The Living Failures

The Living Failures:

Information:
The Living Failures is the only boss in the Research Hall. Gain two Insight for finding them and two for killing them. Activates the Lumenwood Garden Lamp.

Lore:
The Living Failures are one of the first attempts by the Choir to create a Great One to serve as an ambassador. They were preceded by the Research Hall patients and after their creation were ultimately abandoned as the Choir began work on the Celestial Emissary.

References and Dialogue:
-It is possible that these were unsuccessful due to the use of Lumenwood and/or the lack of Iosefka's specially refined blood.

Description:
Tall, humanoid, and slender, the Living Failures bear a close resemblance to the Celestial Emissary and the Research Hall patients. They are bluish in color with six fingers on each hand. Their heads appear as if they have collapsed in.

Location:
From the Research Hall Lamp, go to the room on the left where Adaline is restrained and take the elevator up. From the next room, exit and turn right to go up the set of stairs. Once to the landing turn right up another flight of stairs and open the door.

Summons:
-Old Hunter Yamamura can be summoned at the summoning bell to the right of the fog gate if you have killed him in his cell, the Impurity Rune is equipped, and you haven't killed Valtr. He wields a Chikage.

Combat:
-Weak to Bolt

The Living Failures arena is a circular garden with two balconies on either side. There is a pillar of Lumenwood (flowers) in the middle. The ground is also covered with these flowers.

First Stage:
The Living Failures will constantly spawn around the arena. They each have their own individual health bars (think of them as legs) and will disappear if "killed". Damage will contribute to the overall health bar. There can be up to four Living Failures in the arena at a time. Two melee and two Arcane casters. The two melee will follow you around while the casters will typically just move so that you are in their sights. The two melee ones have a few attacks, a head slam (m), where they will very quickly slam their heads onto you, a swipe (h), where they will slowly swipe their arm across their body, and a swing attack (h), where they will bring their arms back and swing them in a circle. The casters can do the head slam, and three spells, two of them similar to Martyr Logarius, the first is an Arcane hand slam (h), where they will slam both hands into the ground and a small explosion will occur. The other one is a large Arcane ball (h) that can track you, one of them will raise its hands over its head and a blue light will appear; the last attack consists of smaller homing bolts (m), that track quite heavily, they will keep their hands at waist level.

Second Stage:
The Living Failures will gain one attack, another Arcane attack, that consists of all the Failures raising their arms to the sky. Half the sky will turn black and comets will rain down (h).

Drops:
-22,000 Blood Echoes
-Astral Clocktower Key

Special Notes: If the Impurity Rune is equipped, they will drop Vermin as well.

Tips and Tricks:
-Any weapon +9 or higher is fine. Bolt Paper or a Bolt gem are very helpful.
-It is possible to only have to fight one Failure at a time if you constantly kill them at their re-spawn points. If not, it is very easy to have only two in the arena at a time as it is very easy to parry then visceral the melee ones.
-Try to lure the melee ones away from the arcane ones if you can not take them down fast enough. This should put you on the other side of the tree in the middle and thus be safe from projectiles.
-For the Comet attack, there are four methods of avoiding damage from them: run in a circle around the arena, look up at the sky and avoid them by using the pillar in the middle as a barrier, run to the opposite side of the arena from the entrance and stay behind the wall, or use the Loch Shield as protection (you will take a little damage). By far the best and safest method it hiding behind the wall.
-You can attack them during the Comet attack and stagger them with a backstab for a visceral attack.

Glitches:
-A Living Failure can stay around after the fight. Watch 11:10

Damage Indicator:
Slight damage (s)
Moderate Damage (m)
Heavy Damage (h)

Stun (st)