XGC KNIGHT XI
Administrator
As the ominous quiet and the opened weapons lockers implies here, a boss fight is about to occur, and a difficult one, at that. RAAM is the end boss of the game, after all, so he won’t be as much of a creampuff as the other bosses you’ve faced.
Your main tool here is going to be your sniper rifle, which with a little luck will let you get a bunch of headshots on RAAM while he’s otherwise occupied. To begin with, though, you have to know what you’re fighting. RAAM has got a Troika in his hands, so far as we can tell, that does heavy damage and will likely kill you in a second or two on higher difficulties; it’s a bit easier on casual, but it still packs a heck of a punch. He’s also surrounded by kryll, which prevent your gunfire from actually hitting his body while they’re rotating around. Every once in a while, though, he’ll detach the kryll from his body and tell them to attack you, and this is when you’re going to be headshotting him. Grenades are also a big help in this fight.
Basically, what you want to do is crouch behind the first little barricade that you’re standing behind when the cutscene ends. Note the lights on the ground? These are the only things that’ll save your life when RAAM sends his kryll out to get you. If you’re not standing on lights, they’ll cut you to pieces. There are a few sets of lights scattered around the zone, though, so take your time and get to know where they are. (Note that the Troika at the far end of the area isn’t lit up; using it seems to be a sure ticket to an early grave.) If you leave cover, you have to head for another one of these lighted zones as quickly as possible, or you get toasted. Moving is generally a risky proposition here anyway, as the Troikas will definitely do a number on you, but you won’t have any choice but to book it when RAAM gets onto your ***.
Technique
So, anyway, just crouch behind the barricade at the beginning of the area with your sniper rifle in hand. Dominic will probably run forward and get killed more or less immediately; don’t bother bringing him back to life until it’s safe to do so (i.e. he’s in a well-lighted zone). You’re going to have to do most of the fighting here yourself anyway. When RAAM sends his Kryll after you, start raising yourself up and nailing him with headshots, and try your darnedest to get perfect active reloads. They’ll let you fire more quickly and deal more damage to boot.
That’s basically the long and short of the strategy here; wait for the kryll barrier to recede, then nail RAAM with headshots. There are two things to be aware of, though. One is that you’ll be getting fly-bys from Reavers that run alongside the train every now and again, and these can do serious damage to you. You can pop them with sniper shots if you wish, but your helicopter will eventually take them down. The second is that grenades can penetrate the kryll shield, and that grenades will actually cause the kryll to fly away from RAAM for a few seconds. If you manage to land a grenade at RAAM’s feet, quickly switch over to your sniper rifle while you’re waiting for it to explode, then nail him with a couple of headshots. He’s slow enough to make it possible to drop a grenade in front of him, then wait for him to walk over it. Grenades will damage him through the shield, as well, making it possible that one of these will wind up being the kill shot. The Torque Bow also has a similar effect on the Kryll shield, so feel free to use those on him as well. (If you have to restart this area from the checkpoint, and get the Torque Bow in your inventory, you can grab the ammo from the closets, then wait 30 seconds or so for it to respawn.)
We’re not trying to be reductive here; this is a damn hard fight, even on casual difficulty. With enough reloading, though (you’ll be cursing Anya’s voice by the time you defeat RAAM, if you haven’t been already), you will eventually take him down. Watch the final cutscene and be sure to stick around through the credits for an awesome Augustus Cole remix song.
Your main tool here is going to be your sniper rifle, which with a little luck will let you get a bunch of headshots on RAAM while he’s otherwise occupied. To begin with, though, you have to know what you’re fighting. RAAM has got a Troika in his hands, so far as we can tell, that does heavy damage and will likely kill you in a second or two on higher difficulties; it’s a bit easier on casual, but it still packs a heck of a punch. He’s also surrounded by kryll, which prevent your gunfire from actually hitting his body while they’re rotating around. Every once in a while, though, he’ll detach the kryll from his body and tell them to attack you, and this is when you’re going to be headshotting him. Grenades are also a big help in this fight.
Basically, what you want to do is crouch behind the first little barricade that you’re standing behind when the cutscene ends. Note the lights on the ground? These are the only things that’ll save your life when RAAM sends his kryll out to get you. If you’re not standing on lights, they’ll cut you to pieces. There are a few sets of lights scattered around the zone, though, so take your time and get to know where they are. (Note that the Troika at the far end of the area isn’t lit up; using it seems to be a sure ticket to an early grave.) If you leave cover, you have to head for another one of these lighted zones as quickly as possible, or you get toasted. Moving is generally a risky proposition here anyway, as the Troikas will definitely do a number on you, but you won’t have any choice but to book it when RAAM gets onto your ***.
Technique
So, anyway, just crouch behind the barricade at the beginning of the area with your sniper rifle in hand. Dominic will probably run forward and get killed more or less immediately; don’t bother bringing him back to life until it’s safe to do so (i.e. he’s in a well-lighted zone). You’re going to have to do most of the fighting here yourself anyway. When RAAM sends his Kryll after you, start raising yourself up and nailing him with headshots, and try your darnedest to get perfect active reloads. They’ll let you fire more quickly and deal more damage to boot.
That’s basically the long and short of the strategy here; wait for the kryll barrier to recede, then nail RAAM with headshots. There are two things to be aware of, though. One is that you’ll be getting fly-bys from Reavers that run alongside the train every now and again, and these can do serious damage to you. You can pop them with sniper shots if you wish, but your helicopter will eventually take them down. The second is that grenades can penetrate the kryll shield, and that grenades will actually cause the kryll to fly away from RAAM for a few seconds. If you manage to land a grenade at RAAM’s feet, quickly switch over to your sniper rifle while you’re waiting for it to explode, then nail him with a couple of headshots. He’s slow enough to make it possible to drop a grenade in front of him, then wait for him to walk over it. Grenades will damage him through the shield, as well, making it possible that one of these will wind up being the kill shot. The Torque Bow also has a similar effect on the Kryll shield, so feel free to use those on him as well. (If you have to restart this area from the checkpoint, and get the Torque Bow in your inventory, you can grab the ammo from the closets, then wait 30 seconds or so for it to respawn.)
We’re not trying to be reductive here; this is a damn hard fight, even on casual difficulty. With enough reloading, though (you’ll be cursing Anya’s voice by the time you defeat RAAM, if you haven’t been already), you will eventually take him down. Watch the final cutscene and be sure to stick around through the credits for an awesome Augustus Cole remix song.