Most of the vampires in Redfall are what you’d expect: weird, little, spindly Gothic dopes who perch on rooftops and compose bad poetry aloud. Then there’s the Rook, who looks like Tremor from Mortal Kombat joined the vampiric WWE. Here’s how to take down the Rook in Redfall.
Lightning Crashes: Weathering the Rook Storm in Redfall
Once you start actively getting up in the Vampire Gods’ grill in Redfall, the game introduces a mechanic called the Rook Storm. It appears once you’ve gotten far enough into the story missions and will persist throughout the rest of the game.
You can view your Rook Storm meter on the game’s map. It increases whenever you finish a main or side mission (including safehouse missions but seemingly excluding Vampire God showdowns), trigger an alarm from cultists with bullhorns, kill a Bloodbag, get spotted by or kill a Watcher, or successfully destroy a “special” vampire such as a Siphon or Angler. These triggers stack additively, so something like taking out a vampire Underboss can stick you with 30% or more credit towards an imminent Rook Storm.
The second the Rook Storm meter is full, you’ll end up at ground zero of a red lightning storm. If you break into a sprint, you should be able to dodge the bolts, but they tend to destroy anything and everything in your vicinity. If you can get indoors, do so; otherwise, make sure to stay away from destructible parts of the environment, such as cars, oil slicks, or hay bales.
The storm is followed a minute or two later by the Rook. He’s nothing so much as a big sack of health who attacks with powerful dashes and headlong rushes. He can also disappear suddenly, drop a couple of lightning bolts, and then return to the fray.
The good news is that on his own, the Rook isn’t much of a threat, particularly in comparison to other special vampires like Anglers. As long as you don’t stand still, you can kite him around and level him with 3 or 4 shots from an equal-level stake launcher.
(I’ve also had a really easy time with Rooks because I play Remi, and Rooks appear to be really offended by her robot’s existence. I’ve gotten a lot of easy Rook kills because they were too busy pummeling my drone to consider me a threat.)
The Rook’s threat primarily comes from his tendency to show up at the worst possible times. It’s not weird to acquire a lot of Rook Storm credit during particularly difficult missions, then end up with a Rook in your business while your resources are depleted.
That’s especially likely if it’s a mission that’s set indoors or underground; I fixed the lighthouse in Burial Point, didn’t notice the lightning storm outside, then got two floors down and walked face-first into a Rook.
Upon the Rook’s demise, your Rook Storm meter goes back to zero. The Rook also always leaves a pile of lootable Vampire Remains behind. In my time with Redfall, Rooks have always dropped a unique weapon of unrivaled quality (i.e. Ambition, Death Spiral, Lockjaw) and a randomly-generated Vampire Blood accessory.
That means that as long as you’re careful to only trigger a Rook Storm when you’re in a position to handle it, it’s a solid idea to deliberately farm Rooks for powerful weapons and high-level Vampire Blood. Keep one eye on your Storm meter, and once it’s almost full, go let some cultists see you and shake the Rook ‘til his prizes fall out.
Now that you know how to defeat the Rook, you might benefit from knowing how to disperse the annoying red mist in Redfall.
