Bosses are very strong, unique enemies. Defeating them is part of the storyline and is required to advance in the game.
Each boss can only be fought in a special dedicated boss arena. Boss arenas are always only one room, and always contain at least one safe that can be opened after the battle.
Boss room door
Bosses can be accessed through doors with a devil symbol (the same door as Killing Zone Trials), the only exception being the final boss, Thunderhead.
Two select bosses, namely, Blood Moon, and Mchavi, have two phases. The Second Phase begins after the first phase health bar reaches zero. They then start using stronger and new different attacks (Blood Moon), and/or gaining new debuffs, and spawning stronger enemies (Mchavi).
Unlike regular enemies, bosses don't have a health bar above them. Instead, their health bar is displayed at the very top of the screen instead.
Rematches[]
All boss fights can be repeated, with the exception of Thunderhead, which can only be beaten once (repeating it requires reloading a save file). Boss level will match yours.
To initiate a rematch, enter one of the doors in the bottom section of the Shooting Range in Prancing Pony Camp. You'll need a key dropped by the corresponding boss.
You might think, since bosses are accessed through the Shooting Range, that you will not loose any ammo, and your weapons will not wear out, but this is not true. Rewards for rematches include additional XP, weapons used by the boss, pre-war bits and other items, usually a Skill Book or a Memory Orb (very useful at high levels).
General tips[]
While every boss is unique, tactics for their attacks, debuffs, enemies that they spawn, boss arena, etc, apply in most boss battles.
- If you die during certain bosses that don't have two phases (Ultra-sentinel, Bombardier), you can always return to the boss room after replenishing health and supplies and continue the battle from the point where you died. The boss HP will not get reset. Regarding rematches, all bosses will reset their health if you die and re-enter the rematch.
- Boss arenas usually have some obstacles or parts of terrain that you can hide behind to avoid attacks, Wing of Ravagers being a excellent example of this, but also a necessary mechanic for the battle. Some obstacles might get destroyed during the fight, either by the boss, or by yourself.
- Prepare yourself before the battle. Use whatever advantages you can - equip your strongest armor, use your strongest weapons/spells, replenish your health and magical power, heal/repair your companion, use chemicals, eat food. Make sure to take plenty of ammunition, healing potions and other medical supplies.
- Choose armor and amulets accordingly to the damage type that the boss deals - e.g. if it uses bullet type attacks, choose a bullet resistant armor and Soldier's Amulet.
- Consider leveling up your character on Grind Maps. Current map's recommended minimum level (can be found on World Map) can serve as a guideline.
- If you can, hunt for the Ministry Mare Figurines. They provide substantial bonuses to various skills.
- While it's convenient to heal instantly using hotkeys, it really goes a long and helpful way to open your PipBuck and heal or change weapons from the inventory. It will give you time to think about what to do next and plan out a strategy without pressure, especially in intense battles.
- Bosses have various resistances, therefore various weapons/spells might work better or worse on them. If you are stuck on a boss or are having a hard time, try a different weapon/spell.
- Keep an eye on your weapon's repair level. Boss fights can be quite long and if you keep firing only one weapon it will eventually start misfiring and then stop firing entirely. If you want to keep using the same weapon make sure to bring some weapon repair kits (portable workbench can't be used in battle).
- Save the game before a boss battle. The bosses can be quite challenging, requiring you to use vast amounts of medical supplies and strong weapons, which results in thousands of caps lost when, and if you fail. If you save the game right before the battle, you can always restart the fight with all your items intact. You can then try a different strategy.
- You can temporarily lower game difficulty, just for the boss battle. You can do that with special Difficulty Cards that can be bought from Dip Fanken at Prancing Pony Camp. After the battle, revert the difficulty back to your preferred one. Be careful though, the Cards are limited to three cards for each difficulty. You can't change the difficulty back, unless you have the card for that difficulty.