Medusa is one of the more challenging monsters to face in Dragon’s Dogma 2 and it’s not because of how difficult she is to kill. No, the real issue lies in the fact that the Medusa drops an implement called the Preserved Medusa Head, but only when very specific conditions are fulfilled.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Every Archer Augment, Ranked
Looking to see which Archer Augment is worth carrying over to other vocations in DD2? Here’s all you need to know.
Players will want to obtain this item from the Medusa and use it to petrify large bosses, rendering an otherwise hard fight into a cakewalk. Here is how to get it.
How To Get Preserved Medusa Head
Getting a Preserved Medusa Head requires very specific preparation. Getting her head is much harder than simply killing her, which is just a question of damage. Here’s what you need to know.
Step 1: Change Vocation
Change your Vocation to Thief or Warfarer. Thieves deal slashing damage, which is the type of damage you want for cutting things off. In this case, it is Medusa’s head. Fighters and Warriors also deal Slashing damage with the right weapon however, they have a much harder time getting close to the Medusa’s head in the same way Thieves can. If your Thief vocation is not leveled up, that’s even better. We don’t want to kill Medusa before we take off her head. And you can only get her head by cutting it off before her health bars deplete.
Step 2: Imbue Lightning Damage
Lightning damage allows your attacks to build up the enemy stagger meter faster and increases overall damage. Staggering the Medusa will allow you to get the perfect angle on her head to swing as much as possible. There are two ways to deal Lightning damage as a thief, you can either find the Bolts from the Blue dagger which is naturally enchanted with Lightning or pick any random dagger and have a mage with Lightning Boon or Lightning Affinity buff you weapon.
Step 3: Take Off Her Head
Climb on top of the Medusa, wait for your Mage to use Lightning buff, and start swinging. Don’t use any skills, just the regular attack should do the trick. The goal is to get the head to fall off mid-fight. The Medusa has four health bars, if the head doesn’t fall off by the time she’s down to her last health bar, reload from an earlier save. The biggest challenge preventing players from getting the Preserved Medusa Head is that they don’t hit the right spots.
Medusa is not a unique monster and will revive in the same location if you wait for 7 in-game days. Note that only days spent outside of the Wyrmsblood Forest count towards this number.
If you’re facing the problem of killing her too quickly, consider dismissing all hired pawns and only keeping your Main Pawn for the fight. Going a step further, you can even remove all unrelated skills from your Pawn’s hotbar and only give them buff skills like Halildom, Celestial Peaen, and the like. This will allow you to avoid worrying about accidentally killing the Medusa at the wrong time. Additionally, if you’re over-leveled (level 50+), you might end up killing the Medusa even without any help from Pawns. In this case, consider switching your weapon out from an unenhanced dagger bought from Borderwatch Outpost or Melve, nerfing your damage output as much as possible.
If you’re having trouble with Medusa’s petrifying gaze, the Malleating Elixir (Golthisle + Cinnamon Bark) or the Ring of Motility (buy from vendor in Excavation Site) can both nullify the petrification effect.
How To Use Preserved Medusa Head
Here is what you need to do to use the Preserved Medusa Head.
- Open your inventory, select the Preserved Medusa Head, and select Equip. The Medusa Head’s model should now appear on your body like a lantern.
- Find a monster you’d like to use the head on.
- Facing the monster, select ‘Brandish’, either through the keybind (CTRL + R) or from your inventory. Your character will take out the head and aim it towards the nearest monster, freezing it in place.
The primary use for the Preserved Medusa Head is to petrify a monster in the middle of the fight. The most obvious use for this item is during the A Case of Sculptor’s Block where Fulvio asks you to fight a Griffin for him long enough for him to complete the sketch. Using the Medusa’s head to petrify the Griffin will allow Fulvio all the time in the world to get the job done. Of course, you can complete this quest even without the head, but it’ll make it easier.
Similarly, it can also be used during The Guardian Gigantus quest to petrify the stone behemoth in its tracks for a time. This is very useful for making sure you get the ‘Gigantus, I Hardly Knew Ye’ achievement.
Preserving The Medusa Head
The Preserved Medusa Head deteriorates with time, just like an Apple or a piece of Scrag Meat. This means that letting it sit pretty in your inventory if you’re not planning on using it soon is a very bad idea. Luckily, there is a way to preserve the preserved head: putting it in storage. There are two ways to do this.
- Put the Medusa’s Head in a hired Pawn inventory and dismiss them. This will automatically deposit all items belonging to your character in the hired Pawn’s inventory into storage. As the main Pawn cannot be dismissed, this does not work with them (yes, even if you throw them in Brine).
- Fast travel to a Portcrystal using a Ferrystone and rush to the inn (or house) to deposit it yourself.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: 5 Tips To Get Your Pawn Hired
Interested in increasing your Pawn’s chances of attracting an Arisen’s eye in DD2? Here’s are a few tips to help out.
