Balder was a powerful member of the Lumen Sages who possessed the Right Eye of Light. He was the husband of Rosa and father of Bayonetta. He serves as the main antagonist of Bayonetta and is a major character in Bayonetta 2.

After breaking a sacred law among the Umbra Witches and Lumen Sages by conceiving his child with Rosa, Balder was exiled from his clan and inadvertently triggered the Clan Wars, which resulted in the extinction of the Sages. Being the lone survivor of the Lumen Sages, he was falsely believed to have started the Witch Hunts after the war.^[3]

In the present day, Balder is the CEO of the Ithavoll Group, having become evil after trapping the soul of Aesir^[4], and plans to awaken his daughter's Left Eye of Darkness in order to resurrect the dea, Jubileus, and remake reality in his own image.^[3]

In Bayonetta 2, a younger Balder is brought from the past into the present by Loptr, who convinces him that Loki is Rosa's murderer. With a desire for revenge, Balder proceeds to hunt down Loki for the majority of the game, which gets him into conflict with Bayonetta. He is also a playable character in Tag Climax.

Hierarchy of Laguna

Bayonetta

"A tyrant of a man, motivated purely by self interest, who 500 years ago incited the witch hunts, annihilating not only the Umbra Witches, but also his fellow Sages. Balder also used his magical abilities to take control of the captured Jeanne.

Named after the Norse God of Light, Balder showed promise in becoming a powerful Lumen Sage; however, he broke his clan's one unbreakable tenet of faith, consorting with an Umbra Witch, begetting a child.

It was all a ruse to take possession of The Eyes of the World, the overseers of history that had previously been equally divided amongst the clans. During the following 500 years, Balder gathered the devotion of his pious followers. Now his ambitions have reached their climax, placing the last remaining Sage on the cusp of a universe anew, as he and Bayonetta, bearing his own very blood, become the Eyes of the World to resurrect Jubileus, the Creator, and unify the Trinity of Realities.

Their fate nearly decided; who will truly see it through to the very end?^[5]

-Vigrid Chronicles, Final Chapter. Avellaneda"

Bayonetta 2

"According to Vigrid Chronicles of Avellaneda, the 500-year struggle between the Umbra and the Lumen ended with the defeat of the last remaining sage at the hands of two Umbra Witches. Yet, as if to mock these records, a masked man appeared before Bayonetta with the power of heavens and the swiftness of light.

The Lumen had not perished.^[6]

-Preface

The True Vigrid Chronicles

Saavedra

A bright light seeps through the mask's crack. It is a light unlike anything else found on Earth--the light of the Right Eye. Long ago, a tyrannical man was said to have led the Umbra Witches and Lumen Sages to their demise. Legends claim he killed his wife, sabotaged his daughter, and deceived the people, all for the sake of building a new universe with the Eyes of the World. He was said to have achieved an omniscience almost equal to that of a god. How this main came to obtain this ambition remains unknown, yet a glimpse of the truth can be seen in the fragment of history the Prophet revealed to Bayonetta. A young man had been called from the Vigrid of 500 years past to modern day. In his hands he held a weapon ready to strike at his enemy. His name is Balder. Later, he would have been known as the Tyrant Sage. In the Prophet's vision, however, he seems only lost in rage, seeking revenge for the death of his wife, Rosa.^[7]

-Chapter 4

The True Vigrid Chronicles

Saavedra

"My dear, sweet child... Fear not, for I am always watching over you..."

-Epilogue

The True Vigrid Chronicles

Saavedra"

Personality

Bayonetta

In stark contrast with his more carefree and nonchalant daughter, Balder can be best described as ambitious, callous, and driven. According to the Hierarchy of Laguna, Balder's marriage to Rosa was nothing but a means to further his schemes to obtain the Eyes of the World, implying that he harbored no love for his wife nor family; the Hierarchy Laguna also states that Balder was the one responsible for sparking the very Witch Hunts that exterminated both his clan and the Umbra Witches, further cementing that to him, humans are mere pawns to further his plans. He has no qualms sacrificing the lives of the innocent or brainwashing others to bring his plans to fruition.

Bayonetta 2

In his youth, and contrary to the Hierarchy of Laguna from the first game, Balder is shown to be a more benevolent man who truly loved his wife Rosa and had no ill-intentions against any of his fellow Lumen Sages and Umbra Witches. Though he was the one responsible for initiating the Witch Hunts, it was not out of malicious intent; rather, Balder merely wished to preserve the balance between the light and the darkness. Perhaps the biggest difference between his younger self and his elder self is their view of humanity. While the older Balder would callously sacrifice and control others to further his goals, in his youth, Balder was a strong proponent of human free-will and believes that mankind should pave their own path.

It is also revealed in Bayonetta 2 that Balder's villainous acts from the first game are as a result of his soul being corrupted by Loptr's evil.

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate

In Bayonetta: Bloody Fate, Balder shares the same personality traits as his game counterpart, but with one notable difference. Rather than being motivated by self-interest (as the Hierarchy of Laguna of the first game states), Balder's plans to revive Jubileus was the result of him going mad after witnessing the loss of his beloved, Rosa.

Appearance

Young

His true appearance is that of an attractive young man with long, creamy blonde hair and bluish-gray eyes. Possessing a light skin complexion, he usually also dons a monocle on his left eye.^[4]

As the Masked Lumen, he dons a polished, golden mask in the shape of a stylized sun with nine circular indentations arrayed symmetrically across it. In addition to this, the Masked Lumen wears a white robe lined with gold patterns and red, diamond-shaped patterns that extend into a chain of sorts near his legs and down his sides. Gold, metallic rings appear at the base of the Masked Lumen's arms, and white boots made from leather with golden-tipped toes cover his feet. In his battle form, he appears much the same with the exception of an excess amount of peacock feathers adorning the backside of his robes. ^[4]

After his descent to evil from trapping the soul of a newly-made Aesir without his goodwill, his attire changes slightly. Now adorned with peacock-like spikes behind his back, he dons a new monocle which appears similar to a mask that covers the left side of his face.^[4]

Old

Balder in, modern-day, has pale skin with a bluish tint. He wears a white robe and coat that are covered in gold patterns; a gold mask covers the left side of Father Balder's face. The corrupt Lumen Sage wears a monocle over his left eye, and a peacock is draped over his shoulders. The bird's feathers arch around the antagonist's neck.^[3]

During the battle, Balder abandons his coat, and the gold patterns on his robe glow blue. Balder sprouts wings comprised of several peacock tail feathers. When he fought Bayonetta, he also had Cereza at the center of his chest.^[3]

History

Born into the Lumen Sages clan, Balder was named after the Norse god of light and showed promise in becoming a powerful sage. At some point, he would fall in love with Rosa and despite their sacred laws, married one another.^[3]

Together with his wife, Rosa, Balder conceived a daughter and named her Cereza. This act broke the tenet that was believed to have kept the delicate balance between the Umbra Witches and Lumen Sages in place. As punishment for his actions, Balder was exiled from his clan while Rosa was imprisoned as a result. Their actions led to the Clan Wars, with the Umbra Witches emerging victorious and most of the Lumen, save for Balder, killed.^[3]

Approximately twenty years^[8] after the Clan Wars, he was told by the light of a planned 'rebellion' by the Umbra Witches now that the Lumen was no longer able to keep them in check. He agreed to head to Vigrid to make sure this didn't happen and help enact the Witch Hunts with the belief of stopping their rebellion. However, while in Vigrid with Rosa, he learned of the deception told to him by Fortitudo, who expressed the desire to eliminate both the Sages and Witches to reclaim the Eyes of the World from their grasp. As he prepared to help a dying Rosa, a mysterious boy with silver hair attempted to kill Balder, but his wife intercepted the attack and was struck down instead. With her dying breath, Rosa begged Balder to watch over and protect their daughter.^[4]

While grief-stricken, Balder was snatched away by a mysterious power and is taken 500 years into the future.^[4]

Story

Bayonetta 2 (Past)

Balder found himself atop the sacred mountain Fimbulventr. Here, he met a man who calls himself the Prophet, who claimed to have known who killed Rosa, not privy to himself being manipulated. He uses his powers to track Loki, who had met the Umbra Witch known as Bayonetta. Fooled into believing Loki is the one who killed Rosa, he believes to recognize him from the Prophet's projection and travels to Noatun in order to kill him.^[4]

Finding Loki in Noatun, he then proceeds to attack the boy. Loki is rescued from his attacker by Bayonetta; the Umbra Witch is shocked to discover that the enigmatic individual is a Lumen Sage, for she thought they had gone extinct when Father Balder perished mere months ago as a result of her actions. Unknown to his true identity, he is designated as the "Masked Lumen" and battle. As they are evenly matched, the Masked Lumen's first battle with Bayonetta ends in a draw, both throwing all their powers at each other.^[4]

The Masked Lumen appears before Bayonetta once again within the demon Insidious; he attempts to kill Loki once again when he sees that the boy has been incapacitated but is intercepted by Bayonetta once more. While they battle, Bayonetta notices a lipstick container hanging around the Lumen Sage's neck. The Sage notices her gaze and reacts in anger appearing to relaunch himself at the witch, but Loki awakens and throws a card to damage his pursuer's mask. The Masked Lumen is revealed to be in possession of the Right Eye; before the man can do anything else, Insidious explodes as a result of both Sapientia and Hydra's actions.^[4]

At the real Gates of Hell, Balder returns with a spiritual projection of Loptr at his side. He removes his mask and reveals his face to Loki to remind the boy of his 'crimes'. The pair then battle as Bayonetta takes the fight to the spiritual Loptr, known to her at that time as the Prophet. After he defeats her, Loptr uses the Remembrance of Time to show Bayonetta that the Masked Lumen is truly a younger version of her father, Balder, and learns that Balder was not truly the one responsible for the start of the Witch Hunts. When Loki opens the Gates of Hell and escapes to Inferno with Bayonetta, Balder follows.^[4]

In Inferno, Balder makes another attempt at killing Loki, only for him to be saved once more by Bayonetta. Pursuing her on foot, he catches up to her and tries to kill them both, only to watch in fury as Diomedes runs away with the boy, Bayonetta having thrown herself at the Sage to stop him from reaching his goal. Balder grows irritated at her repeated intrusions in his quest to kill Loki, shattering his mask, as he makes one final attempt to permanently kill the Umbra Witch and proclaims that as a Lumen Sage, he will kill Loki. The pair battle to a literal stalemate, with Balder holding Bayonetta down with the strength born from his rage, the witch holds him back. Bayonetta finally recognizes the lipstick tube and seemingly gives up in the struggle, to which Balder begins to exploit slightly to gain the upper hand. Loki appears and is overtaken by a mysterious power, accidentally sending them both 500 years into the past.^[4]

It is back in the past that Balder realizes he has been deceived. Revisiting the moment in which Rosa is critically injured, this time directly by Loptr, remaining at her side for her final moments. As Bayonetta pleads for Balder to return to her present time, Rosa tells Balder to protect their daughter as she will awaken her power as the Left Eye before dying in his arms. Accepting her death, he travels back to Bayonetta's present time to stop Loptr's quest of obtaining Loki and the Eyes of the World.^[4]

Balder forms a temporary truce with Bayonetta; he travels on top of a jet with her and Jeanne at march speed to the top of Fimbulventr in order to stop Loptr from realizing his plan to once again become the God of Chaos, Aesir. Along the way, the sage is curious about Bayonetta's knowledge of his true name and finds that both angels and demons have seemed to have formed an alliance. Bayonetta dodges both of these questions, leaving him without an answer. He then helps Bayonetta slay the obstacles in their wake, reaching Fimbulventr.^[4]

At Fimbulventr's peak, Balder and Bayonetta witness Loptr moments away from stealing the Sovereign Power from Loki. Loptr speaks to Balder, seemingly adhering to his "promise" and gives him the opportunity to finally kill Loki. Balder, now aware of Loptr's deception, Instead strikes Loptr, forcing the Prophet to drop an unconscious Loki from his hand. Balder then attempts to attack Loptr again, but Loptr responds with two energy blasts, which force Balder to evade and back off. Seeing a possible opening, Bayonetta attempts to rescue Loki from Loptr's reach, but he notices this and prepares to strike down Bayonetta as she goes to Loki's rescue. Balder jumps in front of Bayonetta and tries to block Loptr's attack and is incapacitated as a result. He awakens a short time later, having his Right Eye stolen by Loptr with his Sovereign Power, which had just been stolen from Loki.^[4]

After Loptr succeeds in stealing the Left Eye, he is remade into his complete self (albeit without his good half), Aesir. As he mocks humanity's free will, he proceeds to attempt to finish off Bayonetta but is stopped yet again by Balder tossing his glaive. Balder states that humans don't need any sort of being to obey. Despite Aesir's protests against humanity's free will on account of their fear of causing confusion and turmoil, he delivers an ultimatum that the power of man involves the ability to move forward no matter what. Both Bayonetta and Balder then engage in battle against Aesir. During the battle, Loki destroys the Eyes of the World with his trump card, the power of "nothingness", the ability to destroy anything in the world, including even the Eyes of the World themselves. This sudden loss of the Eyes leaves Aesir in being in a near powerless state of shock.^[4]

Balder and Bayonetta finish him off by summoning Omne to deliver the final blow, the being performs a dropkick powerful enough to separate his soul from his body. Aesir's soul attempts to use its remaining power to return to the spirit realm so that it can be reborn in a new era; Balder traps the entity within himself in order to prevent this. Content with his sacrifice, Balder ignores Loki's warning that he will soon be corrupted. Balder refers to Bayonetta as "Cereza" and reveals that he had figured out that she was his daughter. The Lumen Sage makes Bayonetta promise to stop him if he strays from his chosen path; he asks that the Umbra Witch refers to him just once as "Daddy." Bayonetta obliges. Balder promises he will watch over his daughter and is sent back to his own time.^[4]

Having been poisoned by the influence of Aesir's soul that is trapped within him, the experience causes Balder to become corrupt. He then damages Crescent Valley by impaling a spear through the statue of a witch and dons a new mask. From within Balder's body, Aesir continued on with the Witch Hunts.^[4]

Events between Bayonetta 2 (Past) & Bayonetta

As a result of the Witch Hunts, all but two of the Umbra Witches are declared dead. Balder then founded what was known as the Ithavoll Group at some point, starting out as a medium-sized IT company and expanded its business base to become one of the world's leading conglomerates. With the construction of Isla Del Sol, the rapid expansion of his organization, and the taking advantage of the worship of the Laguna by the people of Vigrid, he effectively bends the entire city-state to his will and control. With this, he plots to one day resurrect Jubileus and remake reality with Paradiso in control.^[3]

Desiring to find his sealed daughter, he hires Antonio Redgrave and has his work to uncover the location of his daughter. However, Antonio begins spreading rumors concerning the nature of the Ithavoll Group and its CEO. Balder intentionally begins leaking information regarding himself to the journalist, aware that Antonio has been spreading rumors in an attempt to uncover the truth and as a warning to the extent of his power and influence. Antonio succeeds in tracking down the location in which his daughter, Cereza, was sealed away. As she awakened, Antonio dies from Angels sent to deal with him at Balder's command.^[3]

Twenty years after his daughter's return from her sealed slumber, Balder and his forces later track down one of the surviving Umbra Witches, Jeanne. Capturing her, he then subjects her to mental reprogramming with his magical abilities in order to help Cereza, now going by the name Bayonetta, recover from her amnesia and awakens the power of the Left Eye of Darkness.^[3]

Bayonetta

Balder is heard throughout the game as a disembodied voice, telling Bayonetta that he is always watching over her and providing cryptic hints on what to do next. He is referred to by many Angels as 'The Father' and is treated with mostly reverence (with the sole exception of Sapientia).

When Bayonetta finally reaches Isla Del Sol, Father Balder reveals both himself and his daughter's parentage along with Cereza's true identity. Father Balder tells Bayonetta of his plan to awaken the Left Eye; when Luka appears before him, the corrupt Lumen Sage states that he was truly the one who caused Antonio Redgrave's death. Father Balder throws Luka out a nearby window; he fuses with Cereza and fights Bayonetta as they fall from the Ithavoll Building. Bayonetta shoots Father Balder in the forehead with Rosa's lipstick, seemingly killing the man.

After she returns Cereza to her own time, Bayonetta is overcome with pain due to awakening the Left Eye, and Father Balder reveals that he survived his daughter's attack. The corrupt Lumen Sage explains that the Left Eye's power was reawakened after Bayonetta's memories returned; he ascends with his daughter up to the statue of Jubileus and launches it into outer space. Father Balder and Bayonetta become Jubileus' eyes, but the liberated Jeanne frees her Umbran sister in order to destroy the resurrected deity. Father Balder is seemingly killed once again when Jubileus absorbs him into her body.

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate

Father Balder's motivations for recreating the universe are relatively the same from the game's narrative, but the final battle is changed so that he is able to pilot Jubileus from within her body, and Bayonetta and Jeanne are able to do the same with Sheba using their joint summoning spells. The two goddesses and their summoners clash across space until Bayonetta is able to subdue Jubileus using her Wooden Pony Torture Attack. Jeanne casts a spell on All 4 One, allowing Sheba to use it as an energy cannon to finish off her counterpart, while Bayonetta loads Scarborough Fair with Rosa's lipstick and aims for Balder's head. Bayonetta reminds Balder that Rosa was trying to save his soul, and his last word before being eviscerated by Jeanne and Bayonetta's attacks is her name.

Bayonetta 2 (Present)

Following the destruction of Jubileus, The Creator, and while it was Christmas, Father Balder is revealed to have survived the deity's battle with Bayonetta. The last Lumen Sage struggles to contain the soul of Aesir within himself; in his last moments, free of Aesir's possession, Balder puts on his monocle and falls to the ground. He thanks Bayonetta for keeping her promise to him and vows that he will always watch over her. Balder then happily fades away in a burst of golden light, taking Aesir with him into the afterlife. After his death, the Right Eye of Light was lost from the world forever and the Lumen Sages are now extinct.^[4]

Abilities

Physical

In his younger years, Balder was an extremely powerful foe; his skills rival those of Bayonetta herself in the present time. Throughout their altercations, he held his own with his daughter and was one of the few opponents Bayonetta didn't have a clear victory with. Possessing superhuman strength, stamina, agility, and durability, he is a skilled sword and staff wielder. He also proved superior in fighting skill to Loki. Although little is seen, he has some skill in hand-to-hand combat as he uses kicks within his style. Perhaps his best asset is his speed. He is capable of appearing to his foes in the blink of an eye and moving in such speeds that he creates afterimages of himself. During his first fight with Bayonetta, he was able to throw his glaive and outpace it after being thrown and appeared behind the witch to catch his weapon.^[4]

In the present day, he was still a formidable fighter on par with Bayonetta (While being heavily implied he was holding back in order to awaken the left eye and revive Jubileus).  Although he lacks the same speed he had in his youth, he was still a physically powerful opponent. He was able to snap the neck of Gomorrah with incredible ease, choke Bayonetta with one arm, and backhand a large satellite. He was also very durable and resilient in the present day, able to survive an attempt of being devoured by Gamorrah, the colliding of a building and later a satellite towards himself, a head-shot by Bayonetta, and even managed to survive Jubileus's crushing him and the crash of her deceased body after it had re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.^[3][4]

Magic

Balder was noteworthy within his clan in becoming a powerful Sage.^[9] As a Lumen Sage, he has the vast ability in the usage of magic, specifically the Light Arts^[4] magic in which rivaled that of the Dark Arts used by the Umbra Witches.^[10]

In his younger years, he displays powerful varying magics; he can create multiple celestial fireballs or spheres of lighting, call down a ray of light, create lava from the ground, levitation to achieve flight, create hardened rays of light similar to that of a sword and shield, and healing. He also was capable of sealing, having taken the soul of Loptr into his own body and proved sufficient enough to seal him for the rest of his life, despite the risks. He also displayed time manipulation, which is activated via a clock-like seal that extends a few feet away. Furthermore, he can shorten the duration of Witch Time in battle much like other angels and Bayonetta herself.^[4]

In his older years, he grew proficient enough to be capable of mentally reprogramming people as powerful as the Umbra Witch, Jeanne, and once merged the younger version of Cereza to his body. He can also erect powerful shields capable of defending him from Gomorrah and Scolopendra, and creates a powerful burst of energy capable of slaying the latter. He also displayed telekinesis powerful enough to lift skyscrapers and throw a satellite from space in orbit towards Bayonetta in seconds.^[3] In Bloody Fate, he explained that he was capable of creating a portal through space-time distortion from the influence of the impending resurrection of Jubileus to bring back the Cereza of the past, showcasing a greater ability of time manipulation. He also demonstrated capability in casting lighting above others and wind manipulation.^[11]

Light Arts & Magic Techniques

• Supercharge & Serious Mode: Similar techniques that both allow Balder to enter a super-powered state, characterized by peacock wings on his uniform. Supercharge allows Balder to summon the Laguna via phrases while in combat, increase his attack power, and create giant manifestations of his Holy Glaive and is characterized by a yellow aura. While Serious Mode is similar in appearance, he lacks the yellow aura and instead uses more magical-related attacks and more powerful magic.^[4]
• Light Speed: A technique originating from Temporal Control in which he increases his speed. Those who are skilled in using other Temporal Control-related techniques (such as Umbra Witches) can shorten the duration.^[4]
• Beast Within: A technique that transforms a user into an animal.^[4]
  • Wolf Within: His particular form is known as Wolf Within, which transforms Balder into a white wolf.^[4]

Summoning

As a Lumen Sage, he is capable of summoning and commanding Laguna at his beckoning, summoning either using the peacock feathers in his wings as a conduit or a snap of a finger. Specifically, he is skilled in summoning the Cardinal Virtues.^[4]

Lone Summons

• Fortitudo - ZIRACAH ("Aquarius")^[4]
• Temperantia - HONONOL ("Leo") ^[4]
• Sapientia - OBELISON ("Deliverer")^[4]

Team Summons

• Omne - "ZEDEKIEL HONONOL OBELISON" ("Angel of Jupiter, Leo, the deliverers!"); Requires Bayonetta's support. Capable due to their father/daughter bond and affiliation with light and dark powers respectively.^[4]

Other

• Affinity: In the present time, Balder was seen commanding Affinity angels.^[3]
• Jubileus, The Creator: In Bloody Fate, Balder was also capable of bringing forth Jubileus after having his daughter awaken her Left Eye. After being separated, he was then capable of healing her body and taking control of Jubileus.^[11]

Right Eye of Light

A treasure of the Lumen Sages, Balder later inherited one of the Eyes of the World given to the Lumen Sages by Aesir long ago. With both Eyes, those who wield them could alter reality.^[3] Alone, however, their power wasn't as great.^[4] In his older years, Balder was capable of using the Right Eye of Light proficiently. He was capable of easily destroying the moon with a powerful ray of energy.^[3] He was also said to have achieved a level of omniscience close to that of a god^[12], although he is not all-knowing.^[3]

Equipment

• Peacock Feathers: Balder's range weapon of choice is magic peacock feathers that act as knife-like weaponry. He can create many of these using his magic, and can surround his opponents with them.^[4]
• Battle Robes: Balder wore a battle robe in his youth weaved in divine thread capable of warding off evil. These robes also came with a mask that helps him focus on a singular target.^[4]
• Holy Glaive: Balder in his younger years wielded a glaive in which was capable of splitting into two weapons or combined to act similarly to a staff. He also used his magic to teleport and enlarge its size towards his enemies.^[4]

Tag Climax

Balder is playable in Tag Climax, unlocked by beating his Verse in Tag Climax. Alternatively, he can be unlocked by paying 5 million Halos at his Unlock Door in Story Mode. It is found in Chapter 4 right after Verse 5 and opening the large door, it is a small green door found immediately to your right. Tap on the door 3 times via the touchscreen to make the screen zoom out then enter Up, Down, Up, Right, Left, X, B, Y, A to bring up the purchase message.

He has his own unique move-set and abilities that he brings to the table, most of which a player will recognize from his Masked Lumen boss fights throughout the game. However, take note that the only weapon available to Balder is his Holy Glaive, and he cannot equip any accessories. He can only use what he has access to as a boss.

Balder has access to the following moves from Bayonetta:

• : Balder's attacks are familiar ones that you will have seen from his Masked Lumen fights. At the end of these combos, he will attempt to summon a giant version of the Holy Glaive as a variant of the Wicked Weave that Bayonetta does. You cannot charge these for any additional damage.
• : Balder's kicks are changed into him casting magic instead, all of which can be charged to do more damage. His first kick is to cast a slow-moving blue ball of energy that travels quite the distance, albeit in a straight line. His second kick is to summon two lava pillars, both of which can lock onto faraway enemies. This will launch lower ranked angels and demons. His third is to cast fireballs, which also can travel a long distance. These also have a high stagger rate and hit multiple times to keep a foe in place. His final kick is to summon a strike of lightning from the heavens.
• Dodging: Balder has a dodge, in which he disappears from view mid-flip and reappears upright in the direction you dodged in. Dodging at the correct time allows him to move into Light Speed, a more heightened version of Witch Time. He also has access to Dodge Offset and Aerial Dodge.
• Bullet Shooting: Balder does not fire a gun; rather, he throws kunai-like feathers. Holding down Y achieves nothing; you must input each throw individually. Balder throws one feather, then two, then three, and finally four feathers, restarting back to one on any additional inputs.
• Launchers: Balder launches enemies identically to Bayonetta input-wise. He performs an upward sweep of his glaive for the launcher, and uses a single lava pillar for his launcher. You can charge the launcher to jump Balder into the air and allow him to seamlessly continue his combo. You can also charge the launcher to summon up to three lava pillars total.
• Wolf Within: This is completely identical gameplay-wise to Beast Within.
• Stilleto: Balder now lunges forward with his Holy Glaive outstretched in one arm, extremely similar to how Bayonetta performs it with the Shuraba. This does not travel as far, although.
• Heel Slide: Balder performs a forward teleport into launching a blue magical ball of energy at his foe. This counts as a dodge and can incur Light Speed if timed correctly.
• Tetsuzanko: Balder retreats back and then rushes forward at his foe with a sweep of his glaive. This also counts as a dodge and can incur Light Speed if timed correctly.
• Heel Stomp: Balder raises his hand and clicks his fingers together, summoning a giant blade from his glaive from beneath his foe. This can launch enemies, and does not require magic orbs to function. This will change to Fortitudo biting his jaws during Umbran Climax.
• Bullet Climax: Bullet Climax works slightly different for Balder; his allows him to sweep his glaive in a wide arc around his body, covering about 3/4 of the surroundings, and his allows him to launch fireballs all around him, focusing them directly, forward, left-right and behind of his current position.
• After Burner Kick: Balder jumps onto his glaive and rides it up towards his foe, or holds in parallel to himself and launches himself down at his enemy. Works exactly like Bayonetta's.
• Witch Strike: Balder spins his glaive like a fan above his head whilst launching himself up towards his foe. Works identically to Bayonetta's.
• Umbran Climax: Balder's Umbran Climax works the same way as Bayonetta's does, for the most part. He glows gold, several peacock feathers grow from his back and he can now summon both larger versions of his glaive and two Auditio to aid him. Fortitudo now appears as the finishing strike from his 'weaves' for almost all his combos, whereas Temperantia replaces the final hit of his long combo. His magic now deals increased damage and stagger, but there is no visual change.

All other abilities either do not function or do not have an effect when playing as Balder.

Combo	Notes
PKP	The produces a ball of magical energy, and the finisher summons the glaive to be thrown as a spear towards the foe. Fortitudo replaces this with a bite during Umbran Climax.
PPKP	The produces the lava pillars, and the finisher is a upwards spike of the glaive. Fortitudo replaces this with a bite during Umbran Climax.
PPPKP	The produces fireballs, and the finisher is a upwards spike of the glaive. Fortitudo replaces this with a bite during Umbran Climax.
PPPPP	Summons a giant version of the glaive to be thrown as a spear towards his foe after a flurry attack. Temperantia replaces this with a Punch instead during Umbran Climax.
PPPPK	Summons a lightning bolt as the finisher.
KKKK	Does all four forms of magic one after the other.
Air Combos	These all largely remain unchanged. However, will result in Balder performing a downwards spike with his glaive, and not continue on to the flurry attack.

Boss Move Set

Bayonetta

As a brief aside, most of Father Balder's attacks cannot activate Witch Time. However, perfect parries will still work as intended. He has three phases, and for the most part, there is no difference in them.

• Three sweeps of the blade of light in his hand. Dodging the last attack activates Witch Time.
• A single uppercut of the blade that acts as a launcher. This doesn't deal any damage.
• Two short slices followed by an overhead slam. This is normally a follow up from the launcher.
• A swirl of both the light blade and the peacock wings. This acts and looks similar to the Durga bullet climax attack.
• A long sweep of the light blade.
• Balder has two fireball attacks; one where he surrounds Bayonetta with them and launches them at her, or one where he summons them in a rainbow-like arc above him and then launches them at Bayonetta.
• A hand-fired laser beam. This attack is signaled by him floating backward and holding one arm up.
• A charge that sends him across the battlefield. This is signaled by him tensing up into a ball and two rings appearing and rotating into position. This attack also speeds up on higher difficulties.
• A shower of meteors, signaled by him beginning to conduct an invisible orchestra.
• Balder can summon three fire pillars that appear subsequently.
• A quick-time event where he throws a building at Bayonetta.
• A quick-time event where he pulls a satellite down at Bayonetta. This attack can only appear in phase three, and only appears once.
• He can summon a small blue ball of energy that can immobilize Bayonetta briefly. This can be hit and destroyed before it reaches her.
• A quick-time event where he summons a laser to destroy the current platform Bayonetta is on. This attack can only appear in phases one and two.

Bayonetta 2

As the Masked Lumen, Balder appears twice with a three-phase fight and a two-phase fight. As his true self, he appears once with a two-phase fight.

His move set does not truly differ when you fight him in Tag Climax - he loses out on most of his team attacks, and his quick time events, but retains the vast majority of his attacks.

General Attacks

• Balder has various swipes of his glaive that all can be parried and Witch Timed. These look similar to how you attack with him in Tag Climax. Does not appear in his third encounter.
• A long sweep of his glaive that cover a fair distance. Does not appear in his third encounter.
• Balder can launch fireballs. These appear and are thrown much faster than his older counterpart, and are signaled by him shouting "ZEDEKIEL!"
• Balder can throw his glaive as a spear and catch it behind Bayonetta, or at her if he hit her. Does not appear in his third encounter.
• Balder can summon a single fire pillar, heralded by him shouting "LAVAVOTH!"
• He can use his glaive as a skate after jumping to home in on Bayonetta's position.
• Through a click of his fingers, he can summon Fortitudo to deliver a bite at Bayonetta, heralded by him shouting "ZIRACAH!" This attack does not appear in his third encounter.
• He can summon a giant orange ball of energy and slam it into the ground to create a massive explosion, which is signaled by him shouting "ZINGGEN!"
• He summon a smaller blue ball of energy and launch it at Bayonetta. This does not immobilise her as his older counterpart does.
• Balder can thrust his palm out and send a column of time energy at Bayonetta, which if successful, allows him to slow target in time. This does not deal damage, and can be escaped through a quick time event.
• Balder can summon a column of light/lightning to strike his foe. This is heralded by him shouting "LEVANAEL!"
• Balder can transform himself into wolf within, run at Bayonetta, and attempt to bite her. This does not appear in his third encounter.
• A team attack where he pushes Bayonetta back with a burst of light, then implores for Fortitudo to spit fireballs at her. This can be interrupted through stunning Balder, to which Labolas will pounce onto the Auditio. Only appears during the second phase of his first encounter.
• A team attack where he pushes Bayonetta back with a burst of light, then gestures for Temperantia to fire his head laser at her. This can be interrupted by Bayonetta dealing enough damage to stagger him, to which Madama Butterfly will punch the angel. Only appears during the third phase of his first encounter.
• Balder can click his fingers and summon Temperantia to punch Bayonetta, signified by him shouting "HONONOL!" This attack is much faster than his Fortitudo summon. Only appears during the second Masked Lumen fight.
• A quick time event where he dashes across the stage, and tries to throw Bayonetta out to Sapientia. Succeeding this allows Bayonetta to throw him into Hydra for a mashing mini-game. Only appears during his second appearance, and during second phase.
• A team attack where he lets Sapientia slam its front hands onto the immediate area around him. Only appears during the second phase of his second encounter.
• A team attack where he pushes Bayonetta back with a burst of light, then gestures for Sapientia to strike Bayonetta down with its lasers. This attack can be interrupted if Balder is staggered, and Hydra then flips the stage up and out of the liquid surrounding it, causing both Balder and Bayonetta to utilize their magical abilities to stay upright. Only appears during the second phase of his second encounter.

Unmasked Attacks

• Two sweeps of his giant glaive, followed by a slam of it.
• A slow, but long reaching sweep of his light blade.
• A twist of his body as he lets the giant glaive burst from the ground.
• A twist of his body as he tosses the giant glaive at Bayonetta.
• A slow upwards sweep of the glaive, acting as a launcher. This does deal damage, unlike his older counterpart.
• An attack where he sends several small glaives rapidly at Bayonetta, then throws her to the ground with four small orange balls of energy. Only ever used if launched successfully with the previous attack.
• A counter attack where Balder will retreat back and then rush forward with a reverse sweep of his light blade.
• A triple hit combo where Balder swings a pair of light blades down during a forward somersault, then a backhand swing of a single glaive followed by a small area of effect attack where he slams a small orange ball of energy into the ground.
• An attack where he holds his hands out wide with two giant golden lasers, then brings them together in two sweeps.
• An attack where he forms a laser above his head, then brings it down in a sweep onto Bayonetta.
• An attack where he summons dozens of feathers behind him, then throws them all at Bayonetta.

Quotes

Bayonetta

• "My name is Balder. But if you so choose, you may address me as… Father."
• "The Trinity of Realities wrapped up in a vortex of creation!"
• "My, oh my…"
• "The time has come to awaken the Eyes of the World."
• "May Jubileus, The Creator, grace you!"
• "Fear not, my child, for no harm will come to you. I'm always watching over you… My dear, sweet child."

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate

• "I'm waiting, dear daughter."
• "I've waiting for 500 years to come."
• "The girl will find her way here in the end."
• "Her path is predestined. And I'll tell you why."
• "I understand the rules of the three worlds. I see it all.
• "Our actions will help in the reconstruction of the supreme world."
• "You're wrong. The world is already in chaos."
• "My daughter and I must become the eyes of the world. And unless the three world merged as one, there will be no true order, no true peace."
• "You don't have capacity to understand."
• "Yet you cannot distance yourself from me.
• "The angels work hard for me."
• "You too, Jeanne."
• "I've waited for 500 years."
• "You must be looking forward to seeing her again."
• Everything we do is to prepare for the coming of the Creator, Jubileus."
• "The creation of a new world draw close."
• "Awaken, dear daughter!"
• "Yes... come here."
• "If you're a good girl. Mummy will come for you."
• "You can wait on your own?"
• "I've been waiting for 500 years... ...for the chance to purge the chaotic worlds......of heaven, hell and human world...With the resurrection of Jubileus, the three worlds will become void and be reborn."
• "Cereza, You and I will become gods of this new world!"
• "What have you done? What have you done!! What have you done!! What have you done!!"
• "My dear daughter, Cereza. How dare you turn a sword on me? I won't have it!"
• "Cereza, my own dear child. Not only have you interrupted the resurrection. But now you dare to distort upon me?! I WILL DESTROY YOU!!"
• Transform the world... There's still time. Open your eyes, Cereza."
• "Such nonsense. The creation of the new world will bring true salvation."
• You struggle in vain!"
• "Daughter......this lowly world torn Rosa and I apart. The world must be transformed. It must be!"
• "Rosa..."
• "Rosa..." (last words)

Bayonetta 2

• "Yes, I will never forget that face."
• "Where is she?"
• "Then this will be all the easier.
• "Step away, Umbra Witch! This is not your fight!" (first words to Bayonetta)
• "Your sins are timeless. Child or not, you will see no mercy Sovereign One!"
• "Why must you keep interfering!?"
• "Your impudence will cost you your life, Witch!
• "'Umbra Witch…or shall I call you Bayonetta?"
• "Very well then, Bayonetta. You shall be the first Umbra Witch to die at my hands! I swear it on my honor as a Lumen Sage."
• "He will not be forgiven! He will never be forgiven! On my soul as a Lumen, he will draw his last breath before me!"
• "Have you lost your sanity?!"
• "Humans need not be told what their will shall be. We can create our world with our own eyes."
• "We may not see our next step. We may stumble. We may fall off the path. But we always move forward! That is the power of man! Bayonetta, shall we illustrate?"
• "Sanity is a requirement for our kind. You will never see another era trapped inside me. Only an endless circle of time!"
• "Then so be it. What's wrong can be made right through human hands."
• "Cereza...listen to me."
• "If I stray from my path...You...must be the one...The one to stop me..."
• "Cereza... Just one time, call me... Daddy..."
• "Thank you... Cereza... My dear, sweet child..."
• "You will not escape this fate! We will perish together!"
• "My dear, sweet child… At last, you have fulfilled your promise to me… Fear not, for I am always watching over you…" (last words before his death)

Taunts

• "Are you frightened?"
• "Face me anytime."
• "The power of the Sage is infinite!"
• "You have no chance here!"
• "Those who have taken from me will see that they're taken from."
• "Light shines forever!"
• "This is your fate!"
• "You have disappointed me, Witch."

Battle Quotes

• "ZIRACAH!" 
• "HONONOL!"
• "OBELISON!"
• "ZEDEKIEL!"
• "LAVAVOTH!"
• "LEVANAEL!"
• "ZINGGEN!"
• "Farewell!"
• "You cannot flee!"
• "Into the light!"
• "Feel the pain!"
• "This is your end!"
• "Vanish!"
• "Shine on!"
• "Bathe in the light!"

Character Selection/Tag Climax

• "I am the Right Eye."
• "Glory be to the Lumen!"
• "I accept this task…humbly."

Tag Climax Results

• "Light cannot exist without darkness."
• "Oh, were you there?"
• "Perhaps I should have held back."
• "Darkness cannot exist in the light."
• "This is your fate!"
• "I will not be stopped."

Gallery

For more pictures and screenshots of Balder, click here.

Trivia

• On the 2nd anniversary of the release of Bayonetta 2, it became known that Yusuke Hashimoto, director of Bayonetta 2, had originally planned to implement Balder in Story Mode with his own scenes. He would have fought against demons while Bayonetta fought against angels. Both Balder and Bayonetta's storylines would have unfolded from their own points of view, until their two separate story paths meet and they combine their efforts to defeat Aesir. Instead, he became a character for Tag Climax. (He can be played on Story Mode via hacking, however, most actions of some chapters can't be performed, causing the player to not finish the chapters and get stuck.)
  • The idea of play as another character with different moveset was later implemented on Bayonetta 3 with the character Viola.
• The battle with Balder is similar to Dante's battle with the The Despair Embodied from Devil May Cry 2, who attacks in a very similar manner, alternating between sword and whip-like attacks while deftly circling around their foes.
• During development of the first game, Kamiya described that he had envisioned Balder as originally having good intentions in the past and that he would have wanted to explore his history with Rosa. This is partially addressed in the second game, in which Balder is depicted as being sympathetic whereas his antagonistic role in the first game is depicted to be the result of Loptr's influence corrupting his soul. When asked if he had planned the general idea of Balder's character well before the development of the second game or if it was merely thought of afterward, Kamiya acknowledged that it was the former.
• Just as the blood Bayonetta sheds in battle transforms into rose petals before it disappears, the blood spilled from the Masked Lumen transforms into golden feathers.
• The Masked Lumen is voiced by Crispin Freeman and Takehito Koyasu in the English and Japanese versions of Bayonetta 2, respectively.
• His Beast Within form, the wolf, is rather ironic considering that Balder is named after the Norse deity of light, and wolves in Norse mythology chase after and hunt the Sun and Moon.
• Balder's birthday is October 25th, 1379, as revealed in concept art of his Lumen's Watch bearing the script "Balder 13791025 In Lumen" written in the Angelic Alphabet.^[2]
• Father Balder is voiced by J. Grant Albrecht and Norio Wakamoto in the English and Japanese versions of Bayonetta, respectively.

• "System 16," the name of SEGA's arcade board system, is written on the satellite that Father Balder uses as a ray gun in his battle against Bayonetta.
• If the player does not steer Bayonetta's lipstick bullet correctly, Father Balder regains his composure and lunges at the screen in which it triggers a game over.
• Balder had deliberately modeled his appearance after Father Rodin's own.^[13]
• Father Balder got his namesake from the Norse God Baldr, the most gifted son of the Norse Gods who was killed by the mythological Loki by proxy of the blind god Hoder through a mistletoe spear, with the mistletoe being the only thing that can hurt him. This mirrors how he ends up dying in the hands of Loptr, the evil side of Aesir and thus by extension, Loki, when the evil God corrupted him and had him die in the hands of his daughter.
• While no variant of him appeared in Bayonetta 3, Rosa β4 wears his monocle, implying that he took her place to be killed during Universe β4's version of the Witch Hunts.

References