Towers of Karma
Old Ginseng Guai老人参精
- What it inflicts
- Poison
- Phases
- 1 phase
- Equipment
- One set
Recommended gear
With what you can have when you first come across it.
Editor's pick He fears fire: Red Tides is the recommended pick, and Ashen Slumber also inflicts Burn while clearing his Ginsenglings. The Gall Gem and Guangmou raise your Poison Resistance against his roots; the Serpentscale Bracers and Gaiters add more if you give up the 3-piece Ochre bonus.
- Weapon attack
- 70
- Armor defense
- 114
- Resistance: Chill
- +7
Base values, before upgrades, from the registry.
- Weapon
Kang-Jin Staff Crafting: Starlit Cloud-Bidden Antler × 1, Refined Iron Sand × 4, Yaoguai Core × 8, 21,000 WillOtherwise: Rat Sage Staff
- Headgear
Galeguard Beast Mask Crafting: Yarn × 4, Silk × 2, 1,800 WillOtherwise: Snout Mask
- Chest
Ochre Battlerobe Crafting: Silk × 5, Cold Iron Leaves × 2, 4,200 Will - Arms
Ochre Armguard Crafting: Silk × 1, Cold Iron Leaves × 1, 1,800 WillOtherwise: Serpentscale Bracers
- Legs
Ochre Greaves Crafting: Silk × 2, Cold Iron Leaves × 1, 2,400 WillOtherwise: Serpentscale Gaiters
- Spirit
Otherwise: Guangmou
- Transformation
Otherwise: Ashen Slumber
- Spells
- Curios
- Gourd
Otherwise: Jade Lotus Gourd
- Soaks
The fight
A single phase. Slow but powerful, he keeps up lurching stomps that leave poisonous roots. He regularly summons small Ginsenglings, especially after growing a large field of roots around himself.
One set: a single phase, with no shrine or pause.
Spells, transformation and soaks are set at a Keeper's Shrine, never mid-fight: what you bring into a fight stays until the end. One spell per category: Cloud Step and Rock Solid exclude each other, pick one before the fight.
What it inflicts
- Poison: his poisonous roots, left by his stomps and by his large root field. Keep Antimiasma Powder at hand.
Attacks to watch
- Lurching stomps that leave small patches of poisonous roots: reposition out of the poison.
- A raised hand slammed into the ground: roots race toward you and pin you down before his next hit. Pillar Stance helps you escape them.
- He spins, then falls backward onto you while flashing yellow, with his own version of Rock Solid: dodge instead of hitting.
- Hand planted: a large field of poisonous roots grows around him, then he tears it all up and calls Ginsenglings. Stay far away and heal, or wait perched on your staff with full Stamina, and slam down on him at the end.
- Lurching lunges: a long-reaching elbow drop, or a flailing kick that carries him toward you.
What works
- Red Tides: he fears fire, and the Burn from this transformation takes off a big chunk of his health. Red Tides
- Take down his Ginsenglings first: Ashen Slumber, which you detonate near them, or a wide-reaching spirit attack. Ashen Slumber
- A Pluck of Many, Immobilize, the Wandering Wight's attack, Cloud Step, then your transformation: he goes down fast. A Pluck of Many, Immobilize, Wandering Wight, Cloud Step
- Antimiasma Powder against his poisonous roots: it removes Poison and greatly raises your Poison Resistance for a while. Antimiasma Powder
Strategy
- He is slow: hit, then back off.
- Thrust Stance to hit him with charged attacks out of his roots' reach, or Pillar Stance above him.
- Right after, look behind the large monument: on a small snowy table waits the Jade Essence, a drink that restores mana as well as health.
Access
Valley of Ecstasy, Towers of Karma. From the shrine, turn left, pass the Dual-Blade Monk standing in front of a mural and follow the path to the corner of the area: a stone monument stands in a muddy field full of Aged Ginseng. Pluck the plant in the middle: it's the boss, hidden underground. Optional.
What it gives
- to obtainGinseng Cape
- to obtainMillennium Ginseng Seed
- to obtainBlood of the Iron Bull
- to obtainSilk × 2
- to obtainCold Iron Leaves
- to obtainOld Ginseng Guai
Will: 1,436
The Ginseng Cape is a guaranteed drop. The Millennium Ginseng Seed goes to Chen Loong.
Updates
No published update changes this boss.
In NG+
In NG+, you keep your gear, spells, transformations and spirits, and bosses are tougher. Key items don't carry over: the chapter's quest items must be taken again.
Page checked on October 16, 2026.