You can take another crack
Most of the achievements and trophies in Cult of the Lamb are only a matter of time, but I was nervous about needing to topple the main bosses without taking any damage to unlock “Order,” “Sate,” “Cure,” and “Peace.” After trading blows with every bishop in my original playthrough, I figured there had to be some way to initiate a rematch — the notion of needing to start a new save seemed out of whack with the rest of the game’s player-friendly tendencies. Thankfully, there is a way to replay bosses, and it’s quick.
Early on, you might’ve destroyed many of the bishop statues that appear in dungeons since 1) other breakable objects can give you resources for your base and 2) it’s inherently fun to smash shit. At a certain point, I stopped doing this — that was my mistake.
To replay the bishop bosses in Cult of the Lamb, you just need to break a statue in their dungeon. Normally, you’d absorb some devotion and move on. You can destroy the first one you see, or you can hold off to potentially power yourself up and break a later statue.
Look for a statue like this and smashy smashy
A few good hits will do the job, at which point a red teleporter will appear. Hitch a ride and you’ll be whisked away to the boss room, complete with the transformation cutscene.
In other words, if you’re a completionist, you absolutely do not need to try and beat the bishops without getting hit on your first attempt. Phew.
If needed, here’s a quick video guide from Realm Space Gaming:
To improve your odds, equip the Golden Fleece
By completing side quests with specific NPCs (not cultists) in Cult of the Lamb, you can unlock alternate fleeces at your altar using the “Crown” option. It’s up to you on which outfits you unlock first — and if you’re thorough, you can eventually get them all.
As soon as I got the white fleece, which grants four tarot cards at the start of a run (but prevents you from getting any more), I rolled with that all the way to the end of Cult of the Lamb. That said, another — the golden fleece — is ideal for these take-no-damage boss fight achievements/trophies. With slight prep, it’ll make the fights as short as possible.
The golden fleece raises your damage after every kill, but if you get hit, the effect resets. You’ll also take double the normal damage. It’s a classic glass-cannon setup.
With a hard-hitting axe and the golden fleece, I was able to comfortably bring down Leshy (the first boss) on my first no-hit attempt. If you’re running with this sort of setup, you’ll want to take out as many enemies as you can. It pays to play methodically before teleporting to the bishop. By the time you’re ready for a rematch, you’ll have a huge damage boost, which means a shorter fight and fewer opportunities for a stray projectile or creep to smack you. You can get in, take a swipe or two, and safely get out.
I’m glad I used a different fleece my first time through, in order to get a feel for every boss’s full moveset — this one is almost too powerful. (Please don’t nerf it.)
I wasn’t sure I’d end up going for 100% completion in Cult of the Lamb, but knowing it’s not that monotonous to replay the bishop bosses, I think I will. Now I just need to sacrifice more of my people (it feels bad!) and find one last hard-to-pin-down tarot card.
