How to summon the Putrid Rat and unlock Rat Form in V Rising

The Putrid Rat in V Rising is one of the more unique bosses thanks to how you initiate the fight. You’ll need to do some material hunting, and while it takes some patience, the end result is worth it. The power you absorb from it is one of the more useful ones for exploration and PvE.

There are a few specific requirements you need to meet and stages you need to complete to be able to summon the Putrid Rat. We're going to show you how to do this, how beat the Putrid Rat, and how to unlock the Rat Form to morph into a seemingly harmless rodent yourself.

What is the location of the Putrid Rat?

Surprise! It’s right behind you... once you’ve met the requirements. The Putrid Rat is one of the only bosses that actually comes to you, rather than you having to track them down. You’ll still use the Blood Altar to instigate the encounter, and the fight will require some effort.

First, you’ll need to craft a Vermin Nest, which requires:

• 360 Stone
• 120 Bone

After that’s done, interact with it, and select the bottom refinement option. This is the Putrid Rat option, and it has its own set of requirements:

• 4 Fish Bone - This tends to pop up in Bandit treasure chests.
• 8 Grave Dust - Grind bones in your castle grinder to obtain this.
• 1 Twilight Snapper - This is a fish, therefore you'll need a wooden fishing rod. It has no set spawn time or location, so, you'll need to cast your line in several areas to find it.

How to beat the Putrid Rat in V Rising

Once you’ve refined the Vermin Nest with the Putrid Rat option, the boss will approach your castle, and the fight begins.

The Putrid Rat is a Level 30 boss, so in advance of the fight, you'll want to make sure that your character is levelled high enough, too. Once that's dealt with, it's simply a matter of studying the Putrid Rat's attacks, memorising them, and then, countering them.

The Putrid Rat, like most video game rat foes, has a nasty bite and can even inflict poison damage. The rat will alternate between two different biting attacks. The first sees the rat stop briefly before lunging at you, and is easy enough to dodge as soon as you know it's coming. The second attack consists of multiple bites; once the Putrid Rat begins to glow red, they're preparing for this attack, and they'll attempt to snap at you four or five times before retreating. Again, because of the coloration or the rat before this attack, you know when to expect it, so, you should be able to judge when to dodge.

Are you familiar with the Pokemon move, Dig? Yeah, well, the Putrid Rat does that too. In order to save itself, and trouble you, they'll dig underground and hide. In the meantime, they summon a handful of smaller rats to do their bidding for them. This is a cowards move, if you ask me, but clear out the smaller rats as quickly as possible before the Putrid Rat reemerges. Otherwise, you've got an even tougher fight on your hands as multiple rats try to bite you at once.

Finally, the Putrid Rat's poison attack is one of the easiest to dodge. When they're winding up for it, they'll glow green, and this is your cue to prepare to dodge.

All of these attacks are primarily mid-close range, so, a strategy similar to what you employed for the Alpha Wolf should do you well here. Fortunately, you should be rather adept at dodging most of the Putrid Rat's moves, and able to chip away at their HP in the meantime.

How to unlock Rat Form in V Rising

Once you defeat the Putrid Rat, you'll gain the power to become a rat yourself, and while you're still vulnerable to sunlight in this state, it makes sneaking by enemies much easier.

If you're looking for more help in V Rising, check out our servants guide, how to get unsullied hearts, and how to join a clan with friends.