Tales of Berseria

Dire Foes are enemies that can appear after Eizen joins your party. When you finish a regular battle, the battle results screen will not appear, but instead you can move around, and the music will stop for a short while. The dire foe will appear after a few seconds. When this happens for the first time, you might think that the game glitched, but do not worry. Just wait until the dire foe appears. A dire foe will always spawn along with two invincible side enemies. As you cannot defeat these two, focus on the dire foe only and the battle will be over once you defeat it.

There are five types of dire foes and defeating each of them for the first time will net you a trophy respectively. There is a sixth dire foe that is only available on a second playthrough or afterwards, but except for its entrance in the enemy book it is not relevant for trophies. Dire Foes will only appear when you play on Normal difficulty or above, so make sure your game is not set to Easy when you look for them. The likelihood that a dire foe appears is increased the higher the difficulty you have set. It is also likelier if you are fighting in Dangerous Encounters by combining two or more enemies before initiating the battle (indicated by a dark aura below the enemies). Another factor is the Grade Bonus that increase for a short while after finishing a battle. If the Grade Bonus is 2.0, the likelihood is also higher than on a lower Grade Bonus.

To earn this trophy, defeat the dire foe Hanged Man. The Hanged Man will appear in Yvolg Ruins, Vester Tunnels, Votigern, Titania, East Laban Tunnel, West Laban Tunnel, Fens of Nog, Brigid Ravine, Burnack Plateau, and Warg Forest.

Grade Farming
Set your game to the highest difficulty you have unlocked as the higher the difficulty, the higher amount of Grade you will get upon defeating a dire foe. Save the game beforehand in case you are too weak, so figure out what works for you. The chance of encountering a dire foe is also increased with a higher difficulty.

The Lindwurm is the strongest of the five dire foes, so the best area to farm Grade is Figahl Icecaps. Bring up your Grade Bonus to 2.0 first, so avoid Dangerous Encounters for now. When you run out of enemies on the field, do not enter a town as the Grade Bonus will be gone otherwise. Enter Faldies Ruins instead, and then move back to Figahl Icecaps. Keep in mind that your Grade Bonus Gauge empties quicker the higher the Grade Bonus, so be aware of it or else the Grade Bonus is reset.

Once the Grade Bonus reaches 2.0, start to lure enemies so that you can initiate Dangerous Encounters. Enemies are stronger in Dangerous Encounters so beware. Continue doing Dangerous Encounters until a dire foe appears, then defeat it. If possible, use a Mystic Arte to defeat the dire foe to earn extra Grade. You will earn lots of Grade if neither you nor your party members died, if you did not use an item in battle, and if you are not affected with a negative status at the end of the battle. Once the battle against the dire foe is over, your Grade Bonus is reset, so save the game and restart the process. In the best case, you will earn hundreds of Grade after a battle against a dire foe.

If you die a lot in the battle against the dire foe or use (many) items, you can either set your difficulty down or just fight regular battles, as the dire foe can appear in regular battles as well. You will just not get the bonus for the Dangerous Encounter. If you cannot get the most out of a battle against a dire foe, do not worry as it just means that you will have to repeat the process a few more times than with best results, until you have accumulated your desired amount of Grade.