The second Darkwood mini-boss, a leaping bagworm that telegraphs every fireball with a symbol above its head.
Valefar tells you exactly which fireball is coming, if you watch its head. A symbol flashes above the bagworm before each ranged attack, and reading that symbol is the difference between a clean dodge and eating a wall of fire.
It is the second mini-boss of Darkwood, the first Crusade region. Per the wiki, Valefar is a bagworm of the Old Faith, the middle lieutenant the Lamb clears between Amdusias and Barbatos before reaching Leshy.
The fight is a rhythm of leaps and fireballs. According to the wiki, Valefar leaps directly at the Lamb, then follows with one of two fireball patterns, and roars at the end of each attack to cue the next leap.
This guide covers who Valefar is, the Darkwood encounter, its leap-and-fireball moveset, the two head symbols that telegraph its attacks, how to recruit it, and where it sits among the Darkwood mini-bosses.
A leaping bagworm that alternates jump attacks with two fireball patterns.
Darkwood, the first Crusade region, as the second mini-boss before Leshy.
Read the symbol. An inverted cross means a tracking barrage; a spiral means a circle of fireballs.
Recruit it. A defeated Valefar joins the cult as a follower like the other Darkwood lieutenants.Valefar is the second mini-boss of Darkwood. Per the wiki it is a bagworm, the same species as 
Leshy himself, and it served the Old Faith and the Chaos Cult before the Lamb arrived.
Its name follows the Darkwood pattern. Like its fellow lieutenants, Valefar is named after a demon from the Ars Goetia in the Lesser Key of Solomon, the grimoire that supplies the names for all three Darkwood mini-bosses.
It has a follower form for after the fight. According to the wiki, once defeated and indoctrinated, Valefar keeps its head of red leaves, wooden horns, the black thread tied in an X, and the symbol on its forehead, taking the shape of a typical cult follower. Valefar is one of the recruitable Darkwood lieutenants, not a permanent enemy.
Valefar appears as a mini-boss in Darkwood, the first of the four Crusade regions. Per the wiki it is the second of the region's three mini-bosses, sitting between Amdusias and Barbatos on the road to the Leshy boss fight.
The room is a standard mini-boss arena, and clearing it ends that Crusade run. Like the other Darkwood lieutenants, a defeated Valefar can be carried home and turned into a follower for the cult.
It is an early fight with low stakes but a real skill check. Valefar layers more on screen than the simpler Darkwood mini-bosses, so it is the one that teaches new players to read tells before the Bishop fights demand it.
Valefar cycles between a leaping melee attack and two fireball patterns. Per the wiki its primary attack is leaping directly at the Lamb, and the number of leaps increases as it loses health. After the leaps, a symbol appears above its head to telegraph the fireball attack that follows, and it roars at the end of each attack.
The order is consistent enough to plan around. According to the wiki the leaping attack always starts after the fireball attacks, and a roar marks the transition, so the fight is a readable loop of fireballs into jumps rather than random pressure.
The symbol above the head is your cheat sheet. An inverted cross means a tracking barrage, so keep moving sideways to throw off its aim; a spiral means a ring of fireballs, so back off and roll through a gap. Then brace for the leaps, which always come right after.
Beat Valefar by staying in constant motion and reading the head symbol before every fireball. Per the wiki you must keep moving through its bursts and watch the symbol to know which pattern is coming, then prepare for the jump attack that follows immediately.
A quick weapon (punish in the gaps between leaps and fireballs)
Move sideways (the barrage tracks you, so never stand still)
Roll the gaps (keep distance and dodge through the circle) Brace for leaps (the jump attack always follows the fireballs)According to the wiki, the leaping attack is best handled by watching for the roar that signals it and keeping a constant rolling motion to avoid being hit. There are no safe standing spots during the jumps, so movement is the whole defense.
The health-gated Quick Jumps are the only real spike. After a few runs the loop is muscle memory: dodge the symboled fireball, roll through the leaps, punish on the recovery, and expect four jumps instead of two once Valefar drops low.
Valefar is the middle of three Darkwood mini-bosses, all named after Ars Goetia demons and all recruitable. They are the lieutenants the Lamb clears on the way to the Bishop of Darkwood.
It sits between the other two. 
Amdusias is the first mini-boss and spawns Chaser Worms, while 
Barbatos is the third, a burrowing Bobbit Worm. Valefar bridges them with its leap-and-fireball rhythm.
All three serve Leshy and share the Old Faith allegiance until the Lamb turns them. For how these lieutenants feed into the larger fights, see every Cult of the Lamb boss in one place.
Valefar is one of three Darkwood lieutenants. These guides cover the weapons, the Bishops they serve, and the rest of the roster.
Game data and screenshots adapted from cult-of-the-lamb.fandom.com, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Massive Monster and Devolver Digital.