Tuba Horseman

"I AM TUBANIO HORNICUS! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS GATE!"- Tuba Horseman upon engaging at the Tubaneê Marketplace

The Tuba Horseman also known as "The First and Last" or "TUBANIO HORNICUS" as he calls himself upon entering battle at the marketplace in Tubaneê, is the fourth boss-class enemy the player encounters in the game. Despite it being possible to face him head-on this early in the game, it is recommended to wait until you have defeated the Tuba Stalker in Grand Orchwood before engaging him, as the abilities unlocked after defeating the Tuba Stalker and the weapons aquired before the fight make the Tuba Horseman's first encounter almost Trivial in pursuit.

Encounter at the Tubaneê Marketplace
The duo of horse and rider is found slowly circling in the middle of the marketplace.

Following tips are to be followed when engaging Tuba Horseman in this first encounter:


 * Aim for the horse’s legs, stunning it, then focus on the horseman head as it makes his attacks less accurate later on the more you hit it.
 * His lance charging can be pretty deadly if you are not careful. Keep an eye out for the Horse rearing its hooves or scratching one on the ground. It is an inidcation that a charge might follow suit.
 * Be careful about the feinted charge. Tuba Horseman is not able to use his ranged attacks in the area in front of his horse, thus he will try and feint a charge attack and instead strike with his magic when you get into range. When pre-dodging a charge, keep an eye out for the color of Tuba Horseman's Weapon.
 * Hitting the Horse's legs will eventually cause it to stumble and fall, giving you the chance to freely attack the Horseman for massive amounts of damage, while he casts healing spells to temporary heal his treasured steed.

It is possible to push the Tuba Horseman into a second phase. If you keep attacking the Horse and do not hit the Horseman once even while the Horse is downed and struggling, you will kill the horse when Tuba Horseman is at about 10% of his Health, thus unlocking the secret second phase which is necessary to unlock the Tuba Horseman as a companion later in the game.

Second Phase
In this phase the horseman will grow silent and start slowly walking towards the player, keeping his head low and his weapon dragging over the ground.


 * DO NOT get hit by any of his attacks in this phase. While most of them are sluggish and easy to evade, he gains several moderate speed AoE strikes that will demolish your healthbar at this point of the game without much chance to counter it.
 * Strike at the horseman whenever he goes for a strike. While it is easy to mess up and get hit in retaliation, the strikes you do while he is intending to attack deal easily three times your normal damage.
 * The fight will feel sluggish and slow. This is intended and not a weird bug.

To unlock Tuba Horseman as a companion of the Rebellion, you will have to evade a total of 50 attacks and remain close to his downed horse throughout the fight. This will unlock the possibility that the Horseman notices his companion to still be alive and after you explain to him your intentions and help him care for his horse, he will willingly join the Rebellion.

Trivia

 * The horseman's closest family is his horse he grew up together. once you have slain his beloved horse, there will be phase 2 with different background music, while he goes silent throughout the rest of the battle.
 * It was rumored that the fight could be skipped by maxing out stealth before reaching the Marketplace. This was since then disproven.
 * The developers gave a small nod towards this by adding the voiceline "There is no one who can sneak by me, not even a master thief!" to the character, which will be triggered after the horseman is being approached while sneaking.