I've had a few questions about this boss for a few weeks but have yet to find anything. This boss seems to ignore the finer sides of boss mechanics, so I'm probably reaching for stars but...

How exactly do people avoid getting hit by his backhand into the poison?

I see plenty of strategies saying everyone just pan out around the edge, and when he targets someone they sit and take the cleave, or they strafe in a direction so they don't get hit. Which is fine and works well(for the most part until they get thrown into poison ).

So my two questions are how do people avoid the backhand knockback, and does he pound the person he's targeting into the ground if he's chasing you and "catches" you?

Thanks in advance.

Position all range in a circle around him, those that can eat the cleaves, do. The others get bubbled. Melee fight from the center in a triangle. Pretend the outside grate is twice as thick and stand on the dirt accordingly and you won't get backhanded. Easy

We don't even try to kite him anymore.