Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart: Emperor Nefarious Final Boss Fight

It’s all come down to this - a confrontation between Rivet, Kit and Emperor Nefarious as the dimensions begin to break down around Megalopolis. Certainly the most difficult battle in Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, we’ll show you the best tips and strategy for how to beat the Emperor Nefarious final boss fight here.

Read More: Everything You Need to Know About Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart

How to Beat the Emperor Nefarious Final Boss Fight in Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart

To beat Emperor Nefarious in the final boss fight, players will need to learn to avoid his attacks, all of which are fast and do high damage if you’re not prepared for them. It emphasises caution over aggression, learning when to play defensively and when to retaliate. We’ve laid out the best way to beat him below, with strategies, tips and a full breakdown of the phases involved.

Emperor Nefarious Boss Fight Phases

Emperor Nefarious technically attacks in several phases, but there’s little difference between the main ones and the strategies applied to one can apply to the others. Here’s a basic breakdown of what to expect.

• Phase 1: Arena battle with Emperor Nefarious using a set pool of moves.
• Phase 2 (Starts at 50-60% health): Nefarious retreats and sends in a group of high-level minions who must all be beaten before he comes back.
• Phase 3: Identical to Phase 1, but Nefarious is slightly faster and his attacks have slightly less warning to them.
• Phase 4 (Starts at 1% health): Nefarious retreats again and sends in more minions which you confront alongside Kit. Beat them and interact with Kit to conclude the battle.

Emperor Nefarious Strategy and Tips

In phases 1 and 3, Emperor Nefarious has a pool of attacks he uses to impede and hurt the player. We’ve laid them all out below and how to deal with them, as well as some general strategy tips to keep in mind during the battle.

• Nefarious’ most dangerous attack is a melee strike he uses while flying. A purple blade appears in one hand and he suddenly swoops down to hit you. This is very hard to dodge, as there’s little warning and it does high damage. The moment you see him charging energy in one hand, Phantom Dodge in any direction, as he’s coming down to hit you. You’ll get even less of a warning in Phase 3, so don’t let him out of your sight.
• Nefarious can also fire a purple beam of energy that tracks the player and follows them around. You can jump over it or run away if you’re fast enough, but you can always use the Phantom Dodge to go through it if you’re in a corner (though you can’t shoot back while doing this).
• His other main attack is to summon rocks and exploding crates which he then throws at you from the air. This one is actually fairly easy to avoid, as there’s a clear build-up to it and you can simply strafe hard to the left or right to avoid getting hit. It’s also a good opportunity to hit back while he’s locked into this animation.
• Generally speaking, you want to stay on the defensive and prioritise dodging. Health crates will spawn around the arena, but infrequently and not fast enough to allow you to survive even half his attacks.
• Certain attacks like the Lightning Rod or Topiary Sprinkler can freeze him temporarily in place. Save these either to cancel out certain attacks, or give yourself an opportunity to get health and ammo.
• Throw out all the drones you can - Mr. Fungi, Doom Eggs, the Bombardier and so on. It’s a good way to get free damage added on while you’re fighting him.
• Generally speaking, never let Nefarious out of your sight. The warning signs for his incoming attacks are all visual, and quick enough that you’ll likely miss them if you’re not watching him at all times.
• When fighting the minions he sends in, use whatever weapons you won’t need for Nefarious. Of course, if it’s Phase 4, it’s nearly the end of the fight and you might as well use whatever you can.
• The minions tend to be mid-tier enemies with a fair amount of health and ranged attacks. Don’t use short-range weapons, use mid-range attacks to give yourself time to evade their shots. Kit will be helping you, of course, but it’s still a tough fight.

Emperor Nefarious Final Boss Fight Rewards

Beat Nefarious and you’ve beaten the game! You’ll still have the opportunity to explore and complete side quests, but the main reward is unlocking Challenge Mode, essentially new game plus, which allows you to restart with all your unlocked weapons and items, with more difficult enemies and some new mechanics (including certain guns returning from the previous game).

There’s no shortage of Ratchet and Clank guides and info to find here at Gfinity! If you’re looking to find out if the games will be coming to PC, check that out here, or check out where to find all the Gold Bolts in the game here!