Captain Raphael of the Nephtis Superioris is a mandatory boss in Valor Mortis, fought by the protagonist William inside the castle ruins during the In Ruins quest. He fights as a trained duelist, switching between a rapier and a pistol and layering in wide transmutation shockwaves. He also parries, blocks, and can restore his own health mid-fight, which makes him far more of a sustained sword duel than most encounters in the game.
Quick answer: Raphael is a non-optional boss tied to the In Ruins quest (Chapter 9). Defeating him triggers the “ABOMINATION ERADICATED” banner, awards 50,000 Catalysts, and marks the chapter complete.
Where Captain Raphael appears and what he drops
The encounter sits at the end of the In Ruins quest, which sends William into a ruined castle to recover a relic of great power. The fight opens with a cinematic. Raphael is found reclining on debris in a skull half-mask, and he stands, draws his rapier, and trades barbs with William before the health bar appears. His dialogue frames the duel as an act of loyalty, closing with the line, “Everything we do… we do for the Emperor.”
Beating him pays out 50,000 Catalysts and completes the chapter. A new journal entry is added immediately after he delivers his dying words, so the drop and the story beat land back to back.
Phase one: masked rapier duelist
Raphael opens the fight in a decorative gold skull mask and gold shoulder armor, relying mainly on his sword. He presses forward hard, making it difficult to keep him at a distance for long. Retreat or use ranged attacks, and he will fire his pistol or rush back into close quarters with a dash and thrust, leaving you to face his sword directly.
His openings come at the end of a combo. After he finishes an attack string you can usually land one to four melee hits before he starts blocking or parrying again. Punish those gaps and reset rather than trading into his guard.
Phase one attacks
- Slash and thrust: two alternating slashes, then a running leap thrust that is unblockable. Dodging the leap opens him up.
- Slash and spin: two alternating slashes, then a run-in for a final slash and a spinning slash attack.
- Pistol shots: he draws a pistol and can fire several rounds, so hold your guard after the first shot.
- Energy slam: a ground slam that sends out a wave of transmutation energy. Jump to clear it or you are knocked back.
Phase two: the unmasked fight at 50% health
At 50% health, Raphael reels, sheds his gold shoulder armor and skull mask, then returns to the fight bare-faced with a glowing rapier. His sword attacks remain, but his energy slam now sends out several waves rather than one, so you must jump repeatedly at intervals. He can also dash between attack sequences, closing the gap far more quickly than the thrust-based approach he used in phase one.
The glowing overhead fire swing is a signature phase-two move. Give yourself room and parry it rather than trying to walk through it. When he does the multi-hit ground slam, dodging forward into him is more reliable than jumping backward, since backing off leaves you in the path of later waves.
Raphael can heal himself
Raphael is one of the few enemies that uses Ferrofluid Flasks to restore his own health. The tell is a blue glowing flask as he performs the recovery, and he stands still while he crushes it. That window is yours. Shoot the hand holding the flask or stagger him with sword strikes to cut the healing short before it lands.
For reference, the player version of the Ferrofluid Flask starts at a base potency of 50 healing and scales with upgrades applied at the Lantern using Ferrofluid Flask Power Upgrade materials.
| Upgrade | Healing | Power Upgrades needed |
|---|---|---|
| Base | 50 | — |
| Upgrade 3 | 80 | 2 |
| Upgrade 5 | 100 | 3 |
| Upgrade 9 | 140 | 4 |
Each Empty Ferrofluid Flask adds one more charge, and you can carry up to 5. A Power Upgrade also sells at Louis’s Laboratoire for $3,000 if you want to top up potency before the duel.
Weapon and consumable reference for the duel
Because Raphael forces melee and can stagger, weapon choice matters. A slow Claymore staggers him on a landed slash, which stretches your offensive window. A rapier or lighter blade staggers him too, just at a lower rate. A firearm is useful mainly to interrupt his healing. These are the verified figures for the gear most relevant here.
| Weapon | Type | Max level | Key figure |
|---|---|---|---|
 Claymore | Melee weapon | 10 | 100 damage, 15 posture at level 10 |
 Blunderbuss | Firearm | 10 | 30 damage, 2 ammo capacity at level 10 |
 Stasis Transmutation | Transmutation | 5 | 1.5 damage factor at level 5 |
| Shield Transmutation | Transmutation | 5 | 200 perfect parry posture damage |
The Claymore trades away the ability to parry, but its heavy strikes blend physical and Nephtoglobin-infused attacks and reliably stagger Raphael. The Blunderbuss is a close-range hand cannon with a 2-shot capacity and a 3.5-second reload, which is exactly why its best use against Raphael is a quick shot to break his flask healing rather than a primary damage source. The Shield Transmutation gives you a 200 perfect-parry posture hit for punishing his sword strings, while the Stasis Transmutation can lock him in place.
Two consumables round out a defensive kit. The Protective Vial cuts melee, ranged, ignite, explosive, and stasis damage by 30% for 60 seconds. The Refreshing Vial raises Endurance regeneration by 150% for 90 seconds, which helps you keep dodging and blocking through his long combos. You can carry 3 of each.
How you know the fight is over
When Raphael’s health is gone, a finishing melee strike triggers the “ABOMINATION ERADICATED” banner. The game then shows the 50,000 Catalysts reward and the “IN RUINS — CHAPTER COMPLETED” screen, with a quest-view prompt. Raphael drops to his knees for his final lines, and a “NEW ENTRY ADDED TO THE JOURNAL” notice confirms the beat is recorded. Once those banners appear, the encounter is settled and the chapter is closed.
