Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Boss Guide: All 14 Bosses Beaten

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse sends Rose Belmont through 18 boss encounters spread across 14 unique bosses, because Death, Isaac, Joan, and Dracula each appear twice. Two of those meetings end on cutscenes no matter how well you play, and one is a fragment count rather than a fight. Health pools start at 800 and climb to 12,000. Getting the weapon wrong can turn a manageable fight into a wall, and getting the status effect wrong just wastes mana.

Complete boss list and rewards

Related guide·Castlevania: Belmont's Curse

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Guide: All Movement Ability & How to Get Them

Every movement ability in Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, where to find them, which bosses to beat, and what each one lets you do.

What status effects actually land on bosses?

Before you build a loadout, know what the game simply ignores in boss rooms. Freeze, petrify, launch, slam-down effects, the Chronomantic Dive slow, the Freezing Path link, and the Infernal Pyre launch all do nothing to any boss. Saint Louis is the single carve-out: he can be petrified while every other boss cannot.

Chains of Justice is the one control spell that connects reliably, rooting Arthur, Death, Dracula, Medusa, Talos, and Saint Louis. Bleed has no effect on Arthur, Death, Talos, or Dracula. Fire bounces off Arthur, Talos, and Dracula. The Arcane Whip cannot hook Dracula at all. Build for what works in each specific arena rather than chasing the highest tier on a general list.

How to beat The Fallen

The Fallen opens the game at 800 health and functions as a tutorial for every pattern the harder fights will reuse. His Holy Cross arcs back through his own body after leaving his hand, so jumping it once is not enough. Swing a weapon to break it mid-flight instead. His three-hit claw sequence is where you score damage: get behind him rather than trading from the front.

Past the one-third mark he starts using the overhead Anchor to swing at Rose. Crouch or slide toward the arena walls, then jump the shockwave when he drops. His whip grab telegraphs clearly from the moment the strand leaves his hand, so move as soon as you see it extend.

How to beat Joan of Arc

First encounter

Joan holds 1,800 health on the Prison Tower rooftop and routinely surprises players who expect her to be easier than the bosses that follow. Her greatsword covers the front of the arena throughout the fight, making direct trades a poor plan. The correct approach is to pass through her and attack from behind, where her only counter is a short backward jab.

The Cestus suits this fight well because each connected punch increases the force of the next, and her turned back gives you the window to chain them. When fireballs collect overhead and her arm rises, they descend as columns of flame with clear gaps between them. Pick a gap and hold it rather than sprinting across the arena. Crouching also dodges her thrusting attacks cleanly, which is faster than jumping when you can read the tell.

At 50% health she absorbs the fireballs and her attacks gain enhanced versions: the Reverse Thrust trails a longer flame, the first jab of her Twin Thrust reaches farther, and the Rising Slash sends a larger wave. The dodge rules stay consistent: slide under standard sword swings, but jump or retreat whenever she drags the blade along the floor, because that low slash catches Rose mid-slide.

For her aerial attack, two Luminous Anchors hang above the arena. Latch onto one with the Arcane Whip and stay airborne until the attack ends. Each Anchor darkens briefly after use, so do not rely on the same one back-to-back.

Rewards: Holy Light, Infernal Pyre, the Burnt Sword of Fierbois at attack rating 25, and the Warrior's Key.

Reaching Joan: the Carpenter's Crane

The rooftop arena sits behind the Carpenter's Crane puzzle in the Prison Tower. A yellow grapple anchor with a hexagonal wooden structure above it sits in the northeastern section of the tower map. Swing from it three times and the structure breaks, opening the elevator route to the rooftop. If you cannot locate the anchor, drop back to the Mirror of Life level, move west to the exterior wall, and use the purple anchor on the outside surface to begin the climbing sequence.

Second encounter

Joan appears again during the Four Virtues Trials inside Notre-Dame. She retains her full Phase 1 and Phase 2 movesets with one addition, the Blazing Thrust, and she is noticeably faster with a larger health pool. After you seemingly defeat her, she recovers 70% of her HP and enters her second phase immediately. Luminous Anchors are absent from this arena, so Double Jump becomes the primary tool for surviving the Fiery Plunge.

Phase 2 starts at 50% HP

How to beat Medusa

Medusa has 1,500 health and never occupies the same platform as Rose, which removes most close-range options from the equation. Infernal Pyre spreads flame along floors she is not standing on and contributes nothing here. Equip Holy Cross instead and open with fast pokes from the Lance for range.

Stay off the bottom platforms with one exception: when Medusa lurches back to charge her petrifying ray, a boulder drops onto the bottom platform opposite her position. Getting behind that boulder is the only reliable way to survive the sweep. After the ray, she begins summoning Medusa Heads and battering the upper platforms, so cross to the opposite side and continue throwing crosses.

How to beat Death

The first Death encounter in the Catacombs is unwinnable. Standing close results in a one-touch kill, and playing the fight out perfectly still ends on a cutscene. Hold your Potions.

The second fight, in the Transept at Notre-Dame with 8,444 health, is the real one. It requires The Builder, The Artist, and The Occultist cards before the door opens. Death resists bleed, but Chains of Justice roots him. Constant repositioning after each attack sequence is more reliable than trying to sustain pressure. Winning pays out Soul Harvest, the Vampire Killer, and Double Jump. For the full list of what Double Jump opens up across the map, the movement abilities guide covers every unlock.

How to beat Isaac

The Main Hall encounter is a deliberate illusion with no card reward. Keep distance, dodge the direct hits, and punish after his combos end.

The real fight at the Heart of the Clock carries 2,500 health and harder-hitting attacks than anything before it. Equip Soul Harvest, use the clock on the Clock Tower Bridge to break the Cursed Horologium, then climb through the Clockmaker's Atrium via the red switches. Slip behind his spear dash rather than jumping over it. A black clock face signals incoming green beams: dropping to the lower level dodges the crossing pattern. The ghost copies that appear deal no damage and exist purely to pull your attention. His spear strings always end in a pause, and that pause is where all the damage happens. Chauve-Souris is in the arena after the win.

How to beat Talos

Talos occupies the Final Trap in the Clock Tower at 5,000 health. The false throne room off the Clock Tower Bridge is a trap that locks in the bad ending, so avoid it entirely. The actual route runs through the Builder's Secret Elevator, the Foundry Apex, and the Final Trap.

The fight runs three phases, each separated by a trap-filled obstacle course. Talos does not add new attacks between phases; he performs the same moves faster and for longer, which shrinks your reaction windows progressively.

The battery strategy: Talos periodically scatters blue-glowing batteries around the arena. Destroy every one and he staggers, opening a brief free-damage window. Clear the area immediately after, because his recovery punch is wide and heavy.

• Spiraling fire volleys cover large sections of the arena. Platforms stop the projectiles entirely, so use them as cover rather than trying to thread the gaps.
• Heavy punch wind-ups are clearly telegraphed. End your combo before he commits and move away from the affected side.
• The wide fire curtain rains flames across most of the arena. Shelter beneath a platform and wait for it to clear before counterattacking. Attacking through it is not worth the health cost.
• Floating yellow mines display glowing circles showing their blast radius. Find a position outside every circle simultaneously and hold it until they detonate.

After the lower arena phase, a 90-second countdown starts and you must retrace the route in reverse to reach the upper arena and finish off Talos's remaining health. Memorise the whip anchor positions on the way down. Brief waits for stone blocks to clear are faster than recovering from a missed jump or a hit.

Rewards: The Builder Arcana, Fist of Talos spell, and the Smash ability. Smash lets Rose drop vertically from the air to break blocks marked with golden cracks, opening new routes across the map.

How to beat Carmilla

Carmilla sits in the Observatory at the top of the Library at 4,500 health. Getting there requires crossing the Rhetoric Shelves into the Planetarium, reading the Star Chart, and rotating the rings in the Observation Tower to match the constellation it displays.

The fight opens with an unavoidable curse placing an 8 above Rose's head. Each blood attack that connects ticks that number down, and reaching zero triggers an instant-kill grab. She also takes zero damage until both skull shields orbiting her are destroyed. Clear the shields by jumping over the pale apex of each blood wave, then attack freely. At half health the pattern shifts to columns of blood in readable sequences, and near the end she traps Rose in the centre with rows of pillars and paired waves coming from both sides.

How to beat Brauner

Brauner has 4,250 health in his Atelier, located west of the Servants' Hall. The fight does not begin until you grapple above the stone block hanging in the room's centre and Smash down onto it, which is why clearing Talos first is a hard requirement.

He moves between fixed positions around the arena and pulls creatures from his paintings to fight for him. Eliminate the summons quickly and step back the moment any one of them begins glowing: that glow signals detonation. His Vampiric Drain projectile applies a health-over-time bleed on contact, so avoid it rather than tanking through it. Attack during the gaps between summon waves. Masterpiece is the reward and serves as the key that unlocks Notre-Dame.

How to beat Mammon (optional)

Mammon is optional and sits behind the flesh-and-eyes door in the Circle of Greed at 8,000 health. The door requires three relics equipped at once: the Thrilling Eye from an altar in the Hospital on the Street of the Tomb Masons, the Trembling Eye from an alcove in the Pillaged Tombs at the cemetery, and the Oozing Eye from a raised platform inside the Circle of Greed itself.

His attacks slam the floor and send beams across a gold-filled chamber. The overhead Anchors let you stay airborne during floor slams, which removes the most dangerous part of his pattern. Weave between beams rather than pushing through them, and commit to attacks only while he hovers or recovers. His hoard contains the Ferryman's Obol, which the Ferryman exchanges for The Whisperer.

Stay airborne during floor slams

How to beat Saint Louis

Saint Louis carries 12,000 health, the largest pool in the game, and never attacks Rose directly. The encounter at the Tree of Justice in the Palace of Justice is a balance trial: stand on the left side of the scales and interact.

The requirement is five full maximum health upgrades and five full maximum mana upgrades, totalling 20 Brave Heart Fragments and 20 Wise Heart Fragments. Rose's health and mana drain continuously while skeletons and fliers harass her during the trial, so arrive fully stocked. Balancing the scales awards The Judge and the Valmanway. The Judge is required for the true ending.

How to beat the Succubus

The Succubus closes the Descent into Memory sequence inside Belmont Manor at 8,000 health. She wears Rose's mother's face and fights from behind a barrier that only drops when you destroy her illusory copies. Dodge the low attacks, clear the copies, and spend everything you have during the stun window that follows each set. She is a difficulty spike compared to anything before her, so a full Potion stock is not optional. The reward is Life Drain and the complete Hall of Mirrors map.

How to beat Arthur (optional)

Arthur holds 11,000 health in the Chapel south of the Notre-Dame Forest entrance. Complete the Feat of Strength, pull the sword from the altar, and he rises as a giant knight assembled from stained glass.

Fire and bleed both fail. Chains of Justice is the control answer. His attacks send waves of glass shards along the floor and wide beams of light across the arena. Jump the floor waves, hold the gaps between beams, and attack during the slow recovery animations. Excalibur drops here at 100 attack power. That number alone justifies the detour even if Stained-Glass Shield never makes your loadout.

How to beat the Doppelganger

The Doppelganger only materialises once Rose holds all four virtue blessings from the stained-glass trials. Its health bar displays ??? before resolving into Rose's own shadow at 8,778 health. It uses Rose's complete moveset including weapon dashes and aerial strings, so let its combos finish before committing to a punish. A purple mirror signals an incoming teleport. When IMMUNE appears on screen, hold mana, jump the ground waves, and stay airborne through the dark pillar sequences.

Winning grants Absolution and the Doppelganger Outfit. That outfit is one of several unlockable looks covered in the Rose Belmont skins guide.

How to beat Dracula

Dracula runs 7,666 health across two phases and two rooms. In the Court of the Night he teleports around the arena and summons pillars of flame. Slip between the columns and hold off on attacking until each casting animation finishes. Enough damage transitions the fight to the Castle Rooftops, where he transforms into a winged demon that rains meteors and sweeps with claws. Step out of the impact markers and hit him after each explosion clears.

Grappling, burning, and bleeding all fail on Dracula. Raw damage and positioning are the only tools available. Neither encounter drops a card. The route you take to reach him determines the ending: the true ending requires The Self to be equipped so Absolution can be cast in the brief window after his second form collapses. Every condition is detailed in the all endings guide.

Common mistakes

• Spending Potions on the first Death encounter. The fight ends on a cutscene regardless of performance.
• Walking into the false throne room off the Clock Tower Bridge before finding the Builder's hidden route. This commits you to the bad ending.
• Bringing fire or bleed spells against Talos, Arthur, or Dracula. All three are fully immune to both.
• Chasing the ghost copies during the real Isaac fight. They deal no damage and are there purely to waste your mana.
• Heading to Saint Louis before collecting 20 Brave Heart Fragments and 20 Wise Heart Fragments. The scales cannot balance without them.

Pro tips

• Chains of Justice is the only control effect that functions in boss rooms. It roots six of the fourteen bosses and belongs in your loadout for every major encounter.
• Doing Arthur and Saint Louis before the Succubus is the order that makes the Succubus manageable. Excalibur at 100 attack power and a working control spell shorten the fight considerably.
• Weapon selection matters per arena: Cestus on Joan, Lance for reach on Medusa, Excalibur on everything after Arthur.
• For the 90-second Talos escape, study the whip anchor positions during the descent. Short pauses for stone blocks are faster than recovering from a missed jump.

For a full breakdown of every weapon Rose can carry into these fights, the all weapon locations guide covers all 28 options, their attack ratings, and where to find each one. More walkthroughs, collectible maps, and mechanic breakdowns are collected in the Castlevania: Belmont's Curse guides hub.

FAQ

Can you win the first Death encounter in the Catacombs? No. The fight ends on a cutscene regardless of what you do. Save your Potions for the real encounters.

Which boss has the highest health pool? Saint Louis at 12,000, though his encounter is a balance trial rather than a direct fight. The highest health on a straightforward combat boss is Death at 8,444 in the second meeting.

Which bosses are completely optional? Mammon and Arthur are both off the critical path. Mammon provides the Ferryman's Obol and Arthur drops Excalibur at 100 attack power, so both pay for themselves.

Does the Doppelganger fight affect which ending you get? Yes. Winning gives you Absolution, which is required to cast the ability that triggers the true ending in the brief window after Dracula's second form falls.