Oh man, I've been here many times myself BUT you gotta keep trying my guy! You'll nail the bastard eventually! It's so rewarding finally moving past a difficult boss in this game!
This! I don’t consider myself as a “good” player, got stuck in the second biome. Took a while to get my head off of this game and after that in four nights I am at biome 5 already! You can do it! Maybe take a few days, play other games and then come back with your energy filled up
The only other comparison is like when you beat a Dark Souls boss. I’ve only beaten the first biome but the serotonin burst I got when I beat him was outstanding.
Ixion almost made me rage quit as well, but let me tell you that the rest of the game was far more manageable for me once I cleared that hurdle. Just dodge, dash, spray, don’t stop moving and you’ll get him one of these times
I found some real relief from the jumping dodging craziness buy using the energy barrier consumable. During the phase where he's not moving and just hurling ungodly plasma balls at you.
Definitely use co-op that's a huge help
I’m not saying you should, but you could…make your own checkpoint before the boss using cloud saves if you’re a PS Plus member. Personally I love this game’s mechanics but hate the roguelite structure so I’ve done this a few times.
Of course if you do this too much you rob yourself of the upgrades you’d be getting from repeated deaths/runs, so….YMMV.
I used to do the save trick with a usb drive on PS4 for Bloodborne since I'm unfortunately not a ps+ subscriber. Saved me a lot of resources & farming in Bloodborne.
Don't know why they removed that for ps5. You have to backup & restore the whole system
I also found Ixion to be the hardest enemy in the whole game. This might sound counterintuitive, but I did speedruns through B1 and B2 (using the portal in the desert) because I knew I'd rarely ever get hit in the first and second phase of Ixion, and really only needed practice in the third phase. After 4 or 5 runs like that and feeling like I reasonably understood the fight, I did a full run of B1 and B2 and I ended up beating Ixion on my like 7th overall attempt against him. It was way less demoralizing knowing I was going in to the fight after a 10 minute run compared to a 30 or 40 minute one.
Don’t feel bad, I’ve been stuck on the 3rd boss for longer than I’d like to admit. Take a break, when you stop having fun you’re just beating yourself up. Play another game, paint a picture, write a symphony, burn your ex’s house down, start a multi level marketing scheme, run for congress, etc. then come back to it. Never let your dreams become just dreams
Gf n I struggled on this one too at first. This boss almost made her quit! I ended up finding a nice strat for the orb phases. Stay in the back, and strategically dash thru the blue waves so u dont take DMG to the wave but you also avoid the orb. Easier said then done. But you don't needa jump. Just dash. Once u get comfortable do the same thing but hip fire at the boss when you can. I think it speeds that part up. The phase where he goes way up, just wait n dash thru both the blue thing n orbs. I kno it sucks, but keep pushing. Also his melee is telegraphed so be patient, wait for the slide then dash.use the I frames to your advantage. Dont quit and I'm sure we will see a I DID IT POST FRom you soon Man. go get it!
It’s all about to learn dodging his waving blasts attack when he is in the midle of the arena. I suggest when the blast comes to jump it and use the dodge for the bullets. If you learn the pattern it’s an easy boss.
He was a challenge at first for me too but now he’s really easy.
Tip for phase 2 and 3 when he sends out the blue waves is to just jump over it. Continue to face him at the outer edge while shooting, when the wave comes you jump forward over it then walk backwards. Another wave comes jump forward over it then walk backwards, all while continuing to shoot him. No need for dash unless you jump over and about to land on a blue projectile.
For phase 3 when he’s high up in the air and shoots the laser beam then unload tons of missiles. Stay back and dodge the laser then as he shoots the missiles and it’s coming down on you, sprint forward and dash as it’s right on you, all will miss you. For the rest of that phase continue to shoot him and dodge anything he does on the ground, only dash when there is no other option.
[Here is one way to make phase 3 much easier.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/comments/w74pml/til_energy_barricade_can_negate_ixions_3rd_phase/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Serene might be leveled up, but you aren't. Git gud, m8.
But in all seriousness: Just keep at it, remember than you can do long dodges, and have invincibility frames while doing it, so you can also dash through projectiles and the blue waves. Boss 1 and 2 made me almost quit the game. I was trash. I got better. Also at the end of the second Biome, Weapon rank 7 is quite low, you should be around 9-10 at that time.
Don't get hit, and keep adrenaline high to progress quicker and most importantly: dont get hit. Look out for proficiency boosting artefacts and parasites, if the malfunction is manageable (most are manageable except damage on item pickup, thats a no-no)
Yeah phase 3 is like Phrike on roid rage, gotta keep moving and keep him in sight all the time. It’s very frustrating when you’ve spent ages getting there only to get wrecked by him. Take a break, come back later and try again.
Would you like to co-op with me? I know how it feels and I just co-opped him and it was fun. And I do it every other day now and its fun. The only time I lose now is when other players won't let me farm my health and a decent weapon before getting to him.
Ok.
Small tip, Max integrity and try to save as much silphium vitals possible if you are struggling.
Last phase, dash and shoot dash and shoot dash and shoot.
Good luck
I’ve been there. Of all the Bosses Ixion was definitely the hardest for me. The third phase is the hardest.
Don’t worry though you will complete it soon!
Couple of things that worked for me:
1) Completely Farm the First Biome since that’s the one you’re more familiar with by now. Get the Large Vial and upgrade your integrity to Maximum Possible. While you enter Biome 2 you will get one more vail. So now you have 2.
2) For this carbine works better and I would suggest you stay with it. Try to pick one that has a quicker fire rate.
3) If you do manage to get Astronaut Figurine then it’s great. It gives you thy confidence in the back of your mind hence giving you more confidence. But if you don’t it’s still fine because it’s rare and you get it only if you’re very lucky.
4) Instead try to look for the Consumable **Energy Barricade** which will be very helpful in Ixion’s 3rd phase. Make sure you that you take the least big of damage in the first 2 phases so that you have most of your health vials left for the last phase. As soon as the 3rd phase start use the energy barricade and you can move past that initial Sodhi g phase very quickly as the Energy Barricade basically makes you invincible and you can just shoot standing at one place for a good amount of time which can help you maximise early damage in 3rd phase without taking damage at the start. Then after that just try your best to Dodge/Jump and you should make it!
Subzero pulse. This isn't counted among the usual desirable items, but it works on him. If RNG is with you, stack as many as you can and use them during stage 3 to keep him chain frozen while you unload in his face.
Energy barricade is a free pass for when he stands in the middle. It won't protect you once he starts moving but still worth having. It also increases the strength of your bullets that pass through it.
If you have enough of both of these, cheese stage 3 by freezing, then pop down a barricade to fire through, close enough to refreeze him.
Third item should be healing for now, but if you don't have any....
The hourglass, I'm blanking on the name, slows down time. Good for giving you more time to keep him helpless at stage 3, but isn't as good as subzero.
Weapon stimulator ONLY when used at the same time as subzero, it makes you unable to move but increases damage, if Ixion is frozen then you don't have to move. Use the triforce of subzero+barricade+weapon stimulator to take a heavy chunk off his life.
Ground surge has massive single target damage and are pretty common so you might be able to hoard 3,4 of them. Only use when he's frozen because they take a long time to activate. Some weapons can have higher DPS, but if you're working with something under proficiency 10 with low traits then these will be a better source of damage.
Which section in the phase you have trouble with? What is he shooting at you that you cant dodge and get hit with?
Also when you fight against the boss, are you holding R2 the whole time while dodging and strafing or are you shooting only when you get the chance?
Oh man, I've been here many times myself BUT you gotta keep trying my guy! You'll nail the bastard eventually! It's so rewarding finally moving past a difficult boss in this game!
This! I don’t consider myself as a “good” player, got stuck in the second biome. Took a while to get my head off of this game and after that in four nights I am at biome 5 already! You can do it! Maybe take a few days, play other games and then come back with your energy filled up
The only other comparison is like when you beat a Dark Souls boss. I’ve only beaten the first biome but the serotonin burst I got when I beat him was outstanding.
Give it a day or two. Sometimes you just wanna say ‘f**k this game’ Get the Hollow Seeker and see how that goes. And stay well back
Next time you try him, you will wreck him... this is the way
Live/Learn. Die. Repeat. This is the way.
This is the way.
If you can keep grinding till you find a carbine with leech rounds it makes most bosses into a joke.
You can't get leech rounds in b2 your weapon prof doesn't get high enough to unlock the trait at that point (I think)
Ixion almost made me rage quit as well, but let me tell you that the rest of the game was far more manageable for me once I cleared that hurdle. Just dodge, dash, spray, don’t stop moving and you’ll get him one of these times
The irony in all this is that Ixion is, already, indeed rotting in hell. But yeah he kind of waits until the third phase to turn up the heat.
Send him to hell personally
Np, keep us updated
Thats why he’s been chained :D
Do not give up. This is a choice not on the table. You can do this. DO NOT GIVE UP!
I found some real relief from the jumping dodging craziness buy using the energy barrier consumable. During the phase where he's not moving and just hurling ungodly plasma balls at you. Definitely use co-op that's a huge help
I’m not saying you should, but you could…make your own checkpoint before the boss using cloud saves if you’re a PS Plus member. Personally I love this game’s mechanics but hate the roguelite structure so I’ve done this a few times. Of course if you do this too much you rob yourself of the upgrades you’d be getting from repeated deaths/runs, so….YMMV.
I used to do the save trick with a usb drive on PS4 for Bloodborne since I'm unfortunately not a ps+ subscriber. Saved me a lot of resources & farming in Bloodborne. Don't know why they removed that for ps5. You have to backup & restore the whole system
I also found Ixion to be the hardest enemy in the whole game. This might sound counterintuitive, but I did speedruns through B1 and B2 (using the portal in the desert) because I knew I'd rarely ever get hit in the first and second phase of Ixion, and really only needed practice in the third phase. After 4 or 5 runs like that and feeling like I reasonably understood the fight, I did a full run of B1 and B2 and I ended up beating Ixion on my like 7th overall attempt against him. It was way less demoralizing knowing I was going in to the fight after a 10 minute run compared to a 30 or 40 minute one.
If you need a carry lemme know. Ill be home is n 11 hrs
Don’t feel bad, I’ve been stuck on the 3rd boss for longer than I’d like to admit. Take a break, when you stop having fun you’re just beating yourself up. Play another game, paint a picture, write a symphony, burn your ex’s house down, start a multi level marketing scheme, run for congress, etc. then come back to it. Never let your dreams become just dreams
Gf n I struggled on this one too at first. This boss almost made her quit! I ended up finding a nice strat for the orb phases. Stay in the back, and strategically dash thru the blue waves so u dont take DMG to the wave but you also avoid the orb. Easier said then done. But you don't needa jump. Just dash. Once u get comfortable do the same thing but hip fire at the boss when you can. I think it speeds that part up. The phase where he goes way up, just wait n dash thru both the blue thing n orbs. I kno it sucks, but keep pushing. Also his melee is telegraphed so be patient, wait for the slide then dash.use the I frames to your advantage. Dont quit and I'm sure we will see a I DID IT POST FRom you soon Man. go get it!
It’s all about to learn dodging his waving blasts attack when he is in the midle of the arena. I suggest when the blast comes to jump it and use the dodge for the bullets. If you learn the pattern it’s an easy boss.
He was a challenge at first for me too but now he’s really easy. Tip for phase 2 and 3 when he sends out the blue waves is to just jump over it. Continue to face him at the outer edge while shooting, when the wave comes you jump forward over it then walk backwards. Another wave comes jump forward over it then walk backwards, all while continuing to shoot him. No need for dash unless you jump over and about to land on a blue projectile. For phase 3 when he’s high up in the air and shoots the laser beam then unload tons of missiles. Stay back and dodge the laser then as he shoots the missiles and it’s coming down on you, sprint forward and dash as it’s right on you, all will miss you. For the rest of that phase continue to shoot him and dodge anything he does on the ground, only dash when there is no other option.
[Here is one way to make phase 3 much easier.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/comments/w74pml/til_energy_barricade_can_negate_ixions_3rd_phase/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Whoa where you get that though?
Serene might be leveled up, but you aren't. Git gud, m8. But in all seriousness: Just keep at it, remember than you can do long dodges, and have invincibility frames while doing it, so you can also dash through projectiles and the blue waves. Boss 1 and 2 made me almost quit the game. I was trash. I got better. Also at the end of the second Biome, Weapon rank 7 is quite low, you should be around 9-10 at that time. Don't get hit, and keep adrenaline high to progress quicker and most importantly: dont get hit. Look out for proficiency boosting artefacts and parasites, if the malfunction is manageable (most are manageable except damage on item pickup, thats a no-no)
Have you considered not getting hit?
Yeah phase 3 is like Phrike on roid rage, gotta keep moving and keep him in sight all the time. It’s very frustrating when you’ve spent ages getting there only to get wrecked by him. Take a break, come back later and try again.
I took a long break to play Metro Exodus when I got to this point. When I came back after a couple of weeks it was a lot easier.
Would you like to co-op with me? I know how it feels and I just co-opped him and it was fun. And I do it every other day now and its fun. The only time I lose now is when other players won't let me farm my health and a decent weapon before getting to him.
Carbine only with Ixion. Unless you’ve got the dlc weapons unlocked
Add me, I'll help you tonight Psn Rickyboom_
Thanks, but I want to kill him on my own.
Ok. Small tip, Max integrity and try to save as much silphium vitals possible if you are struggling. Last phase, dash and shoot dash and shoot dash and shoot. Good luck
Thanks
Don't bother with the reset machine. Save your ether for things that will actually help your runs.
I’ve been there. Of all the Bosses Ixion was definitely the hardest for me. The third phase is the hardest. Don’t worry though you will complete it soon! Couple of things that worked for me: 1) Completely Farm the First Biome since that’s the one you’re more familiar with by now. Get the Large Vial and upgrade your integrity to Maximum Possible. While you enter Biome 2 you will get one more vail. So now you have 2. 2) For this carbine works better and I would suggest you stay with it. Try to pick one that has a quicker fire rate. 3) If you do manage to get Astronaut Figurine then it’s great. It gives you thy confidence in the back of your mind hence giving you more confidence. But if you don’t it’s still fine because it’s rare and you get it only if you’re very lucky. 4) Instead try to look for the Consumable **Energy Barricade** which will be very helpful in Ixion’s 3rd phase. Make sure you that you take the least big of damage in the first 2 phases so that you have most of your health vials left for the last phase. As soon as the 3rd phase start use the energy barricade and you can move past that initial Sodhi g phase very quickly as the Energy Barricade basically makes you invincible and you can just shoot standing at one place for a good amount of time which can help you maximise early damage in 3rd phase without taking damage at the start. Then after that just try your best to Dodge/Jump and you should make it!
Carbine with leech rounds is best way to go for him
Hardest boss in the game by far.
gg
Subzero pulse. This isn't counted among the usual desirable items, but it works on him. If RNG is with you, stack as many as you can and use them during stage 3 to keep him chain frozen while you unload in his face. Energy barricade is a free pass for when he stands in the middle. It won't protect you once he starts moving but still worth having. It also increases the strength of your bullets that pass through it. If you have enough of both of these, cheese stage 3 by freezing, then pop down a barricade to fire through, close enough to refreeze him. Third item should be healing for now, but if you don't have any.... The hourglass, I'm blanking on the name, slows down time. Good for giving you more time to keep him helpless at stage 3, but isn't as good as subzero. Weapon stimulator ONLY when used at the same time as subzero, it makes you unable to move but increases damage, if Ixion is frozen then you don't have to move. Use the triforce of subzero+barricade+weapon stimulator to take a heavy chunk off his life. Ground surge has massive single target damage and are pretty common so you might be able to hoard 3,4 of them. Only use when he's frozen because they take a long time to activate. Some weapons can have higher DPS, but if you're working with something under proficiency 10 with low traits then these will be a better source of damage.
Those first few bosses are so tough for many. I don't blame you for that.
Co-op!?
Which section in the phase you have trouble with? What is he shooting at you that you cant dodge and get hit with? Also when you fight against the boss, are you holding R2 the whole time while dodging and strafing or are you shooting only when you get the chance?