If you’re wondering how to beat Marni’s Clockwork Mantis in Crimson Desert, the short answer is this: parry its front leg strikes, dump your spirit into Force Palm counters, and dodge everything else. This mechanical boss shows up during Chapter 10 and looks a lot scarier than it actually is once you know the pattern. Below is the exact strategy that gets you through the fight without burning through a stack of healing food.

Where to Find Marni’s Clockwork Mantis in Crimson Desert

Marni’s Clockwork Mantis shows up during the “Frozen Hearted Predator” quest, part of Chapter 10: Counterattack, right after you help defend Krall Foundry from the Turbine assault. Once the wrecked Turbine is cleared out, the game reveals that it was hiding a secret weapon underneath, and that’s when this giant flying mantis mech drops in. You can’t skip this fight if you’re following the main story, so there’s no point avoiding it. The good news is that it only has one health bar, no matter how intimidating it looks flying overhead with its legs spread out.

Before you go in, it’s worth swinging by an Anvil and a Grind Stone to reinforce whatever weapon and armor you’re currently running, and pack a few extra pieces of healing food. You won’t need a ton of resources for this one, but a little preparation goes a long way. If you’ve been working through the Force Palm mechanics already from a fight like the Awakened Lucian Bastier encounter, you already have everything you need for this boss.

How to Beat Marni’s Clockwork Mantis with the Force Palm Counter

Here’s the core of how to beat Marni’s Clockwork Mantis, and it’s simpler than it looks. At the start of the fight, switch into Focus mode and just wait. The boss will almost always open with a strike from its front legs. Parry that hit, then immediately fire off a Force Palm using all the spirit you’ve built up. That single counter chews through a big chunk of its yellow stamina bar and chips away at its main health at the same time.

Once your spirit is empty, don’t try to keep trading blows. Back off to a safe distance and switch to Focus mode again to let your spirit regenerate. This is very important, because when you’re far away, the mantis calms down and stops pressing its attacks, which gives you a clean window to recover before going back in. Repeat this loop, parry the leg strike, Force Palm, retreat, recover, and you’ll be filling that yellow bar steadily the whole fight. Just remember that the front leg strike is the only attack you can safely parry. Everything else on this boss needs to be dodged instead.

Marni’s Clockwork Mantis Yellow Laser Attack and Other Moves to Dodge

Outside of the melee combo, the Marni’s Clockwork Mantis yellow laser attack is the one to watch for. The boss telegraphs it by pulling back before firing, and if you catch that windup in time, a simple sidestep dodge gets you clear. If you miss the timing, don’t panic, the damage isn’t severe enough to wreck your run, and you can top your health back off with food afterward. The mech can also fire multiple laser shots in a row, but there’s a brief gap between each one where you can still slip out of the way.

The other attack to know is the aerial jump, where the mantis flies up high and drops straight down at you. Don’t try to block this one. I made that mistake once and learned the hard way that guarding doesn’t work here, you have to dodge to the side instead. If the boss takes enough consecutive damage, it will sometimes disengage and fire a burning ranged shot from a distance, so don’t assume it’s done attacking just because it’s flown away. The mantis also isn’t always alone. It can summon a pair of Dragonfly Fighters partway through the encounter, and taking those out quickly keeps the fight from getting chaotic, since they’ll otherwise chip your health down while you’re focused on the main target. For a laser-heavy fight with a similar dodge-and-counter rhythm, the beam patterns in the Master Du boss guide use a lot of the same timing.

Filling the Yellow Stamina Bar Twice to End the Boss Fight

Marni’s Clockwork Mantis only has one phase, so the entire fight really comes down to filling that yellow stamina bar with Force Palm counters. When the bar maxes out, the boss drops to the ground to rest, and that’s your opening to unload heavy attacks for serious damage. In my own run, I only had to fill that bar twice before the fight was basically over. After the second stagger, the boss was left with barely any health, and any solid hit was enough to finish it off.

Once you’re in that final stretch, use a heavy attack or the Blinding Flash Finisher to close things out, and you’re set. There’s no third phase or surprise attack pattern waiting for you, so once you’ve got the parry-and-counter loop down, this fight becomes one of the more straightforward boss encounters in the back half of the game. If you’re chasing more post-fight objectives afterward, the next story beats tie into the same region covered in the New Perspectives walkthrough.

Tips to Avoid Mistakes During the Marni’s Clockwork Mantis Fight

A few small things make this fight noticeably smoother. Keep an eye on your spirit gauge and don’t force a Force Palm counter if you’re not fully charged, since a weak hit barely dents the stamina bar and leaves you exposed. Stay patient during the retreat-and-recover phase too. It’s tempting to keep pressing the attack, but rushing back in before your spirit refills usually just means eating a hit you didn’t need to take.

Bring enough healing food, since the laser shots and the aerial drop attack can add up if your dodge timing is a little off early on. And don’t forget this: the front leg strike is your bread and butter here, so if you’re struggling, slow down and wait specifically for that opening instead of trying to parry everything the boss throws at you. If you’ve already got a feel for timed counters from a Force Palm puzzle like the one in the Sanctum of Transcendence guide, this fight will feel familiar fast.

One more thing worth mentioning: don’t fight this boss in a cramped spot if you can help it. The mantis needs room to fly, jump, and reposition, and so do you when it comes time to retreat and refill your spirit gauge. If you find yourself boxed in against wreckage or a wall, back out toward open ground before continuing the parry loop. It sounds like a small detail, but losing your dodge window because you backed into an obstacle is an easy way to eat damage you didn’t need to take, especially during the aerial drop attack when you need a full sidestep to clear it.

What You Get for Beating Marni’s Clockwork Mantis

Once the fight is over, you’ll get the story progression tied to the “Frozen Hearted Predator” quest along with the usual crafting materials and gear drops you’d expect from a mid-to-late chapter boss. It’s not a loot-heavy encounter compared to some of the optional world bosses, but the story beats that follow are worth it, since this fight is what pushes the Krall Foundry storyline into its next phase. If you cleared the Turbine assault leading up to this fight, you’ll notice the region calms down noticeably afterward, with fewer patrols and a clearer path to whatever objective you’ve got marked on the map next.

It’s also worth taking a minute after the fight to check your gear condition. Between the melee combo, the laser volleys, and the Dragonfly Fighters, your armor durability can take a hit even on a clean run, so a quick repair before moving on to the next story chapter saves you from getting caught out later.

Marni’s Clockwork Mantis FAQ

Where is Marni’s Clockwork Mantis in Crimson Desert? It appears during the “Frozen Hearted Predator” quest in Chapter 10: Counterattack, after you clear the Turbine assault at Krall Foundry.

What’s the best strategy for Marni’s Clockwork Mantis? Parry its front leg strikes and answer with a full-spirit Force Palm, then retreat to Focus mode to recover spirit before going back in. Fill the yellow stamina bar to open it up for heavy damage.

What does the yellow laser attack do? It’s a ranged shot that can be dodged with a well-timed sidestep. If you miss the dodge, the damage is manageable and can be healed with food.

Can you block the aerial jump attack? No, that one has to be dodged. Blocking or trying to parry it won’t work.

Is Marni’s Clockwork Mantis hard? Not really. It only has one phase, and once you learn the parry and Force Palm loop, most players clear it after staggering the boss just twice.

That covers everything you need for how to beat Marni’s Clockwork Mantis in Crimson Desert. Stick to the parry, Force Palm, and retreat rhythm, dodge the laser and the aerial drop, and you’ll have this boss down without much trouble. Check out our other Crimson Desert guides on ingametor.com for more boss strategies and walkthroughs.