A Short and Sweet Solo-Bossing Guide | How and Why to Beat Cave Troll and Cyclops | Dark and Darker

Hey guys,
In this video, we are taking on Cyclops and Cave Troll in a normal match. This guide will help you defeat Cave Troll and Cyclops and get some pretty good loot early on in this wipe! By defeating both bosses, you can get ALL of the loot from BOTH of them, but there is also a center room you can enter for even more loot! In Dark and Darker, Cave Troll and Cyclops are the main antagonists of the Goblin Caves map and their mechanics... Honestly aren't too difficult. Let me know if you have any more questions regarding these bosses! And as always, if you enjoyed this Dark and Darker solo bossing content, please feel free to give the video a like, a comment, or subscribe to the channel for more!
Discord Link (The Bard's Tavern):
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[@EnviP]

I don´t know Cave Troll is almost never doing single hits and swings for me. Always combos up to like three hits. Not a single guide mentions these moves at all.

[@Deltsong]

Most people run into this early. If you check the other comments, you’ll see that you’re not alone 😅 If you’re going left, he ONLY combos his side swing. And if you wait long enough to in on that attack, he won’t do it at all. A good learning point is waiting for his back leg to move forward, from there you can start to go in slightly earlier. IF he does do this combo, as long as you have ≈300 move speed you should be able to dodge his overhand swing but take splash damage. And you can always crouch (and look down) under the swing that he does sideways across his body.

[@Deltsong]

I just pinned this comment so others can see the reply! I’ve answered this a few times down here, but forgot to mention it in the video. Hope it helps for everyone else!

[@EnviP]

@@Deltsong Thank you so much, I´m gonna give it a go again soon.

[@Deltsong]

@@EnviP good luck, my dude!

[@rayl7372]

Youre too close after his side swipe hit. If you move in before he puts his arm down by his side, he will do a combo. So when he does his side swing, just wait till he puts his arm down for dps. Over head swings and slams, you can dps without worrying about follow up hits.

[@1nicesteak109]

look up circle left cyclops its easier and faster because you dont have to move away - for example euthafro just made a video about it and i would recommend new player too look up how to avoid roar if you get hit by it + there are now 5 gold ore spots now in the middle room

[@Deltsong]

I’ll look it up. I’ve killed cyclops in about 25 seconds before going right though. So (at least on bard with allegro and shriek) I don’t think it really matters haha And the gold ore change seems interesting… Duo/Trio teams could use the extra loot. Or you can just take the guaranteed money until the ore just over saturates the market haha

[@MRBOOM-vf1or]

Good guide bro im enjoying bard lately keep up the quality content

[@Deltsong]

Thank you! Glad you’re enjoying bard, it’s definitely a fun class imo

[@adamguenther8966]

Killed my first cyclops today! Thanks for the detailed guide

[@Deltsong]

Congrats! I’m glad I could help :)

[@ashmcnamara8914]

Please explain how to deal with his double attacks and triple attacks

[@gorillajackson]

Yeah, It makes no sense how every single "guide" completely leaves out what to do about those chain attacks on the troll.

[@Deltsong]

Wait longer to go in during his side swing. Remember that the whole fight is your positioning, and so if he does that combo off of his side swing, it means you were too close. When he does that, you “can” just walk to the left still if you have enough move speed ≈300 during the overhand swing. And the sideways swing across his body combo can be ducked. Just look down and keep moving left. For his sideways swing (the combo starter), wait for him to move his back leg forward before you go in to hit him. There’s a good chance you can only get 1 swing in then, but he will never combo it then. From there start trying to do it slightly sooner until you can figure out your rhythm for the fight :) But those typically aren’t mentioned because if you’re killing troll in the most effective way, you should be avoiding those attacks since you can’t attack after them - and honestly, I don’t see them a lot of the time anymore, so I forget that they’re a thing until I see comments asking about them 😅

[@Kovar99YT]

ty for such a great guide, the only person to put the actually moves in the video....

[@Deltsong]

Of course! Good luck on your attempts :)

[@Liz4rdMan]

good job man, will try it

[@Deltsong]

I hope it goes well for ya!

[@kyore789]

Step 1: Survive long enough to learn anything

[@Deltsong]

True 😅

[@kyore789]

@@Deltsong Lasted long enough to land a few hits keeps coming back to the guide. We getting better! Thanks for the guide

[@Deltsong]

@@kyore789 of course! And good luck, hope you get one down soon :)

[@celloj3703]

bro I don't know what makes you think the troll is easier than the cyclops but for me I last way longer when I fight the cyclops than the troll

[@Deltsong]

I feel like one you learn it, the trolls easier. Once you get the spacing down you basically just walk in a circle and swing. Cyclops has “some” different mechanics. But neither are necessarily hard imo

[@douglasartorias5594]

why when I fight troll he screams constantly and always double attacks me?

[@Deltsong]

Spacing! The entire fight is spacing yourself close enough, but not too far away. If you’re get too far, he will scream. So you need to learn (roughly) what that distance is. And he strings attacks if you don’t wait for him to reset after his side swing. Wait another second before you walk up to hit his hand :) I mess up this second part sometimes too, and you’re able to dodge the follow-ups, but you need a really fast reaction time. For the overhand swing just run as fast as you can and keep moving. Don’t take a second swing. And the frontal swipe (left to right on your screen) can be ducked if you also look down the same time. 🙂

[@TitoRivas-ru3ik]

I can help you if you need just lmk

[@ICYOU7]

What happens if you leave the room for a second and it goes back to the middle will it full heal?

[@Deltsong]

Yes, it fully resets

[@irhcsa]

I've killed him a few times in HR, but he definitely is bugged or something. He will do random attacks that I never see in guides.

[@Deltsong]

I’m assuming this is about Cave troll? If so - he combos off of his side swing if you’re too close. HR troll is actually a lot easier imo because when he punches the ground you get a lot of free damage, I was mostly wanting to get a guide out near the beginning of the wipe for the new F2P’s.

[@soda_mizu]

where to you find them in the map

[@Deltsong]

Cyclops is the top left of the map (one box in and one box down) Cave Troll is the bottom right (one box in and one box down). I put another video out recently on questions I was getting with these bosses and I actually have a map with the places circled if you wanted to see that! :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/g36rdpWhjbKsmtksi=Dgzxd1yEFyD7N0cr

[@adipyramidadmal]

I just died on normal to spiders and a bat getting stuck on dead spiders in a corner and a bat being to close to my character to stab with the rapier. I hate sucking this bad.

[@Deltsong]

Bro, honestly. Spiders are the actual worst. The amount of times I’ve died (and almost died) because I tried to jump over a spider and got stuck in a corner is actually insane! That stuff happens, but you get better Haha

[@1nicesteak109]

everybody has died like that hahah dont worry

[@MoistBoi55]

Hey, lets say you are going in as a rouge with poisioned weapons and a rapier. How many hits would you say it would take for a poor quality rapier to kill the boss. It deals 21 damage. Also dose hitting the bosses arm make it do less damage and how much armor dose the boss have? Would armor penetration weapons be worth it?

[@Deltsong]

I can’t tell you how many swings, tbh… Depending on how effectively you fight either boss the fights can be anywhere from about a minute and a half to 3ish minutes as rogue in base kit. This might be slightly closer to 60 seconds after getting it down, but 90 feels like a good estimate. I can try to fight them on a rogue sometime too! Dealing damage to the arm does do less damage, and the head is still a crit. So any chances to hit their heads should be taken. I “think” they have armor, but it’s a very low amount. TBH just wear what you’re comfortable fighting other players in. The boss is the “easy” part, the hard part is fighting people off while you’re looting and getting out.

[@MoistBoi55]

@@Deltsong When I was fighting him, I was using the base gear rapier and I got 127 swings in (I was counting) on just the arm (wasn't good enough to try going for the head) and I kept retrying. I even got 60 swings in on the arms and head with a rapier that did 28 damage plus 5% armor pent. Is there something you can think of that I did wrong?

[@Deltsong]

@@MoistBoi55 just keep swinging😅 I can’t really say since I’m not actually seeing you do it. I’ll try to get a rogue game in and see if there’s something else tell you since I haven’t played that class in a little bit... Are you in my discord by chance?

[@MoistBoi55]

@@Deltsong no but I'll be more than happy to join!

[@Deltsong]

Okay, no pressure to either way. I was just thinking it might be easier to help by using that sometime :)

[@dietermuller2699]

hi why the troll make no combo attack ? i try it he does 2-3 combo swings ? how can i avoid this that he makes combo attacks? ^^

[@Deltsong]

Wait slightly longer before attacking his arm. When he starts to move his back foot forward, you know you’re good then!

[@dietermuller2699]

@@Deltsong i play warlock and have all time my dots on him. thats the reason why? i play 2 dots + hellfire. im not attack his arm xD

[@Deltsong]

Are you occasionally rotating right? If not, then idk 😅

[@dietermuller2699]

@@Deltsong ok thx

[@wwbodywork5582]

Been trying to do this boss for the goblin quest and im doing longsword fighter. Im getting pretty consistent getting him to second rockfall but it always kills me. I try jumping .5 seconds but i seems to take all the damage from rocks.

[@Deltsong]

Sometimes it’s just unlucky… Wearing a helmet helps for the headshot reduction when you get smacked in the head if you’re going in naked. But also make sure you’re jump crouching if you aren’t! Basically just jump after crouching and it makes the splash damage less likely to hit you. :)

[@wwbodywork5582]

@@Deltsong that probably is what my issue is. Im not crouching like i should on the jumps! Thanks for the advice, im gonna try that when i get back on!

[@Deltsong]

@@wwbodywork5582 good luck, fam!

[@CleymanYT]

idk for me this rockfall jump timings just don't seem to work, it seems like sometimes i need to jump earlier and sometimes later. He sometimes even does different animations. At some point he did the overhead smash again (same as the very first one he does). I honestly had the most success just jumping at random lol maybe i'm just bad but it's so frustrating.

[@Deltsong]

I promise that it’s right 1 second and then every .5 after. It’s definitely frustrating at first to get down though 😅😅 Also he shouldn’t do the same overhead slam. The very first one is a 2-handed slam always, the others should all be 1 handeds… If that’s not how it’s working, something buggy is happening 😬

[@CleymanYT]

@@Deltsong yup you were right, it's just as you said. I practiced now for the last 2 hours and managed to kill him 3 times. I guess at first i was just messing up the timing because i tried to cast hellfires and curses and the jumped to early or to late. But another question: are you safe once you're in the treasure room and closed the door or can other people enter? I was so nervous someone would come in and kill me

[@Deltsong]

@@CleymanYT Anyone can come in and fight you 😬 There is no safe room in any of the dungeons haha

[@CleymanYT]

@@Deltsong Oh god, I thought because i was the one defeating the boss only i can open the door, but i guess after i opened it it's open for everyone then? that makes me even more nervous now lol

[@Deltsong]

@@CleymanYT yeah, everyone! And if someone kills the other boss, anyone can come through the other door too. So a lot of fights happen down there if you’re in a lobby with me experienced players😬

[@fruitypebbles3643]

I have cyclops basic attacks down but he keeps on blinding me over and over again and it makes it impossible. what do i do im also in normals

[@Deltsong]

Go forward right around him :)

[@MagicalPanda97]

Im gonna need the fat and tanky guide for us clerics and bear druid mains 😅

[@Deltsong]

With cleric… It’s the same thing, but it just takes FOREVER. Even with divine strike lol Druid… Panther form, I guess? Bear will just be too slow, imo… I can try that out soon though! :)

[@MagicalPanda97]

@@Deltsong def wanna try Druid bossing full shapeshift just to see if its possible lol

[@Deltsong]

@@MagicalPanda97 I’m sure it’s possible because you can do those two bosses with any class. The question is more so viability, imo. Cause I can solo cave troll on wizard in base kit… But it takes like 3-4 minutes which is almost half the match haha

[@qpfinalbossqp6793]

i have gotten a legendary buckler out of the locked room in normals. last wipe

[@Deltsong]

Nice! I just read this again and saw you said normals. That’s actually insane😂

[@BornToKill780]

Really good job on this one brotha.

[@Deltsong]

Thank ya!

[@Ziovic]

can you do a parry video on troll with longsword

[@Deltsong]

I can start working on one :) The problem is that I’ll also have to learn it myself first haha

[@Schrogs]

Cave troll killed me in one hit. Is there something I’m doing wrong to die so fast? I’m a fighter using regular gear because I know I’m going to die because I never did these before

[@Deltsong]

Nope, you just gotta learn the mechanics of the fight so you don’t get hit. 😅 Almost all of his attacks are going to one shot you, or if not, you’ll be less than 20%. There’s a splash damage radius on all of them too, if you’re in that, it’s not as bad. I spent two-three days of just going in and dying (with occasional wins here and there) before I felt confident with it. Days being maybe 2-3 hours of playtime. But it’s definitely worth it to learn!

[@Schrogs]

The cave troll keeps breathing on me and I can’t move fast enough to dodge. I don’t see it do it one time to you

[@Deltsong]

He only screams if you get too far away. So only back up far enough to dodge his attacks, but no further. He screams at me mostly after his two handed slam, but even that’s rare if you start moving forward right after :)

[@Schrogs]

@@Deltsong I’ve gotten cyclops all the way to rock fall phase. Attempted it about 20 times today. Taking a break now. The cave troll I can’t get past a few hits. Always hits me lol

[@Deltsong]

Both definitely take practice! I’ve died to both bosses plenty of times while learning the fights. And I still die to them occasionally because I get complacent after killing them so much last season haha If you’re struggling with cave troll this way, there’s another method to rotate right. I’m worse at that one, but other people think it’s safer/faster. So I’d maybe look into that too and see which one you think would be better for you :)

[@Schrogs]

@@Deltsong thank you sir you’re a good person

[@Deltsong]

@@Schrogs I’m just trying to help people enjoy the game too :)

[@bbfacee]

If you get hit with the roar slow how do you dodge the follow up I can never jump over it

[@Deltsong]

Put your weapons away, and move away from the boss with A or D. There’s a good chance he’ll stop short. If he doesn’t, there’s only a 50/50 that you can jump it though. Because he will either swing low (jump) or high (crouch) and if you wait to see which one it is, you’ll never react in time, sadly. 😅

[@TheJerryNewman]

How do you position yourself during the cyclops rockfall are you trying to stay behind him? Because i get sometimes hit and its a oneshot

[@Deltsong]

I stay behind him because it’s safer. The other option is to be in front of him so you can hit his head… But doing that risks messing up and dying if you don’t move right. He either slams left, right or center and it’s never the same direction twice.

[@TheJerryNewman]

@@Deltsong thank you, Im gonna try that next time

[@nerve4179]

What classes are easiest and hardest and also which weapons do you prefer? I see most people use rapier tbh

[@Deltsong]

Rogue, Warlock (though warlock is more for cyclops) and Bard are probably the easiest. Bard has shriek of weakness to lower their armor. Rogue has poisoned weapons and back attack (back attack is only for the rockfall phase on cyclops). Double jump helps to get through rockfalls easier at first too. And warlock has shadow touch (I think that’s what it’s called.. You heal 3 HP every time you hit the boss). For bars and rogue rapier is easiest because it has the longest reach. But daggers or short swords work just as well once you get the mechanics down. For warlock, I’d say the Kris Dagger is probably the best :) Ranger can be a fine choice too.. It just takes longer than the other three and you don’t really get as much sustain as warlock.

[@FizzedAye]

Wb fighter? ​@@Deltsong

[@Deltsong]

@@FizzedAye Fighters but bad Arming sword would be my preference, or dual wield with a short sword :) The Falchion works, it’s just slower since you’re only going one hit in at a time

[@YungFlexSavi]

Everytime I've tried he starts off with the yell before I can get close enough to strafe it safely, is this normal or am I unlucky :)

[@Deltsong]

Do you know what your move speed is at? As long as you’re about 290-300 this shouldn’t be a problem. Another tip is to start behind him because then he has to turn around before he screams :)

[@YungFlexSavi]

@@Deltsong I will try the behind strat. I think my MS was around 300 cause I was using bard with alacrity. Thanks :))))))))

[@Deltsong]

@@YungFlexSaviof course! Good luck! 🙌🏼

[@masterofrats533]

one question. how do you defeat the cave troll or cyclops?

[@Deltsong]

Very carefully

[@gamingwatherbottle7419]

haven't seen one guide that is not a bard or a longsword fighter

[@Deltsong]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/g36rdpWhjbKsmtksi=vhtyM4HQDbfGvzUB Here are both bosses with Rogue. All of the classes (other than longsword parry and hellfire warlock) fight them the same way.

[@hisae5658]

is it possbile to do this as base cleric?

[@Deltsong]

Yepp! I would take blunt weapon mastery and smite. Then just take your shield off before you start fighting them to get a couple more movespeed to dodge easier

[@gggfff-ou4ir]

He kills us when he smashes ground stones are falling down what is this

[@Deltsong]

For cyclops rockfall phase you need to deal enough damage for it to end. After he slams the ground the first time (in each phase) if you jump and crouch mid air roughly 1 second after there’s a good chance you’ll dodge the damage being dealt. Every slam after that, jump crouch roughly a half second after he slams. Getting the time down is rough at first, but after you get it, you shouldn’t have too many problems :)

[@jacobwells9792]

How do you do all this AND get out in time? Just run past all the normal enemies?

[@Deltsong]

Yepp! You can fight some along the way to not take damage, but playing as bard, rogue, or ranger you don’t ever need to fight anything if you bait out attacks before you open doors :)

[@carrots_gonewild4001]

You need to explain the other moves. becaue he does more than what you explain.

[@Deltsong]

I’m assuming you mean for cave troll? I posted another video about it last week, because there were comments asking about his combos. The short of it is that if you wait another second before attacking his arm (after his side swing) you’ll never see him do the combo. And you don’t really want him to, because your DPS slows down if you do. If he does do the combos, and it’s the overhand just keep moving to the side and don’t attack. If it’s the swing across his body: duck, look down and keep moving and you’ll be fine.

[@walterc5831]

hi, i tried shooting him from the door (without him moving and me being a ranger) and after 80+ headshots he didnt die, i guess i have to fight with him for real right?

[@Deltsong]

Hello! Yeah, he doesn’t take any damage (even if someone else is fighting him) unless you’re inside the room.

[@grimtv3218]

None of this works... I've tried going at cyclops naked for max speed and his attacks STILL hit me. I'm moving around him counterclockwise like the guide says and his attacks are just constantly in range no matter what I do, even when I move back a good bit. it's not enough. he moves way too quick or they've buffed/changed him in the month since this video cameo out. Cave Troll *always* opens up with this insanely quick combo attack that one shots me. That's not covered in the guide at all.

[@Deltsong]

They didn’t change the bosses at all. This still works 🙂 I didn’t mention the combo because it shouldn’t happen if you’re not too close to him, or too far to his right side. But there’s a ton of comments here where I explain why it happens and how you can dodge it if it does. I mostly forgot to mention it because I pretty much never see it anymore when fighting him.

[@NicMcConnell]

huge

[@Deltsong]

Good luck with them!

[@disjointkhan4938]

WHY DOES cyclops blind now

[@Deltsong]

When he swipes the ground he throws dust in your eyes. If you’re close to him and circle to the right, then you shouldn’t need to worry about that. I only really ever get blinded sometimes if I’m needing to heal and staying away after a rock fall phase :)

[@viniciusalves8052]

what do i do if i get hit by de roar? how do i dodge the attack?

[@Deltsong]

Put your weapons away, turn around Abe run away

[@gorillajackson]

Why does my cave troll do 3 more attacks than you show in the video? Every single video just leaves out the same attack lmfao I do not understand it

[@Deltsong]

He “can” combo his side swing, but he shouldn’t. It means that you’re pushing in to hit him too early. Wait about 1 second longer and then go in to melee. Or wait until his back leg moves forward. If you wait this long, there’s a good chance you can only get one swing in, but after you get the hang of that, you can start working backwards and getting the timing better :)

[@DjDeviDev]

great how to quide

[@Deltsong]

Thank you! :)

[@DjDeviDev]

@@Deltsong Do you have any upcoming videos on ice abyss mobs?

[@Deltsong]

@@DjDeviDev not yet. I’m going away for a few days at the beginning of next week, but I’m going to work on one as soon as I get back from that! I’m trying to just get videos lined up for the days that I won’t be home and this one took a bit longer than others… But as soon as I get back, I’ll start making one for Ruins, Inferno, and Ice Abyss!

[@felipearevalo9493]

the hardest part is to evade the rocks

[@Deltsong]

For cyclops, yeah. Going into HR, his petrify attack is pretty bad the first couple times too until you get the cues down for it

[@Lost1ntheSauc3]

And the clunkiest combat award goes to...

[@Deltsong]

🙃🙃

[@spartandan3014]

I ran to his left but he does a random combo now where he swings to the right after swinging to the left

[@Deltsong]

It’s not random. He’ll combo off of his side swing if you get too close. Wait another second before going in to hit him. Or wait until he starts moving his back foot forward. If you do the second one, you’ll probably only be able to get one swing in, but he’ll never combo it :)

[@norbex3612]

what about dual swing?

[@Deltsong]

Cave troll only combos off of his side swing, and it only combos if you’re too close to him. So just wait another second before hitting his arm after that. A learning point is to wait until his back foot moves forward, and then start going slightly earlier after you get that down. If you wait that long, you’ll probably only be able to get one swing in though. If it does, it can either be a swing across his body that you can duck and look down to dodge. Or his normal overhead swing that you have to just quickly get out of the way of (this is harder than it sounds, because you need to purposely miss your first swing to be able to dodge it).

[@OfficialPepe]

Imma be honest, rockfall is absolute bullshit. Harder than any Dark souls boss i ever fought. U literally need frame perfect timing LOL

[@Deltsong]

It is REALLY precise timing. 😅

[@jefe811]

W need this lol

[@Deltsong]

Hopefully it helps you out!

[@ReadyDaddy]

is this an older video footage or after the free release??? trying again and again the same way ur doing it and for some reason troll keeps doing wholly different moves haha its like we're not playing the same game. Maybe im just retarded

[@zelele100]

It's like that when you first start trying. It is all about spacing and engaging the right time so you don't trigger a combo. If you feel like it, search other guides on youtube, but know you'll have to die a LOT of times before you do it as smoothly as Deltsong did.

[@Deltsong]

This is after the free release. Just like zelele said, it’s spacing. Too close triggers combos and too far makes him scream. So it’s just practice to get that down. You die, everyone who learns the boss has. But if you keep practicing, you’ll get it!

[@ReadyDaddy]

@@Deltsong honestly i have zero problem with screams. i very easily double jump + crouch over hia charge attack. but the combos seem wild atmand hard to get the right distance. also my rogue rapier feels like im wielding a shovel, ita that slow lol

[@Deltsong]

@@ReadyDaddy don’t try to do it with Ranger then, the rapiers even slower! Haha One tip I can give with his side swing is to wait until he moves his back leg forward. You might only be able to get one swing at that point, but he’ll never combo it. Then from there start to move in slightly sooner until you get the timing down :)

[@ReadyDaddy]

@@Deltsong i made it :D took about 30-40 tries but i finally got it haha Now the problem seems to be to extract with the loot haha next goal: git gud in pvp xD

[@DADENJOYER]

is there gold in norms or jus hr

[@Deltsong]

I’ve gotten about 300-400 gold per normal lobby. HR is 500-1000 depending on what you do. So HR only feels worth it imo if you’re bossing at this point

[@tadekszczotka3676]

@@Deltsong i think he meant golden ore, and yes there are 5 nodes even in norm

[@Deltsong]

@@tadekszczotka3676 ahhhh yeah, my bad! There’s gold ore for killing both bosses