How to Defeat Heismay in Metaphor: ReFantazio Complete Guide

In Metaphor: ReFantazio, many boss fights come with unique twists that challenge your strategy and adaptability. One of the most fascinating of these bosses is Heismay, a powerful Eugief fighter with a penchant for mind games. You first encounter him in the Sandworm den, where he throws you into an intense battle that forces you to think on your feet. Regardless of your stance on his innocence or guilt regarding the accusations thrown his way, there’s no avoiding a fight and you’ll face him more than once before uncovering the truth.

What makes Heismay particularly challenging is his ability to create clones of himself. Strike the wrong one, and you’ll lose a turn, giving him a chance to unleash a flurry of attacks. In this guide, we’ll explore the best strategies for identifying the real Heismay and putting an end to his confusing tactics.

Understanding Heismay’s Cloning Mechanism

The key difficulty in battling Heismay lies in his cloning technique. Heismay generates three identical clones during the fight, and if you attack the wrong one, you’ll waste your turn, which could be a major setback as it allows Heismay to act multiple times in a row. This ability not only adds a layer of complexity to the fight but can also frustrate players who aren’t paying close attention to the clues.

Fortunately, there’s a simple trick to identifying the real Heismay. Despite the clones being perfect replicas visually, there is one crucial difference only the real Heismay casts a shadow. By watching closely and focusing on the shadow, you can single out the real Heismay and avoid the frustration of wasting turns on his decoys.

Key Strategy: Shadow Spotting

Once you’ve spotted the real Heismay by locating his shadow, target him immediately. Upon hitting the real one, all of his clones will disappear for the remainder of the turn. Heismay will attempt to create new clones a couple more times during the fight, but once you’ve proven your ability to pick out the real version, he’ll stop using this tactic and shift to a more direct combat style.

Phase Two: Heismay’s True Attack Pattern

After you’ve exposed Heismay’s cloning trick, the fight becomes much more straightforward. At this point, Heismay abandons his illusion-based attacks and focuses on conventional fighting. He won’t overwhelm you with devastating hits, but it’s important to stay vigilant. In fact, it’s impossible to lose this battle your protagonist will even notice that Heismay is holding back, suggesting he has no intention of delivering a killing blow.

With Heismay’s clone strategy neutralized, the fight turns into a battle of attrition. As long as you maintain your health and stay on the offensive, you’ll wear him down with relative ease.

Important Tactic: Defensive Awareness

Despite Heismay’s hesitance to deal a fatal blow, it’s essential not to underestimate him. He will still take advantage of any mistakes you make, especially if you allow his clones to stay on the field. Always focus on eliminating the clones first, and once they’re gone, shift to your most powerful single-target attacks.

Heismay’s Second Encounter: New Moves, New Challenges

After your initial victory, you might think you’ve seen the last of Heismay but not so fast. Shortly after the first fight, you’ll have to face him again, and this time he brings new abilities to the table. His clone gimmick returns, but he also introduces two new moves that can severely disrupt your party’s strategy.

1. Forget Status Effect: One of Heismay’s new attacks can cause the Forget status, which temporarily disables a party member’s ability to use skills. While this may seem like a major problem, it can be mitigated by either healing the affected member or having them focus on basic attacks until the status wears off. Basic attacks are still effective in dispelling the clones, allowing you to preserve more powerful moves for later.
2. Agility Reduction: Heismay’s second new attack reduces your party’s agility by two levels, making your team slower and more vulnerable to his strikes. To counter this, you can use the skill Dekunda, which removes debuffs and restores your party’s agility to its original level.

General Strategy for Beating Heismay

Let’s break down the step-by-step strategy for both encounters with Heismay:

1. Identifying the Real Heismay

• Always look for the shadow. Only the real Heismay casts a shadow, while his clones do not.
• Target the real Heismay with single-target attacks to make his clones disappear.
• Avoid using AoE (area-of-effect) attacks, as they will count as misses against the clones.

2. Balancing Offense and Defense

• Bring a party member with healing abilities, such as Patra or Rakunda, to keep your team’s health up.
• Heismay has no elemental weaknesses or resistances, so feel free to use your strongest physical or magical attacks.

3. Maximizing Your Press Turn Icons

• Heismay’s clones provide extra Press Turn icons for the enemy when left standing. The quicker you identify and hit the real Heismay, the fewer opportunities he’ll have to attack you.
• Use single-target skills on the first turn to reveal the real Heismay, then unleash your most powerful attacks in subsequent turns.

4. Prepare for the Second Encounter

• Before the second fight, heal your party and review your skills. Make sure you have a way to counter the Forget status and any agility debuffs.
• Keep a flexible strategy. Heismay’s new abilities can disrupt your team’s rhythm, so be ready to adjust your tactics on the fly.

What to Expect After Defeating Heismay

Once the dust settles and you’ve beaten Heismay for good, you’ll soon discover that he’s more than just an enemy. He will join your team, and his skills and abilities bring unique advantages to your party. While we won’t spoil too much, suffice to say, Heismay’s usefulness goes beyond his combat prowess. You can explore the benefits of having him as an ally in our separate guide on the best follower abilities in Metaphor: ReFantazio.

FAQs: Beating Heismay in Metaphor: ReFantazio

Q: How do I spot the real Heismay during the fight? A: Look for the Heismay that is casting a shadow. His clones won’t have shadows, making it easy to identify the real one.

Q: Can I lose the battle against Heismay? A: No, it’s impossible to lose the first fight. Heismay deliberately holds back and won’t finish you off.

Q: How do I counter the Forget status effect in the second fight? A: You can either heal the status with the appropriate skill or let the affected party member focus on basic attacks, which are still effective against Heismay’s clones.

Q: What skills should I use during the Heismay fight? A: Focus on strong single-target attacks to eliminate the clones. After the clones are gone, you can use AoE attacks without penalty.

Q: Does Heismay have any elemental weaknesses? A: No, Heismay has no elemental weaknesses or resistances. You can freely use any of your strongest skills or attacks.

This strategy should help you breeze through both of your encounters with Heismay and prepare for the rest of the challenging battles in Metaphor: ReFantazio. Keep your wits about you, focus on the shadow trick, and remember: the real battle is about mastering your approach!