Scorpioness Najka

Najka blocks the path to Brightstone Cove Tseldora, where you can find Freja. The Duke's Dear Freja is one of four mandatory bosses who must be defeated to unlock the Shrine of Winter. To reach Najka at Shaded Woods, you must unpetrify Rosabeth. Have a Fragrant Branch of Yore in your inventory. You should have collected the Fragrant Branch found in the iron chest after defeating the Lost Sinner. A Fragrant Branch is found near the entrance to the Black Gulch.

Shaded Woods

Speedrun through Shaded Woods NG+7, Dark Souls 2 SotFS

Start from the Far Fire bonfire and head to the tree where you find a Devine Blessing. Ahead of you are two paths. The left path takes you back to Things Betwixt. The right path leads to Rosabeth. Take the right path. Along the way, you will meet Benhart of Jugo. It is safe to ignore him and not follow his quest line. His summon sign would be available outside the arena of the last boss regardless of whether you follow his quest line.

Find Rosabeth petrified and standing in front of a lever. Use a Fragrant Branch of Yore to unpetrify Rosabeth and pull the lever. Have Alluring Skulls ready to distract the Goblins who will jump down onto the ground. Throw an Alluring Skull, aiming your throw at the entrance from which you came, which should now be blocked by an iron gate. Count to five and throw another Alluring Skull at the same location. Count to five again, then throw a third Alluring Skull. Watch your back. An iron gate is slowly opening to reveal a Basilisk behind you. Kill the Basilisk, run to the next iron gate, and throw an Alluring Skull at the direction from which you came. Wait for the iron gate to fully open, then dash to the Ruined Fork Road bonfire. Along the way, you will meet two groups of Goblins. They are easily distracted by Alluring Skulls. Light the Ruined Fork Road bonfire as you will need this bonfire later on to reach Drangleic Castle and Aldia's Keep.

The Ruined Fork Road bonfire branches out along three paths. The left-most path leads to Drangleic Castle, the middle path leads to Aldia's Keep, and the right-most path leads to the misty woods. Take the right-most path. Have a bow and arrows ready to shoot at a large tree trunk in the distance. When attacked, the large tree trunk would moan like Chewbacca and the sound would attract the Forest Guardians at the misty woods. With the Forest Guardians distracted by the moan, dash through the misty woods, keeping to your left. You will find a path that leads to Head of Vengarl. Ignore this path and continue along the left side of the misty woods. Soon you will encounter another large tree trunk. Ignore this tree trunk and continue along the left path to find an upward slope that leads to the Shaded Ruins bonfire. Rest at the bonfire and attune any spells you need for the upcoming boss fight. In particular, consider attuning Great Chaos Fireball or Flame Weapon to fight Najka. On a platform above the Shaded Ruins bonfire are some Radiant Lifegems. Collect them as necessary or ignore if you already have plenty of healing consumables.

The path to Najka is littered with Curse Jars. Being near a Curse Jar can build up your curse metre. A full curse bar would result in instant death. Equip the Hollow Skin or the Black Witch Veil to nullify the curse buildup. You can unequip the item once you have reached the fog wall of Najka.

Scorpioness Najka

Cheese Scorpioness Najka NG+7, Dark Souls 2 SotFS

Scorpioness Najka foils your cheese NG+7, Dark Souls 2 SotFS

Najka takes extra damage from thrust attacks and is most vulnerable against fire. Buff the Ice Rapier+5 with Flame Weapon.

An easy cheese consists in luring Najka through a narrow opening, which is located to the right side of the arena from where you first enter the fog wall. The boss usually cannot go through the opening and get herself stuck there, trying to reach you. In some rare instances she can clip herself past the opening and ruin the cheese strategy. While Najka is stuck in the narrow opening, cast Great Chaos Fireball at her and continue doing so until she dies. Equip the Fire Clutch Ring to boost your fire attacks.

Defeat Najka and continue on the path to Brightstone Cove Tseldora. Before you exit a building to light the Royal Army Campsite bonfire, look for some large jars near the exit. One of the jars contains some Radiant Lifegems.