Sarafan Cathedral After a short cinematic clip, you find yourself in the cathedral courtyard surrounded by three swordsman Hunters. Eliminate them and a gate in the northeast corner opens. Besides the way you came in, another hallway leads out from the courtyard, but it dead-ends at a locked door. The Plane Truth If your health spiral empties in the Material Plane, you automatically rejoin the Spectral Plane. Sometimes it's smart to go to the Spectral Plane voluntarily to solve puzzles, phase through gates, or just replenish your health. Hit select button, choose the Plane Shift Glyph, and you'll find plenty of wandering souls to feed on. A Material Plane Portal is located in the center of the courtyard for easy return to the Material Plane. Exit through the newly opened gateway. Another gate bars your way at the end of the hall-if you switch to the Spectral Plane, you can phase through it by holding up arrow or pressing the analog stick forward. Warp back to the Material Plane using the planar portal in the center of the cathedral. Eight guards are here, some with swords and some with halberds. You can either kill or ignore them, then climb the steps to the large eastern gate. No longer under the influence of Moebius's vampire-immobilizing orb, the Reaver returns to Raziel. This gate leads to the inner sanctum and the tomb of King William the Just. Enter, kick back, and watch some cut scenes. Then exit through the door on the south wall. Raziel finds the tomb of King William the Just, whom Kain traveled back in time to assassinate. The Soul Reaver is here, broken from the battle between William and Kain. Raziel's wraith blade undergoes a significant change in the presence of its original self. Moebius also appears, urging Raziel to continue his hunt for Kain, though perhaps his motives aren't entirely altruistic.... Tip Fighting multiple enemies is tricky. Keep moving and learn to switch targets quickly. Don't let yourself get surrounded. If you must clear some space, a fierce attack combo (keep hitting triangle button) or a crouching dash attack usually knocks an enemy clear, giving you vital seconds to deal with his friends. For the crouching dash, auto face an enemy with R1, hold L2, press the analog stick or D-pad toward your victim to dash, and then press square button or triangle button. It's complicated, but effective. Fear the Reaver From this point on, the Reaver is fundamentally altered-it's running the show, and you're just along for the ride. You can summon the Reaver anytime regardless of health, but its hunger for souls is now greater than your own. If you use the Reaver to kill an enemy on the Material Plane, it gets all the soul energy. If you need health, use your claws or another weapon. As you attack with the Reaver, it becomes increasingly powerful-note the new bar encircling your health spiral. As this bar increases, so does the Reaver's power, often felling enemies with a single blow. When the Reaver bar forms a full circle around your health spiral, the ravenous Reaver actually saps your soul, so be careful! You should also note that Raziel's health is drained after the incident in the chapel, so be aware of this as gameplay resumes. In a nearby chapel, Raziel learns about the infamous vampire, Janos Audron, whose still-beating heart was ripped from his body by the Sarafan. The so-called Heart of Darkness can resurrect vampires. Ten gold pieces says that's going to come up again. Exit the inner sanctum via the door on the south wall. Follow the hallway and deal with the Hunter. Go through the door into the Sarafan memorial chapel to learn more about your past as a member of the order. As you enter, a gate comes down on the second level as two halberd-wielding Hunters drop from above. Dispatch them to open the gate. The memorial chapel is a tribute to Raziel and his vampire comrades in arms. Portraits of his fellow Sarafan Warriors line the walls, while Raziel himself is memorialized with a statue. The sight only inflames Raziel's insatiable hunger for revenge. There's a barred gateway on the lower level, but since it's not visibly permeable, you can't phase through it. Take the spiral staircase (almost directly across the chapel, flanked with wall-mounted halberds) to the second floor. The exit is in the southwest corner of the room - use your compass to navigate! Follow the corridor until it ends at double doors. Go through and prepare to behold Nosgoth in its former splendor. |
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