Risk of Rain 2: Hardest Bosses, Ranked (2024)

Risk of Rain 2 is a roguelike game with an emphasis on replayability and RNG. The gameplay loop consists of five stages, each guarded by a teleporter boss which stops the player from proceeding onto the next one. On the fifth stage, players have the option to either restart the five stage cycle, or challenge the final boss.

Each of the teleporter bosses act as skill checks, ensuring that players have the right amount of skill and items to pass through that stage. They are formidable enemies with large health bars that can be difficult to whittle down unless the player has the right items. These bosses also drop a green item on clearing the stage, though they have a small chance to drop a gold boss item instead.

6 Grovetender

Wisp Launcher

Appearing in the Scorched Acres environment on stage 3, the Grovetender has a lot of wide-area moves that can be difficult to dodge for players without sufficient movement skills. It doesn't move much, though it does chase after the player. However, its attacks have a large reach and can damage the player from quite a distance away.

The boss only has two attacks. It can spawn a swarm of 18 purple-colored homing wisps that chase down the player and explode on impact. It can also fire a multitude of chains aimed at the player that pull the player towards the boss. These attacks aren't hard to deal with when the player has a good movement ability, but for survivors with limited mobility, the Grovetender is a tough boss to contend with.

5 Xi Construct

Geometric Drone

The Xi Construct is a relatively new boss that was added in the Survivors of the Void expansion, though it can spawn for players who don't have the DLC as well. It can appear in Sulfur Pools and Sky Meadows on the initial run, and may appear on Titanic Plains and Verdant Falls after stage 4.

This boss is a large floating octahedron with a pulsating core that can fire powerful beams at the player. It continuously spawns four Alpha Constructs around itself, which target the player immediately after spawning. It can also enter a defensive phase where it blocks all attacks. If the player has a Gasoline or Will-o'-the-Wisp, then the extra constructs instead become a boon, letting them deal easy damage to the boss.

4 Clay Dunestrider

Vampire Urn

The humble Clay Dunestrider appears on a multitude of stages, though its home seems to be the Abandoned Aqueduct. This boss looks like a giant clay pot, with six gelatinous black legs supporting it from underneath. It constantly fires oily balls at the player that bog them down, letting the boss get more hits on them.

Encountering Dunestrider early in a run without good mobility is a death sentence for new players. When the player manages to whittle down the boss' HP to around 10%, it will bunker down and unleash its special move. This move involves siphoning life from anything around it, whether it be monsters or players. The boss heals for 100% of the damage dealt, and since it can siphon all enemies within 50m, the boss can recover a lot of health quite fast. This makes it difficult to kill without sustaining high damage.

3 Alloy Worship Unit

Mechanical Defender

The Alloy Worship Unit is a large spherical drone which can be summoned on Siren's Call, one of the environments for Stage 4. To summon the boss, players need to destroy six of the alloy vulture eggs scattered around the map. Once defeated, it will guarantee a legendary item drop. If the player uses a Trophy Hunter's Tricorn on the boss, they will get a gold boss item alongside the legendary item.

Since the Alloy Worship Unit is a flying enemy, it is difficult to reach for melee survivors. The boss has two attacks, and the ability to summon three helper drones called the Solus Probes. It can either shoot out an arc of 12 orbs at the player, or it can cause three simultaneous explosions near the player, while also gaining 100% shields for 6 seconds. A normal version of this boss, called the Solus Control Unit, can spawn during teleporter events, though it is less powerful than the Alloy Worship Unit.

2 Imp Overlord

Alien Monstrosity

Initially spawning in Abyssal Depths or Rallypoint Delta, the Imp Overlord is a gigantic version of the normal imps that invade Petrichor V on a daily basis. The giant version of these normal monsters has a similar moveset to the base versions, though much deadlier.

The Imp Overlord has a short range attack, a long range attack, and a movement ability. When the player is near the Imp, it will take a second to aim, and then release a barrage of violent strikes that deal a lot of damage. When there is some distance between the player and the boss, it will shoot out spikes which damage the player on hits, and embed into the ground if they miss, damaging anyone that comes near them.

1 Overloading Worm

Electric Earth Swimmer

The boss with the highest HP by a mile, the Overloading Worm is an overpowered version of the basic Magma Worm. It spawns on Abyssal Depths, Sky Meadows, and Rallypoint Delta on longer runs. It is a variant of the Magma Worm, but it isn't considered an elite, constituting a different specimen altogether.

That being said, the Overloading Worm's attack patterns are almost the same as those of the Magma Worm, except everything is blue rather than orange. It's main method of damage is charging in and out of the ground, hitting the player on the way. It can activate a skill that supercharges its body, firing out electric orbs that spawn secondary orbs on hits and deal 100% damage. This boss is extremely hard to fight with melee survivors because of the nature of its attacks. Players need good long-range items that will let them deal with this boss if they want to stand a chance.

Risk of Rain 2

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:86/100 Critics Recommend:96%

Franchise

risk of rain

Platform(s)

Xbox One , Nintendo Switch , PC , PS4

Released

September 11, 2020

Developer(s)

Hopoo Games

Publisher(s)

Gearbox Publishing