Phantasy Star Online 2 Boss Hunting Guide

Phantasy Star Online 2 Boss Hunting Guide by Flandyrll

The aim of this guide is to provide information on bosses, ranging from weak points to their attacks and tendencies, as well as possible patterns from bosses. I will be updating this guide when I have the time to do so as each boss can have a large amount of attacks. Please understand that the .GIF for the attacks can take a long time to make and that I have work on weekdays. Still, I will try to update this whenever I have a fair amount of free time available, mostly on weekends. I will try to maintain at least one boss per week but I cannot make any promises on this. As a point of reference, Rockbear’s section took about 5 hours to finish.

Weak points, breakable points and anything noteworthy will be highlighted in the first part of each boss, while their attacks will follow below. Under the attacks will be spoilers with an animated .gif showing the attack. Attacks will multiple variants or different outcomes will also be occasionally be shown. This is to cut down the amount of images the browser will load as this .gif can be fairly large.

Take note that this guide will only cover bosses up to Very Hard mode, inclusive of the attacks done only on Very Hard mode, or any conditions affected by difficulty. Bosses on Super Hard mode have a much different attack pattern, usually chaining between attacks immediately in a pattern which is why I will not include them. I might add it in when Super Hard mode is released or close to being released in the future.

If there are any incorrect information, or anything you wish to add, let me know and I will do any necessary corrections to this guide.

Notes on Bosses

Bosses are normally fought at the 3rd Area of Exploration Missions. These boss fights are within an enclosed arena, where the ground is usually flat, preventing altitude from being used to kill bosses much quicker.

Bosses can also appear as part of their own Emergency Trial or as a Changeover in any area. The benefit of such an occurrence is that you can have beyond the 4 party member limit in the event this happens in a Multi-Party Area. The area can also hinder, or assist you in defeating the boss. Walls, rocks and such objects can be used to obstruct a bosses’ attacks while the bosses themselves clip into the terrain, effectively preventing you from attacking certain points. For certain bosses, many of their attacks can be avoided by simply being above them, and as such, becomes easily abused in the event the terrain has objects for you climb.

In both Boss fights and random E-Trials, the amount of players in the party can affect how the boss fight goes. When entering the Teleporter in the 3rd Area with more than one person, multiple bosses can appear or minions will constantly be spawning in the arena. These minions will respawn after killing them, often disrupting your attacks. For E-Trials, when at 4+ players, some bosses will spawn in pairs, requiring both to be defeated to complete the E-Trial. When at 8 ~ 12 players, two bosses will spawn first and a other will spawn when one is defeated.
Bosses will focus on a single target. This is determined by Hate generated from attacks, which is tied into to attacking it with more damage, and more consistent hits. Hate generation can be increased through certain skills and as an extra effect from Medical Drinks. Warcry does this as well.

Occasionally, during a random E-Trial for defeating a boss, a Changeover Code Capture can occur. During which, you have to have the boss stand within a boundary marked by a Laser Fence and activate a console. The console requires time to activate, and can be hasten by mashing the E (Or interact) button. You can choose to ignore this objective by killing the boss, resulting in the boss yielding its regular drops, however, you lose out on the E-Trial rewards.

For each part on a boss broken before it dies, additional drops are added to the red crystal they leave behind. This is difficult to notice for bosses that only have a single breakable point such as Catadran, but can make large differences for bosses like Dark Falz Elder, which has an already high item drop and multiple breakable arms.

I do not think the bosses have official names for their attacks, so I will be giving names to them according to what I see fit to describe them.

Rockbear

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Weakpoints : Head
Breakable Points : None
Appears anywhere else in the Forest or Ruins as a random E-Trial boss. It gets enraged at 25% ~ 50% HP, depending on difficulty, causing the orange rock formation around its body to become much brighter. This effect wears off after awhile even though there might be no visual differences after that point.When fighting in a party of 2 or more, minions, consisting of Woodans and Agnis will spawn within the area. When fighting with 3 or more players, 2 Rockbears will appear along with the minions previously.

Swing

A simple swing after very visible wind-up of its right arm. If it does not hit anything, Rockbear will lose its balance and fall onto its back, giving you time to attack it. There is an AI detection range to this, where if the target goes out of, Rockbear immediately stops the wind-up. It is better to let him swing and fall over instead of moving beyond this range.
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The enraged version of this is two-swings. If Rockbear does not hit anything on its second swing, it will perform an elbow drop.
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Backhand Swing

A very quick backhand swing, causing it to face backwards. Barely telegraphed, this attack is hard to dodge and hard to block. It is best to avoid fighting Rockbear from the back or sides as it can use this attack constantly, making it difficult to approach. Rockbear will only use this attack if its target is behind it.
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Rolling Slam

A high jump followed by a body slam. The distance it travels is variable, having some homing capability, and can turn slightly to the side. Often done when there is a large distance between the target and Rockbear. Sometimes, Rockbear can use this attack even if there is little distance between. If this attack does not hit anything, there is a much longer recovery time.
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When enraged, Rockbear will repeat this attack over and over until it hits something, or when its target is behind him.
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Grab

This move can be a 1HKO if you do not have a high enough defense. If it fails to grab anything, it will fall down, providing time for attacks. Fairly long start-up. This attack is performed randomly, usually once after 3 ~ 5 attacks.
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Catadran/Catadransa

Weakpoints : Body Segments, Broken Tail
Breakable Points : Tail Crystal
Appears in both the Volcano and Floating Continent. Catadran, found in the Volcano, is weak to Ice while Catadransa, found in the Floating Continents, is weak to Darkness. Both versions share the same attacks.
Whenever it attacks, it stretches out its body, revealing an unprotected joint between its hard scales. Attacks with far reach have a very odd tendency to actually hit these segments instead of anything else, which makes breaking its Tail quite irritating.
While Catadran can be Frozen, it does not have any special reaction to it, and just freezes like any regular enemy.
Both Catadran and Catadransa get enraged when their health drops below roughly 25% ~ 60%. However, on certain difficulties, its attacks do not change even while enraged.
Catadran/Catadransa will always try to get close to the target by burrowing underground and surfacing underneath the target.
When fighting with a party, you will encounter multiple Catadrans/Catadransas.
Head Shove

A common attack done when the target is in front. When enraged, Catadran/Catadransa will repeat it three times

Tail Slam

Catadran/Catadransa does this attack when the target is behind. Has an odd attack direction, making it awkward to block when at close range. Much like the Head Shove, this attack is repeated 3 times when enraged.

Side Slam

An attack that is done when the target is on the side. A head slam to either side followed by a really weird flip, slamming into the ground. Has a very erratic nature, often whiffing the target if its close by.

Forward Lunge

Has a slower start up compared to the Head Shove as well as a longer recovery.

360 Spin

Done only as a follow-up attack to the Forward Lunge when enranged. Both head and tail can hit you, making it harder to predict the timing when very close by. Stuns anything it hits.


Vol Dragon

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Weakpoints : Frontal Horn, Back Horn
Breakable Points : Frontal Horn, Back Horn, Tail Crystal
Worth noting is that while Vol Dragon is weak to the Ice element, its horns are also weak to Dark, making Dark-Element weapons good for this boss fight as well.
Freeze Attributes from weapons or Ice Technics can be used to freeze its legs, which it has to break out of before doing anything else.Vol Dragon appears in the Volcano only, and is indicated by its roar with a fiery wave on the screen.
Has 3 forms which advances as its burrows underground. On its 3rd form, all horns are no longer weakpoints and cannon be broken until it reverts back to its 1st form.The crystal on the tail can be broken, causing it to fall over for a short period of time. The time it takes to recover is determined by what form it is on when the crystal is broken, its final form giving the longest recovery time. When the crystal is broken and Vol Dragon has recovered, the crystal has to be regenerated. Vol Dragon will stick its tail into the ground to do so. If this animation is cancelled, usually from breaking a horn, Vol Dragon has to restart the entire animation to recover its tail. Each time the crystal is regenerated, it gets more health than before, making it increasingly more difficult to break it. It is better to avoid constantly breaking his tail on his 1st form if you wish to break both horns.

When fighting in a party of 2 or more players, minions will spawn, mostly being Diggs. Vol Dragon is also capable of summoning Diggs on his own, usually when before 50% health.

Amazingly, Vol Dragon is capable of speaking.

Head Bash

Knocks up for a fair amount of damage. Comes out fairly quickly. Used occasionally when the target is in front and within close distance.

Tail Whip

Two swings from his tail, covering a very wide radius around him. Vol Dragon will do a small roar during the start-up. Often used when the target is behind or to the side. Sometimes done even with the target in front.
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On its 3rd form, two additional swings are added to the attack.

Fire Blast

Fires a single fireball forward, travelling fairly slowly. Can only aim in a narrow radius in front. Occasionally done when the target is in front at medium to far distances and is always done after Vol Dragon jumps backwards.
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Fire Breath

There are two version for this. A stationary one, and a sweeping one while moving.

The sweeping one is capable of doing a large amount of damage from both the flame as well as trampling you.
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Ram

A simple forward run, knocking away anything it hits. Often used at medium distances, sometimes for seemingly no reason at close range as well.

Slam

Jumps either forward, upwards or backwards and falls down. Has a large AOE that is difficult to determine. Often done to cover large distances but can be done randomly or to jump away.
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Fire Geyser

Has a little roar while doing this attack. Causes a fire geyser to pop out a short time after stomping the ground with its front legs. Area is determined by where the target is during the moment he stomps the ground. Visual effect of flames on the ground will indicate the location of the attack.

In 3rd form, this attack is done twice.

There is a super version of this, where the attack picks multiple random locations.

Giga Flare

Only used on its 3rd form. A huge fireball from above. After performing this attack, Vol Dragon reverts to his 1st form automatically. Can be avoided easily by standing underneath him.


Gwanada

Weakpoints : Face, Glowing Red Body
Breakable Points : None
Found on Lilipa Desert’s as the boss of the Exploration mission. Gwanada will burrow into the ground a to move around, spawning some tentacles when he surfaces sometimes. This tentacles will always spawn in 4, and killing all of them will cause the boss to fall, allowing you to hit his body for massive damage. The tentacles have a weakpoint, and will fall if enough damage is dealt.
Gwanada uses his burrowing and surfacing to move around the area and can constantly do so, making it fairly irritating of a fight when it happens.
When fighting with a party, there will be multiple Gwanadas, which makes breaking the tentacles a lot harder.

Bite

Has a fair frontal range, sweeping to the sides for about 45 degrees. A very long wind-up time making this attack very noticable but it has a very fast execution, making it quite difficult to time a dodge or guard.

Swing

Quick swings to either side for 180 degrees to hit the target if it’s behind, or to its side. A very sudden attack, making this difficult to avoid. Avoid fighting Gwanada from its back or side as it can repeat this attack constantly.

Charge

Gwanada does a charge occasionally when it surfaces far away. Travels a long distance but causes Gwanada to lay down for awhile afterwards.

Tentacle Swipe

A quick 360 degree, fairly irritating attack. Comes out fairly quickly but doesn’t do that much damage.

Grab

Pulls everything that isn’t friendly to Gwanada towards him. If anything reaches his mouth, he grabs it, bites for awhile, and throws the target, dealing strong damage. The damage is only inflicted after the throw, allowing players to break the tentacles to free the person being grabbed. Other enemies of difficult factions can be used as decoys to trigger this attack. If Gwanada is inflicted with Panic, it can even grab its own tentacles.

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1 Response

  1. Anonymous says:

    Will you post the other bosses in the future,

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