After you have completed all of the Act 2 quests, you can proceed to the final mission of NieR Replicant. This mission takes place in the Shadowlord’s Castle and features a series of boss fights and a quizzical riddle that you must solve to enter the castle.
In this guide, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive walkthrough of Shadowlord Castle in NieR Replicant. We’ll go over its exact location and password and provide some expert tips on how to clear all of its boss encounters.
Shadowlord’s Castle location and how to enter?
To get to Shadowlord’s Castle, speak to Popola to begin the final quest. The Castle is located near the Lost Shrine, where you get the first key. Enter the portal towards Shadowlord Castle where you will be greeted with a prominent Atrium structure in Nier Replicant. To proceed further, you must Interact with the birds at the birdbath.
Here, you’ll have to solve a series of riddles that act as a password to the Castle. There is a total of three dove questions and you’ll find the answers listed below:
| Questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| Why did humans disappear from the world? | Because of the Black Scrawl Disease |
| How can humans extend their lives? | By separating the body from the soul |
| What is the destination of souls? | They are placed in their corresponding shells |
Before entering the next room, break open the crate near the doves to acquire the Phoenix Sword weapon.
When you enter the next room, Devola and Popola will jump out of nowhere to stop you from going further. This will trigger a boss fight against them.
Devola & Popola Boss Fight (Part 1)
Both of them will use the powers of Grimoire Weiss to aid them in the fight. They can now teleport around the room and shoot magic orbs. Destroy the orbs or dodge them to be safe. When both are in a resting phase, go close to them and get a chain of melee attacks.
A glowing circle will appear on the floor when they are about to teleport. Use that circle to know where they will teleport to next.
Defeating the twins will give you the map to the Shadowlord Castle, and they will allow you to proceed in Nier Replicant.
Shade Wild Boar Boss Fight
Proceed to the next room to start the next boss fight. This time you will face many Shades morphed into each other to form a giant wild boar.
The Shade Wild boar can now regenerate multiple times with the ability to charge its attack and poison you. Dodge the charge attack and try to make it hit the wall to stun it.
Once it is stunned, land a couple of hits to replenish its health. Defeat it to unleash its next phase. It will now be protected with armor and can form a poisonous gas. Defeat it again to proceed to the next room.
Go forward through the staircase while removing debris from your way. You will face the Shade Wild boar but this time, it will get pierced by spears once its health reaches half.
The spears will be shot by the King of Facade, who will now come to help you fight. The Masked Warriors will trap them inside the room with the Shade Wild Boar so you can get rid of it and progress further.
Devola & Popola Boss Fight (part 2)
The next room will continue the boss fight with Devola and Popola. They will tell you the purpose of what they are doing and start another fight.
Use the same technique written before to defeat them. Devola will stand down this time, but Popola will keep fighting. Emil will then sacrifice himself to save you from the so that you can face the final boss.
This next room will be the final room of the game, where you will find Yonah and Shadowlord. You will now fight Grimoire Noir before you can face Shadowlord.
Grimoire Noir will fight the same way Grimore Rubrum fights. It has three major attacks which it uses in a series. It opens with a Charge and follows it with a Page Swarm or Barrier.
- Charge: The book will charge up and dash forward in a direction. This deals tremendous damage.
- Page Swarm: Noir will summon pages around itself that fly around and surround the immediate area. They can also shoot energy balls at you.
- Defensive Barrier: Noir will put up an energy shield, rendering it invulnerable for a time.
Aside from these attacks, it will just float around, giving you ample time to attack it. For the charge, dodge out of the way and then attack the boss from behind. There isn’t much to do with the barrier other than to wait it out. The page swarm is tricky because you can attack the pages but they can shoot energy balls at you. So you need to watch out for them while attacking the pages and then the Grimoire.
You will now face the final boss of Nier Replicant, Shadowlord.
Shadowlord Final Boss Fight
Shadowlord will go through three phases during the fight. Each phase will have different fighting styles and tactics.
Most of the time, Shadowlord shoots orb projectiles at you while flying in the air. Shoot or dodge the projectiles and stay clear of him once he is in the air.
Try to finish the attack gauges when you get close to him. Otherwise, stay as far away from him as you can. Use Dark Lance or magic to deal damage to him.
Yonah will wake up mid-fight, which will initiate a cutscene. After the cutscene, Grimoire Weiss will be too weak to produce any magic for you. So, the following fight sequence will have you play without the help of magic.
Your only choice to deal damage to him is to get close to him and attack him using your melee weapon. Keep dealing damage to him until he is defeated. You can learn more about the Final Boss fight in our Shadowlord Boss Fight guide.
Once the boss fight is over, you will get the first ending of Nier Replicant.
