Jawson Bog: Bastion Walkthrough Part 9

Narrator warning about Jawson Bog in Bastion

Jawson Bog is infamous for its eeriness. Not even the beasts of the Wilds dare enter it.

Instead, the region’s flora dominate the level.

You’ll encounter new plant-type enemies here. Some may even make you question if reality’s much stranger than what the mind can conjure.

Section 1: Fever Dreams

Step 1: You start at the entrance to some wooden platforms. There are no enemies nor things of note here, so follow the path all the way south.

You’ll find the Shard at the end. But as you approach it, the Bog’s fumes will knock you unconscious.

The Gas Around the Shard Will Knock You Out / Bastion
The Gas Around the Shard Will Knock You Out

You’ll experience several nightmares — all set on levels you’ve visited before. Each one has an interactable that’ll trigger the next dream.

You can’t rely on the Narrator here. His voice will come out distorted and garbled, often vilifying you. Fortunately, every dream’s contained in a tiny area, so you’ll always spot the objects that you need to continue.

Step 2: The first dream puts you at Zia’s camp in Prosper Bluff. Her song still echoes in the air.

But instead of meeting her, you’ll find yourself assailed by floating eyes. Two will emerge from the ground first. After killing them, the screen will go dark and reveal more surrounding you.

Enemy: Stinkeye / Bastion

Enemy: Stinkeye


These kamikaze urchins attack by rushing you. They often move as a group, and they’ll use their numbers to overwhelm you. They also come with a gimmick, like with most Wild creatures.

If you’re looking directly at them, they’ll go rigid and close their eye after 2 seconds. While in this state, they’ll only take 1 damage from all sources. They’ll open their eye again and attack you after you’ve turned your back on them.

It’s dangerous to get surrounded by many Stinkeyes. It means that wherever you turn, the ones behind you can inch closer to you. So don’t let that happen and run to where you have them all on one side. That way, you can control their approach and deal with them more easily.

Eliminate all of them, and Zia will appear.

Zia Will Appear Beside the Pond / Bastion
Zia Will Appear Beside the Pond

Talk to her to trigger the next nightmare.

Step 3: You’re at the Hanging Garden, right where you’d found the Core.

You’re exactly in its place, surrounded by ashen husks and monsters. Break free from the husks and kill the enemies.

Clear the Area to Open the Gate / Bastion
Clear the Area to Open the Gate

Step 4: After they’re dead, the east gate will open. You’ll see Zulf beyond it, but he’ll vanish as you get near him.

Two more Gasfellas will also emerge, followed by three Elephant Squirts. Defeat them to make Zulf reappear, and then talk to him to proceed.

Zulf Will Show Up After Defeating All Enemies / Bastion
Zulf Will Show Up After Defeating All Enemies

Step 5: You’re now south of the Bastion. As you make your way up, you’ll discover that it’s been reclaimed by the Wilds.

A Lunkhead, a Pecker, and a Wallflower have made it their home. They seem to be friendly at first, but when you reach the Monument, they’ll pounce on you.

Fall back to the southern field and take care of the Pecker first. Defeat the Lunkhead next, and then the Wallflower.

Evict These Home-Wreckers / Bastion
Evict These Home-Wreckers

Once they’re gone, continue north while avoiding the swampweeds. You’ll come upon the Skyway flanked by two Wallflowers. They won’t attack, so go ahead and use the Skyway.

Step 6: You’re back inside the Sole Regret Saloon from the first level. The same Turret from before operates the bar. Destroy it, and a huge corn bin will land at the center.

It’ll lob Elephant Squirts at you instead of the regular ones. Various Turrets will also appear around the Saloon’s edges.

Focus on defeating the corn bin first so that you won’t get overwhelmed by its minions.

After that, clear out all enemies that remain.

Once they’re gone, the husk of Rondy the Bartender will appear on the Saloon’s mezzanine. Dust him to enter the next dream.

Rondy’s Husk Will Be on the Platform / Bastion
Rondy’s Husk Will Be on the Platform

Step 7: The penultimate nightmare has you at the very beginning of your adventure. Get up and head up the familiar corridors.

You’ll bump into a gigantic Plush Pyth at the second block. Smash it and continue to where you had found your Hammer. As you do, it’ll transform into your final foe — yourself.

Your clone only has the Hammer equipped, so you have the advantage on range. But he’s also as fast as you.

You can kite him by rolling back then shooting. But it’s better to stun him with a counter-block and then attack him.

Conquer Yourself / Bastion
Conquer Yourself

After defeating your double, continue forward and you’ll transition to the last dream.

Step 8: You’ll find yourself at a campsite that’s like the one from the Wild Outskirts.

There are no enemies here; you only need to interact with a series of objects. There’s also a wisp of light that’ll hover over said objects.

Follow it in this sequence:

  1. Take ore from any minecart on your right
  2. Pack ore into the wagon on your left
  3. Take wood from the pile above you
  4. Place wood on the campfire in the center
  5. Rest on the bedroll at the bottom-left
Complete These Chores in order / Bastion
Complete These Chores in order

As you lay down on the bedroll, you’ll trigger a mini-cutscene of the Calamity from the Kid’s point-of-view.

This revisited trauma marks the end of the nightmares . . . for this part at least.

Section 2: Awakened Horrors

Step 1: You’ll wake up beside the Shard. Grab it and head west on the wooden walkway.

You’ll bump into your second new weirdo: the Bootlicker. Kill it and collect the fragments to its right.

Enemy: Bootlicker / Bastion

Enemy: Bootlicker


This segmented and flowering cactus can’t hurt you. Instead, it’ll trap you in a crater of claws for 5 seconds.

It’ll screech and hop before dispersing a ring of green gas around itself. If the gas touches you, spikes will sprout from below you and hold you in place.

On their own, Bootlickers aren’t a threat. They’re a support unit meant to restrict your movement. If there are other threats nearby, that’s when you need to be wary of these cacti.

After that, continue up to the end of the walkway.

Collect the Fragments Before Moving On / Bastion
Collect the Fragments Before Moving On

Step 2: A few paces past the Bootlicker, the camera will zoom out and reveal this level’s boss — a Lungblossom.

It sits on top of the Skyway, so you’ll have to defeat it to go home.

Enemy: Lungblossom / Bastion

Enemy: Lungblossom


This uncanny mutated rafflesia has a perfect set of teeth around its “mouth”. From there, it’ll spew spiky kernels at you in regular intervals. That’s its only attack, and it’s also easy to dodge or defend against.

But it has a lot of HP and can summon Pincushions, Bootlickers, and Stinkeyes.

Counter-blocking won’t work, as all deflected kernels will overshoot the Lungblossom. You’ll have to use your conventional weapons on it. If its minions appear, fall back and deal with them first. You can resume your attacks when it’s alone again.

If you need health or black tonics, there’s two of each on the far edges of the arena. You won’t be able to see the leftmost black tonic because of the fixed camera. But you’ll still get it if you go near it.

Grab the Tonics When Necessary / Bastion
Grab the Tonics When Necessary

Step 3: Once the boss is dead, the camera will normalize.

Pick up any uncollected tonics for some extra XP. After that, step into the Skyway to return to the Bastion.

Use the Skyway to Go Home / Bastion
Use the Skyway to Go Home

Home: The Bastion

Back in the safety of your home, go to the Monument and insert your hard-earned Shard. It’ll let you upgrade one of your buildings to their “true form”.

You do this by interacting with the sigil outside of your chosen building.

Which building to upgrade first depends on your preference. To help you decide, check the overviews below to learn what you’ll get from each true building.

Once you’re satisfied with your choice, go to the Skyway. There’s only one new level: Roathus Lagoon. So go ahead and select that to continue your story.

Misc: Brief Overview of True Buildings

Choose a Building to Upgrade / Bastion
Choose a Building to Upgrade

Building: True Distillery

You get three new Spirits, which has these passive effects:

Spirit Effect
Lifewine +2 black tonic capacity
Black Rye Survive an attack that would’ve brought defeat
Falling Malt Reduced damage from falling
Deal +200% damage to foes when falling on them

Building: True Lost-and-Found

The True Lost-and-Found sells new Spirits with these prices and passives:

Spirit Price Effect
Mender Mead 250 Recover health after a counter-block
Bull Brandy 500 +15% damage resistance
Graver Gimlet 750 +5% chance to gain +200% damage for 3 seconds after defeating a foe
Leechade 1000 Recover health after striking foes -66% health tonic potency

Building: True Shrine

You get two new idols for free. Invoking them inside the True Shrine gives these effects:

Idol Enemy Buff Fragment and XP Gain
Micia Regenerates health +5%
Garmuth Randomly deflects attacks +10%

Once you’ve also enhanced the True Lost-and-Found, then two more idols can be bought from there. Their price and effects are:

SCROLL
Idol Price Enemy Buff Fragment and XP Gain
Lemaign 300 Attacks slow down the player +5%
Yudrig 150 Causes damage on contact +5%

Building: True Forge

You’ll be able to upgrade all your weapons with two more tiers.

You still need materials for the new upgrades. If you don’t have any yet, then enhance the other buildings first before going for the True Forge.

Building: True Memorial

You’ll have access to more Vigils. This includes milestones for leveling up and for improving the Bastion. In fact, you may already have fulfilled some of them.

You’ll be able to claim their rewards immediately.

Building: True Arsenal

You get one new Secret Skill from the True Arsenal: Trapper Snare.

Secret Skill: Trapper Snare / Bastion

Secret Skill: Trapper Snare


All enemies within a short distance in front of you will be held in place for a few seconds. This is like the Bootlicker’s claw ability. The difference is that you can aim your trap along your desired direction.

Louie Nelson Zafico

44 articles

As a frustrated otter who dreams of getting published, Louie instead wastes his life cuddling his cats. He spent his childhood playing Suikoden, grew up with Total War, and matured (somewhat) with EU4. He hopes to someday find a geopolitical JRPG with the 4X systems of a Paradox game.

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