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Antumbra's Staff
April 17, 2026 at 02:26 AM
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Antumbra's Staff is one of several Antumbra boss variants encountered during the Sanctum cleansing questline in Crimson Desert. This staff-wielding boss guards the Sanctum of Solace, located southwest of the City of Pailune, east of Bari's house at Crimson Lake. The encounter is part of the Witches Faction Quest given by the witch Elowen, requiring players to purify corrupted Sanctums across the world.
The defining mechanic of this fight is the boss's charged ground slam, where Antumbra's Staff winds up and slams the staff into the ground for devastating area damage. Failing to interrupt this attack with Force Palm results in heavy, potentially lethal damage. The Sanctum of Solace is the second of Bari's four sanctums in Pailune and represents a step up in difficulty compared to the Sanctum of Exaltation. Players who master the interrupt timing will find this encounter straightforward, while those who miss the window repeatedly will struggle with the high damage output.
Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
Name | Antumbra's Staff |
Type | Elite Boss (Witches Faction Quest) |
Location | Sanctum of Solace, southwest of City of Pailune |
Region | |
Quest | Witches Faction Quest (Sanctum cleansing) |
Faction | Witches |
Prerequisite | Meet Bari (Witch of Kindness) at Silverwolf Cave and Crimson Lake |
Difficulty | Moderate |
Weapon | Antumbra's War Hammer (War Hammer) |
The Sanctum of Solace is located southwest of the City of Pailune, north of the Ancient Rift, near the letter "A" in "Pailune" on the map. Players can reach it by heading southwest from Pailune City, or by teleporting to a nearby Abyss Nexus. The Sanctum sits east of Bari's house at Crimson Lake.
Before you can interact with the Fusion Reactor Cores inside the Sanctum, you must have completed both meetings with Bari, the Witch of Kindness. The first meeting takes place at Silverwolf Cave, where you warm her by the brazier. The second meeting occurs at her house on Crimson Lake. Only after both encounters are finished will the Sanctum's puzzle elements become interactive. If you arrive before completing these prerequisites, you can still fight the enemies but cannot finish the cleansing.
Like all Sanctums, access requires having met the witch Elowen and accepting the quest to purify the Sanctums as part of the Witches Faction Quest line. Clear the regular Antumbra enemies in the outer area first, reducing the liberation percentage, before heading deeper to confront the boss.
Antumbra's Staff fights with a combination of staff melee strikes and one critical charged attack. The charged ground slam is by far the most important attack to learn, as it deals the highest damage and provides the biggest opening when interrupted. Understanding the difference between the charged slam and the regular staff attacks is the key to mastering this encounter.
Attack | Description | How to Counter |
|---|---|---|
Charged Ground Slam | The boss charges energy into the staff and slams it into the ground, creating a massive area-of-effect impact. This is the signature attack with a distinctive wind-up animation during the charging phase. The energy build-up is clearly visible as a glowing aura around the staff, giving you roughly two to three seconds to react. | Interrupt with Force Palm during the charging animation. Close the distance immediately when you see the charge begin and use Force Palm before the slam connects. A successful interrupt stuns the boss and cancels the attack entirely. If you miss the interrupt window, dodge roll away from the impact zone. Do not attempt to block, as the slam damage is too high for most shields. |
Staff Sweep | A horizontal sweeping attack with the staff that covers the area in front of the boss. Moderate damage with knockback potential that can push you out of optimal melee range. | Dodge sideways or backward. The sweep follows a fixed arc and will not adjust mid-swing. You can also parry this attack with good timing and follow up with a heavy counterattack. |
Quick Staff Strikes | Fast jab-like attacks with the end of the staff. Less damaging individually but can chain together into a multi-hit sequence that adds up quickly if you stand still. | Block with shield or dodge. These are manageable with standard defensive play. Parrying the first strike in the chain can interrupt the entire sequence and open a counterattack window. |
Staff Overhead Smash | A slower overhead swing that brings the staff down vertically. Deals more damage than the quick strikes but is easier to read. Unlike the charged ground slam, this attack has no energy build-up and is a purely physical strike. | Sidestep or parry. The vertical swing has a narrow hitbox, so moving to either side avoids it entirely. Parrying this attack grants a long counterattack window since the recovery animation is slow. |
The entire fight centers on interrupting the charged ground slam with Force Palm. When you see the boss begin charging energy into the staff, immediately close the distance and use Force Palm. The charging animation lasts roughly two to three seconds, which gives you enough time to close from medium range. A successful interrupt stuns the boss and prevents the slam entirely, creating a safe window of several seconds for counterattacks. If your Force Palm skill is not leveled up, consider investing skill points before attempting this fight, as a higher-level Force Palm is more reliable at connecting.
If you fail to interrupt the ground slam, the resulting impact deals heavy damage that can be lethal without high-tier armor. In that case, dodge roll away from the impact zone rather than trying to block. The slam creates a visible shockwave around the point of impact, so rolling to maximum distance is the safest option when the interrupt fails.
While waiting for the next ground slam wind-up, chip away at the boss with light attacks and combos. The staff sweep and quick strikes are manageable with standard dodge-and-counter tactics. Stay at medium range where you can react to the ground slam charge-up animation and close in quickly for the Force Palm interrupt. Avoid getting too close for extended periods, since the quick staff strike chains can whittle down your health, and avoid staying too far away where you might not reach the boss in time for the interrupt.
Parry the physical staff attacks whenever possible and follow up with heavy attacks. Building the stagger meter on top of the Force Palm stun cycle adds more damage windows and speeds up the fight significantly.
Like other Sanctum encounters, liberating the Sanctum of Solace requires reducing the filled green bar to zero by defeating the boss and the surrounding Antumbra enemies. Focus on the boss first while dodging the adds, then clean up the remaining enemies after the boss falls. Once the bar is empty, you can proceed to the puzzle phase.
After defeating Antumbra's Staff and emptying the liberation bar, you need to find and install two Fusion Reactor Cores to complete the Sanctum cleansing.
Core XXXV-II: Located between two columns near a small water pool behind the boss arena. Walk to the back of the Sanctum and look for the core near the pool. Pick it up and carry it to the generator.
Core XV: Accessible through a gap in the wall. You cannot walk through the gap, but you can grab the core through the bars using Axiom Force. Pull it toward you and then carry it to the generator.
Slot both cores into the generator and use Force Palm (or Aerial Force Palm) to activate it. This completes the cleansing of the Sanctum of Solace.
The following stats come from the official game database. With 4,116 HP, Antumbra's Staff has considerably less health than the later world boss variants (Beloth reaches 13,000), making this a more accessible fight while still presenting a meaningful threat. The Attack value of 265 is respectable for an Elite Boss in the Pailune region, and the Knockout threshold of 750 means sustained combos with stagger-building attacks can proc the knockout state if you maintain pressure between Force Palm interrupts. Defense is listed at 100, reflecting moderate resistance that is consistent with the War Hammer archetype.
Stat | Value |
|---|---|
4,116 | |
Attack | 265 |
100 | |
100 | |
Knockout | 750 |
Antumbra's Staff wields the Antumbra's War Hammer, classified in-game as a War Hammer weapon type. Despite the boss's name suggesting a conventional staff, the War Hammer categorization explains the heavy, impact-driven moveset: the charged ground slam and overhead smash are both consistent with War Hammer attack animations. The full equipment set is the Antumbra Cloth series, covering all five slots. The only listed skill is the passive Boss Large Human, the behavioral AI archetype shared by all large humanoid bosses in the game.
Category | Details |
|---|---|
Weapon | Antumbra's War Hammer (War Hammer) |
Armor (Upperbody) | |
Cloak | Antumbra Cloth Cloak |
Gloves (Hand) | Antumbra Cloth Gloves |
Boots (Foot) | Antumbra Cloth Boots |
Passive Skill | Boss Large Human |
Antumbra's Staff is one of three Antumbra elite boss variants that share identical combat stats (4,116 HP, 265 Attack, 100 Defense, 100 Stamina, 750 Knockout) and the Boss Large Human passive skill. Each variant guards a different Sanctum and wields a different weapon type.
Weapon Type | Location | |
|---|---|---|
War Hammer | ||
Spear | Antumbra Sanctum | |
Sword |
Reward | Details |
|---|---|
A weapon for Oongka. Obtained by defeating Antumbra's Staff and liberating the Sanctum of Solace. One of the better mid-game weapons available in the Pailune region. Make sure to pick it up after completing the encounter, as it can be easy to miss. | |
Blueprint II: Kuku Bismuth Spear | A crafting blueprint for a spear weapon, obtained upon completing the Sanctum puzzle and inserting both Fusion Reactor Cores. |
Sanctum Cleansing Progress | Counts toward the Witches Faction Quest progression for purifying all Sanctums across the continent. This is the second of Bari's four sanctums in the Pailune region. |
Force Palm is essential. If your Force Palm skill is not leveled up, consider investing points before attempting this fight. A higher-level Force Palm has better range and reliability.
Learn the charge-up animation. The charged ground slam has a distinctive wind-up with visible energy building around the staff. Recognizing this immediately is the single most important skill in the fight.
Never try to block the slam. If you miss the interrupt, dodge away rather than attempting to block. The slam damage is too high for most shields and will break through your guard.
Stay at medium range. Too close and the quick staff strikes will chip you down; too far and you will not reach the boss in time to interrupt the ground slam. Medium range is the sweet spot for reacting to both situations.
Complete the Bari prerequisite first. You must meet Bari at Silverwolf Cave and again at Crimson Lake before the Fusion Reactor Cores become interactive. If you arrive early, you can fight but cannot complete the cleansing.
Do not forget the Guidance of Dark Pursuit. This weapon for Oongka drops after completing the encounter. Make sure to pick it up before leaving the Sanctum.
Clear the remaining Antumbra enemies after the boss fight to fully empty the liberation bar before proceeding to the puzzle.
This encounter is a step up from the Sanctum of Exaltation, so make sure your gear and healing supplies are upgraded accordingly.
Antumbra's Staff was defeated.
