To beat General Lothaire in Valor Mortis, you should boost your endurance, equip the best early-game amber, and, most importantly, be very brave. While General Lothaire isn't the first elite enemy you've come across, he's an absolute menace compared to the folks at the stone quarry. Don't feel bad if you need more than a few tries to get past him.
Including the best loadout and strategy, here's how to defeat General Lothaire in Valor Mortis. Although you will first encounter General Lothaire at the end of Chapter 1, you're unlikely to defeat him. That's okay; after he kills you, you'll wake up at the start of the next chapter.
At the end of Chapter 2, you'll meet General Lothaire again, but this time, you must defeat him to move on. General Lothaire's boss arena is on the cliff behind the stone quarry. Clear the quarry to unlock the elevator leading upward.
You're probably around level 8 when you reach General Lothaire, which means you have six to eight skill points to divide, and one amber slot to fill. As a full nephtoglobin bar without upgrades is enough to burn Lothaire, and it's more important to recover HP than to have a high max HP, it's best to put your first skill points in Maximum Endurance (max stamina). After that, Parrying Impact is very useful, as it's important to fill Lothaire's posture bar as quickly as possible.
If you don't feel confident about your parrying ability, invest in the Blocking skill instead, which reduces the endurance cost of blocking and grants more recoverable health. Should you wish to change your character build, you can respec at a lantern. As you only have one amber slot, pick one of the following options, in order of recommendation: As for special items, the following are most useful: The Nephtoglobin Vials, Flaming Whetstones, and Fire-Clad Rounds are lifesavers when you run out of nephtoglobin just before you've burned Lothaire.
As items are finite, though, don't use them at the start of the fight. Once you've got a good chance to win (in phase two), start chucking grenades! General Lothaire always opens the battle with one of two opening moves: He either shoots his shoulder cannon (a triple shot) or he uses his jump attack.
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