Revision 6

Overview

Priscus the Ancient is a boss enemy encountered during a Deleysia Faction Quest in Crimson Desert. This flying boss is found in the basement of the Spire of Ringing Truth, located west of Waywards Woods in the Pailune region. Priscus spends most of the fight airborne, making ranged combat and crowd control essential to defeating it. Of the three Ancients in the Shackled God quest line, Priscus is widely considered the easiest encounter.

Location

The Spire of Ringing Truth is located west of Waywards Woods in Pailune. If you have previously unlocked the Abyss Nexus waypoint nearby, you can fast-travel to it. Otherwise, you will need to travel to the spire on foot or horseback from the nearest campsite.

How to Access the Boss

Priscus the Ancient is hidden in the basement of the spire. To reach it, you must complete a climbing puzzle and drop the bell from the top of the tower. This is the only one of the three Ancient fights that involves a puzzle before the battle.

1. Enter the Spire of Ringing Truth and begin climbing upward using stone stairs and wooden ladders.

2. Navigate through multiple platforms, including rope-triggered wooden planks and a chandelier crossing.

3. Use the Double Jump skill to cross wider gaps between platforms. This skill is required for the puzzle.

4. At the top of the tower, shoot the wooden planks supporting the large bell to make it fall.

5. The falling bell smashes through the floor, creating an opening to the basement where Priscus the Ancient awaits.

Save your game before dropping the bell. The boss fight begins immediately after entering the basement with no further opportunity to prepare.

Preparation

Because Priscus stays airborne for most of the fight, you should prepare the following before entering:

The single most important item for this fight is Sleep Arrows. They are what allows you to ground Priscus and deal melee damage. Without them, the fight is significantly harder and longer.

Boss Mechanics

Priscus the Ancient uses several types of attacks:

• Laser Projectiles: Priscus fires laser attacks from the air. Nature's Snare can deflect these projectiles back at the boss for significant damage.

• Shadow Attacks: Dark-based attacks that Nature's Snare cannot block. You must dodge these manually by watching for the distinct dark visual effect.

• Spear Attacks: Priscus occasionally uses spear-type attacks that also bypass Nature's Snare. Watch for the wind-up animation and dodge accordingly.

• Flight Patterns: Priscus frequently takes to the air, making him difficult to hit with melee weapons. Building the stagger meter with ranged hits brings him down.

• Stun Bar: Priscus has a yellow stun bar below its health bar. Landing enough hits fills this bar, eventually staggering the boss and creating an opening for heavy melee damage.

Red-glow attacks from Priscus are unblockable and unparryable. Always dodge these regardless of which defensive skill you have equipped.

Strategy

Phase 1: Airborne Combat

At the start of the fight, Priscus floats in the air and is out of melee range. Use your bow to deal damage from range. Fire Sleep Arrows whenever possible to bring the boss down to ground level. While Priscus is asleep on the ground, rush in and use your strongest melee skills (Turning Slash, Armed Combat, Forward Slash) to deal burst damage before it wakes up and takes flight again.

Phase 2: Nature's Snare

Deploy Nature's Snare to deflect Priscus' laser projectiles back at it for significant damage. Follow up with Nature's Snare Retribution for even more damage and to bring the boss crashing down. This is the fastest and most efficient damage method in the fight.

Keep in mind that Nature's Snare does not block shadow or spear attacks, so stay alert and dodge when you see those wind-up animations. Shadow attacks have a distinctive dark visual indicator, while spear attacks have a longer wind-up.

Phase 3: Stun and Burst

Focus on filling the yellow stun bar by landing consistent hits with both ranged and melee attacks. Once staggered, Priscus collapses to the ground and is vulnerable for several seconds. Use Turning Slash, Armed Combat, or Forward Slash for maximum damage during the stun window. Repeat this cycle of stunning and bursting until Priscus is defeated.

Food and Recovery

Prepare grilled meat and other recovery items before the fight. Opening your inventory during the fight pauses the game, allowing you to eat food and recover health, stamina, and spirit safely. Use this pause trick during difficult moments rather than trying to use items in real-time.

Rewards

Defeating Priscus the Ancient grants the following rewards:

Defeating Priscus progresses the Shackled God quest line. After all three Ancients are killed, the quest returns to the Serpent Shrine for the final encounter with Aeserion.

Post-Battle

After defeating Priscus, an Abyss Gate appears in the basement. Follow the path through the gate to reach the Path of Trials: Ether Rest, and then Frostbitten Paradise. This area provides additional challenges and access to elemental imbuement skill paths.

Tips

• Stock up on Sleep Arrows before entering the spire. They are the single most important item for this fight. Without them you rely entirely on Nature's Snare for grounding.

• Level up your archery skills (Marksmanship, Evasive Shot, Charged Shot, Focused Shot) before attempting this boss. Without ranged capability, the fight is significantly harder.

• Save your game before dropping the bell. The boss fight begins immediately after entering the basement.

• If you struggle with the climbing puzzle, make sure you have the Double Jump skill unlocked from the skill tree.

• The rewards from this fight include an Abyss Artifact, making it well worth the effort for skill tree progression.

• Open your inventory to pause the game and eat food whenever you need to heal. This is especially useful during phase transitions.

Reward

Delesyian +100

Completion

Priscus the Ancient has been defeated.

Related Articles

• Aeserion the Great Serpent - Shackled God quest overview

• Praevus the Ancient - Second Ancient boss

• Primus the Ancient - Third Ancient boss

• Serpent Shrine - Hub location for the Shackled God quest

• Weapons - Weapon types and recommendations

• Faction Quests - Faction quest system overview