So this is a basic guide that I've comprised of my experiences in dealing with these two bosses. If you notice, I didn't include the Venatori Commander because she's probably the easiest of the three and really requires very little strategy to defeat even on Perilous. For the most part, this guide will include strategies that can really be used by any class, though it will give specific strategies for certain classes since classes such as the Legionnaire and Templar can deal with the bosses much more easily than others.
Templar Commander
While dealing with the templar commander, you'll face the most diverse selection of minion enemies. This includes Templar soldiers, marksmen, horrors, shadows, and knights. As a general rule, the pecking order for these enemies are Shadows/Knights/Horrors/Marksmen/soldiers, it's essential that not everyone in your party focus on the commander since an overabundance of marksmen and soldiers can easily wipe your group.
The commander himself is incredibly slow in the beginning, and it could be a strategy that one player kite the boss in the entrance room (if the room allows it) while other players deal with the minions. While killing the boss in a quick fashion will cut the minion reinforcements short, the Templar Commander has 3 forms which have very long periods inbetween where the boss cannot be damaged. Even with an overpowered player in your group, the boss will take too long to kill before the minions overrun the group.
When dealing with the Templar Commander his normal attack is a wide 4-hit combo which ends in a strike that knocks anyone around him back. There are also four distinct tells that will give away what he does next:
1) When he starts to wind up his sword, in which he will stay motionless for a good 4-5 seconds. After this wind-up he will commence with a Whirlwind which can easily be fatal if you get caught in it. If you find yourself unable to vacate immediately, you can jump right before he hits you and the resulting knockback will clear you of successive swings. You can tell that his whirlwind is about to stop because he swings a little faster for the last few, after he ceases the ability he will be vulnerable to attack. Keep in mind that if his target dies mid-whirlwind he will stop swinging and not grant the moment of vulnerability that you would get if his target survived. Also note that he will not change forms until after he is done swinging, which means if he's due to do so, then he is invulnerable until he is done.
When playing as a sword/shield class, it is ill-advised that you block whirlwind, as the knockback is dulled when you have your shield up, and can easily lead to your character being caught in the cycle of strikes. Instead, use this time to back off from the boss and pick up some minions in order to alleviate the pressure on the rest of the group.
2) When the Templar Commander stops chasing his target and instead arches his his sword over his head, then he is about to do an Earthshaking Strike. This is a devastating ground based attack that moves forward in a straight line and will harm all players in it's way. Once he has begun Earthshaking strike, he will proceed to do it 3 times; he will interrupt the attack to change forms, but he will not cease even if his target goes down. While jumping will not fully save your character from the strike, it can once again knock you back far enough to allow you to evade successive strikes. During this attack, the Commander is extremely vulnerable at both his sides and back since he won't change targets mid-attack.
When playing as a sword/shield class, it is imperative that you not try to block this attack, since it will knock you down. It also seems to do extra damage against guard and prone players, which could lead to massive damage despite your abilities and gear. Unfortunately, there is little warning to this attack, and the closer you are to the Commander, the harder it is to escape the successive strikes. A player with the Barrier spell can be a major boon during this attack since it can easily negate the damage entirely.
3) When the Templar stops chasing his target and points towards a character, he is about to leap to a player and deal massive damage to anyone in the vicinity. The player that is target can easily be identified since there will be a red glow where he is about to strike. If the players of your part are paying attention enough, this attack is easy to dodge and very easy to punish.
When playing as a sword/shield class, you can block this attack and get a lot of guard from it while also aiding other players if you have the Chevalier's Step ability, granting 30% additional armor to party members while you have your shield up.
4) Lastly, at 2/3 and 1/3 hp the boss will stomp the ground, knocking back any nearby players and sending them prone. After which, he will drink red lyrium, granting him full armor and causing his size to grow. This larger size means wider swings for all of his attacks, and while he is switching forms he will be invulnerable to all damage until his animation is done. When he is at his last sliver of health, he will use this ability a third time, which will lead to him ultimately expiring. Unfortunately, for the duration of this ability, the boss is still considered "alive" meaning that reinforcements will still be coming to aid him if they are still available.
This boss can be extremely dangerous if your party isn't paying attention, and it's extremely important that the minions be dealt with before they overwhelm the party. In all, having an elementalist or necromancer can make this fight much easier due to their large scale area of effect attacks, and having a tank can make it extremely easy to kite the boss.
Demon Commander
The demon commander's minion enemies are not hard at all on their own, but are specifically chosen to make the boss itself much harder. It's minions consist of Wisp wraiths, Shades, Fear demons, and Terror demons. While any of these demons in a large quantity can lead to a party's demise, the Fear demons are especially dangerous since they can slow down a player, leaving them unable to escape the boss. It is essential that the bulk of the party not be out in the open, as the wisps can are much easier to deal with when they are clustered together.
The Demon Commander itself is extremely potent in it's ability to kill players even on the Routine difficulty. Keep in mind that most of it's attacks are magic based, so players with a high willpower will be better suited in dealing with him. One thing to remember is that the Demon commander has a very strict pattern that is rarely broken and cannot happen unless a player is trying to break it. This pattern consists of three phases:
1) The boss will rip open the ground beneath them and teleport to a player. This will always be the boss' first action in it's rotation, and it is imperative that players not clump together in order to avoid multiple deaths. The first teleport will always be the hardest to predict, but her target can always be determined by the tell-tale green glow that appears at their location. If you're not already moving by the time this appears, then it's already too late to dodge. It is imperative that the player either run in a straight line, use an evasive maneuver or jump down a flight of stairs in order to avoid this attack. Being in the air can potentially reduce the damage taken, as well as knock you back, allowing you to avoid it's next attack. It is crucial that unless the player has a barrier or shield wall, that they immediately retreat from the boss after it uses this attack since having more than one player in the boss' vicinity can cause her to immediately use a shriek.
As a sword/shield character, you can potentially block the teleport attack if you're able to predict it. If you are the target, you must run until you see the green glow. At that moment, stop moving and turn around with your shield up, and it should result in a full block granting 1/2 a bar or guard. Keep in mind though that stopping too soon will cause the boss to teleport behind your shield, and hit you for full damage, which can easily be fatal for a tank who has low willpower.
As a mage, it's possible to fully mitigate the damage from the teleport attack using either Barrier or Fade cloak. T
2) After teleporting, the boss will either proceed to make a melee attack against it's target if it is close enough, or it will use a shriek if there are 2 or more players close enough to it. It is essential that non-tank melee players do not engage the boss in close range without a barrier, as it is impossible to escape the shriek without already being on the outskirts of it's range. Even if you escape the initial damage, the resulting slow debuff can make it difficult to avoid the next attack. Any player caught in the Shriek will take massive spirit damage and be stunned for about 4-5 seconds. If you are in a bind, you can use a potion to immediately end the stun. Keep in mind that even if you have barrier or Shield Wall the Shriek, she will still stun you. The only way to avoid the damage while being in it's range is to either use the Fade Cloak ability or to get lucky with Evasion. It is possible to raise characters while stunned from Shriek.
As a sword/shield character, you can block the Shriek attack with your shield, but it is ill-advised if it can be avoided since the blast doesn't always give you guard and the resulting stun can lead to the player taking more damage from minions. If you kite the boss after teleporting, you can potentially reset her cycle, which is ill-advised since it can lead to her switching targets and it causes her to use her teleport attack more frequently.
3) After the boss has used Shriek, she will teleport away from her target and fire 4 orbs or spirit energy. These orbs have high homing ability, so it is advised that you block them with a wall as they can rarely be dodged otherwise. Directly after firing these orbs, the boss will reset her cycle and teleport to her current target. Keep in mind that if her target is out of range, she will struggle to reach her target after firing the orbs, this makes her extremely vulnerable since she won't stop trying to get to her target until someone does an excessive amount of damage in order to become her new target.
As a sword/shield character, it is ill-advised that you block the 4 orbs, as they can be mitigated with enough guard, and the stamina cost for doing so can leave your character unable to block her next teleport attack. If you have a set of stairs nearby, then it may be more fruitful to block them if you can dodge the teleport attack using the stairs.
On all modes, the Demon Commander has the largest pool of health, and the most immunities. Because of this, it is advised that 3 players kill the minions first while one player kites the boss in a safe area. The Demon Commander is unique in that she will never deviate from her target unless someone else attacks her or if her target gets downed. In conclusion, the Demon boss and it's minions are actually very simple if you face them seperately, it's only if you face them together that the fight becomes over-complicated and difficult.
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