Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart: How to Beat All Dr. Nefarious Boss Fights

Dr. Nefarious is a recurring enemy boss fight in Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, appearing at two different points in the campaign for the player to battle in different circumstances. We’ve laid out how to beat both Dr. Nefarious boss fights, with all the best tips and strategies for victory.

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How to Beat All Dr. Nefarious Boss Fights in Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart

To beat either Dr. Nefarious boss fight in Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, players need to play carefully and avoid his high-damage attacks, while taking opportunities to retaliate effectively. We’ll lay out both confrontations as they appear chronologically in the game, with tips and strategies for each one.

Megalopolis Tutorial Boss Fight

Dr. Nefarious first fights you at the end of the game’s intro level and tutorial in Megalopolis, as a kind of final test of all the skills you’ve been learning so far. Here he fights you in the spaceship he’s been using throughout this whole sequence, firing from a distance while minions appear through dimensional rifts to attack at different periods. Here’s the basic strategy to take into account while you fight his ship:

• Dr. Nefarious’ ship fires two kinds of laser. One sweeps across the battlefield and the other tries to follow you around. You can double jump over the first one easily, the second one you need to run from and bounce over at the last second, then run the other direction.
• When he fires missiles, check the ground for target icons that’ll show where they land. Don’t stand in those until they’re all gone!
• Keep firing! The Enforcer won’t have the range to do real damage, so use the Burst Pistol and Shatterbomb against him, smashing the respawning ammo crates at the far left and right ends of the arena for refills.
• There are rift tethers near the ammo crates - if you’re about to be hit, you’re invincible while tethering, so simply hit L1 to phase through the attack harmlessly and come up near ammo and health.
• At 75% and 50% health he’ll retreat and allow enemies to come through dimensional rifts to attack. These are swarms of low-health melee enemies, so this is the best moment for the Enforcer, or to leap in with your wrench with some melee attacks.

Zurkie’s Slaughterplex Boss Fight

Later on you’ll have a rematch with Dr. Nefarious at Zurkie’s Slaughterplex in the Scarstu Debris Field, this time with him directly rather than the ship. It’s an entirely different kind of boss fight, one based around multiple phases and close-quarters combat around multiple dimensions. We’ve broken it out into the main phases below, and the strategies for each one.

Phase 1

The first phase is in the Slaughterplex itself. Nefarious has several powerful moves used to wear at the opponent, and it can be tricky considering that the Slaughterplex has a big hole in the middle and explosive crates around the arena.

• Nefarious occasionally charges up an orange blade in one hand, followed up by a swooping strike at the player. There’s a small chance to dodge it by jumping backwards, but your odds are much better if you phantom dodge.
• Nefarious also sends out a spray of green blasters at the player. These require some quick jumping to avoid, or you can use the Void Repulser to absorb the entire lot.
• If you stand under Nefarious, he’ll trigger thrusters that scorch the area below him. Jump above the fire or dodge out of the way, but generally don’t let this trigger - it’s high damage and difficult to avoid.
• Homing attacks, drones or wide-reaching explosive weapons are good for you to use - you don’t need to worry about accuracy while you jump and dodge around.

Phase 2

At 80% health, Nefarious transports you to a new arena, and though the fight is similar, there are some differences.

• At this phase, Nefarious won’t use the green blasters, replacing them with arcing acid grenades. They’re slower to land, but have a wide-reach and do a fair amount of damage. If you see one coming, back away quickly to avoid the spread.
• Nefarious’ blade attack is also slightly faster at this point, so you’ll need to be quicker to evade it.
• There’s huge stacks of crates here, but they don’t do much for cover, as Nefarious’ attacks tend to do through them.

Phase 3

At 50% health, he transports you to Sargasso, where you have to fight a Grunthor while he backs away to a safe distance. You’ll have fought them at least a couple of times at this point in the campaign, but if you need a refresher, we’ve got a guide on how to handle Grunthors just here.

• Once you kill the Grunthor, Nefarious comes back to confront you. Now he has all the moves he’s used, both acid bombs and blaster shots included.
• He’s also got a new missile-launching attack similar to the one his first ship had. When he fires, check the ground for the targeting markers to show where the missiles are going to land. There’s often a pattern to them - lines, a grid, etc - to help you frame where is or isn’t dangerous.

Phase 4

At 25% health, you’re both returned to the Zurkie’s Slaughterplex, as it was back in Phase 1. However, the difference is now that Nefarious still has the full moveset, and now there are small Nefarious minions on the battlefield that’ll attack you at the same time.

• Use explosive weapons or the Lightning Rod to clear out the minions and damage Nefarious at the same time.
• Nefarious attacks will hurt his minions, so if you’re careful, you can lure them through his attacks to thin them out.
• Otherwise, don’t focus too much on the minions individually - this fight won’t end until you beat the Doctor, so keep pouring damage into him.

Finish phase four and you’ll have victory… right? Well, though direct conflict with Doctor Nefarious might be over, you can prepare for the game’s final boss later on here, or check out how to get all the clothes and armour in the game here!