Tips for On-boat Bosses in Hard Mode?

[ZEROrevive]

Last time I had attempted this in hard mode, it stopped me in my tracks. Not the main boss for this segment so much, but the part in which your attacked by an army of boats and flying ships. Im wondering this:


-What would be the best 2ndary weapon for this? I had thought about using powered Buster (My primary main weapon of choice), but im not sure if its ammo would last out throughout the battle, unless I carry something to refill it.

-Should my busters stats be modified? Perhaps a bit less Attack, and more Rapid?

-What enemies are best to take down first? I tend to focus on the boats, as flying enemies usually end up missing their shots 50% of the time and fly by quicker...


Not sure what else to ask. Just any given personal tips would be great. I havent had a single game over yet in my hard mode run, and are hoping to retain that status.

[Dashe]

You don't get the Active Buster until Clozer Ruins. The nautical battle takes place at Lake Jyun. How'd you get an Active Buster at all?

[ZEROrevive]

...hrm, i must be misremembering. Mind me on that. (Hasn't played within a year span). Rest of the info still upholds, though.

[Mikéy]

Boats are definitely the best to focus on while dealing with the Bonnes during the lake battle. While the Powered Buster might seem appealing at first, it might actually be wise to worry about hitting the missiles and torpedos before they have a chance to hit, rather than worrying about the boats themselves, in hardmode, anyways.

Quote for phun:

Mar 8, 2012 23:02:37 GMT -5 Buster Cannon said:

In the area of special weapons, a fast weapon like the Machine Buster is recommended. While weapons like the Powered Buster are noticeably stronger, the ending lag really hurts you, as you need to be able to take out missiles/torpedoes before they hit you. This is one of those fights that is noticeably more difficult in hard mode due to the HP jump of the enemies.

The Powered Buster might not be a bad weapon for the Balcon Gelede itself (provided you're thinking of heading to the docks for the boat to be repaired & prepare), just make sure that you knock out the arms ASAP since that they somehow manage to hit the boat without missing just by pointing. It ultimately all comes down to preference in any case.

Note: Make sure that you have Buster Parts that can put your Range at +2. Without that Range, your shots can't even reach the Balcon Gelede.

[ZEROrevive]

Funny, I was actually thinking about taking out the machine buster...Still have to upgrade everything on it, but that shouldn't be a problem since I know of some places to grind for Zenny. And yes, those blasted water missiles are ALWAYS my biggest problem.

Thats what I always do, as Powered Buster is my quick fix for taking down annoying enemies and parts easily. Arms are always priority #1. Thankfully the "You cant move while shooting" gimmick has no effect since your stuck on the boat anyway.

The minimum Range thats needed I always knew about. I have the Sniper Unit for that fix, if I recall correctly.

[Buster Cannon]

Apr 16, 2013 15:50:22 GMT -5 ZEROrevive said:

1) What would be the best 2ndary weapon for this? I had thought about using powered Buster (My primary main weapon of choice), but im not sure if its ammo would last out throughout the battle, unless I carry something to refill it.

2) Should my busters stats be modified? Perhaps a bit less Attack, and more Rapid?

3) What enemies are best to take down first? I tend to focus on the boats, as flying enemies usually end up missing their shots 50% of the time and fly by quicker...

1) Machine Buster, hands down. You'll need the utility when you've got missiles and torpedoes begging for your attention while you try to fend off the hordes of boats.  Even with the boss battle itself, the Machine Buster will take down the arms of the ship far quicker than the Powered Buster.  If it's not fully upgraded, you can rectify that with a few games of Beast Hunter.  I'd even carry a Hyper Cartridge just in case.

2) Rapid honestly isn't but so important of a buster stat.  Like Mikey said, at least +2 Range is advisable, and the rest can go into Attack and Energy.

3) I'd focus on the boats; the Draches can be destroyed quickly in the moments where there are no boats on screen.  Those torpedoes in particular are what you want to pay attention to, as they can tear chunks into your ship if left unattended.

[ZEROrevive]

Apr 16, 2013 17:02:13 GMT -5 Buster Cannon said:

If it's not fully upgraded, you can rectify that with a few games of Beast Hunter.  I'd even carry a Hyper Cartridge just in case.

Thats my go-to source. *laughs* It's no secret to anyone, really. 

This all should be good then. Granted, i'm not fondly looking forward to this....Most dragged out battle in the game IMO. 

On a random note: I don't remember, but can you even lock-on the incoming water missiles? 

[Buster Cannon]

Apr 16, 2013 17:34:10 GMT -5 ZEROrevive said:

On a random note: I don't remember, but can you even lock-on the incoming water missiles? 

Nah, you have to manually look for them.  They're fairly easy to see, the trick is shooting them before they make contact with your boat.

[ZEROrevive]

Yeah I thought so. Again not a problem since im used to manually aiming...plus with Megaman's slight auto-aim intact.

I tend to usually hear them first, in which its my cue to quickly get them off the boats tail end. The upped HP of everything just adds to the frantic moments.


EDIT: Managed to complete the Water battle segment...but not without a few deaths (ouch). I had to get the hang of the Machine busters odd curving while shooting and moving with the boat mainly. After I reached the main boss, I went back to the dock, healed up, and came back. Tried the machine buster again for this part, won the first try. no problem. Thank you again for the tips, everyone!

[Kyle]

Apr 16, 2013 17:38:28 GMT -5 Buster Cannon said:

They're fairly easy to see, the trick is shooting them before they make contact with your boat.

Good explanation, BC. Definitely sounds like something that Roll would say.

Personally speaking, I never had an issue with the boat scene on Hard Mode. All those years of Time Crisis really helped to develop my twitch reflexes, so shooting the missiles were a cinch.

Karumuna Bash is a whole different story. I know it kinda contradicts my previous statement, but I suck at wolf-pack bosses. My only strategy as a kid was; "ROLL, ROLL, SHOOT, ROLL, ROLL, SHOOT, ROLL, ROLL, SHOOT!"

[RyanLEO]

What I did is set my buster to all power and range( for reaching the boss), and I also spam the lock on button for the missiles. It took me about 5 times though