The final boss of Metaphor ReFantazio, Louis, has a secret form that you will be able to unlock if you meet certain conditions before triggering the fight. While visually there will be no difference in his appearance, he will hit much harder, have more press turns against you and your party will not have access to the strongest weapons of their Archetypes.
It will be the hardest fight in the JRPG, and you will have to go through all of his three phases as you normally would. Just because he is all buffed up now, doesn’t mean you won’t have to beat him once in his Archdemon mode and then two times in his Destroyer Charadrius phase.
However, beating him unlocks the “Star Shatterer” achievement which is required if you are looking to 100% the game. So if you are up for the challenge, here is a guide that goes over how you will be able to unlock and beat the final secret boss in Metaphor ReFantazio.
How to unlock Louis’ final secret boss form in Metaphor ReFantazio
You will be able to unlock Louis’ final secret boss form if you choose not to actively weaken him before your encounter. Just before the final battle, you will be making your way through the Tyrant’s Star mini-dungeon.
As you take the elevator up to the boss, you will come across special Melancholia Crystals which you can interact with. Destroying the Crystals will weaken Louis, however, if you want to face his secret form, you will need to ignore them.
So if you have not weakened the final boss of Metaphor ReFantazio, you will be able to face a buffed version of Louis, who hits like a truck, has more action icons, and your party will not gain access to the best weapons of their equipped Archetypes.
Do keep in mind that there will not be any appearance change in Louis, and he will still have his three usual phases.
How to beat Louis’ secret final form in Metaphor ReFantazio
Here are some things to keep in mind before starting the encounter:
1) Be at the highest level possible
Rank up your Archetypes to the highest level possible. Make sure you are unlocking all of the elite versions of the base lineages and getting your hands on every single ability and Synthesis Skill. Do not go up against Louis’ buffed form if you have not maxed out your party’s stats.
2) Healing items are a must
The healing skills of your party members might not be enough during this fight. Make sure to stock up on support items, especially the ones that will let you recover downed allies.
3) Use every trick in the book to reduce his Turn Icons
Louis will start his turn with 8 action icons and he can further extend that to 12 with the Soul Scream ability. So your primary goal will be to reduce his turn icons as much as possible by buffing your party members and increasing their defense and dodge chance.
4) Exploit status effects
Much like his weakened form, Louis has no resistances or weaknesses making the fight more straightforward and allowing you more room to inflict status ailments on him. So make sure you are trying to inflict Charm and Sleep on him to make the encounter much more manageable.
5) Create weaknesses
Certain Synthesis Skills will let you create a one-time weakness to a particular element when it hits Louis. For example, the Knight Synthesis Skill Blackguard’s Hammer will deal severe physical Dark damage to one enemy and inflict a one-time weakness to Dark.
You will be able to exploit this to give yourself more Turn icons and do a significant amount of damage to his health pool.
Rewards for beating Louis’ secret boss form in Metaphor ReFantazio
Once you can take down Louis in his buffed state, you will be able to unlock the “Star Shatterer” achievement Metaphor ReFantazio. It gives you the bragging rights to have beaten the hardest boss in the game. It’s considered even more challenging than the Redscale Dragon encounter in NG+.
