Tears of Metal · Early Access
Tears of Metal bosses and Act-by-Act encounters
Tears of Metal bosses during Early Access follow three Acts with named boss fights, per the Steam store description ("Three acts with varied biomes, enemies, elites, and boss fights"). The Steam Community V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026) confirm Harold and Iseult the Banshee as named Act bosses. Gilles the Hog is the Act 1 Great Gates mini-boss per wiki/community reference; Harold the Dragon's Act number and Iseult the Banshee's Act number are wiki/community reference and are dated 2026-08-29. Defeating Iseult the Banshee is the unlock trigger for Ruadh (Stonecrusher); on a failed boss attempt soldiers are preserved while in-run emblem and charm drafts are lost.
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Tears of Metal bosses during Early Access follow three Acts with named boss fights, per the Steam store description ("Three acts with varied biomes, enemies, elites, and boss fights"). The Steam Community V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026) confirm Harold and Iseult the Banshee as named Act bosses. Gilles the Hog is the Act 1 Great Gates mini-boss per wiki/community reference; Harold the Dragon's Act number and Iseult the Banshee's Act number are wiki/community reference and are dated 2026-08-29. Defeating Iseult the Banshee is the unlock trigger for Ruadh (Stonecrusher); on a failed boss attempt soldiers are preserved while in-run emblem and charm drafts are lost.
- How many Acts and how many Tears of Metal bosses are there?
- Tears of Metal ships with three Acts at the EA launch. The Steam store page official description states "Three acts with varied biomes, enemies, elites, and boss fights," which is the canonical source for the three-Act structure. The SmashP
- What boss names are confirmed for the EA launch?
- Three boss names are confirmed by official sources as of 2026-08-03, with their Act placement treated separately: • Harold: confirmed as a named Act boss by the Steam Community V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026), which document a "Harol
- What does each Act boss encounter look like?
- The per-boss details for the confirmed Tears of Metal bosses are below. Each boss is named by Steam Community patch notes, SmashPad, or the community wiki, and per-boss preparation is dated accordingly.
- Which boss unlocks Ruadh, and how does the boss attempt loop work?
- Defeating Iseult the Banshee is the unlock trigger for Ruadh (Stonecrusher); the V0.8.57278 patch notes (July 24, 2026) added that unlock. On a failed boss attempt soldiers that were banked before the wipe are preserved, while only the in-run emblem and charm drafts are lost; this is the per-boss attempt rule carried across all three Acts.
- Which boss fixes are multiplayer-only?
- The Dreadshot's V0.8.57278 projectile collision fix versus defeated-player hitboxes only affected multiplayer sessions; solo play was not affected. Solo players should treat the remaining two Dreadshot fixes (teleport interruption and ranged-interrupt-on-melee) as applying in every mode.
How many Acts and how many Tears of Metal bosses are there?
Tears of Metal ships with three Acts at the EA launch. The Steam store page official description states "Three acts with varied biomes, enemies, elites, and boss fights," which is the canonical source for the three-Act structure. The SmashPad EA review (dated 2026-08-03) describes the same structure as three regions with captains tiered by region 1, 2, and 3 (region used synonymously with act in that review). The Steam Community V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026) name Harold and Iseult the Banshee as named Act bosses without assigning them to a specific Act number. The three Acts share the same core combat system but escalate enemy density, elite spawn rates, and boss complexity. The Act progression is also the unlock path for new heroes, new emblem clans, and the village upgrades that change the between-campaign loop. The current hero roster and the unlock path for each launch hero is on the Heroes & Characters page, and the emblem and charm build system is on the Emblems & Build System page.
What boss names are confirmed for the EA launch?
Six named encounters are tracked by the site as of 2026-08-29, with Act placement and patch-fix attribution kept distinct for each. Three Act bosses are confirmed by official Paper Cult sources, and three additional enemy captains or mini-bosses are tracked from the Steam Community patch notes even though Paper Cult has not assigned them to a specific Act number. • Harold the Dragon: confirmed as a named Act boss by the Steam Community V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026), which document a "Harold Boss invincibility" fix; the V0.11.57863 Big Balancing Patch (August 1, 2026) re-fixed Harold invincibility and corrected Crusader's Purifying Light behavior. Harold's specific Act number is wiki/community reference dated 2026-08-29; the Steam Community patch notes do not pin him to an Act, and the SmashPad EA review references him only as a fight. • Iseult the Banshee: confirmed as a named Act boss by the Steam Community V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026), which document an "Iseult the Banshee jumping/floating" fix; the V0.11.57863 Big Balancing Patch (August 1, 2026) rebalanced the stun bar so damage affects it more, parries affect it less, and it decays more slowly. Her specific Act number is wiki/community reference dated 2026-08-29; defeating her is the official unlock trigger for Ruadh (Stonecrusher), per V0.8.57278. • Gilles the Hog: the Act 1 Great Gates mini-boss per the community wiki whisperofthehouse.com boss-guide (dated 2026-08-29); the SmashPad EA review references the fight but does not name Gilles. V0.8.57278 fixed an AI aggression bug where he would ignore players who had been attacking him for an extended period. • Act 3 Giant Captain: distinct from Harold; V0.8.57278 fixed the Act 3 Giant sometimes remaining invincible, and V0.9.57408 listed the Giant invincibility fix alongside a separate "Fixed Harold Boss something being invincible" entry. Treating the Act 3 Giant Captain as separate from Harold keeps the per-boss fix list unambiguous. • The Dreadshot: a ranged boss whose V0.8.57278 fixes covered teleport interruption by obstructions, ranged attacks being interrupted by melee at close range, and projectile collision with defeated-player hitboxes. The third fix only affected multiplayer sessions; solo players should not expect to see it. • War Drummer (with Bomber summons): a support captain; V0.11.57863 (August 1, 2026) reduced Bomber summons from two to one per attack and added the new ally-damage rule that Bombers and Elite enemies can no longer damage allies. Any specific Act number for these encounters is wiki/community reference where the wiki assigns one, and unconfirmed where it does not.
What does each Act boss encounter look like?
The per-boss details for the confirmed Tears of Metal bosses are below. Each boss is named by Steam Community patch notes, SmashPad, or the community wiki, and per-boss preparation is dated accordingly.
Harold the Dragon
Harold the Dragon is one of the named Act bosses confirmed by the Steam Community V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026), which document a "Harold Boss invincibility" fix. The V0.11.57863 Big Balancing Patch (August 1, 2026) re-fixed Harold invincibility and corrected Crusader's Purifying Light behavior so the Crusader's Purifying Light passive no longer leaves him stuck in his laser animation. Harold's invincibility fixes are his own and are kept distinct from the Act 3 Giant Captain invincibility fixes, which the V0.8.57278 and V0.9.57408 patch notes list under the Act 3 Giant. Any specific Act assignment of Harold is wiki/community reference dated 2026-08-29. The recommended preparation is a Wallace or Brienne run with at least one Charm that boosts soldier survivability. Soldiers recruited and promoted before a boss encounter carry forward to the next campaign as permanent veterans, which is covered in more detail on the Soldiers & Companions page.
Iseult the Banshee
Iseult the Banshee is one of the named Act bosses confirmed by the Steam Community V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026), which document an "Iseult the Banshee jumping/floating" fix. The V0.11.57863 Big Balancing Patch (August 1, 2026) rebalanced her stun bar so damage affects it more, parries affect it less, and it decays more slowly; this is the headline rebalance that changed which builds and Charm picks feel effective against her. The V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026) fixed the Iseult the Banshee floating glitch and the Iseult the Banshee sometimes-jumping-away-and-never-returning glitch; V0.8.57278 added a temporary invisibility fix. Defeating Iseult is the official unlock trigger for Ruadh (Stonecrusher), per the V0.8.57278 (July 24, 2026) changelog. Any specific Act assignment of Iseult is wiki/community reference dated 2026-08-29. The recommended preparation after the V0.11.57863 stun bar rebalance is raw damage stacking rather than parry-heavy play, with at least one emblem from a clan that boosts dash distance for the second-form windows. The Brienne playstyle covered on the Heroes & Characters page matches this approach.
Gilles the Hog (Act 1 Great Gates mini-boss)
Gilles the Hog is the Act 1 Great Gates mini-boss per the community wiki whisperofthehouse.com boss-guide (dated 2026-08-29); that Act 1 Great Gates placement is wiki/community reference and is the only currently available Act assignment for Gilles. The SmashPad EA review references the fight without naming him, and the community wiki (dated 2026-07) describes Gilles as one of the three named launch bosses. V0.8.57278 (July 24, 2026) fixed an AI aggression bug where Gilles would ignore players who had been attacking him for an extended period; specific stat details remain wiki-only and dated 2026-08-29. The recommended preparation is a Wallace run with damage Charms and a clan-stacked Emblem build, treating Gilles as a quick mini-boss check inside Act 1 rather than the Act 1 capstone. The recommended emblem picks for late-game bosses and the philosophy for stacking clans across the three Acts is covered on the Emblems & Build System page.
How do bosses fit into the roguelike campaign loop?
Each Act boss sits at the end of an Act-length run. The player starts at the village, picks a hero, drafts a build from the emblem and charm pool, and runs through procedurally arranged environments until reaching the Act boss. After the boss, the player returns to the village, banks any soldiers that survived the run, and starts the next Act with the same permanent progression. The roguelike loop means that a failed boss attempt is not a save reload: the boss-attempt rule is that soldiers are preserved (any soldiers banked at the village before the wipe remain as permanent veterans) while only the in-run emblem and charm drafts are lost. This makes the soldiers and the village upgrades as important as the in-run build, which is why the Soldiers & Companions page and the Village & Settlement page are paired reads alongside this one. The campaign loop also affects which hero you bring to each fight. The three launch heroes have different emblem affinities and different optimal charm pools, and the only confirmed hero-unlock attached to a boss defeat is Ruadh Stonecrusher after Iseult the Banshee, so the hero choice is part of the boss preparation. The detailed hero comparison and the recommended first-hero choice for new players is on the Heroes & Characters page.
What is the wiki disagreement about boss unlock conditions?
The community wiki tearsofmetal.wiki mentions boss unlock conditions tied to specific village upgrades or to named NPC rescues. Paper Cult has not confirmed any of these unlock conditions on the Steam store page or in the Steam Community news index as of 2026-08-29, so the wiki claims are treated as wiki/reference rather than fact. For boss unlock conditions specifically, the only confirmed mechanic is Ruadh Stonecrusher being unlocked after defeating Iseult the Banshee, per V0.8.57278 (July 24, 2026). The per-Act assignment of Harold the Dragon, Iseult the Banshee, or Gilles the Hog to a specific Act number is wiki/community reference dated 2026-08-29, not official confirmation; Gilles the Hog's Act 1 Great Gates mini-boss tag is the strongest wiki assignment and is still wiki/community reference. Any additional unlock condition is Not announced as of 2026-08-29.
What changes between the EA build and the 1.0 release?
The boss roster may grow during the EA window, and Paper Cult has hinted at additional hero and emblem content during the Steam EA FAQ. As of 2026-08-29 the Steam EA FAQ does not confirm any new boss name beyond Harold the Dragon, Iseult the Banshee, Gilles the Hog, the Dreadshot, the War Drummer, and the Act 3 Giant Captain. The TheSixthAxis launch coverage and the dlcompare EA recap both describe additional content as planned during the EA window without naming new bosses. Any new boss name will appear first on the Steam Community news index and on Paper Cult's X account. TearsofMetal pro will update the Bosses Guide page and add a per-boss entity page under /bosses/{slug} on the same day any new boss is published. The 1.0 release may also rebalance the existing bosses. V0.9.57408 already rebalanced Harold and Iseult by fixing invincibility and floating-glitch bugs, V0.11.57863 re-fixed Harold invincibility and rebalanced Iseult's stun bar, and a 1.0 rebalance pass is the most likely place for any further tuning. The patch list is on the Patch Notes History page.
Sources
Steam store page for Tears of Metal: official "Three acts with varied biomes, enemies, elites, and boss fights" description that anchors the three-Act structure. Steam Community news index for Tears of Metal: V0.8.57278 (July 24, 2026) Ruadh unlock and patch-note body for the first multiplayer fix cycle; V0.9.57408 patch notes (July 28, 2026) referencing Harold Boss invincibility fix and Iseult the Banshee jumping/floating fix, confirming those two as named Act bosses; V0.11.57863 (August 1, 2026) re-fixed Harold invincibility, rebalanced Iseult's stun bar, cut War Drummer Bomber summons, and added the Bomber and Elite ally-damage rule. The official Steam Community news index is the authoritative Paper Cult source for boss-fix attribution. Steam Community patch notes mirror at tearsofmetal.app/wiki/patch-notes: condensed patch history with links to the per-version archive pages. SmashPad: Tears of Metal EA review: three-region structure with captains tiered by region 1, 2, and 3; does not name Harold, Iseult the Banshee, or Gilles the Hog and does not reach the final boss. Steam Deck HQ: Tears of Metal review: general EA encounter context; does not name Harold, Iseult the Banshee, or Gilles the Hog. TheSixthAxis: Tears of Metal EA launch coverage: EA roadmap context for additional content during the EA window. GamerBlurb: Tears of Metal 15 beginner tips: campaign-loop overview, act-boss resource check, and a generic act-boss reference that does not name a specific boss; useful as a beginner-loop anchor rather than a boss attribution source. tearsofmetalguide.com beginner campaign guide: high-level campaign overview that does not enumerate named bosses. Gamespress Ruadh Stonecrusher reveal: third-hero reveal trailer and the Paper Cult description used to anchor the Ruadh unlock trigger. Steam Community: Tears of Metal final boss discussion: community discussion of boss difficulty and unlock conditions. whisperofthehouse.com Tears of Metal boss guide: community wiki labeling Gilles, The Hog as the Act 1 boss at the Great Gates; attack-pattern detail dated 2026-08-29. tearsofmetal.wiki bosses page: community attack-pattern details dated 2026-07.
Bosses profiles
Iseult the Banshee
Act boss whose central mechanic is a stun bar. V0.11.57863 (2026-08-01) rebalanced the stun bar so damage affects it more, parries affect it less, and it decays more slowly. Has suffered multiple visibility bugs: she occasionally floats above the ground (fixed in V0.9.57408 and V0.11.57863) and could remain invisible to players (V0.8.57278 added a temporary fix). Defeating the Banshee is the unlock trigger for Ruadh as of V0.8.57278.
bossHarold the Dragon
Act boss dragon. V0.8.57278 and V0.9.57408 patched multiple bugs where Harold could become invincible or stuck (including Act-3 Giant invincibility sometimes attributed to him in older notes), and where the Crusader's Purifying Light passive could leave him stuck in his laser animation. Confirmed as the boss targeted by the Crusader's Purifying Light passive interaction.
bossThe Dreadshot
Ranged boss whose behavior was reworked across multiple patches. V0.8.57278 fixed teleporting being interrupted by obstructions, ranged attacks being interrupted by melee when players got close, and projectile collision with defeated-player hitboxes; that third fix only affected multiplayer, while solo play is unaffected by it.
bossAct 3 Giant Captain
Late-game Act 3 Giant captain enemy flagged in patch notes for invincibility bugs. V0.8.57278 fixed the Act 3 Giant sometimes remaining invincible, and V0.9.57408 separately listed 'Fixed Harold Boss something being invincible' alongside Giant invincibility fixes; the Act 3 Giant invincibility fixes are tracked separately from Harold the Dragon's invincibility fixes.
bossGilles the Hog (Act 1 Great Gates mini-boss)
Mid-run mini-boss encountered in the campaign; the community wiki whisperofthehouse.com boss-guide (dated 2026-08-29) labels him the Act 1 Great Gates mini-boss, which is wiki/community reference only. V0.8.57278 fixed an AI aggression bug where Gilles would ignore players who had been attacking him for an extended period.
bossWar Drummer (with Bomber summons)
Enemy captain introduced in patch notes as a support-role elite that summons Bombers during combat. V0.11.57863 (2026-08-01) reduced the number of Bombers summoned per War Drummer attack from two to one and added the new ally-damage rule that Bombers and Elite enemies can no longer damage allies.
FAQ
How many Acts does Tears of Metal have?
Three Acts as of 2026-08-03, per the Steam store page official description ("Three acts with varied biomes, enemies, elites, and boss fights"). The SmashPad EA review describes a three-region structure with captains tiered by region 1, 2, and 3 (region used synonymously with act), and the Steam Community V0.9.57408 patch notes confirm Harold and Iseult the Banshee as named Act bosses.
Who is the final boss in Tears of Metal?
The community wiki whisperofthehouse.com boss-guide (dated 2026-08-29) currently labels Gilles the Hog as the Act 1 Great Gates mini-boss; that Act 1 placement is wiki/community reference and is the only Act assignment currently available for Gilles. Harold the Dragon's and Iseult the Banshee's Act numbers are wiki/community reference and are dated 2026-08-29; Paper Cult has not pinned them to a specific Act in any official patch notes through v0.14.58630.
Are boss attack patterns official?
The boss names are official. Detailed attack patterns come from the SmashPad EA review and the community wiki tearsofmetal.wiki and are dated 2026-07. The wiki attack-pattern details may shift between EA patches.
Do I keep my soldiers if I lose to a boss?
Yes. The boss-attempt rule is that soldiers are preserved on a failed attempt while only the in-run emblem and charm drafts are lost: any soldiers banked at the village before the wipe remain as permanent veterans, and only the emblem and charm pool you drafted for that specific run is gone. The recruitment and promotion system is on the Soldiers & Companions page.
Which boss unlocks Ruadh Stonecrusher?
Defeating Iseult the Banshee unlocks Ruadh Stonecrusher; the V0.8.57278 patch notes (July 24, 2026) added that unlock trigger. Before V0.8.57278, Ruadh was unobtainable in-game. No other boss-unlock hero pair is officially confirmed as of 2026-08-29.
Which boss fixes are multiplayer-only?
The Dreadshot's V0.8.57278 projectile-collision fix versus defeated-player hitboxes only affected multiplayer sessions; solo players should not expect to see that fix in their build. The other two Dreadshot fixes (teleport interruption by obstructions and ranged-interrupt-on-melee) apply in every mode.
Will Paper Cult add more bosses during Early Access?
Not announced as of 2026-08-03. The Steam EA FAQ hints at additional content during the EA window but does not name new bosses. Any new boss name will appear first on the Steam Community news index.
What is the best hero for each boss?
Wiki/community guides dated 2026-07 pair Wallace with Harold, Brienne with Iseult the Banshee, and Wallace with Gilles; these pairings are wiki/community reference dated 2026-08-03. The official hero synergy list is on the Heroes & Characters page.