The King of Nothing is one of the strongest and most unforgiving bosses of Risk of Rain 2, but with the right strategy and a bit of skill, he will fall like any other.
Related: Risk Of Rain 2: Every Artifact Code And How To Unlock them.
When a survivor decides not to loop back to stage one during their run of Risk of Rain 2 while at Sky Meadows, they will soon find themselves in Commencement, the final stage of the game and home of Mithrix, the final boss. In order to escape the planet and return home, your skills as a survivor and your hoard of items will truly be put to the test, as Mithrix is no pushover.
Updated December 28, 2021 by Amanda Hurych: In order to make the arduous battle with Mithrix easier, we've included a handful of more tips for defeating him, as well as distributing pertinent information out in tables. Beating Mithrix is one of the most challenging things you can accomplish in Risk of Rain 2, so we're here to help you out in these final moments...con lentitud poderosa.
Preparation
Time
The first thing you can do to even the playing field with Mithrix is to spend as little time as possible getting to him. This is because the difficulty of Risk of Rain 2 increases the longer you spend on a particular run — as such, if you take too long to complete each stage, then the game's difficulty will begin to outpace your growth in power. A good rule of thumb is to aim for spending only five minutes on each stage, as this gives you time to grab some items and kill the stage boss without the difficulty becoming too much to deal with later on.
Survivor
First things first, you'll want to keep your survivor in mind! Each character has a selection of items that work best for them, and we have several guides detailing some standout mentions:
Huntress |
Bandit |
Mercenary |
Acrid |
Rex |
MUL-T |
Items
Of course, depending on how lucky you are with chests, you may not have the luxury of having the specific items that work well with your survivor. However, there are definitely some to keep an eye out for as you approach the final battle.
- Chronobauble - Your hits now slow enemies by 60% for 2 seconds. Chronobauble tends to be weaker in general play since the effect lasts for such a short time, and when facing a horde of enemies the value is low to make them simply move slower. However, one of Mithrix’s greatest strengths is his speed, and with a Chronobauble it becomes easy to simply step back from Mithrix as you shoot him.
- Armor-Piercing Rounds - Your attacks deal 20% more damage to bosses. This is a solid item already, but for fighting Mithrix it has the bonus benefit of giving Mithrix no extra damage against you when he steals them, as you are not classified as a boss.
- Shaped Glass - Your damage is doubled and your max health is cut in half. This is a risky item, but if played correctly it can make Mithrix’s final phase take mere seconds. Taking this item will most certainly make it so Mithrix will kill you if any of his hammer attacks hit. However, since Mithrix steals your items in his final phase, his maximum health will also be cut in half with each Shaped Glass he takes. If you are confident in your abilities, this could be the key to victory.
- Hopoo Feather and Wax Quail - Hopoo Feathers give you an extra jump in midair, letting you stay airborne longer, and Wax Quills extend the length of your first jump while sprinting. Both of these items are valuable for the Mithrix fight in that they let you avoid many of Mithrix’s attacks with ease, as he has very little he can do to you in mid air.
- Royal Capacitor - Equipment that lets you deal high damage to a single target on demand. Combined with Fuel Cells for more uses and a short cooldown, this can even be used as your main damage dealer in a run.
- Tougher Times - Chance to block incoming damage. By stacking enough Tougher Times (roughly ten), you can effectively make it so that every attack against you has only a 40% chance of actually affecting you. The best part of this item is that while Mithrix will take it, he will not benefit from the effects of it.
- Cautious Slug - This handy healing item increases the speed of health regeneration. As you can probably guess, that is incredibly useful to possess, even if you're not fighting Mithrix. If you manage to stack up on Cautious Slugs, your health regen speed also incrementally increases.
Commencement
After preparing yourself as best you can for the final stage, you will enter Commencement proper. You will need to find a way to reach Mithrix at the top of his tower. This can be done by searching the stage and finding various pillars that spawn in random locations. After activating a pillar, you will need to charge it the same way you charged the teleporter on previous stages. There are four different types of pillars, each with a different twist.
Pillars
Mass | Hold out in the zone for 1 minute to charge the pillar. |
---|---|
Design | Hold out in the zone for 30 seconds. This pillar will send out shockwaves that knock you back and debuff you if they hit. Simply jump over them and you’ll be safe. |
Soul | Hold out in the zone for 30 seconds, but the zone gets smaller over time. |
Blood | Hold out in the zone for 10 seconds, but the pillar will drain 10% of your max health per second. |
These pillars can be skipped if you have enough movement abilities (Hopoo Feather, Milky Chrysalis, etc.) to reach the top of Mithrix’s tower. Otherwise, charging four pillars will activate jump pads around the area that will take you to Mithrix.
Mithrix - Phase 1
Mithrix will start the fight by dropping into the center of the arena and immediately charging straight for you. He only has a few attacks to throw at you, but they all hit hard.
- Swipe - Mithrix dashes forward, swiping with his hammer. This can be avoided by either backing away or jumping above him.
- Slam - Mithrix will stop in place, bringing his hammer down directly in front of him. This is his hardest-hitting attack, but can easily be avoided by moving away from his front.
- Jump - Mithrix will jump high into the air, crashing down in the center of the arena and sending a shockwave outward. This shockwave deals moderate damage, but can easily be avoided by timing a jump over it.
- Ranged Spikes - Mithrix will fire a barrage of spikes at you as he sprints towards you. The spikes deal moderate damage individually, but when combined they are deadly. This can be avoided by moving to the left or right.
All of these attacks aside from the ranged spikes will debuff you if they hit, causing you to take increased damage and move half as fast for a few seconds. This makes it harder to avoid Mithrix if he attacks again while you are debuffed, so avoiding these attacks is vital to your survival.
Mithrix - Phase 2
After you bring Mithrix’s first phase down, he will retreat from the battle for the time being, allowing his Lunar Chimera to fight you instead.
- Lunar Chimera Golem - The Golem is the largest member of the Lunar Chimera family, and ironically the least dangerous. Their only attack is to fire a series of slow-moving missiles that are easy to avoid by sidestepping. They do hit hard, however, so it is important to keep track of where their shots are going.
- Lunar Chimera Wisp - The Wisp, on the other hand, is the most dangerous of the three, having the ability to attack with a rapid-fire shot that will tear through your health. It can also fire a highly damaging bomb that will track you as you move. They should be prioritized above all else.
- Lunar Chimera Exploder - The Exploder is small, quick, and will fire burst shots at you that deal moderate damage. The biggest threat they pose is that when that they will explode shortly after being killed, leaving a highly damaging area on the ground for a short time.
Multiple pillars will rise around the arena at the start of this phase, and these pillars can be used as cover against the Lunar Chimera if you need a breather.
Mithrix - Phase 3
Once all of the Lunar Chimera are defeated, Mithrix will return to fight again, but now more Lunar Chimera will periodically spawn to assist him. Typically these will be Golems or Exploders, but there is a small chance of a Wisp spawning. If you have the damage output to take it down quickly, focusing on the Lunar Chimera that spawn over Mithrix can help in your survival. Otherwise, all Lunar Chimera will die when you bring Mithrix to zero health again.
As for Mithrix himself, the attacks he uses are largely the same as those used in phase 1, with one new attack and one upgraded attack.
- Upgraded Slam - Mithrix will stop in place and bring his hammer down as before, but the attack now sends out a shockwave in front of Mithrix with the same effect as the shockwave from his jump attack. In addition, it will leave a damaging pillar of energy at the spot he hit which will linger for a long time. Aside from jumping over the shockwave, avoiding the attack is the same as in phase one.
- Revolving Shockwave - Mithrix will kneel down, causing lines of energy to revolve around him that explode after one second. This attack will trigger four times, with the direction the lines move being random. The best way to avoid this attack is to look at Mithrix and focus your movement on moving left or right to compensate for where the line will be when it explodes.
Mithrix - Phase 4
After bringing his health to zero once again, Mithrix will steal all of your items in one last desperate attempt to kill you. However, he is wounded and slow, and as you deal damage to him throughout this phase you will retrieve your items.
Mithrix only has two attacks during this phase, and neither should be underestimated.
- Ranged Spikes - Mithrix will fire a burst of spikes at you like in phase 1, but now each spike will be augmented by your items. This can make the weaker attack much more devastating, especially if you have a high chance of bleed or critical hits in your build. This attack can be avoided by sidestepping as before, but the safer way to avoid it is by using the pillars as cover.
- Revolving Orbs - Mithrix will kneel down, sending out multiple large orbs that will deal high damage if they hit. They will move outward from him in a revolving motion, and after a couple of seconds come back the same way. They can be dodged by careful sidestepping or jumping over them if you have a double jump.
While Mithrix begins this phase with the advantage, he will lose that advantage as you retrieve your items. After you have your items back, he is easy pickings.
Aftermath
Mithrix has been defeated, you have reclaimed what is yours, and now it is time for you to make your escape from the exploding moon. Multiple portals will appear throughout the arena, bringing you back down to ground level if you jump into one. After returning to ground level you will need to get to your ship, where you will need to hold out for one minute against Void Reavers. Their attacks are telegraphed along the ground and are simple to avoid, but bear in mind that killing them will cause an explosion that can instantly kill you if you are too close.
After successfully defending your ship and escaping the moon, you begin the journey home, with the run concluding in victory. Along with this, if it is your first time beating the game you will be handsomely rewarded.
The first reward is that you unlock the Captain as a playable survivor, letting you experience the game from an entirely new playstyle with his powerful supply drops and the legendary Defensive Microbots.
Your next reward is the lunar item called Purity. This powerful item will reduce all of your cooldowns by a flat 2 seconds, but cause you to become unlucky, meaning that any random chance will likely not go in your favor. It's a powerful item in the right hands.
Your final reward for beating the game on Monsoon is the alternate skin for the survivor you beat the game with, showing anyone that sets eyes on you that you have truly mastered the character and the game.
Next: Risk Of Rain 2: The Best Character Duos For Co-op