How to Beat the Swamp Toad — Windrose First Boss
The Swamp Toad is responsible for half of Windrose's 'Mixed' Steam reviews. This is exactly how to kill it on Patch 0.7.3.
Recommended loadout
| Slot | Item | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Main | Iron Cutlass +2 | Best parry frame data in early game |
| Off-hand | Round Buckler | Light shield, doesn’t cap dodge |
| Armor | Light Brigandine set | Medium-light keeps roll fast |
| Consumables | 5× Cooked Cod, 3× Bandage, 1× Antitoxin | Toad inflicts poison phase 2 |
Attack patterns
- Tongue lash — telegraph: head rears back. Parry on lash extension, not retraction.
- Body slam — telegraph: jumps straight up. Sprint sideways, don’t roll.
- Croak AoE — radial poison cloud. Run perpendicular, never away.
- Tongue grab (phase 2 only) — one-shots at <60% HP. The only telegraph is a half-second hiss. Listen for it — visual telegraph is bugged.
Phase 2 trigger
Below 50% HP the toad sinks into the swamp for 4 seconds and emerges enraged. Drink your stamina potion during this window — it’s the only safe heal phase.The cheese (if you’re fed up)
On the southwest edge of the arena there is a tall stone outcrop. The toad cannot tongue-grab you on top of it. With a bow and 60 iron arrows you can whittle it down in ~7 minutes. Patch notes mention this will be fixed in 0.8, so do it now if you’re reading this in May 2026.