Silent Hill f: How to defeat the Rinko-like boss 

Silent Hill f’s Rinko-like monster is encountered at the end of your fourth Dark Shrine visit and is the second Formidable Foe you will fight. Despite not having a face, the monster’s long, flowing hair and familiar voice reveal that this is the corrupted version of Hinako’s friend.  

Note that spoilers follow for Silent Hill f. 

When the battle starts, you will find yourself in Hinako’s Beast Form. Immediately start attacking the boss, as she will clutch her chest and prepare for an explosion attack. Thanks to the invulnerability that Beast Form provides, you will be able to tank the Rinko-like monster’s explosion. 

Watch out for the boss’s whip attacks 

The Rinko-like monster’s melee attacks come in the form of a quick step followed by a five-hit maximum combo with her whip. The number of attacks she commits to changes, but the final attack of each combo can be countered if you are close enough. Make sure to dodge the initial attacks and keep an eye out for a red distortion effect, which signals the final attack. Countering with a heavy attack will stun her, leaving her open to more damage. 

Crowd management is the key to dealing with the Rinko-like monster’s summoned minions 

Throughout the fight, minions that resemble the real Rinko will spawn in the arena. They can easily be sidestepped in their normal form, but what you really need to watch out for are when they are set ablaze by any of the boss’s fire attacks. 

Should a Rinko minion catch fire, they will writhe in pain before charging and exploding in your general location. While their attacks can easily be dodged, having to manage the attacking boss and her self-destructing minions can become challenging without proper crowd control. You can thin the herd of Rinko minions by eliminating them, just be sure to siphon their souls when they are down or use Hinako’s Beast Form to prevent them from reanimating. 

The Rinko-like monster has several ranged fire attacks 

The Rinko-like monster will routinely grab the inside of her chest with her right hand and lob fireballs at you. The fireballs deal damage with the initial toss and momentarily engulf the spots that they land in flames. 

If the Rinko-like monster clutches her head for an extended period of time, she is gearing up for a long succession of fire spot attacks. Be on the lookout for any smoke spots on the floor, as these dictate where the fire spots will burst. The delays between each wave of fire spot attacks are long and denoted by the boss slowly raising her arms before slamming them down. Use the lull in her attacks to either heal up or get in close for some damage of your own. 

The Rinko-like monster’s longest-reaching fire attack comes in the form of a fire pillar. A long streak of smoke will line the floor from the boss’s location, which will soon erupt into a tall fire pillar. While the pillar can be easily dodged, this move is the one that will often set the Rinko minions ablaze. Be aware of any flaming minions that are running toward you as soon as the pillar dissipates. 

In addition to the initial explosion at the start of the fight, the Rinko-like monster will occasionally perform two types of explosions. The first type is the deadliest, as its startup animation is fast and unpredictable. The boss will crouch down, as if in pain, before quickly raising her hand upwards. This will cause the area around her to smoke momentarily before exploding. 

The second type of explosion covers a wider area but is easier to predict, as the arena will go dark and bright orange spots will appear on the floor around the boss. She seems to do the second explosion more frequently as she nears death, so be on the lookout when planning your offensive. 

Thanks to your newfound Beast Form, the Rinko-like monster shouldn’t be as difficult as the Sakuko-like monster you fought previously. Defeating the boss without any of her minions damaging you will net you the “Echoes of Jealousy” achievement, and will signal the beginning of Silent Hill f’s final act. 

Silent Hill f is available for the PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X|S.  

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