Scorpioness Najka is one of the most complex yet simple bosses in Dark Souls 2. She has one of the longest lists of attacks out of all of the bosses in the game. What are these attacks? What makes her simple? How can you counter her overwhelming ferocity with ease? All will be answered in this detailed boss guide on Scorpioness Najka.
Fighting Scorpioness Najka in Dark Souls 2
As you enter the arena, you will see a torso of a woman sticking out of the ground in the middle of the arena. She will start firing magic spells at you in this state. If you are quick enough and land a few hits, she will burst out revealing the monstrous form of Scorpioness Najka.
She is a half-human, half-scorpion hybrid with two stingers on her back and a staff in her hand. She is pretty slow for a creepy crawly but has a wide array of attacks that you must be aware of.
Firstly, she uses her staff to cast some of the regular sorceries that the player can use too, like the Soul Arrows. She can also use it as a melee weapon.
Secondly, her scorpion half has frontal pincer attacks and back stinger attacks. These stingers give her the ability to inflict Toxic on you. She also thrashes her tails around maniacally.
Lastly, she can dig inside the ground and come out underneath you to make quick work of you.
Her wide arsenal of attacks is her strongest trait; to stand a chance, you must memorize them to stand a chance.
Here are some tips and tricks to consider when facing Scorpioness Najka in Darks Souls 2:
- She is extremely weak to the Thrust damage type. Bring a thrusting weapon like a Rapier or Spear to deal significantly more damage.
- She is also weak to Fire damage.
- Najka is susceptible to Bleed.
- The boss inflicts Toxic. Carry Toxic-resistant items like consumable antidotes, armor, rings, etc.
- You can cut off Najka’s tails. You need to server each tail individually.
- You can summon two NPCs for this boss battle; Manscorpion Tark and Bradley of the Old Guard.
- When she burrows underground, know that she can not burst out of where the concrete slab is on the ground. Kite her around it when she goes from this attack and you’ll be fine.
Boss Strategy
Najka can bury herself underground. If she does that, stand on a piece of concrete to avoid getting hit. When she resurfaces, roll away and take advantage of her recovery time.
If Najka stands on a higher area than you, bait her into using her staff combo. None of her attacks will be able to hit lower than her, which means you can get close to her and attack while she misses.
To defeat Najka, choose one of the tree trunks and kite her around it. Attack after she attacks, but always roll backward to dodge her melee attacks. When she uses Homing Soulmass, make sure the tree trunk is between you and her so that it can tank most of the Soulmasses. Roll into the trunk on the second wave of soul masses to avoid getting hit.
You need to exploit the long recovery after her stinger stab attacks.
If she tunnels underground, run around until she resurfaces and lure her back to the tree trunk. Keep repeating this until she’s dead.
Another strategy is to circle Najka as close as you can. This will make her less likely to use Homing Soulmass. However, be careful not to get behind her, as she will swipe you with her stinger. Always start backing off whenever she starts attacking, especially when she takes a few steps towards you.
If she does use Homing Soulmass, start strafing and roll if necessary. When she uses her other magic attack, run at her. It should go over your head.
Remember, Najka’s stingers can be chopped off, but this will cause her to use Homing Soulmass more often, and there is no reward for cutting off the stingers.
Moveset
These are all of the Scorpioness Najka’s moveset in Dark Souls 2 and how you must react to them:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Soul Arrow | Uses the sorcery like yourself, sending a magic projectile at you with minor tracking. She can fire 5 projectiles at the same time. | Pick a side and starting running to avoid all of the bolts from landing. |
| Soul Mass | She generates five homing soul masses. Two masses are fired initially, followed by the remaining three after a short delay. | Dodge to the side as the projectiles are about to land. |
| Stinger Slams (Behind) | When you are behind her at a certain distance, she flails her tails wildly up and down, smashing the ground 2 to 3 times. | Back off and let the attack play out. Or you can move in front of the boss and attack her while she is animation-locked. |
| Stinger Grab | Smashes both her stingers in front at the same time. If it connects, she will grab you taking away a massive chunk of your HP and inflicting Toxic. | Back off when you see her priming both her stinger. When the stinger lands, move to her side and start attacking taking advantage of the long recovery. |
| Stinger Attack | Move to the side or back of,f then move in from the sides and exploit the recovery window. | Move to the side or back off then move in from the sides and exploit the recovery window. |
| Stinger Swipe | Readies her stingers and swipes them across horizontally in a wide arc. | Keep running around the arena for close to 15 second,s and she will tire out and emerge. Or look for a concrete slab on the ground and stand on top. |
| Burrow | She digs inside the ground and attempts to follow the player. If she comes in contact with you she will burst out of the ground and deal massive damage. | Keep running around the arena for close to 15 seconds and she will tire out and emerge. Or look for a concrete slab on the ground and stand on top. |
| Pincer and Staff Attacks | She has a bunch of attacks where she uses either the staff in her hand or her front pincers to swipe and thrust at you. | Can be blocked. Or you can dodge to the sides at the right moment. |
Rewards for Defeating Scorpioness Najka
Here’s what you get for taking out Scorpioness Najka in Dark Souls 2:
- 23,000 Souls
- Scorpioness Najka’s Soul
- Southern Ritual Band+2 (NG+ only)
Scorpioness Najka is the Chaos Witch Quelaag of Dark Souls 2, she is certainly modeled after her. However, this boss doesn’t pose as much of a threat as her previous sister.
Nevertheless, Najka is a daunting experience the first time you come face to face with her. With a bit of practice and some moveset knowledge, you will be squishing this bug queen in no time.