Fader

Fader is the seventh Forsaken and currently the toughest fight in the live game. A skeletal ash dragon at the end of the Ashlands, it is the wall before the Deep North arrives with 1.0. Getting to it through the Ashlands is half the battle, and the fight itself demands top-tier gear and fire protection.

Where and when

Fader lives in the Ashlands, the seventh biome and the current endgame, a volcanic hellscape reached by a dangerous sea crossing through lava-adjacent waters. You fight it after the Queen, once you have flametal gear from the Black Forge. Summon it at its altar in the Ashlands.

How to summon

Offer Ashen Stones at Fader’s altar. You gather Ashen Stones in the Ashlands as you push through the Charred fortresses and the volcanic terrain. Bring them to the altar to begin the fight.

How to fight it

This is the hardest live fight, so go in with flametal weapons and armor and your best foods. The Ashlands burn you, so fire resistance matters: the Yagluth elemental power and fire resist help, and Fader’s own power stacks more once you have it. Keep three fresh foods for high HP, stamina, and either a balanced or Eitr food depending on whether you fight melee or as a mage. Manage the Charred and other Ashlands enemies that can join the fight, and treat the whole expedition, sea crossing included, as a single dangerous arc rather than a quick boss kill.

The Ashlands punish you before Fader does. The lava sea crossing, the fortified landing, and the Charred legions all bleed you down, so arrive at the altar fully geared, fully fed, and with a forward base and portals already set.

Drops and Forsaken Power

Fader drops its trophy along with Ashlands materials. Hang the trophy on the Sacrificial Stones to activate its Forsaken Power: a 30 percent fire resistance, which pairs naturally with the Ashlands and helps with the heat hazards there. As the current final boss, Fader is the top of the live progression until the Deep North and the true final boss arrive with 1.0.

Related: the Ashlands biome guide and, for the whole run on one page, the full-run progression cheatsheet.