---------------------------------------- MEGA MAN X8 Bosses Guide (Final Version) -For the Sony PlayStation 2 (NTSC-U)- by Will Weaver (Team Ragnarok) ---------------------------------------- SHORT DISCLAIMER: For full legal information, see section 7 of the FAQ. This FAQ may not be posted anywhere not on my permissions list without my express written consent. If you see this FAQ anywhere else, or if you see it with a different name at the top, please contact me at coredesat@outphase.com so I may hunt down those responsible and have a nice little chat with them about how stealing others' work is bad and all that (read: I stand there and go "You idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"). TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Version History & Contact Information 2. Controls 3. The Mavericks a. Noah's Park - Giant Mechaniloid b. Troia Base - Optic Sunflower c. Pitch Black - Dark Mantis d. Primrose - Gravity Antonion e. Metal Valley - Earthrock Trilobyte f. Dynasty - Gigabolt Man-O-War g. Central White - Avalanche Yeti h. Inferno - Burn Rooster i. Booster Forest - Bamboo Pandamonium j. Jakob - Vile k. Gateway - Copy Sigma l. Sigma Palace - Vile m. Sigma Palace - True Sigma n. and o. Hard Mode Final Battles 4. New Game+ Information 5. Credits 6. Contact Information - Part Deux 7. Copyright Information & Disclaimer ------------------------------ 1. VERSION HISTORY ------------------------------ 0.1 - First edition. Added basic controls and strategies for the Giant Mechaniloid and the first two Mavericks. Unreleased. 0.3 - Added strategies for Gigabolt Man-O-War and Avalanche Yeti. Also added info on Tag Assist, Double Attack, and Copy Shot. 0.5 - Added strategies on Burn Rooster and Gravity Antonion.' 0.6 - Added note about different "modes" of Maverick attack patterns. 0.8 - Added strategies for the last two Mavericks. 0.9 - Added Vile (Jakob) and Copy Sigma strategies. 1.0 - First released edition. Finished the guide and added info on the armors. Final - Added copyright disclaimer and updated contact info. This is the final version of my FAQ, so I won't be accepting any new battle strategies. Still, if you see a problem with my FAQ, or if there is something you think absolutely must be added, contact me at coredesat@outphase.com. ------------------------------ 2. CONTROLS AND TECHNIQUES ------------------------------ Here are the basic default controls for the characters: Left Stick/D-Pad - Move the character or aim (if Axl). Right Stick, L1/R1 - Switch special weapons L1+R1 (at the same time) - Unequip special weapon L2: Change characters, Tag Assist (see note), Revert (if Axl) R2: Double Attack (see note) Triangle: Use special weapon, technique (if Zero) or Copy Shot (if Axl) Circle: Dash Square: Normal attack (X-Buster, Z-Saber, or Axl Bullets) X: Jump Start: Pause game, skip cutscenes and movies Select: No function besides accessing the R&D Lab on the Stage Select screen. COPY SHOT --------- Axl's Copy Shot returns in X8, and it works just like it does in X7, only this time you don't have to charge it. Simply aim with the left stick or D-pad and press Triangle to fire. There are only a few enemies you can copy, and copied attacks don't work very well on the bosses. The Copy Shot is ineffective against bosses. However, the Copy Shot is useful in getting some Rare Metals, but that's a topic for another guide. TAG ASSIST ---------- You won't need to use this much in Easy or Hard Mode. You HAVE to use it at one point in Normal Mode. Basically, if you get caught in something (an enemy's pincer, frozen in ice, etc.), you can press L2 to call in your other character to free you. You'll then take control of the character you called. DOUBLE ATTACK ------------- As you fight your way through the stages, you'll notice a small meter next to your characters' life bars slowly filling. This is the Attack Gauge, and when it's full, your active character will glow for a moment. This means you can use the Double Attack, which is an excellent way to increase your Hunter Rank in each stage (you will also receive an "EXF" medal at the end of the stage). To use the Double Attack, make sure your Attack Gauge is full (it will be pink), move toward the nearest enemy, and press R2 to send out a small shockwave. If the shockwave hits any targets, your other character will join you to destroy all enemies on the screen or deal big damage to whatever boss you're fighting. The Double Attack animation differs based on the situation you're in. Most times, it will be green. If you're delivering a deathblow to a boss, it will be orange. ARMORS ------ As you play through the game (or games, as the case may be), you'll unlock special armors for X, Axl, and Zero. You can only gain one of them on your first play-through. X's NEUTRAL ARMOR: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the armor you find in Dr. Light's capsules. You'll get a piece of the armor in each capsule, although the one in Noah's Park gives you the armor itself. The Neutral Armor is unique in that the parts you get for it give you a wide variety of options. You can customize the armor any way you want with all the H(ermes) and I(carus) parts you get. Hermes Armor: Invincible Dash (foot), 3-way charged shot (buster), X-Drive (body - most useless part of all), and faster charge speed (head). Icarus Armor: Jump higher (foot), powerful laser blast (buster), increased defense (body), and jump to damage enemies (head) I like to use a combination of the Foot Parts H, the regular buster, Body Parts I, and Head Parts H. X's ULTIMATE ARMOR: The Ultimate Armor is pretty much the ultimate armor. It's the best armor in the game and makes X really, really cheap. You can get it by buying all of X's upgrades (raise him to 100%), beating the game, and starting a New Game+ (see below). Here are its benefits: - Increased dash speed and wider dash range - Jump even higher than the Icarus Armor can - Invincible dash - Plasma Buster, which creates secondary bursts of plasma after it hits an enemy - Increased defense, even higher than the Icarus Armor - No longer get knocked back by hits - Nova Strike, which utterly and royally owns anything you use it against, but you must wait for it to charge back up when you do use it ZERO'S BLACK ARMOR: The Black Armor is a double-edged sword, pretty much. It doubles Zero's attack power, but halves his defense. However, it was designed to be used with Zero's special weapons - in particular, the Sigma Blade and T-Breaker. To get it, you just have to get Zero up to 100%. You can only get him up to 95% in your first game, but once you buy the Sigma Blade (beat the game to make it appear in the chip lab), you'll automatically get the armor. AXL'S WHITE ARMOR: This armor is really only useful in the final battle of the game. It increases Axl's attack power by 25%, lets him hover indefinitely as long as he's firing a weapon, increases the range of his dash, and lets him use abilities copied with the Copy Shot indefinitely (or until you beat the stage). Unfortunately, it halves his already low defense. To get it, buy all of Axl's upgrades, beat the game, and start a New Game+ (see section 4). ------------------------------ 3. THE MAVERICKS ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- A. NOAH'S PARK - GIANT MECHANILOID ---------------------------------- Weakness: X-Buster, Z-Saber, Axl Bullets Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals Round 1: This is probably the easiest boss battle in the game. Your opponent doesn't have a life meter, and its attacks aren't very strong. It will either launch one of its pincers at you and try to grab you, or fire some easily avoidable beams at you. Hit it in the head with a charged X-Buster shot or a stream of Axl Bullets to knock it down, then keep hitting it until it gets up again. Continue to do this until the mechaniloid runs off. If it grabs you, quickly hit L2 for a Tag Assist before you take damage. Round 2: The second battle is a joke. The mechaniloid will attack from behind a waterfall, and occasionally launch little crabs at you. Kill the crabs to get items that will fill your Attack Gauge, then when the mechaniloid peeks out from behind the waterfall, jump up and use the Double Attack. It will run away after one hit. Round 3: This is the real battle. The mechaniloid will have a life meter this time, but it still isn't very strong. This time, though, it'll raise one of its pincers up to protect its head (its only weak spot), and slowly march toward you. If it manages to get you up against the wall, it will continually punch you until you're dead. You won't be able to climb up the wall because the mechaniloid will knock you down. Just dash under it to escape. You have X and Zero for this battle, and I prefer using X, because it's good to be far away from the mechaniloid so you don't take damage. Charge up the X-Buster and shoot its face. This will break the mechaniloid's barrier, and cause it to keel over. Switch to Zero and slash away at the mechaniloid until it gets back up and puts its barrier back up. Repeat the process until the mechaniloid's life meter is about 20% full. When the mechaniloid's life meter is 20% full, break its barrier, then perform the Double Attack if your Attack Gauge is full (which it should be). Mission Complete! NOTE BEFORE WE GO ON: From here on out, the Maverick bosses you fight will fight in three stages: Normal mode, where they use general battle strategies; "Angry" mode (deplete 1/3 to 1/2 of life bar), where they'll introduce new attacks that deal more damage or are trickier to avoid; and "Hyper" mode (deplete 80% of life bar), where they'll use some extremely large attack. Use the Double Attack while the bosses are in Hyper Mode (not in the Gateway) to get a boost to your Hunter Rank and get an EXF medal on your stats. *QUICK NOTE* - In Hard Mode, the Mavericks go into Hyper Mode when you deplete 50% of their life bar, as opposed to 80% in Normal Mode. They don't go into Hyper Mode at all in Easy Mode. ------------------------------- B. TROIA BASE - OPTIC SUNFLOWER ------------------------------- Weakness: Green Spinner/Youdantotsu/Blast Launcher Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals, Shining Ray/Tenshuoha/Ray Gun Optic Sunflower starts off by creating two platforms in the room. He'll continually move the platforms around or make them disappear. Use them to your advantage, as you can avoid Sunflower's attacks while on them. In his normal mode, Optic Sunflower will either teleport throughout the room, or fire a large vertical beam that will travel horizontally across the room. The beam will cover some of the room on its first pass, then cover the part it didn't cover on its second pass, so dash beneath it or jump over it. If you can, hit Sunflower with whatever weapon you have (X-Buster, Z-Saber, or one of Bamboo Pandamonium's weapons). Optic Sunflower will also teleport throughout the room when he gets angry. This time, though, he'll create a clone that will quickly disappear after the real Optic Sunflower reappears. Don't be fooled by this, and go after the real Sunflower. Also, Optic Sunflower will create orbs that bounce around the room - AVOID THESE. If they hit you, you will be captured - hit L2 for a Tag Assist. You can destroy the orbs, but it's better to avoid them and go after Optic Sunflower, as all orbs will be destroyed when he goes into Hyper Mode or when he rearranges the platforms in the room. Finally, he'll also use the same beam attack he used earlier, only this time there will be two beams, and one will move faster than the other. You can use the same method for avoiding them. In Hyper Mode, Optic Sunflower will call forth the Final Weapon from X4 (eh?), and fire massive lasers at you. There will be targeting lasers that will follow you around - when they come together, MOVE! The laser attacks will cause big damage if they hit you. Avoid all the laser attacks, then continue attacking Optic Sunflower until he's finished. Don't forget to finish him with the Double Attack when his life bar is down to around 20%. ---------------------------- C. PITCH BLACK - DARK MANTIS ---------------------------- Weakness: Shining Ray/Tenshuoha/Ray Gun Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals, Shadow Runner/Rasetsusen/Black Arrow Dark Mantis isn't very difficult if you can avoid him. He starts out by running around and slashing at you with his claws. Hit him with the weapon you got from Optic Sunflower. After he takes some damage, he'll start throwing easily avoidable Shadow Runners at you. Dash to the other side of the room to trap the Shadow Runner on the side you were on, then hit Mantis again. When he gets angry, Dark Mantis will climb the wall, jump across the room, then fire six Black Arrows at you. These are slightly harder to avoid, but don't do too much damage. Avoid them or just get hit, and continue hitting Dark Mantis with light weapons. In Hyper Mode, Dark Mantis jumps up to the center of the room and attacks with two HUGE scythes that do a ton of damage if they hit you. Fortunately for you, they're easily avoided. He only attacks with just those two scythes, so continue attacking him when he comes back down, and he should be finished in no time. Axl is a good character to have here because you can constantly spray Dark Mantis with Ray Gun fire and interrupt a lot of his attacks. ------------------------------ D. PRIMROSE - GRAVITY ANTONION ------------------------------ Weakness: Shadow Runner/Rasetsusen/Black Arrow Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals, Squeeze Bomb/Juuhazan/Spiral Magnum Gravity Antonion starts by immediately summoning a large block to fall on you. Get out of the way quickly and hit him with the Shadow Runner or other shadow weapons you might have. He'll then run up the walls and try to fall on top of you, but you can just run out of the way. When he gets angry, Antonion will seem to do nothing different. However, when he runs up the walls, he'll create a large gravity well in the center of the room, and he'll attack you with a sword if you get too close to him (he uses the Juuhazan move). This move deals quite a bit of damage. He'll also rotate the room. This means that if you're standing next to the big block he created, get out of the way before it crushes you. When he enters Hyper Mode, any blocks that are created are destroyed. In Hyper Mode, Antonion gets REALLY mad. He'll summon a storm of giant blocks to fall and crush you, and they are very difficult to avoid. If for some reason you have X's invincible dash, use that to your advantage, otherwise just try to take as little damage as possible. When he becomes vulnerable again, continue hitting Antonion with shadow attacks and finish him off with the Double Attack. ------------------------------------- E. METAL VALLEY - EARTHROCK TRILOBYTE ------------------------------------- Weakness: Squeeze Bomb/Juuhazan/Spiral Magnum Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals, Crystal Wall/Rekkyoudan/Bound Blaster As soon as the fight starts, fire a Squeeze Bomb or Spiral Magnum at Earthrock Trilobyte. This will destroy his armor and make your life a whole lot easier. He'll also become afraid, and his attacks won't be as frequent. When he does attack, Trilobyte will call forth some Crystal Walls, which can't hurt you unless they fall on you. You can't shoot through them, so just climb over them. Other than that, he'll shoot Bound Blasters at you. Jump over them until they dissipate, then let Trilobyte have it with Antonion's weapon, which takes off a CHUNK of his life bar when you use it. Two hits will send him nearly into Hyper Mode in Hard Mode. When he gets angry, Earthrock Trilobyte will fire THREE Bound Blasters at you. Oooh. Hit him with another Squeeze Bomb to send him into Hyper Mode. In Hyper Mode, Trilobyte will constantly send large Crystal Wall formations at you. Normally, you'd have to climb over each one, but I'm here to save you the trouble. Stand just to the left of the center of the source of the Crystal Walls that move along the floor. When they rise from the ground, you won't be pushed out of the way, and you'll be free to hit Trilobyte when he becomes vulnerable. If you're playing on Normal Mode, just hit R2 as soon as he becomes vulnerable and he'll immediately be killed by the Double Attack. ------------------------------- F. DYNASTY - GIGABOLT MAN-O-WAR ------------------------------- Weakness: X-Buster, Z-Saber, Crystal Wall/Bound Blaster Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals, Thunder Dancer/Raikousen/Plasma Gun ***IMPORTANT NOTE*** If you're playing a New Game+ and have X's Ultimate Armor, DO NOT USE THE NOVA STRIKE! More often than not, you will launch yourself right off the narrow platform and die. Gigabolt Man-O-War is weak against Trilobyte's weapons, but if you're using X, the Crystal Wall is too cumbersome to use against him, and you'll likely run out of weapon energy for it before you can get him into Double Attack range. If you're using Zero, the Rekkyoudan is utterly useless, but the Z-Saber deals more damage than the X-Buster does. So it's a good idea to have Axl or Zero on your team, or to use an Axl/Pallette or Zero/Layer team if you can. The Bound Blaster can be used infinitely, and of course, so can the Z-Saber and Layer Rapier. Man-O-War starts out by flying around the platform you're on. He'll occasionally stop to fire off a blast of lightning, which is easily avoidable. He's vulnerable during these attacks, so hit him with the Bound Blaster or a charged X-Buster shot. When Gigabolt Man-O-War gets angry, he'll call forth six smaller jellyfish-like blobs. Knock these out as soon as possible, as they will merge into a larger blob that will get in your way. Hit the larger blob with an X-Buster or Bound Blaster shot to separate it into the smaller blobs. The Z-Saber will destroy the blobs completely. He'll also move to the top of the screen and shoot off his arms to make a sort of "barrier" to keep you from reaching him - if you have Zero, get under him and slash away at him until he stops. In Hyper Mode, Man-O-War will move to the top of the screen and fire down massive bolts of electricity. You'll get a warning of where lightning will strike, so get away from those areas of the platform before you get blasted and take serious damage. He'll do this three times before reverting to his previous attack patterns. Continue blasting him and keeping the jellyfish blobs apart, and use the Double Attack when his energy is low, and you should come out on top. --------------------------------- G. CENTRAL WHITE - AVALANCHE YETI --------------------------------- Weakness: Thunder Dancer/Raikousen/Plasma Gun Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals, Drift Diamond/Hyouryuushou/Ice Gatling Avalanche Yeti is easy with any team if you know what to do. Early in the fight, he'll just try to tackle you, or shoot shards of ice at you to both hit you and keep you from hitting the walls - you can destroy the shards easily with any weapon, and Yeti will destroy them himself if he touches them. Simply get close to him and use the Thunder Dancer or Plasma Gun, or use the Raikousen. When he gets angry, Avalanche Yeti gets trickier. He'll burrow under the snow, follow you around, and then perform a Shoryuken-like punch that deals quite a bit of damage. This attack is very hard to avoid, and X's invincible dash comes in handy here. He'll also jump into the air and dash at you. If you get hit by this dash, you'll be frozen solid. Call for a Tag Assist before he's able to hit you again. Continue hitting the Yeti with more thunder- based attacks or skills until he goes into Hyper Mode. In Hyper Mode, Avalanche Yeti causes snowflakes to fall from the sky. They're difficult to avoid, and cause some moderate damage if they hit you. To make matters worse, the Yeti is a lot faster now, and uses the freezing dash and Shoryuken attacks far more often. However, he also seems to take more damage. If you get frozen, use the Tag Assist to your advantage and get some hits in, and don't forget to use the Double Attack to finish him off. ------------------------- H. INFERNO - BURN ROOSTER ------------------------- Weakness: Drift Diamond/Hyouryuushou/Ice Gatling Weapons/Items Gained: Melt Creeper/Enkoujin/Flame Burner NOTE: I don't list the 2500 Metals under "items gained" because you have to climb out of the Inferno after you defeat Burn Rooster, and the metals are your reward for doing that. Burn Rooster is PATHETICALLY easy, especially with Axl. If you don't hit him at all, Rooster will use some insanely fast dash attacks, and he'll try to limit your freedom of movement by setting parts of the floor on fire. However, any ice attack will stop his string of attacks. Continue hitting Burn Rooster with ice until he retreats to the background. In Angry Mode, Burn Rooster will only cause the floor panels to move up and down, but doesn't change his attack pattern. Continue hitting him with ice until he goes into Hyper mode. In Hyper Mode, Burn Rooster will set the walls on fire. Wait for him to finish his tantrum, then blast him with more ice and use the Double Attack. Or, for a laugh, stand behind him after he sets the second wall on fire, then hit R2 as soon as he becomes vulnerable. He will immediately die. This only works on Normal Mode. Another thing to note is that if you have Axl, you can climb the left wall and spray the entire room with the Ice Gatling. You'll always hit Burn Rooster if he's in the foreground, and those hits are all free until he goes into Hyper Mode, when you'll have to get off the wall. -------------------------------------- I. BOOSTER FOREST - BAMBOO PANDAMONIUM -------------------------------------- Weakness: Melt Creeper/Enkoujin/Flame Burner, Ride Armor Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals, Green Spinner/Youdantotsu/Blast Launcher Bamboo Pandamonium is easy, but his attacks deal a huge amount of damage, so you'll want to avoid them. Fortunately, I'm here to tell you what he's gonna do and how you can deal with it. Pandamonium will start by firing a huge missile at you, then causing four large bamboo pillars to shoot up from the ground. The tops of the pillars are pointed, so avoid hitting them or you'll take damage. After the pillars come up, Pandamonium will charge at you and knock the pillars down. Jump up the nearest one to your left, then air-dash over him to avoid the attack. Hit him from behind with the Melt Creeper or another fire attack. Every time you hit Pandamonium with the Melt Creeper or any other fire attack, he'll retaliate by launching bombs at you. Avoid them, or you'll take some moderate damage. While he's doing this, he'll become vulnerable again. Hit him again. In Hyper Mode, Pandamonium will use only one new attack. He'll try to punch you. AVOID THIS AT ALL COSTS, because the punch does BIG damage. After you avoid his punch attack, keep hitting him with fire attacks, and he should go down in a little while. As a side note, if you were able to get your Ride Armor here safely, you can just pound Pandamonium into dust with it, or at least deplete his life bar significantly before it gets destroyed. --------------- J. JAKOB - VILE --------------- Weakness: Drift Diamond/Hyouryuushou/Ice Gatling Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals Vile will use the same strategies he used in your mini-boss battles with him. Since I didn't cover those, I'll go into detail here. At the start of the fight, he'll shoot balls of electricity at you. Avoid them and hit him with any ice weapon. Once you've hit him, he'll start firing the electricity balls three at a time. Jump over or dash through them, and keep hitting him with ice weapons until he gets "angry". When he gets angry, Vile will continue to use the same strategy as before, but now the energy balls will home in on you. Dash around to avoid them, as they also do a bit more damage now, and hit Vile again. Vile will also start firing flame pillars at you. The pillars rise and fall, so jump over them when they're low to the ground. Eventually, he'll go into Hyper Mode, where the battle gets really tricky. In Hyper Mode, Vile will fly to the center of the room and fire lightning bolts all over the room. The lightning bolts will then rotate, and some will occasionally disappear. I hope you have X's invincible dash, because it comes in handy here. You can dash through the lightning bolts without taking much damage. Otherwise, time your moves carefully and avoid the lightning bolts. After Vile does the same move (the bolts will rotate in the opposite direction) again, he'll become vulnerable. Finish him off with ice attacks and the Double Attack, and he'll run off. ----------------------- K. GATEWAY - COPY SIGMA ----------------------- Weakness: Shadow Runner/Rasetsusen/Black Arrow Weapons/Items Gained: 2500 Metals Sigma fights with a beam saber, just like in X1. And also like X1, it does a ton of damage, so use the walls to avoid it. After he lunges at you with the beam saber, he'll fly up and charge up a large shockwave attack that also does big damage. You can interrupt the attack by breaking his barrier in any way. Be careful, though - once he falls to the ground he'll lunge at you again. When he's using his beam saber attack, hit him with the Shadow Runner or other darkness-based attacks, then be ready to break his barrier. He'll get angry after you do this once or twice. When he gets angry, Sigma will start performing a devastating upward slash attack. Avoid this by dashing over him before he begins to move upward. He'll also fire four small bullets that reflect off the walls and off you, which means the small damage they do will add up if you don't avoid them. In Hyper Mode, Sigma will set the floor on fire. He'll also continue to use his beam saber attack, and he'll fire some small bullets that reflect off the walls. This makes it hard to get close enough to him to do a Double Attack. Stay on the right wall and keep hitting him with Shadow Runners, then either wait for him to come to you or dash to the left side of the room and use the Double Attack when you reach the left wall to finish him. NOTE: Bring Axl with you when you go to Sigma Palace. If he's the one who finishes off the final boss, you'll see an extra scene after the end credits. ---------------------- L. SIGMA PALACE - VILE ---------------------- Weakness: Drift Diamond/Hyouryuushou/Ice Gatling Weapons/Items Gained: None Ah, don't you remember the good ol' days? Muscle cars, drive-in movies, classic diners, and Vile in Ride Armor? Well, the good ol' days are back again, as Vile's got his trusty Ride Armor, and he's itchin' to use it! Fortunately, it's not much of a threat. It only jumps around and uses the same charged-up punch attack you probably used in your own Ride Armor back at the Booster Forest. Hit Vile with anything that breaks barriers to knock him out of his armor. Once he's out of his armor, Vile will fight just like he did in your mini-boss battles with him and on the Jakob, except he never goes into Hyper Mode (because he has no life bar). Just Nova Strike him and move on, or use ice attacks to freeze him. After a while, he'll retreat to his Ride Armor. Repeat the process until Vile finally explodes. NOTE: If you're playing on Hard Mode, switch to the character you're best with, because after defeat Vile, there'll be a cutscene where your other character gets attacked by Vile. After this scene, you're on your own until the middle of the next battle. ---------------------------- M. SIGMA PALACE - TRUE SIGMA ---------------------------- Weakness: X-Buster, Z-Saber, Ray Gun Weapons/Items Gained: New Game+ Mode (if on Easy Mode) NOTE: This is the last battle of the game in Easy Mode. The game ends without much of an ending after this fight. This is the REAL fight with Sigma, and he's pretty hard, especially on Hard Mode, where you won't have a backup character for a while. Sigma starts by shooting huge ring-shaped beams at you, which can be avoided by climbing up the wall or jumping over them (if you can jump high enough). He'll then teleport, then try to drop down on you from above. Avoid this attack, as his sword does some huge damage if it hits you. The battle changes when he goes into Hyper Mode. No matter where you are in the room, Sigma will grab you and bring you to the center of the room. In Normal Mode, you MUST do a Tag Assist to escape, but in Hard Mode, your backup character will appear with full health and save you. The battle will then resume. Switch to Axl if you haven't already and equip the Ray Gun - this'll make your life a whole lot easier. Sigma will teleport away and set the left wall on fire, which will make his beam attacks more difficult to avoid. After the beam attacks, he'll try to slash you from above, only much faster and several times. During this part of the battle, Sigma starts shooting rotating rings at you - these are much easier to avoid, just jump over them. After taking some more damage, Sigma will get angry. And boy, is Sigma EVER angry. He'll immediately teleport to one side of the room and make his way toward the other by jumping and slashing down at you. These slashes do HUGE damage, so climb up the walls to avoid him. When he finishes up, he'll quickly teleport to one side of the room and fire off a huge beam that will also do huge damage if you don't avoid it somehow (use the invisible dash). He'll then repeat the same procedures for the rest of the fight, only most of the time he'll have a barrier up - break it to damage him. After a while, Sigma will finally go down. NOTES: If your energy is low and you don't want to use a Sub-Tank now, let the next boss kill you. You'll start there and won't have to fight Sigma again. This only works if you have Retry Chips left. If you're playing on Easy Mode, you'll see a cutscene, and then the credits will roll. Not much of an ending, eh? Save your data into Normal or Hard Mode and start the game again. Only your metal count and Hunter Rank will carry over to the new game - you won't get to keep any upgrades. There'll be a more detailed explanation later in the guide. . . . . END OF GAME - EASY MODE . . . . IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY SPOILERS, DON'T GO ANY FURTHER! . . . . I MEAN IT! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GO BACK! . . . . ------------------------ N. SIGMA PALACE - LUMINE ------------------------ Weakness: Changes Weapons/Items Gained: None Looks like Sigma was only a pawn this time around, as you'll fight Lumine next. Lumine is rather simple, but can be difficult if you don't know what to do. He will use the Hyper Mode attacks of the 8 Mavericks you defeated earlier, and there is an order to which attacks he'll use. Before he goes into Hyper Mode, he'll use the following pattern: Normal -> Trilobyte -> Antonion -> Pandamonium -> Mantis -> Yeti -> Sunflower -> Man-O-War -> Repeat... He'll use Yeti's attack when he gets angry, and he'll do Rooster's attack when he goes into Hyper Mode. The pattern may also change depending on how much damage you deal to him. While in Normal Mode, Lumine will float around the room. He's not weak against anything yet, so hit him with your normal weapons until he stops and changes color. Lumine is vulnerable while using the Mavericks' attacks, so hit him with whatever the Maverick he's copying was weak against (for example, if he's emulating Dark Mantis, use Optic Sunflower's weapon). If you deal enough damage to him, you'll interrupt the attack. This is particularly useful when he's emulating Antonion and Trilobyte, as you can't use the "avoid the Crystal Wall" trick when he's copying Trilobyte, and he stays in the room while emulating Antonion (meaning you can accidentally dash into him if you're not careful). Interrupt those particular attacks as soon as possible. After Lumine uses Avalanche Yeti's attack, get him to go into Hyper Mode ASAP. The snowflakes are difficult to avoid in this smaller room, and they do more damage. Also, he tends to use Optic Sunflower's moves afterward, so that makes avoiding damage even more difficult. When Lumine goes into Hyper Mode, he'll set the walls on fire. From this point on, he will not use Trilobyte or Sunflower's attacks. He will often do Pandamonium's attack, though, so be ready to avoid it - on Hard Mode, it can sometimes cause instant death if your life meter is less than 75% full. After you finish Lumine off, you'll see another cutscene. After that, you'll finally move on to the last battle. ------------------------------- O. SIGMA PALACE - SERAPH LUMINE ------------------------------- Weakness: X-Buster, Z-Saber, Axl Bullets, Double Attack Weapons/Items Gained: New Game+ Mode NOTE: If you die here, you have to fight Lumine's first form again. Lumine comes back looking similar to a seraph, hence the name. He has a really annoying shield around him for most of the battle, and this shield doesn't break after just one charged shot, no, THIS one takes several shots. The shield is restored every time Lumine takes damage. White Axl comes in really handy here, since he can float indefinitely. If not, be prepared to move quickly. After Lumine lunges at you (jump over him or dash under him), he'll fire a series of lasers at you that are hard to avoid. If you have White Axl, just hover in the air and fire a steady stream of Axl Bullets at him - otherwise just keep moving and try not to take too much damage. After lunging at you again (note that Lumine only attacks from the right side of the platform), he'll fire off circular formations of feathers that will hurt you pretty bad if you touch them. Jump through the breaks in the feather formations - don't try to attack Lumine until the attack ends. If you've knocked 20% off his life bar at this point, Lumine gets mad. He'll fire more lasers at you, but these ones are very easy to avoid compared to the first volley he launched at you. Just dash around and you should be fine. After that, he uses a rather weird attack. He fires massive lasers into the air, which slowly rain down on you. Run or dash toward the breaks in the lasers to avoid them. Then, once all the lasers have fallen, they'll start to float back up to the top of the screen. Avoid them again (they'll be in the same positions they were in when they fell). After depleting half of his life meter, Lumine will do the same thing, only the lasers will move in from the sides, then out again. Again, dash and jump to avoid them, and try to get some hits in (he'll be vulnerable when the lasers are moving back outward). The battle changes drastically when Lumine goes into Hyper Mode, when he'll perform his Paradise Lost attack. Lumine will fold up his wings and teleport throughout the room. Switch to your normal weapons or anything that will break barriers. You now have 45 seconds to defeat Lumine. You only have 30 if you're playing on Hard Mode. If you don't defeat him in that amount of time, you die. So you'd better get the lead out. Whenever Lumine appears, break his barrier. Keep doing this until you damage him enough to be able to finish him with the Double Attack. The character that leads the Double Attack determines what ending you see, so keep that in mind. After defeating Seraph Lumine, you see the ending cutscenes, a lot more than what you saw on Easy Mode. On Hard Mode, you'll see even more cutscenes. END OF GAME - NORMAL AND HARD MODES ------------------------ 4. NEW GAME+ INFORMATION ------------------------ After you beat the game on any mode, you'll have the opportunity to start a New Game+. After the credits and ending cutscenes, you'll be able to save your data. After the game ends and you return to the title screen, choose Continue, then go to the file you just saved and start the game. You'll start a new game, but there'll be some changes. The changes will be the same regardless of what mode you start the new game on. IF YOU BEAT THE GAME ON EASY MODE - - Your Metals carry over. - Your Hunter rank and records carry over. - Any Intermissions that opened up will still be available. - That's it. Since you were given a lot of things for free in Easy Mode, you have to go out and earn them now. Get going! IF YOU BEAT IT ON NORMAL - - Your Metals carry over. - Your Hunter rank and records carry over. - Any Intermissions that opened up will still be available. - Your upgrades carry over. If such-and-such character was at 95% when you beat the game, he'll be at 95% when you start a new one. - Alia, Pallette, and Layer carry over. If you got one of them in your previous game, you can still get the other two in the new game. - The status of the Neutral Armor carries over. If you didn't find all the parts in your previous game, you can just focus on finding the rest. - If you have them, the Ultimate Armor, White Armor, and Black Armor carry over. You can't get the Black Armor in your first game. Defeat Sigma with Zero, and you'll be able to buy the Sigma Blade in your next game. If this puts him at 100%, he'll automatically get the Black Armor. - Every stage with hidden items and capsules in it is already 70% complete. This obviously doesn't apply to Dynasty, Central White, Jakob, Gateway, and Sigma Palace. IF YOU BEAT IT ON HARD - - Everything that carried over on Normal also carries over on Hard ------------------------------ 5. CREDITS ------------------------------ Special Thanks To: Capcom, for creating the Megaman and X Series and giving me a reason to write this guide. CJayC and GameFAQs, for hosting my guide. ---------------------------------- 6. CONTACT INFORMATION - PART DEUX ---------------------------------- Contact me at coredesat@outphase.com with any questions, comments, or suggestions for future FAQs. No more alternative strategies will be accepted for the FAQ, since this is the final version and all. ------------------------------------------------ 7. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION & DISCLAIMER ------------------------------------------------ This guide Copyright (c) 2005 William Weaver. X, Axl, Zero, Mega Man, etc. are registered trademarks of Capcom of Japan. ***DISCLAIMER*** ---------------- This guide may NOT be posted without my permission anywhere other than the following sites: www.gamefaqs.com and all its affiliates (Gamespot, etc.) www.ign.com www.neoseeker.com www.ramsites.net Any website run by me You may not modify my FAQ and present it as your own work, and you may not profit from my FAQ - if I allow you to post my FAQ, it must go in a free section of your website, because profiting from others' work without their consent is just plain wrong. If you find that this FAQ is on a site not on the above list, do not hesitate to contact me at coredesat@outphase.com so I can yell at those responsible.