Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris – Skyfish the Whirlpool boss guide

Skyfish the Whirlpool is one of the cooler boss fights in Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the buggiest — prone to glitches and, at times, even outright crashes. Here’s our guide to help you out.

Note: For more information, check out our Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris guides and features hub.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris – Skyfish the Whirlpool boss guide

The boss fight takes place at the tail-end of Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris‘ second chapter and it’s part of the “My Target” main quest. The encounter is in the Reind Lakeshore zone, well past the point where you had a slightly bugged quest involving Beast Sightings.

Anyway, once you get to Reind Lakeshore, you’re told about whirlpools that prevent anyone from crossing the lake to get to the temple. Head to Fishers’ Village for a savepoint and you’re tasked with eliminating a couple of Skyfish the Swirl minibosses.

One is found on the western beach:

And the other one is toward the eastern shores:

Try to kill the one found on the western section first, and then go for the second one to the east. The reason for this is because there’s another savepoint there (Bonfire area).

Also, watch out for some fishy bugs such as either of these monsters suddenly phasing through the ground and disappearing. You can watch a video below from YouTuber Olliosis to see what I mean:

The Big Kahuna

Once you’ve taken care of the two “swirls,” save your game and make your way back to the Fishers’ Village. Here, you’ll have your boss fight against Skyfish the Whirlpool. This finned monstrosity is gigantic.

Skyfish the Whirlpool has a couple of attacks:

• Purple Orbs – Skyfish the Whirlpool will fire multiple purple orbs that track Kirito or his teammates, so make sure you’re able to dodge and run away from them.

• Glowing Strike – Skyfish the Whirlpool will start glowing, smashing the ground for massive damage.

The thing is, unlike most bosses you’ve fought in Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, Skyfish the Whirlpool is also unique in that it’s flying. You will have a very hard time trying to hit it with melee attacks and most of your sword skills are probably only effective against enemies on the ground.

So, you’ve got a few options:

• Before starting the fight, equip Kirito with a bow and make sure you’ve unlocked some necessary skills with that weapon. Sinon is also a bow user, so you can have her in your party. At the very least, the ranged damage can help whittle down the boss’ health.
• Use your Sacred Arts more often. Wind -> Tailwind barely helps with jumps. However, you can rely on Steel -> Create Metal (to create a platform), Crystal -> Create Mirror (to reflect the purple orbs), and, of course, Light -> Luminous for healing.

Additionally, you can focus fire on Skyfish the Whirlpool’s fins. Do remember that, as mentioned in our review, the game doesn’t register the usage of the right thumbstick (RS), so you’ll have to rebind the command to something else (ie. start button). Since the start button is bound to RS (which won’t work), press “M” on the keyboard if in case you need to open your menus.

Use your skill connects and chain bursts to wail away at those targets. If you’re able to destroy Skyfish the Whirlpool’s fins, the boss will be momentarily stunned, allowing you to continue punishing it with Ally/Super/Finish Arts.

Keep in mind that its fins will still regenerate, so you’ll just have to be mindful of its attacks (and maybe some crashes or glitches). Pray that luck is on your side and everything goes smoothly since you don’t want to redo the damn boss fight.

Once “The Big Kahuna” becomes your grilled tuna belly lunch (yum), go ahead and swim across the lake to reach the Southern Corridor temple. Make sure to save your game first since your stamina and HP will slowly drain until you make it to the opposite side.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is available on Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.