Five Bosses, and How the Guides Beat Them

The five, in order

Game8, Push Square and KeenGamer file No Coming Back under Japan; PowerPyx keeps it in its last Madripoor block, which is why this guide's walkthrough covers it on the Madripoor: Second Visit page.

1. Omega Red — Last Meal

1. Read the colour before you swing

   This is the fight where parrying starts to matter. Blue attacks — and yellow ones — can be parried, and every successful parry builds his Stagger meter. Once he is staggered, that is the moment for a full string of attacks.

2. Dodge the red

   Red attacks have to be dodged, above all in the stretch where he hurls objects with his tendrils. Make distance and then come back in: trading hits with him is far less reliable than staggering him again.

3. There is a second phase

   The mechanics do not change, but he is more aggressive, with faster strings and shorter openings, so attack only after a whole combo has been parried or dodged. Omega Dead (silver) follows, an automatic story trophy after Last Meal.

2. Sentinel Prototype — For Our Future

1. Tear the arms open

   It fires lasers from its eyes and pounds the ground. When an arm comes down and stays within reach, attack it until the exterior gives and the cables underneath are exposed; hitting those builds Stagger, and a staggered Sentinel is the moment to put everything in. Keep moving through the laser sweeps and stay out from under an arm that is about to land.

2. Mystique's opening

   When both of its arms are drawn in close to its body and the prompt appears, R1 has Mystique stagger it instantly — she keeps making openings for you through the fight.

3. Outside, at half health

   At about half health the fight moves outdoors and Sabretooth joins Wolverine and Mystique. The method is the same, with one addition: a rocket barrage. Sprint out of the targeted area rather than squeezing in another combo.

4. The trophy

   Kicked the Bucket (silver), "Defeat the Sentinel Prototype". For Our Future holds nothing to collect.

3. Lady Deathstrike — Death's Match

1. Phase one: the sword

   She is extremely fast, and the fight is a battle of the parry. Keep a finger on L1 and react the moment she commits to a close-range stab or slash, rather than trying to interrupt her. She also backs off to throw ranged sword slashes: the yellow one can be parried — another way to turn her offence against her, in a fight that is about distance.

2. Phase two: the claws

   After enough damage the sword is gone and she fights with her claws, more aggressive up close and harder still on your parry timing; this part is far more parry-intensive. The attacks to parry are the ones glowing blue, that the end of a claw combo is the opening to punish, and to spend Rage in those openings.

3. Knee Breaker and Overwhelm

   Parrying is extremely effective in the second phase and also the hardest thing to do, because her combos are fast, and Knee Breaker and Overwhelm are the two abilities that make the fight much easier. Knee Breaker unlocks at Player Level 4 — a blow that staggers and interrupts all attacks — and Overwhelm at level 22, a charge that tackles and mounts the target.

4. The trophy

   Struck Dead (silver), "Defeat Deathstrike". Death's Match is this fight and nothing else — no collectibles.

4. Sabretooth — Red Right Hand

1. Stagger him, or he heals

   He is a brute who rarely gives you breathing room: parry his standard attacks, dodge anything that cannot be safely countered, and punish the recovery at the end of a combo. His healing factor decides how long the fight runs, and the answer is Stagger — keep forcing him into vulnerable states, because long gaps between your attacks let him regenerate what you took.

2. Harmer's Market, during the fight

   Destroy every vendor stall while you fight him for the bronze. It is the one thing in the mission you can finish without, so work the stalls in as you go; if one is missed, the mission replays from the bed in the Nightmare Cabin.

3. The blinded section

   Partway through, he blinds Logan, and you have to read his silhouette and counter. A failed read drops you into quick-time events until Wolverine's eyes heal, and a missed input is fatal, so watch for the prompts rather than mashing.

4. The last stretch

   Back to the parry-and-punish rhythm of the opening: a straight brawl in which Logan's own healing factor absorbs what Sabretooth lands. Had To Put Him Down (silver) pops when he goes down.

5. Nathaniel Essex — No Coming Back

1. Read the colours, and do not press into his guard

   Dodge his red lasers rather than trying to block them, and parry what can be parried — the purple attacks — to open him up. Do not get greedy while he is defending himself — his forcefield counter shuts down reckless pressure, so wait for a finished attack or a successful defence before going in. He can also create copies of himself, use a sword and launch ranged attacks.

2. Bring him down from the air

   With enough hits landed he retreats into the air. To bring him down, parry the yellow orbs he fires and dodge the red ones, while watching for the Sentinel's laser eyes.

3. Two threats at once

   Master Mold becomes directly involved later in the encounter: keep moving, fall back on the defensive skills the campaign has taught you, and spend your attacks on Essex rather than the Sentinel.

4. The final stretch, and two trophies

   A straight test of everything: quick reactions, clean parries, controlled dodging and efficient use of Logan's abilities; you need to be fast in both damage and reflexes. A Sinister End (silver) and One More Story (gold) both unlock after the mission.

Named fights with no trophy

The set pieces that are not boss fights

What the reviews say about the bosses

• GameRant, 8/10: the boss fights follow a pattern of parry or dodge, attack, repeat, and do not innovate, however good they look.
• VGC's review, as the Telambang walkthrough quotes it: the parry sequences in boss fights are ones you will have mastered long before you have worn the boss's health down.
• Push Square, 8/10, names no boss and treats the combat as a whole — fast, gory, approachable, with a somewhat limited skill tree.

If a fight will not fall

Cross-checked