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| FINAL BOSS STRATEGY |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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This strategy is for the final boss of Secret Agent Clank, developed by High
Impact Games for the PSP, and later ported to the PS2 by Sanzaru Games. The
final boss is known to be very difficult especially on Challenge Mode, even
for experienced players.
*** SPOILER ALERT! ***
Before reading on, please note that this document will contain spoilers for
the story if you have not reached this point of the game. Read on only if this
doesn't bother you.
- PURPOSE
I've written this strategy as I could not find adequate help online to survive
this difficult boss' attacks on challenge mode, and I see many gamers feeling
the same frustrations as I have on the boards and Q&A sections. Therefore I
hope this document will help reduce frustration and provide satisfaction for
overcoming the biggest obstacle in the Ratchet & Clank universe.
- AUTHOR'S NOTE
This is my first FAQ ever written, and my purpose is to dump my knowledge on
the internet before I sign off and never look at this game ever again. Hence I
won't be leaving my contact details here for questions, nor do I intend to
make revisions to this FAQ.
My pledge to you is to write this document (technically not a FAQ or
Walkthrough, so I'll refer to it as a document) in the most helpful and
understandable way with as little nonsense as possible.
- AUTHOR'S CREDIBILITY
For any of you who're wondering "who does this guy think he is telling me how
to play this game?", firstly I'd reiterate that I'm just filling a void in the
GameFAQs records and I'm just here to help people in need. You're under no
obligation to read this nor follow my strategy if you have something else that
works for you.
For the record though, I have completed the game to what I would define as
"perfection". I've played through normal and challenge modes, completed all
missions, obtained all titanium bolts and bought all skins, achieved all skill
points, found all alien codes, obtained all 3 keycards and obtained the
Chalice of Power, fully leveled up all of Clank's and Ratchet's weapons
(Proto v4 and Titan v4) including the RYNO, and have maxed out Nanotech for
both Ratchet (90) and Clank (85).
Do note that I am playing on the PS2 port, EU version. And there are a few
shortcomings of this compared to the original PSP game. For one thing, loading
screens take a LONG time. Secondly, the zoni skin is unavailable and there is
no option to check for a Size Matters save file. The missing skins may explain
why I have two spare titanium bolts even after buying all the skins.
However, the gameplay remains unchanged on the PS2 port, so this final boss
strategy applies to both the PSP and PS2 versions, EU or NA.
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| OVERVIEW OF THE BATTLE |
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The fight works like so:
- Klunk has a main HP bar at the bottom of the screen.
- He'll start with his takedown attack (see the Klunk section below).
- Then he'll jump into the Kingpin suit to attack you (see the Kingpin section
below).
- Once you deplete its HP Klunk will do another takedown.
- Then he'll jump into the Nefarious suit to attack you (see the Nefarious
section below).
- Note that each robot suit has its own HP bar above its head.
- Klunk will rotate between these two suits for the first half of the fight,
usually performing a takedown after you deplete a suit's HP (sometimes he
won't though).
- Do note that if you take too long to deplete a suit's HP Klunk will switch
to the other with no takedown in between. However, this means the suit's HP
won't recover. Each suit's HP only recovers if you fully deplete them.
- To hurt Klunk's main HP bar, you must either successfully perform takedowns
or damage the robot suits - every attack hurts both the suit and Klunk.
- Once half of Klunk's HP is gone a cutscene will show.
- After the cutscene Klunk will jump into the Robo-Ratchet suit to attack you
(see the Robo-Ratchet section below).
- The remainder of the fight will be similar to the first half, but Klunk will
randomly select one of his three suits each time, though he never jumps into
the same suit twice in a row.
- If you die at ANY point of the battle (even after the cutscene halfway
through the fight) you will have to start again from the very beginning.
The attacks of each suit will be listed below, and how to avoid them, as well
as how to damage them.
Note: while the following strategies may make it easier, they still by no
means make the fight a cakewalk.
Note 2: It is also possible to hit Klunk while he's jumping from suit to suit,
which causes a lot of damage. But the camera doesn't follow him and the speed
that he jumps make it very difficult to hit him. Your best bet would be the
Thunderstorm Umbrella's because it hits quickly, but it'll all depend on luck.
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| DETAILED STRATEGY FOR THE BATTLE |
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KLUNK
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His only attack are the button-sequence takedowns. Unlike usual stealth
takedowns, you're given about 40% less time to input the buttons, and to
actually damage him you need to successfully input two sequences of buttons
rather than just one. Press one wrong button and you'll not only do no damage
to Klunk, you'll also get damaged in return.
To have a chance of surviving this boss fight in Challenge Mode, you'll need
to be able to do these takedowns successfully everytime. It's the easiest
attack to avoid getting damaged, and also gives you free hits on Klunk. But it
does require finger dexterity and good eye-finger coordination.
KINGPIN
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The first robot suit Klunk uses to attack you. He has two attacks. The first
is to run around the arena randomly and fire two bursts of flame in your
direction. The second is to run to the middle of the arena and start a tornado
which will blow you towards the outer edges of the arena. He'll stay still in
the middle and fire many bursts of flame randomly in your general direction
(though rarely directly at you).
In his first appearance he'll always start with the first attack. In all
subsequent appearances he randomly selects one of two attacks to use. Though
do note that sometimes that he will switch to the second attack if he uses the
first attack for too long, but he doesn't switch from the second attack to the
first.
FIRST ATTACK: In my opinion the first attack is much more difficult one to
dodge, especially if he starts running TOWARDS you. You'll want to keep as
much distance as you can to give you more time to dodge the flames. Remember
that you're unable to jump OVER any flame attacks the Kingpin fires at you
(they're too tall). To dodge the flames, you'll need quick reflexes to
determine whether to dodge left or right for the first shot (generally you'll
get hit if you make the wrong choice), and to dodge the second shot you'll
generally need to dodge in the opposite direction of the first shot. So that
means if you dodged to the left, you'll need to dodge right, and vice versa.
Of course, I say "generally" because there are exceptions. If you have enough
distance, you may just be able to dodge them both by running in one direction.
Stay sharp, that's all I can say.
SECOND ATTACK: The second attack is easier because he rarely fires directly at
you. He doesn't fire in completely random directions, just randomly in your
general direction. So keep a keen eye and dodge as you see fit, but you
shouldn't have to escape his flames by the skin of your teeth like the first
attack. Thankfully, he tends to use the second attack more often. And this is
a good chance to collect any ammo or nanotech around the arena that's within
your reach. Do be careful not to fall off the outer edge of the arena
though - that's instant death.
As for attacking, the general rule of thumb is to put survival first -
usually when multi-tasking attacking and dodging simultaneously you'll end up
getting hit, especially if the Kingpin uses the first attack. So focus on
dodging when he fires at you, and attack when you have clear shots. Your
primary weapon will be the Cufflink Bombs, though each time he appears do
throw a Tanglevine Carnation in the centre of the arena in case he uses his
second attack - you'll use less cufflink bombs that way as they do quite a bit
of damage. In Challenge mode you should ideally be able to dodge the Kingpin's
attacks most of the time, especially for the second attack.
NEFARIOUS
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The second suit Klunk uses to attack you. He has two attacks. The first is to
throw triangular fields of electricity on the ground of the arena which damage
you if you touch them. The second is to spray two streams of blaster
shots - one from each hand, which are aimed at both sides of you and move to
close in on you, cross over, then cross back to their original positions, and
repeat once more before finishing.
Nefarious will randomly select one attack and alternate between them. He will
never use the same attack twice in a row, so his pattern is predictable.
(Note: this is based on my personal experience - stay on your toes and be
prepared for anything.)
FIRST ATTACK: During this attack Nefarious will limit your freedom of movement
by making several parts of the floor hurt you just by touching them. You will
want to focus on dodging and not attack him during this attack. Run away from
him and around the arena to make sure he never traps you. Generally this
attack will also break open the weapons and nanotech boxes around the arena,
so be sure to pick them up in the brief pause after this attack if you need
them. If you don't need them and want to damage Nefarious, you could keep
count of how many fields he's thrown and ensure you end up near him when he's
finished throwing - I haven't counted myself, but it does seem to be a fixed
number.
SECOND ATTACK: This attack is easy to dodge - just jump over the stream of
bullets each time they close in on you. Do note that this attack is always
done twice in a row, making a total of 4 jumps. If you double-jump, be sure to
fall back a little so you have time to land and jump the next cross-over. This
attack isn't too hard to multi-task attacking and dodging.
For attacking, long-range weapons are your friend. The Thunderstorm Umbrella
is great (and in Challenge Mode if you have the charge-up mod, charge it while
you're dodging the first attack to greatly increase damage dealt). The
Tie-a-Rangs are a good alternative if you're slightly out of range for the
Thunderstorm Umbrella. You'll want to save your Cufflink Bombs for the Kingpin
(though if you have the PDA and plenty of bolts, go right ahead). Do note that
Tanglevine Carnations don't reach Nefarious though. In challenge mode, ideally
you should be able to dodge Nefarious' attacks all the time, if not 95% of the
time.
ROBO-RATCHET
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The third and final suit Klunk will showcase. He has two very different
attacks. For the first attack, Robo-Ratchet will launch four Agents-of-Doom
which will fly around following you while firing small acid bombs, which leave
behind a toxic puddle which will hurt you if you walk on it. During this
attack Robo-Ratchet just runs around the arena around you, but leaves the
attacking to his agents only. The second attack is very devastating,
Robo-Ratchet will fire a beeping-mine on the ground, which will explode
shortly, causing a forcefield to rapidly erupt from the mine that covers a
LOT of area (about 80-90% of the arena). Robo-Ratchet will fire this two times.
Robo-Ratchet will randomly select one attack to use, and will not change
attacks until its next appearance (exception: if the first attack is used and
you destroy the agents, Robo-Ratchet may start using its second attack). It
will alternate to the other attack for each appearance, never using the same
attack for two consecutive appearances.
FIRST ATTACK: This attack is a breather for you, though there is no giveaway
indication that he is about to use this attack over the mine. Once you see the
agents, just circle around the arena - as long as you don't let the agents
catch up to you they won't hit you (they move slightly slower than you do).
This is a good time to replenish ammo and nanotech. Don't attack the agents or
else Robo-Ratchet will use the second attack, and you'll want to avoid that.
SECOND ATTACK: This mine is a very cheap weapon - the area of effect is too
huge. Even if you start running before it erupts, being able to avoid the
blast radius is all dependent on luck. There is a brief opening before and
after each mine is launched, which is when you'll want to deplete
Robo-Ratchet's HP as quickly as possible.
Robo-Ratchet's second attack is your biggest threat in this fight. But you
can exploit the fact Robo-Ratchet alternates between his attacks to your
advantage. If he uses his first attack, use the Tanglevine Carnation and
reduce its HP to about 80% then stop attacking. Make sure you don't kill the
agents otherwise you'll have lost your chance to replenish nanotech and ammo.
Once enough time has elapsed Klunk will switch suits and the agents will
disappear. The next time Robo-Ratchet appears it'll use the mine
attack - you'll want to deplete its HP before it fires. Thankfully it'll be at
about 20% HP from your last round, so you shouldn't see it at all.
Cufflink Bombs, Tanglevine Carnation and the Thunderstorm Umbrella are all
good damaging weapons. If you run out, Tie-a-Rangs and even the Blowtorch
Briefcase are options you can consider, though in Challenge Mode you're
better off spending the bolts to buy ammo using the PDA than to risk getting
hit.
Once Klunk's HP is fully depleted, enjoy the ending and reward yourself with
something nice: you've just defeated one of the most difficult bosses in the
history of all Ratchet & Clank games! If you're playing your first
playthrough, you'll be rewarded with Challenge Mode, where you can play
through the game again with much tougher enemies, but be given the opportunity
to upgrade all your weapons further. You'll also be able to do the Alien Codes
sidequest in Challenge Mode and visit the High Impact Games Treehouse once you
complete it.
If you're playing in Challenge Mode, congratulations you've just fully
completed the game!
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| CREDITS |
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Thanks go to the following:
- Insomniac Games for beginning this very fun and successful series of games.
- High Impact Games for developing this game.
- Sanzaru Games for bringing it to the PS2, even if I have my reservations
about the port. It did save me the cost of buying a PSP.
- GameFAQs and its users for helping me through this game and several other
games over the years. It's saved me many a hair from being pulled out of
sheer frustration.
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| LEGAL STATEMENT |
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Copyright 2010, Lawrence Wong
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
