Quick answer: The Lion Dance Grandmaster fights in two phases: a fire-breathing lion costume (88,830 HP) that leaps and charges, then Flame on foot with the spiked lion head (98,700 HP). Dash sideways out of his fire stream; blocking it fails.
He waits at the end of the Lion Dance Hall Depths in Pangzhen, during the main quest The Heart’s Trail, and he is one of the fights in the full boss list. Each phase has its own name bar, and fire does most of the damage in both.
Lion Dance Grandmaster at a glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Lion Dance Hall Depths, Pangzhen |
| Quest | The Heart’s Trail |
| Phase 1 name bar | “Flame, the Mask-Bound Lion Dance Grandmaster” |
| Phase 1 HP | 88,830 (Pathbreaker and Wayfarer) |
| Phase 2 name bar | “The Lion Dance Grandmaster’s Final Dance” |
| Phase 2 HP | 98,700 |
| Main threat | Fire and Burn |
| Nearest bell | Lion Dance Hall Depths bell |
| Reward | Dormant Flaming Mane, achievement “The Lion’s Spirit Lives On” |
The arena is an open earthen yard ringed by burning wooden poles, red banners and strings of red lanterns, with piles of old lion-dance costumes scattered around. If Soul dies, you respawn at the Lion Dance Hall Depths bell. A death in phase 1 puts him back at full phase 1 health; a death in phase 2 brings him back as “The Lion Dance Grandmaster’s Final Dance” at full health, so phase 1 does not have to be fought again.
Where the Lion Dance Grandmaster fight starts
The fight is live once the name bar “Flame, the Mask-Bound Lion Dance Grandmaster” appears on screen.
Phase 1 attacks: Flame, the Mask-Bound Lion Dance Grandmaster
In phase 1, Flame fights from inside a huge horned lion-dance costume with a spiked lion head. The game does not name his attacks, so the descriptions below go by how each one looks. Watch the flash on each swing. A blue flash means you can parry it, and a red flash means it cannot be parried and you need to dodge. His fire also sets Soul burning, and a Burn icon appears beside the health bar while it ticks damage for a few seconds.
Opening strikes
He often opens with a quick string of close-range strikes, two hits in quick succession with more right behind them. Dodge the first two and wait for the string to finish before you hit back. Attacking in the middle of it gets you caught by the later strikes.
Fire stream
The lion’s mouth pours a long stream of fire across the ground in front of him, and it keeps burning for over a second. Do not block it. A raised guard breaks under the stream and the fire keeps hitting straight through. Dash sideways out of it and keep moving until it stops.
Fireball
At range, he spits a single blazing fireball that arcs toward Soul and bursts on the ground. Sidestep as it leaves his mouth.
Fire column
A tall column of fire erupts from the ground right next to Soul. When he is far away, keep moving instead of standing still.
Leaping slam
The whole lion rears up, leaps into the air and crashes down where Soul is standing. As soon as the lion lifts off, dodge away from the landing spot, then punish him when he hits the ground.
Charge
He lowers the spiked head and rushes forward horns first, kicking up dust. Dodge sideways as the rush begins. Backing straight away does not outrun it.
The phase change
When the first bar empties, a cutscene plays. The costume collapses, and Flame rises in the middle of the yard as pillars of fire burst up around him. The second name bar, “The Lion Dance Grandmaster’s Final Dance”, then appears.
Phase 2 attacks: The Lion Dance Grandmaster’s Final Dance
From the second bar on, he fights on foot, much smaller than the costume, carrying the horned, spiked lion head.
Spiked head thrust
He drops low and drives the spiked lion head forward like a ram. The thrust covers ground, so sidestep it rather than backing up.
Wide sweep
A wide swinging arc at close range covers the space in front of and beside him. Back out of range or dodge through it, and don’t trade hits while you’re inside the swing.
Leap
He jumps high into the air, out of reach, and comes down on Soul. Track where he’s heading while he’s airborne and dodge as he drops.
Perching on the fire poles and the last Ho-Ho
During the second bar he can spring up onto the grid of burning wooden poles and stand on top of it, about 4 metres above the floor, while Ho-Ho lion-dance disciples gather around Soul. Swings from underneath land on the poles, not on him, and standing among the burning poles keeps chipping at your health, so step out onto open ground and deal with the Ho-Ho instead of hacking at the wood.
He stays up there while any Ho-Ho is still standing. The first ones go down to normal hits, but the last Ho-Ho stops at about a quarter of its health bar and won’t lose any more, no matter how many hits or edge arts land on it.
That last Ho-Ho has to be executed, not killed. Walk up to it and press E (Execute) when the prompt shows. Once it’s executed, Flame jumps down off the poles and fights Soul on the floor again, so be ready for his ground attacks straight away.
How hard the Lion Dance Grandmaster hits in phase 1
These numbers are for Soul with 1,402 max HP and three healing gourds.
| Attack | Wayfarer | Pathbreaker |
|---|---|---|
| Opening strikes | About 150 HP each | About 215 HP each (follow-up strikes) |
| Fire stream | About 75 HP per tick | About 107 HP per tick |
On Wayfarer, his heaviest single hit took about 300 HP, and holding a raised guard under the fire stream lets it land up to about 8 ticks, or roughly 600 HP. Burn adds several hundred more damage over the course of a fight. On Pathbreaker, his opening strings alone can take a full 1,402 HP bar down to about 540 before you get a chance to heal.
What to bring and how to survive the fire
- Rest at the Lion Dance Hall Depths bell before going in, so a death costs only the short walk back.
- Equip the Flameward accessory if you have it. It “Reduces fire damage by 50% and Burn buildup rate by 50%”.
- Dash sideways out of the fire stream instead of guarding.
- Dodge on a red flash, parry on a blue flash.
- Heal when he is far away and not spitting fire, and keep moving between gourds.
- If the damage is too much, Wayfarer lowers what he deals. His HP stays the same.
Lion Dance Grandmaster reward
Defeating him gives you the Dormant Flaming Mane, a story item, and unlocks the achievement “The Lion’s Spirit Lives On”. His backstory is told through the Memory Flowers of the Lion Dance Grandmaster.
For another fight in the same quest line, see the Chang Hong boss fight.
