Finally done with Maria...but damn those recording skips (PLS FIX THIS, SONY!) I almost want to save-scum to do the fight over...
EDIT: I just realized now that the music never left the first phase...damn this video sucks.
Anyway. I know there are more effective and graceful strats out there, but I rather figure boss fights on my own, and here's how I did Maria:
Her first phase is easy enough. A constant flow of dodging to the left, 2 R1s and gunshot should get you by fairly quickly. If you want it to go faster, you can do 3 R1s, just watch out for the delayed overhead swing.
Phase 2 and 3 are almost the same. The trailing blood and fire might require you to tap on dodge again quickly, depending on where you land. Mind your spacing, use your gun to make her move when you need her to. Some say her deadliest move is her blood cannon, because it has no visual tell. If you watch her closely, she brings down her weapon and brings it up to focus on the target before shooting. Keep this in mind when she charges up for this move, and she will never hit you.
For me, the move that's hit me the most was the delayed...drumroll...overhead swing, the one she does after dashing forward. It can be deceiving because after the dash, she can do the cross-slash instead. To avoid having to rely on my aging reaction, I always dodge left, and because she delays the overhead, when she does, there's enough time to dodge again.
The recording skips are so damn stupid. I kinda feel like it invalidates this attempt, but after 2 near-finishes, and 2 successful fights (only this was recorded), I don't think I wanna see her again until next Halloween.
![](https://s2.save4k.ru/pic/Pip8IRCd-Xs/maxresdefault.jpg)