Valor Mortis is a first-person action soulslike from the creators of Ghostrunner. You will rise from death as a former soldier of Napoleon’s army. Wield supernatural powers, battle horrifying monsters, and unravel a conspiracy that threatens all of humanity.
Valor Mortis releases on 13 October 2026 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series. It is also available day one on Xbox Game Pass.
Check out our Valor Mortis Review to get our full thoughts on the game.
Defeat General Lothaire, the Eagle-Bearer Boss Guide
General Lothaire is the first boss you will encounter in Valor Mortis. You will actually face him twice, though the first time is likely the classic Souls ‘tester’ boss where you’re expected to die as part of the story.
Taking on the General
You can watch a video guide below from our YouTube channel, or read on for a text guide.
Once you face him properly, it will be at the end of the Valley of Ashes area. Thankfully, there is a Lantern right outside the boss arena so you won’t have far to go if you (when) you die.
General Lothaire has a variety of ranged and melee attacks. He has three guns on his shoulder. These fire on at a time, but all three will fire, or they all fire at once (usually when you’re closer). He’ll usually stand up, and the guns will move; you will get a split second to dodge after you hear the gunfire.
The boss can jump large gaps with an unblockable attack (watch for the red glow), it’s wise to give a bit of distance, as he usually lands with some splash damage. Though this is then a good opportunity to strike.
Parrying is your best strategy against the General. A successful parry does a large amount of posture damage. Fill that bar, and you’ll get to do a critical strike (he’ll collapse and you can strike at his front), doing loads of damage. He’ll also have some notable weak points to shoot, which also do posture damage.
His main weapons are a flag pole and a shorter sword. He attacks with both; his flag pole tends to be slower and easier to parry. It’s got a long reach, but he telegraphs those moves fairly clearly. The sword attacks are a bit quicker and a bit harder to notice.
Phase Two
Wipe out his health bar, and you’ll trigger his second phase (yes, even the first boss has a second phase here!). He loses his sword, and it gets replaced with an organic claw arm. He will still attack with the flag pole, as well as the claw. The claw (*ooooooooooooooooo) has some new attacks, as well as some more unblockable ones.
He uses the claw to slam into the ground, creating shockwaves that need to be jumped over to dodge. He will also use it to summon spikes out of the ground that need to be dodged.
The General will summon some enemies, both melee and ranged, made out of blood; they can be taken out with one hit, or with your fire transmutation. They also disappear after a short while.
Again, be sure to keep parrying when you can. If you have items, such as grenades, I would recommend using them here, particularly in the second half of the second phase, just in case you’re running low on Ferrofluid.
Don’t forget to check which Ambers you have equipped. I had the one which improved the time for successfully parrying, an absolute godsend!
Once you beat him, you will unlock the “Torn Banner” achievement/trophy and gain access to the Abandoned Church.
Are you enjoying Valor Mortis? Are you going for the mythic achievement or platinum trophy? Let us know in the comments below, and join the Gamer Social Club Discord to chat about your favourite games, play in community game nights, take part in giveaways, and more!
We hope you found this guide useful. We’ve got even more to help you in your quest.
Valor Mortis Guides
Boss Guides
- The Iron Marshall (“Ultimaa Ratio Regum” achievement / trophy)
Side Quest Guides
- “An Unheard Farewell” Side Quest (“Aggressive Reconnaissance” achievement / trophy)
- “The Deserter” Side Quest (“Hand in the Jar” achievement / trophy)
- “The Curious Case of Seamus Diggory” Side Quest (“Blood and Wine” achievement / trophy)
