I found this boss to be extremely difficult and frustrating, (I literally ALT-F4'd twice and almost a third time after dying) so here is how I finally beat him.

Gear and Food:

- I think the most important thing to mention is that fighting him at night time can provide a huge advantage as the temperature on the island drops to about 31 degrees, meaning you can get away with wearing a full set of Aztec gear and an Amulet of Cool which provides a much better armour rating than the Islander set. I wore an Amulet of Damage in my other slot as he takes quite a beating.

- In addition to the Aztec armour, I also found that movement speed was crucial, so wearing a Kabuki Mask which grants you an additional 15% run speed as well as the 15% from the Aztec Boots is a great benefit. Pair this with the occasional use of Sprint and you'll be able to dodge just about everything.

- I strongly recommend the Steel Mace as it has the highest melee damage available up to this point. A lot of the damage dealt to this boss will be done by hitting him once and retreating.

- I also strongly recommend a bow (the stronger the better) for sniping him while he tries to heal. As soon as you see him stop he will either fire a shot from his gun, in which case you should move directly to either side of him, or pull out a potion and drink. It's important that you damage him before he finishes this move as he can heal a decent chunk of health if left uninterrupted. It may be worth mentioning that grenades are useless here due to the entire battle taking place in a pool of water.

- You're just about guaranteed to take some heavy hits during this fight so having plenty of HP/Stamina regeneration food is critical. I went in with about 30 Fruit Cake and 15 Baklava and only had a handful left. You'll be spending a LOT of time running around healing.


Strategy:

- Before even starting the boss fight you will want to clear the surrounding area of the arena. Extra enemies can and will attack you during this fight; this is the LAST thing you want.

- Once you've waited for nightfall and entered the arena you want to start moving and not stop unless you are attacking. The cannons are extremely unforgiving and they will grind down your HP bar incredibly fast if you stay in one spot for too long. As mentioned above, a good bow can be used to attack the boss when he stops to heal, but also when he stops to shoot you. When he does this, take a few steps to either side and fire back. If done quickly enough, you'll land a hit and be able to run away without taking any damage. Pair this with the critical damage skill for an extra edge.

- When you're health is over 75-80%, you want to run in and deal some melee damage. I found using Block to be both a benefit and hindrance as it greatly reduces damage taken but also takes a second to activate, meaning more hits land on you. The main thing to do is hit him first with a critical, than carry on with Berserk for as long as possible until your health is below 40-50%. Now you want to carry on running and healing until you're recovered to the 75-80% mark again. This is where your movement speed is important and having the 30% increase from the gear and combining that with Sprint can give you the valuable distance you need to heal, as well as get in and out quickly to deal some damage.

- This may not be the most achievable or ethical tactic to use depending on your progress so far, but I must admit that saving a skill point for your Health skill after hitting level 13 can honestly be what wins you the battle. Most of you will have realised by now that levelling up and/or spending a point in Health or Stamina will fully restore that bar. When both you and the boss are inches away from death, a quick and easy point in your health skill may well turn the tide of battle in your favour.

I'm far from an expert gamer but this boss will likely take a few attempts to beat. Get a feel for the fight first and learn the cannon mechanics before taking a serious shot at beating him!