How to Beat Matriarch
Matriarch is a unique berserk. The heroes will face this monster in the icy hall of the underground locust complex in the chapter Dirtier Little Secrets (Act 2).
Just like her shortsighted sisters (all monsters of this type are female), Matriarch uses hearing to detect movement as she is blind.
The skin of berserkers in general and Matriarch, in particular, is so strong that it is invulnerable to firearms. Hammer of Dawn is not available to heroes, so you’ll have to rely on other means.
From the section before the battle, you will learn that Matriarch is vulnerable to frost. When she freezes, a large luminous spot opens on her back – you should shoot at it if you want to win. You can freeze Matriarch in two ways: spend several dozen charge units of the cryo cannon or drop the boss under the ice. The second option is preferable as it involves long-range confrontation.
Not the whole territory of the arena will be useful, but only the darkest areas (the one covered with visible cracks). Due to this, take positioning seriously.
You can break the ice with a few shots (or one shot from a shotgun) or with a grenade. However, bullets are scattered around the arena while explosive devices are not, so we do not recommend spending them.
The alternative option is to have sticky grenades in your supplies (you’ll find a few more on the arena) and stick explosives at the boss’ vulnerable point instead of shooting at it. Six grenades should do the job.
In this case, equipment does not play a major rule since your main weapon in this fight is patience. The monster has plenty of health, any ‘’gun’’ does not deal much damage, and you can be killed with the first blow.
Anyway, the skill Flash with an ultimate upgrade (you should complete the side quest Hollow Storm) can freeze the boss in a difficult situation so it will come in handy.
The battle against Matriarch is divided into three stages. Each stage adds new tricks to the boss’ arsenal. Do not come close to the boss: you’ll be torn into pieces (literally).
In the first phase, berserk will simply rush to any noise. Create an artificial hole and lure the monster into it to get an opportunity for counterattack.
Matriarch’s typical trick during the whole fight is to blur Kait’s vision. Everything around becomes orange, and anything that is located in the distance is blurred. Mark the enemy so that you do not lose the sight of her and wait until she enters the thin ice.
Starting from the second phase, the boss will begin to scatter her spikes – both a single shot and a circular one are possible. In both cases, we recommend hiding behind the ice columns or using your surroundings (corners, elevation).
We do not recommend getting hit by the spike as while you’ll be removing the needle out of your shoulder, Matriarch will either run or jump in the direction of the heroine. Both moves are potentially lethal.
At this stage, you should become less aggressive and wait until the boss enters the thin ice by herself. In this case, you won’t have to fear that the monster will jump after it reacts to Kait’s bait.
The third phase is a long period of blur. Earlier, the blur dispersed after a few seconds, but when the monster reaches approximately ¼ of health, everything will stay orange and blurry until the end of the battle.
Proceed as before: take a wait-and-see approach and attack the monster when it falls into your trap, hide behind the columns during spike shots and do not rush.
To be continued…