Zhamla Meer (Boss) (Second Encounter)

Overview

Zhamla Meer (AKA The Cataclysm) is the final boss of Secrets of Grindea. Unlocked by defeating Dad after acquiring all 3 Catalysts.

Story

If all three catalysts are in the Player's position, Grindea Herself will appear and take Brand. Four Bishops will appear, each taking one artifact. Grindea will take Braazlet from Marino. Bishop will say to "let the reaping begin" and all the artifacts will be slammed into the coffin before Grindea, all Bishops and Dad teleport out of the arena. Zhamla will emerge from the coffin and blame Bag (Pao Z'hi) for his downfall. The Zhamla Meer fight will now begin.

Attacks and Abilities

First Phase

Piercing Dash

Zhamla will move to the edge of the arena and prepare for this attack. He will then move swiftly across the arena in a horizontal slash. He will do this at least twice and it can be avoided by moving vertically or by perfect guarding. This attack can also be done with Shadow Clones.

Slash

Zhamla will ready his sword and then dash to the Player, slashing with his sword. This attack must be perfect guarded and the timing is extremely tight.

Exploding Balls

This attack is similar to the above but several balls will be launched toward the Player before Zhamla dashes and slashes. These balls will explode. Either move away as the attack is performed and then perfect guard or perfect guard and then Blink away from the explosion. Sometimes Zhalma will go behind the Player to slash, however he will travel slower and his movement can be seen as orange particles.

Slam

Zhamla will jump into the air and slamming down on the Player's position, indicated by a large shadow, summoning circles around the arena that will erupt and deal damage. The shadow can be run away from and the Player must stand between the circles in order to avoid taking damage. Zhamla will perform a Whirlslash after this, so be wary for when he looks up (as this is when the Whirlslash happens).

Ice Spikes

Zhamla will fly into the air and then slam onto the Player's position and send out Ice Spikes in the direction of travel. This is avoided by moving toward Zhamla, as counterintuitive as that is, as he will end up behind the Player. When Zhamla gets up he will perform a Whirlslash, so it is not recommended to attack if playing as melee.

Ice Nova

Zhamla will go to the middle of the arena and create an area of ice as well as fire out Ice Spikes in eight directions. This can also inflict the Chilled debuff.

Snowstorm

A snowstorm will sweep across either the top half or bottom half of the arena, dealing damage if the player is within it. It is indicated by that section of the arena being indicated in red.

Lightning Storm

Blue circles will appear randomly around the arena and will be quickly struck by lightning. This attack will happen several times in quick succession and can be avoided by avoiding the blue circles.

Lightning Blast

Circles of blue circles will area on the arena floor before being struck by lightning. These do not target any specific point on the arena and can be avoided by not standing on the blue area.

Lightning Waves

Lightning will strike the arena in a pair of double helix patterns going horizontally. The helix will appear jest before the strike and so must be avoided.

Earth Spikes

Earth Spikes will erupt from random points in the arena and deal damage if the Player is on top of them. They act as obstacles but can be destroyed.

Earth Fists

Zhamla will summon 3 earth firsts that will launch slabs into the air that will deal damage as well as red lasers in 8 directions. The location of the Fists is indicated by a red circle, as is the impact point of the slabs.

Firestorm

An Earth Fist will be summoned and Zhamla will stand still for the rest of this attack. He will indicate with lines the direction of the Firestorm and the Player must hide behind the Earth Fist to shield themselves. The Fist's emergence is telegraphed by the ground under the Player's feet rumbling and becoming dusty. Note that only one Fist will emerge compared the the three in the Earth Fists attack

Bullet hell

Zhamla's Bullet hells involve the following:

• Lasers, the same type as Dad's
• Red Laser Orbs Firing out in a circular pattern
• Seeking Projectiles
• Purple projectiles that will curve slightly as they travel

Note that Zhamla may stop firing lasers for a brief period of time before continuing, it is highly recommended to avoid going near him until he stops attacking entirely.

Braazlet

Upon reaching a certain amount of HP, Zhamla will teleport to the middle of the arena and charge up Braazlet, eventually using her power to heal himself to full HP. During the animation, the Player can damage Braazlet (to a maximum of half her HP). When her health reaches 0, she will fall off of Zhamla's wrist and Bag will catch her. Upon reaching the damage cap, use the spare time to buff up in order to deal as much damage as possible to Zhamla.

Phase 2

Immediately after the cutscene ends, Zhamla will perform his Slam attack, cause the edges of the arena to permanently be set on fire. The following changes will occur:

• Zhamla can cause the entire arena, bar a few spots, to fill with Exploding Balls (shielding is recommended as the safe spots are small in size and number)
• He gains an attack identical of that to the Echo's of Madness in Tai Ming, only it can be from all four cardinal points instead of the just from the sides
• The lightning attacks will put out the fire temporarily because it rains
• He gains a meteor attack where random points on the arena gain markers to signify impact points, leaving behind fires

Phase 3

At a certain HP threshold, Zhamla will go into the air, the season will change to winter and Phase 2 begins:

• Frosty Foe will appear, slamming down onto the ground and bouncing around the arena, ending by slamming through the floor and summoning both Ice Spikes in 8 directions and creating an Ice Nova on the floor as well as throwing several Orbs of Winter that will create Snow Fists
• Could will appear and fire off several laser beams at the same time (the same type as Zhamla's) before Frosty Foe reappears

Frosty Foe

• Frosty Foe is the main target, as defeating it will allow progression out of the Minion Phase
• Its attacks are:
  • A punch that can be shielded or a fist slam if the Player is too far away
  • A slam through the floor, creating an Ice Nova, Ice Spikes and snow fists
  • A charge that is similar to that of a Boar, with it being charged up by Frosty Foe scraping its foot on the ground and then charging in a straight line. Upon hitting the wall of the arena, it will bounce back and be stunned
  • Summoning several Orbs of Winter than create Snow Fists
  • Rolling into a ball and bouncing around the arena
  • Frenzy, where it glows red and attacks much faster

Cloud

• As Cloud moves randomly around the arena, it will fire a continuous laser beam underneath it
• It will occasionally fire off several laser beams
• It is invulnerable

Summoned Plants

• Plants will appear and shoot 3 projectiles at the Player
• Plant tentacles can also appear and deal damage

Bug Swarm

• A swarm of bugs, similar to a Bat Swarm or Raven Swarm from Sand Ravens, will appear and move across the arena

Snowstorms

• Mini snowstorms will form and are indicated by that area of the arena glowing red

Phase 4

Upon defeating Frosty Foe, the season will reset and the fight will continue, with Zhamla performing a Slam at the beginning and resummoning the fire. There are some changes compared to Phase 2:

• Zhamla can summon Frost Foe for a short time, who will perform a Slam and disappear
• Cloud can appear

Expert Mode

When the difficulty is set to Expert, Zhamla gains 2 abilities:

• If the layer attempts to use a Health Potion, Zhamla will stop his current attack, grab the potion and break it on the floor. The Player will not be able to use Health Potions for the rest of the fight
• If the Player uses Barrier, Zhamla will steal it, essentially preventing the Player from using it (though it can be used while he is doing the Bullet Hell attack or during Phase 3)
• He has 30% less HP

This means that Zhamla goes from a fight that can be tanked to one where every hit counts. It is significantly harder than any other Boss in Story Mode.

Defeat and Ending

Zhamla will rise into the air and return to normal form, scattering the artifacts. A Card will emerge from him and he will state that he knew the Human Card was real. Bag will appear and tell him that only monsters drop cards, shocking Zhamla at the realisation of what he has become. He dies. All the artifacts will disappear, with Braazlet being sucked out of Bag and The Crown reverting back into the Toy Crown that Zhamla was given by Tessen as a child in Tai Ming. Bag questions what type of creature Zhamla was and that the card can't possibly be a Human Card. The Card flies toward the Player, but is stolen by Grindea, shocking Bag. Bag questions what Zhalma's motive was and both him and the Player leave for Evergrind City.

In Evergrind City, a ceremony is held where Ivy congratulates the Player and presents them with a Perfect Guardian Chest. She then sentences Bag to 100 years in a sealed chest for helping Zhamla. After the Player stands in the Guard's way, Naniva/Spring and Marino object on behalf of Santa Fae and the Von Grindean household respectively. The Guard backs off and Quinton offers an idea: that if artifacts can corrupt humans, humans can corrupt artifacts. This means that Bag is pardoned as he was under the influence of Zhamla and has now become good thanks to his journey with the Player Bag will ask the Player why the Player stepped in on their behalf. Bag says they should go on more adventures.

After the credits roll, Grindea is seen lying down on a chair holding the Card. Bishop appears and comments on how it is the last Card she needed, asking why she hasn't added it to her collection. She laughs and Bishop says that Her wisdom is absolute. Some words appear and the Lost Soul Card is absorbed by Luke, reviving him. He says he thought he was a goner for sure and, with no Teleporter, quickly changes into his trunks and swims back to Evergrind City.

Strategies

• The guide to individual attacks are in the Attacks and Abilities section
• Most attacks can be sorted into those that can or cannot be guarded
• In general, the attacks that are guardable are those that are directional
  • If the Player talks to Mundi in Tai Ming while holding Shiidu, the Player can use it in the fight, allowing them to Shield throughout the Bullet Hell attack
• A lot of the attacks are circular, meaning they will behave similarly but with different timings
• The following video by TQ provides extra information and a visual guide (some information on this article is lifted from there): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=earQ9IG0U2o

Trivia

• As a collector, most of Zhamla's attacks are those that are on the Skill Tree
  • All other attacks are granted by the Artifacts
• The Toy Crown can actually be picked up