To beat The Iron Marshall in Valor Mortis, forget about parrying for a moment, and get stabby. Unlike most enemies at the post-apocalyptic eastern front, The Iron Marshall is best fought with fire, speed, and dodging skills. With the right weapons in hand, this cannon-wielding monstrosity won't keep you from completing Chapter 3.
Including the best loadout and strategy, here's how to defeat The Iron Marshall in Valor Mortis. You will encounter The Iron Marshall near the end of Chapter 3, after you've passed through the Fallen Village. After exiting the cellar and walking through the large, misty graveyard, you will come across the Orchard lantern.
The Iron Marshall is in the boss arena behind this lantern. By the time you meet The Iron Marshall, you'll likely be around level 15, which means you've unlocked a second amber slot. If you aren't level 15 yet, you might want to explore some of the previous (optional) areas or grind regular enemies until you are.
For skill point allocation, Maximum Endurance is the best place to start, as extra stamina is always handy. A full, unupgraded nephtoglobin bar is usually not quite enough to apply damage over time with the fire transmutation — to ensure you don't run out of nephtoglobin before reaching the burn application threshold, it's best to add one or two points to the Nephtoglobin Sufferance skill. If you're going for a burn-and-stab strategy (as we describe below), make sure to invest some points in Nephtoglobin Extraction too, as this will replenish more nephtoglobin when you land melee hits.
Put the rest in Melee Damage. The following ambers work well against The Iron Marshall: As for special items, the following are most useful: The best weapon to use against The Iron Marshall depends on your play style; if you plan on parrying a lot, the sabre is a safer choice, but if you're mainly going to stab The Iron Marshall's weak spot (as recommended below), the rapier is best. If you upgraded the sabre instead of the rapier, you can still focus on the weak spot attacks — you will deal less damage per hit, but it works well enough.
The Iron Marshall is a very slow, big-headed creature equipped with an old cannon, which it wields like a mace. This boss battle consists of only one phase, so you don't have to be very stingy with special items. The Iron Marshall only uses melee attacks, either in a one- or three-hit combo.
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