Out of all the different bosses that you encounter in Octopath Traveler, Managarmr will is probably one of the hardest ones to beat. Managarmr is a huge white wolf with an insane amount of HP and attack variations.
You will encounter this mighty beast in the Forest of Purgation while playing through the “Scaredy Sheep” side quest given to you by the Carefree Shepherd. He informs you that a monster terrorizes his sheep and asks for your help, and you eventually realize that the Managarmr is the culprit behind these attacks.
Remember to inquire about the Trembling Merchant in this quest, as the Managarmr won’t spawn otherwise. Also, remember to save at the save point right as you enter the Forest of Purgation – just in case you aren’t lucky in the fight.
You cannot just jump into battle right away. You first need to know the Octopath Traveler Managarmr weaknesses, strengths, special attacks, and more.
How to defeat Managarmr in Octopath Traveler
Since this is the hardest fight you’ll see yet, you better come prepared with the best armor and weapons you have in Octopath Traveler. Additionally, we also recommend that you reach at least level 65 before picking a fight with this guy.
Remember to equip armor that provides the best physical defense like the Crystal Armor or the Dragonscale Armor. This is because the wolf boss only deals physical damage, not elemental.
Don’t take this lightly though, because even though he can only perform physical attacks, the damage he deals can exceed more than 1500 each turn! That too mostly on every character, and twice in a single turn!
That said, to effectively fight against Managarmr, we need to know everything about it – particularly his strengths and weaknesses – then formulate a strategy around it.
Managarmr’s attacks
Managarmr has a lot of dangerous attacks in store. Aside from his base physical attack, which deals 1,300 damage, he also has a lot more that not only damage you but also all of your teammates.
Additionally, he can also summon smaller Direwolves with 60,000 HP each. Managarmr itself has an insane amount of HP amounting to 268,239! Given below is a list of Managarmr’s attacks.
Managarmr let out a howl! // A Direwolf appeared: Managarmr summons Direwolves.
Savage Fang: Physical attack that targets a single unit. Deals 1,500 damage per turn and inflicts Terror.
Savage Claw: Physical attack that targets all units. Deals 2,000 damage per turn and reduces your Physical Attack.
Bestial Growl: Increases the enemies’ Physical Attack.
Lunar Howl: Physical attack that removes all buffs and Runes from every member of your party.
Managarmr storms about in rage! : Allows Managarmr to use three moves per round.
That’s about it for Managarmr’s attacks. As for the Direwolves he summons, they may have a physical attack amounting to 700 damage to a single character, but they can be overwhelming in numbers.
Managarmr’s strengths and weaknesses
Apart from having a large health pool and a whole plethora of attacks, Managarmr has one more advantage – Shields. The Great Direwolf starts off the fight with just 6 shields but will increase them throughout the battle by 3 each time the shields are broken. This will allow him to go up to 12 shields.
Moreover, the first time Managarmr uses the “Managarmr let out a howl!”, he will increase its actions to 2 for each turn. Shortly afterward, it makes another howl to summon one Direwolf.
He will then make another howl after the second break, and another after the third break, summoning 2 and 3 Direwolves respectively. Moreover, on the first howl, he locks 2 of its weaknesses, and on its second locks three.
After that, when you manage to break once again, he will let out another howl, but won’t summon any more direwolves. After the first two breaks, however, it will increase its shield first to 9 and then to 12. He will start using the Savage Claw more often in the former case and will howl one last time after the latter.
This last howl will be when Managarmr’s HP has reduced to 25% of max HP. It will allow Managarmr to increase its action to 3 per turn.
As for Managarmr’s weaknesses, he is weak to Axes, Lightening, Dark, and Lances. The smaller summoned Direwolves are weak to Swords, Staves, and Daggers.
A good move here would be to equip one of your units with the Double Tomahawk. This weapon will prove excellent in the fight, as it attacks twice with each turn and breaks defense fairly quickly.
General strategy
Your general strategy will depend upon your party setup. We recommend that you top up one of your characters in terms of offense, and use the others as healers, thieves, and dancers.
It’s highly recommended to bring a Warmaster with you as your main damage dealer. Olberic will do the job pretty well with his Winnehild’s Battle Cry ability, as it allows him to perform up to 6 attacks in a single turn and targets all enemies.
If you’ve got Olberic maxed out or above level 60 and stack Fortifying Nuts (L) on him, you’ll have above 300 ATK on you, which is insanely high. You can also give him Energizing Pomegranates to make him more effective.
Stacking up on defense is also one of your top priorities. You can advance your units to the Warmaster for the Stalwart Defense, allotting you +50 more Physical Defense. You can also pair this up with the Saving Grace skill to get the most defense you can have.
Also, remember to get your hands on a lot of Energizing Pomegranates before starting this fight. You can make them most effective by making your other units use them on your main attacker until he’s fully BP’d.
You can also use a thief to SP share. You can have your thief give its SP to your main attacker in case they run out of it. If all of your party members manage to get wiped out, you can also use an Olive of Life to revive them – if you have any on you.
You can formulate an effective party while keeping all of the above points in mind. After that, it’s all about making the wisest moves and hoping for the best.
You can use the following party if you’ve got them maxed out for a fair chance against the Managarmr:
- Olberic: Warmaster
- Primrose: Sorcerer
- Ophilia: Thief
- Tressa: Runelord
That’s about it on the Managarmr boss guide. The party mentioned above isn’t necessarily the only one – you can use your own as well, but do keep in mind Managarmr’s strengths and weaknesses to make a party that’s effective against it. Good luck!
