Final Fantasy 15 Episode Gladiolus - Final trial To Serve as Shield, how to beat the Blademaster boss Gilgamesh
How to complete the final Trial and take on Gilgamesh himself in the DLC episode.
To Serve as Shield, is the fourth and final Trial in the Final Fantasy 15 Episode Gladiolus DLC, following on from Know Thine Enemy and the Humbaba boss.
If you're after help for parts of the DLC, consult our Final Fantasy 15 Episode Gladiolus DLC guide and walkthrough.
While each page will discuss them, we also have a page of item locations for the Picker-Upper Trophy / Achievement, too.
To Serve as Shield
After the Humbaba fight and third trial there's another campsite you can rest at. Take the wooden path down the cliff that follows, and get the Potion to the left at the bottom, and another Potion by the torch just before the path widens out a little.
Make sure you get both of these before you walk onward, as when you approach the waypoint, a cutscene plays and you cannot return.
After Cor leaves your party for you to go ahead, turn around and get the Pheonix Down from the wall behind. Head south, past the torches and down the steps. Go straight ahead and there's a Potion, and turn right from where you came down to find a Hi-Potion in the corner.
When you're ready, head further down, past the sword-flanked path to the end, where Gilgamesh awaits.
How to beat the Blademaster boss Gilgamesh
This is a fairly straightforward, though rather difficult, battle. Gilgamesh will come at you with a series of strikes and combos, and so the trick is to block and parry your way as much of them as you can.
If you time a block just before he strikes, you'll get a parry prompt, which is your best bet in dealing a healthy amount of damage while not taking it yourself. The only attack we struggled to parry was when he leaps up into the air and lands down with a strike - simply block this in advance to make sure he doesn't catch you by surprise.
Need more help? Our Final Fantasy 15 guide and walkthrough can provide tips on main story, as well as the open-world's many quests and activities. Learning how to get AP fast, EXP fast and money or Gil fast will aid you in many optional dungeons and tombs - including how to open and explore their locked doors. There's also plenty of interesting side-quests, too, such as the Scraps of Mystery and Professors Protege frog locations. And if you want to get around easier, you can rent a Chocobo, learn the infinite sprint trick and later in the game, get the flying car Regalia Type F. There's also more to see and do with DLC, such as Episode Gladiolus and Episode Prompto.
If you attack at any other times outside of a parry, you'll be leaving yourself open to a variety of attacks. That said there are a few times where you can get a quick hit in, such as when Gilgamesh is changing weapon, though you should still keep your distance until after he changes, otherwise you'll suffer a spot of damage from the energy the transformation creates.
Even if you're struggling, thankfully unlike other bosses, there's no single attack that will kill you outright. That said, after you take his health down, there's a quick cutscene and his health will completely regenerate and he'll grow in strength and speed for a final battle, and it's here where he can knock you out quickly after a chain of blows.
On the flipside, more combos means more attacks to parry, so we found it easier to dodge and get retaliatory strikes in this second phase than before.
It's worth keeping up your health topped up with Potions for this last part to make sure you can survive any prolonged attacks, and as always, keep an eye on your Glaive Arts meter and use those attacks whenever you can.
Once the battle is over, that's the episode complete! You'll unlock two things for your main playthrough - the Genji Blade weapon, and the Dual Master Glaive Art (this is activated by performing Maelstrom, then press Triangle / Y on Xbox to unleash a devastating combo) - as well as two additional bonus modes - Score Attack and Final Trial (which is a scrap against Cor, and one of the toughest challenges yet) if you fancy playing some more. Good luck!