Ophion is the last boss in the game, and comes as the last final challenge players will encounter to test their skills before the end of Act 2 (the ‘regular’ end to the game). It can be frustrating coming all this way only to fall at the final boss and having to go all the way back to Biome 4, so having a good strategy before you go in can help you out with the boss and increase your odds of survival. Here’s how to beat Ophion in Returnal.
How to Beat Ophion in Returnal
Ophion, like the other bosses in Returnal, has three phases; when you deplete its health bar, it will move onto the next more difficult stage of the fight. A good weapon to go into this fight with is the Hollowseeker, as it allows you to dodge projectiles without really needing to think about aiming too much. The Thermogenic Launcher with Full-Auto is also a good plan, as it dishes out a lot of damage, but you’ll need to aim carefully. The same goes for the Tachyomatic Carbine, a good all-rounder in any boss fight.
Phase 1 – Ophion has some big orbs around it that you’ll need to shoot in order to reveal some red weak spots on its body, which will allow you dish out some damage. Keep this in mind during the entire fight – you’ll need to continually shoot these orbs and weak points in order to do damage to the boss. Ophion will rain green orbs down upon you, which you should know how to dodge by now, but we wary of the purple shockwaves that will come at you that you can’t dash through, you need to jump over these while also dodging the other projectiles. Red orbs will also be fired at you in a large pattern, which you can evade or dodge through, but watch out for the green homing missiles that will be shot at you, you need to dodge these at the last second to avoid taking damage. Some purple lasers will also come down on you that you can find a gap between.
Phase 2 – This phase has essentially exactly the same attacks as phase 1, but they will be more random and frequent so you need to be on your guard for an array of all of the attacks described previously. Remember you need to jump over or avoid the purple beams, you can’t dodge through them. Ophion will occasionally slam down its hand, restricting your area of battle, and will shoot sporadic purple lasers at you that can be dodged if you keep on moving around.
Phase 3 – The boss will now start opening up portals that fire purple lasers that can certainly take you by surprise if you’re not prepared and they do a lot of damage. You’ll need to avoid these as you can’t dodge through them. The previous attacks are still in effect, along with a barrage of green and blue orbs that you need to manoeuvre around. Make sure to watch out for those homing attacks though, as they can reset your adrenaline very easily if you’re not paying full attention. Continue this and Ophion will be defeated, marking the end of Act 2 and rewarding you with a cutscene as you follow Ophion down the pit.
For some other really useful general tips to help you out that apply to all of the bosses in Returnal, check out our first Boss Guide.
Returnal is available now on PS5.
