Cistus

The climactic month of Metaphor: Refantazio sets the stage for your ultimate confrontation with Louis. Preparation is key, and aside from a variety of strategies, players can engage in high-level bounties, one notably against Bandit Chief Cistus located within the Disgraced Ruins.

This specific bounty, titled Apostles of the Apocalypse, becomes available for recruitment starting from September 26 at the recruitment center. In addition, there are two other endgame bounties focused on hunting the fierce Kokamordos and Grudge’s Fang, Ordemos.

However, before facing Cistus and his bandit cohorts, players must navigate the Disgraced Ruins dungeon. While exploring for valuable items and treasures can become somewhat monotonous, this guide is designed to streamline your journey through the dungeon, providing effective strategies for defeating Bandit Chief Cistus, including an overview of his second, more challenging phase.

Navigating the Disgraced Ruins

To adequately prepare for the dungeon, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the enemy lineup you will encounter:

Enemy	Weakness	Resistances/Immunity
Hooded Bandit	Pierce, Strike	Resists Lightning, Wind, Dark
Bandit	Fire, Ice	Resists Slash, Pierce, Strike, Dark
Sword General Undead	Strike, Light	Resists Slash, Pierce, Dark Blocks Lightning
Spear General Undead
Bow General Undead
Trove Imitec	Light	Resists Dark
Bloodcoin Imitec	Light	Resists Dark
Dark Elementa	Light	Repels Dark

Fortunately, the majority of enemies you will face comprise either Bandits or familiar skeletal Malmorta warriors, along with the occasional Mimic, which you can identify using Gallica’s Fairy Vision.

the first floor in the disgraced dungeon ruins

As you traverse the dungeon, keep in mind that nearly each floor contains a side path leading to earlier levels, offering opportunities to uncover hidden treasure chests or activate wall levers.

Starting from the entrance on the first floor, your primary goal, Bandit Cistus, is located on the deepest floor. Immediately turn left to collect the Gold Beetle, as indicated on the map above.

the second floor in the disgraced dungeon ruins

A wall will temporarily obstruct access to two treasure chests. Instead, proceed right to the lower floor. Upon entering this lower level, the first left turn leads back to the previous floor, allowing you to unlock a wall shortcut.

After activating the wall lever, return to the lower level, making your way down to the third depth. Here, take another left to find a room with ladders. Ascend the ladder to go back to the first floor, where you can access the previously blocked treasure chests:

Tektite Monocle (Bloodcoin Imitec)
Pure White Shoes

the fourth floor in the disgraced dungeon ruins

Once you’ve secured the treasure, return to the ladder on the third floor and head down to the fourth floor. Here, take the first left to uncover two additional treasure chests:

Sancturion Gloves
Talisman of the Night (Bloodcoin Imitec)

If you haven’t noticed yet, many walls unlocked via the levers mainly serve as shortcuts to backtrack to the entrance. Whether to activate all these paths is entirely up to you.

The fifth floor serves as a transition to the next, but on the sixth floor, shown in the images below, look for a crawlspace containing a chest with the Sumptuous Magla Feast.

In the same hallway, climb the upward ladder leading to a hidden area on the fifth floor where two treasure chests await: one holds Shingen’s Sign and the other Bishamonten Sign, both valuable weapons for the Commander Archetype.

great sages thwab armor piece in metaphor refantazio

Once you’ve gathered your treasures, proceed directly to the lowest floor without further delays. Your last task before the boss battle is to enter the left room on this floor, where a treasure chest containing the Great Sage’s Thwab is guarded by two Bloodcoin Imitec.

Although you can backtrack to unlock upper floors, I recommend focusing your efforts on preparing for the boss fight against Bandit Chief Cistus.

Preparation and Party Setup

The upcoming boss battle involves two primary targets: Bandit Cistus and his Bandit allies, followed by a surprise encounter with his monstrous form, Homo Sandro. Below is a breakdown of their weaknesses:

Boss	Weakness	Resistances/Immunity
Bandit Chief Cistus	Light	Resists Dark
Homo Sandro	Strike	Repels Slash, Pierce, Lightning Resists Light

Now that we understand our foes, let’s outline the party setup recommended for this encounter, considering important Inherited skills along with their chosen Archetypes:

Party Members	Archetypes	Notes
Protagonist	Prince	The Radiance Skill effectively deals damage to both Cistus and his allies. Consider inheriting Void Wave from Soul Hacker for added versatility.
Hulkenberg	Dark Knight/Paladin	Key skills include Holy Knight’s Proclamation and Shield Formation to absorb damage and bolster defense against Homo Sandro.
Junah	Master Person	Equip the Cleric’s Mask for healing support. Aim to level past Rank 10 to access Dance of Purgelight.
Basilio	Trickster	Focus on debuffing and dealing burst damage to Homo Sandro. Inherit skills like Charge and Powerful Pulverizer from Berserker/Destroyer Archetype.

With your team set, let’s cover some important strategies for taking on both bosses:

Cycle Weaknesses Against Cistus: Engage in multi-hit attacks to dismantle Cistus and his allies. Defeating both Bandits will prompt Cistus to summon them back.
Utilize Dance of Purgelight: This Junah skill is instrumental against Homo Sandro, enabling exposure through the Protagonist’s Light skills.
Expand Strike Skills: If able, fill inherited skill slots on Hulkenberg and Junah with additional Strike skills for heightened impact against Homo Sandro.
Optional Members: For enhanced Strike damage, consider including Strohl with the Pugilist or Martial Artist Archetype.
Avoid Homo Sandro’s Heavy Attacks: Be vigilant of moves like Ceremonial Stomp and Slam Shatter, which can severely harm party members.

How to Defeat Bandit Chief Cistus and Homo Sandro

MC using Radiance skill on bandit chief cistus

Though both encounters can appear overwhelming, a focused strategy allows for a smooth battle against both Cistus and his companions.

Utilize multi-hit skills like Protagonist’s Radiance or Junah’s Crimson Flames to consistently exploit weaknesses among the trio of foes.

Prioritize Hulkenberg or Basilio’s skills against the Hooded Bandit, sidestepping the latter’s resistances. Also, apply the Vidyartha debuff on Bandit Chief Cistus to lower his power significantly.

If you take down the henchmen before Cistus can act, he will likely use his turn to summon them again, which—if you’re well-leveled—won’t cause significant trouble.

the homo sandro level in metaphor refantazio

The next stage requires tackling the formidable Homo Sandro, a transformation of Cistus.

For Homo Sandro, leverage Junah’s Dance of Purgelight or Dance of Verdure to create a one-time weakness, paving the way for the Protagonist’s Void Wave to inflict additional damage.

The Protagonist’s Royal Sword synthesis attack deals amplified damage to Human-type adversaries, making it particularly effective against Homo Sandro.

Maintain Shelter Formation with Hulkenberg to ensure continuous defensive boosts and prioritize the Vidyartha buff to maintain a tactical upper hand.

If a character sustains damage from a Ceremonial Stomp, remedy it with Dekunda to prevent turn losses from weakened attacks. Beyond that, maintain a defensive posture and heal as necessary, sealing your victory over this bounty.

Rewards

Upon successfully defeating Bandit Chief Cistus along with Homo Sandro, you will receive the following rewards, including aspects related to the bounty claimed at the recruitment center:

Boss	Rewards
Bandit Chief Cistus	4193 EXP
	708 Archetype EXP
	1451 MAG
	6250 Money
	Frostbite Axe
Homo Sandro	8100 EXP
	720 Archetype EXP
	3000 MAG
	223 Money
	Talisman of the Divine
	115,000 Money (or 172,500 if Catherina’s Bounty Bonus is active)
	Increased Courage (4 notches)