Let me be real with you: Groal the Great is one of those bosses that made me question every life choice that led me to Bilewater. This big, grouchy lump lives in the top area of Bilewater, a swampy, dark corner of Pharloom that feels like it was designed by someone who really wanted to test your patience. Poison lakes everywhere, enemies that hit like trucks, platforming that punishes every slip, and on top of that, the nearest regular Bench is a whole journey away. Honestly, the runback alone was enough to make me want to throw my controller out the window.

But here's the thing — I didn't beat this fight by being some flawless, god-tier player. I beat it by preparing like a lunatic and then cheesing the absolute life out of it. If I can do it, so can you. Let me walk you through exactly how I turned this nightmare into a quick, satisfying victory.

Where to Find the Big Grump

You'll find Groal the Great in the top area of Bilewater. If you haven't been there yet, Bilewater is accessed from Greymoor and the Whispering Vaults, and it's the kind of place that makes you glad you packed extra patience. Before you even think about exploring it, make sure you've unlocked these passive abilities:

• Swift Step — unlocked in Deep Docks

• Drifter's Cloak — unlocked in Far Fields

• Clawline — unlocked in The Cauldron

• Cling Grip — unlocked in Sheelwood

• Faydown Cloak — unlocked in Mount Fay

I cannot stress this enough: do not try to wander into Bilewater before you have all of those. I did it once, just to poke around, and I couldn't even buy the map. It was miserable. Once you have the full kit, though, the big guy is waiting for you as you make your way up through the region.

Pack Your Cheese Toolkit

This is the fun part. To completely trivialize Groal the Great, you need to stack a few specific tools and upgrades. Here's what I used:

• Reaper Crest — lets you equip two of each tool color (two Red, two Blue, two Yellow). We need all the slots we can get.

• Fractured Mask or Weavelight — I went with Fractured Mask for the extra life, but Weavelight is also great since it helps you regenerate Silk faster. Bilewater's poison will eat your Silk if you're not careful.

• Cogfly — your little mechanical friend that flies out and annoys bosses for you.

• Curveclaw or Conchcutter — a long-distance damage dealer. I used Curveclaw because it just feels satisfying to spam.

• Pollip Pouch — automatically adds poison to your weapons. Beautiful.

• For Yellow tools, I took the Compass (the runback is weird and I hate getting lost) and the Weighted Belt. These aren't strictly required, but they made my life easier.

You'll also want to upgrade your Needle twice with the Pinmaster. For that, you need two Pale Oils — one from the Whispering Vaults, and one from the "Great Taste of Pharloom" quest. And if you really want to squeeze out every drop of damage, grab all four Crafting Kits. You can buy three of them (one from the Forge Daughter in Deep Docks, one from the Twelfth Architect in Underworks, and one from Grindle in Blasted Steps), and the fourth comes from the "Crawbug Clearing" quest.

The Secret Bench Nobody Talks About

Most players think there's only one Bench in Bilewater. They are wrong, and this secret saved my sanity. There's a hidden Bench much closer to Groal the Great's arena, and once you know the route, the runback becomes way more tolerable.

Here's exactly how to reach it:

1. Make your way up through Bilewater until you find a dark area with several hanging pilgrims.

2. Head right into the narrow corridor with traps.

3. Keep moving right, even when the path starts going up, and intentionally drop into a pool of poisonous water.

4. Break the hidden wall on your right and follow the secret passage. There are no enemies here, just poison water.

5. Keep progressing left until you find the Bench.

From that Bench, it still takes a couple of minutes to reach the boss arena, but compared to the regular Bench, it's a breath of fresh air. On your way there, just run past every enemy and don't stop to fight. Before fully entering the arena, stop at the entrance and climb the wall above you — there's a hidden spot with extra Silk that's perfect for a quick heal.

Phase 1: The Endurance Test from the Swamp

The first phase isn't even Groal the Great himself. It's a bunch of Bilewater's most annoying regular enemies, thrown at you in waves. This part is all about staying calm and not getting poisoned.

Here's the order of enemies and how to handle them:

Once the last wave is done, the real show starts.

Phase 2: The Actual Cheese

Now for the good part. As soon as Groal the Great appears screaming in the arena, plant yourself in one of the corners and activate all your Cogflies. Then start throwing Curveclaw (or Conchcutter) at him with zero mercy. Just keep throwing.

He's going to try to ruin your day with poisonous bubbles, a swallow attack, and some nasty shiny projectiles when he gets upset. All you have to do is jump to avoid his moves and keep the ranged damage flowing. The Cogflies will do their little robot thing, the poison from Pollip Pouch will tick away, and before you know it, the big guy crumples.

Seriously, this fight went from "I hate this game" to "wait, that's it?" in about fifteen seconds. It was glorious.

What You Get for Your Trouble

Defeating Groal the Great feels amazing on its own, but you also get the Seeker's Soul, which you need for the "Silk And Soul" quest. Plus, you open up the path to the Putrified Ducts, which is another delightful little corner of Pharloom. But that's a story for another day.

So there you have it. Grab your tools, find the secret Bench, clear those first waves with a cool head, and then absolutely melt the boss with your ranged cheese setup. You've got this — and if you don't, at least you'll have a great story about the time you threw a bunch of Cogflies at a swamp monster.

Once you've toppled Groal the Great and explored every last corner of Pharloom, that familiar itch sets in: you want more games that test your patience, reward your persistence, and make you shout at the screen in the best way possible. But great games add up fast, and not everyone has an endless budget for new adventures.

That's where a little smart shopping comes in handy. Before you pull the trigger on your next purchase, it's worth checking out a steam deal finder like DealNest to catch the best discounts on indie gems and big titles alike. With the right deal, you can grab your next obsession for a fraction of the price — and maybe even find another hidden gem that gives you the same rush as finally putting Groal in his place.