Where to find and how to beat the Skeleton Champion in Dark and Darker

Dark and Darker has a variety of minibosses depending on the dungeon you plan to run, with the Skeleton Champion being the most frequently encountered. Whether it’s to finish the Tavern Master’s “Retracing The Past” quest or for the awesome loot the miniboss offers, the Skeleton Champion is a formidable opponent.

The miniboss boasts a high health pool and moderate movement speed and has multiple spawns, making locating it a little tricky. You might have to activate it using a lever or a pressure plate. Here’s where to find the Skeleton Champion in Dark and Darker.

Skeleton Champion location in Dark and Darker

You can find the Skeleton Champion in all three dungeons—The Howling Crypts, Goblin Caves, and the Ice Cavern, with the same spawns regardless of whether you are running a normal or high roller dungeon. You can also spawn in these locations, so refer to the maps we’ve provided below to know if the miniboss either lurks or can be activated (using either a lever or pressure plate) nearby. 

The Howling Crypts

You can enter two versions of the Crypts, each with its own unique set of rooms. The only real way to differentiate the two is to look at the room names on the mini-map, so keep an eye out for that when venturing in.

The Howling Crypts 1

In this version of the Crypts, the Skeleton Champion has three spawns in total, one towards the north-west corner of the map in the Death Hall, and two other spawns towards the center—one in the Vault and another in the bottom left corner of the Cage.

The Howling Crypts 2

This version of the Crypt contains four spawns, with most on the south half of the map except one spawn in the northeast corner within the High Priests location. You can find the other three spawns on the southmost side of the map in the Old Tomb and  Barracks, with the last one being in the Center Bridge found right above the Corridors located towards the southeast side of the map.

Inferno

For those daring to fight the miniboss in hell itself, one of the two Inferno maps, accessed by heading towards the lower floors of the Howling Crypts, also has a Skeleton Champion spawn. You can find it within the Goblin Maze Location on the east side of the map.

The Goblin Caves

The Goblin Caves hold three spawns where the Skeleton Champion can be located in the Goblin Maze towards the north-west side of the map and in the Stone Graves A and Stone Graves B locations that can be found towards the west side of the map. 

The Ice Caverns

Finally, the Ice Caverns has three spawns, with one in the north-west side found in the Cave Pathway location (be wary of this one because two other minibosses, Frost Giant Berserker and Frost Giant Shielder, spawn in the room opposite to it in the Bridge location) and two other spawns in the bottom left and right corners of the map found in the Maze and WatchTower locations. 

How to beat the Skeleton Champion in Dark and Darker

Now you have located your target, let’s look at its attack patterns. The Skeleton Champion protects itself with a shield with an active hitbox. It can either perform an upward diagonal slash or a download diagonal slash when in close proximity.

If you keep in proximity, the Skeleton Champion can follow up its first slash with an additional two attacks, with the third attack being either a forward thrust or a shield bash, depending on your proximity to it.

It might sound scary on paper, but there’s a reliable way to beat it. Here’s the best way to do so:

Keep your distance and punish

Sure, you could actively dodge all the attacks or even block them, but like with all mobs in the game, the most reliable way of beating the Skeleton Champion would be to punish its attacks. Make sure you have enough space to maneuver around the miniboss. You can bait out its attacks by moving towards it, triggering the first slash, and backing away. Wait for its three-swing combo, and then aim for the head. Keep repeating this process until it collapses. 

If you’re running a ranged build with bows or magic, We recommend keeping your distance and aiming for its head. Just make sure there aren’t any other mobs or players around waiting to pounce on you.

The Skeleton Champion offers some great loot like golden keys and even the Token of Honor and is a great way to fill out your coffers if farmed. Good luck, adventurer.