The Dumbest Ways We’ve Killed Video Game Bosses, Ranked

Bosses are often the best parts of what a video game has to offer. They might present a challenge beyond what normal enemies can provide, serving as a litmus test for the player’s understanding of game mechanics. In some cases, bosses are just as much about the emotional stakes of the story, making you face off against a looming threat or an old friend turned rival.

Their presence as gatekeepers to further progress can sometimes frustrate players, blocking those who are missing information or who are less skilled from further experiencing the story or gameplay. But humans are nothing if not inventive, and many have found ways to circumvent or trivialize even the toughest of fights—whether the developers intended it or not. Out of every big fight we could think of, here are the dumbest ways we’ve killed video game bosses.

There are MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS for the following games: Elden Ring, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Silent Hill, and Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.

10

Commander Niall – Elden Ring

A Friendly Scrap

Commander Niall in Elden Ring is an extremely tough fight in most circumstances. To even reach him, you must first fight your way through the gauntlet that is Castle Sol, and only then will you be able to challenge Niall. The second you step through the fog wall to meet him, things get tense. Not only are you trapped in an arena with a deadly foe that can take you out in just a few hits, but he also summons two separate Banished Knights—powerful warriors who are deadly in their own right.

Taking this fight as a three-on-one is an easy way to find yourself back at the last Grace you visited, but there is one neat trick you can use to help you: Bewitching Branches. These special items allow you to turn a pierced foe into a temporary ally, and those formidable Banished Knights are among the enemies most susceptible to the effect. As soon as a knight has been bewitched, they’ll turn on Niall and try to take him out.

While this only works until Niall reaches 50% health (that’s when phase 2 begins, and the knights disappear), it trivializes the hardest part of the fight, giving you a much better chance to come out the victor.

9

Darth Malak – Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic

Just A Few More Steps

Darth Malak is the final boss of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and he is a tough one. He starts the fight by using Force Immunity, making him resistant to all the player’s Force abilities. On top of that, he has high attack and health stats, and powerful Force abilities of his own. Once you bring his health down a bit, Malak will even use the captive Jedi in the arena to restore his health.

Rather than take him on in an honorable duel, your best bet is to blow him up with some mines. The trick here is to place all your mines on the walkway leading up to Malak prior to speaking with him, then start the conversation. Once he starts feeding on the Dantooine Jedi, you’ll first have to destroy the containers yourself. Then just walk over the mines, and Malak will instantly be brought to heel. With a remake in the works, who knows if they’ll keep this strategy in place.

8

Rocksteady – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)

Boxed In

Bebop and Rocksteady are the longstanding henchmen of Shredder, the primary antagonist of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. In the Nintendo Entertainment System game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the first level has players navigating a city and some sewers to confront the two lackeys, as they have kidnapped April O’Neil. While Bebop is easy enough to dispatch partway through the level, Rocksteady can be a bit more challenging.

First and foremost, he can charge forward to hit players, and any body-to-body contact will damage the Turtles. This charge includes jumping in the air, making avoiding it slightly more challenging. Out-ranging him is unlikely as well, since he comes equipped with a gun and will fire at players from a distance.

Thankfully, there is one simple way to come out of this fight unscathed. First, make sure you’re playing as Donatello, as his bo staff is integral to the strategy. Next, jump onto the boxes on the right side of the screen. Finally, point downward and attack into the arena. A bit of timing is required to land these hits, but this allows players to come out completely unhurt.

7

The Reaper – Persona 5

Vaccines Have Been Proven To Be Effective

The Reaper in Persona 5 is one of the toughest threats within Mementos. While it is an optional boss, the Reaper will only appear if players have spent more than five minutes on a single floor within Mementos, and it will begin chasing the player to initiate a confrontation. This can be avoided by going to the next floor, but players may find themselves face-to-face with the angel of death regardless.

When this happens, it might be the end of the line if the player isn’t a high enough level and doesn’t have some powerful personas on hand. However, if the Reaper is defeated, the player is granted a massive amount of experience. Luckily, there’s a way to make this an easy win, at least in the original Persona 5.

The Reaper is susceptible to a status ailment called “Despair,” which prevents it from attacking for three turns, instantly killing it at the end of the third turn. An easy early-game way to do this is by heading into Mementos during Flu season, which has a chance to inflict the Reaper with the status at the start of combat, netting you all the exp your heart desires.

6

Capra Demon – Dark Souls

Nothing Like A Bit Of Home Cooking

The Capra Demon fight in Dark Souls is one of the most infamous boss fights in history; its notoriously small boss room, combined with the hyper-aggressive dogs and the boss itself, makes it as much about planning as it is about execution. For the unsuspecting or ill-prepared Hollow, the Capra Demon may as well be a fast-travel to your last bonfire.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to beat this boss and obtain the Key to Depths without ever setting foot in the arena: Dung Pies. While a Firebomb will also do the trick, Dung Pies are a much more fun way to end this notorious demon’s reign of terror, and the merchant who sells them is only a short jaunt away. Each Dung Pie thrown will build up the status effect “Toxic”, which will slowly drain the enemy’s HP when triggered. They’re just getting what they deserve, really.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)


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Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)Start

RestartBack

Results

0

High Score: 0
—

Time Is On Our Side

Out of all the members of the Cobra Unit in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, The End is the most frustrating to fight, but also one of the most unique and rewarding to engage with. When fought as intended, this boss battle becomes a long, drawn-out conflict between two snipers sneaking around each other, trying to find an advantage. Taking place across three full zones, the player will have to use every tool at their disposal to come out the victor. Or they can just wait for The End to die of old age.

If players want to skip the fight entirely, and they missed their chance to take The End out at Ponizovje Warehouse: Exterior, changing the clock on their system will do the trick. It only takes one real-world week for the end to succumb to natural causes, so changing the time and date of the console or PC to eight days in the future nets a win for Snake. It’s a bit of an anti-climactic fate for all of those involved, but a win is a win.

4

Salazar – Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Got A Little Egg On His Face

Don’t let his small stature deceive you: this Count is one of the toughest bosses in Resident Evil 4 (2023). Not only does he have complete mastery over his movement in the multi-tiered arena in which he is fought, but he also frequently summons additional enemies to assist him in the battle. When played normally, players will need to keep their head on a swivel, managing threats from every direction before bringing him down.

That said, there is an alternative way to stop this acid-spitting castellan: Salazar has a crippling weakness to golden eggs, which are rarely found in Resident Evil 4 (2023). Throwing one of these eggs at the boss instantly takes his health down by about 70% and stuns him, making him open to further attacks.

A few shots from the Magnum are enough to finish the job, or just hit him with another egg. The second golden egg will be enough to fully terminate Salazar, scrambling Lord Saddler’s plans in the process.

3

Incubus – Silent Hill

No Ammo, No Problem

In the Good and Good+ endings of Silent Hill, Incubus stands (or flies) as the ultimate fight, serving as the final barrier on Harry’s journey through the most atmospheric game in the series. Coming out unscathed is difficult, as Incubus attacks with bolts of lightning that inflict heavy damage and can instantly kill Harry if his health is not full. There are several ways to deal with this battle, including circular strafing to avoid some lightning, but the easiest way is to simply come in without any ammunition.

While other games may include ammunition in a boss arena to ensure a player is properly equipped for a confrontation, Silent Hill takes a different approach by introducing a “fail-safe” mechanic: if the player has no ammunition, the boss will simply die to prevent a soft lock.

To ensure this happens, players must unload all of their weapons before heading into the final boss room, ensuring no loose ammo remains in their inventory. Once this is done and the room has been entered, the boss will perish. This may take a minute or two in some circumstances, but the result is the same: Incubus defeated without a single shot fired.

It’s Better When He’s Wetter

Volgin has been through a lot during the course of the Metal Gear Solid series: multiple betrayals by agents under his employ, losing his lover, and ultimately losing the fight to Naked Snake and burning to a crisp at the climax of Metal Gear Solid 3. Despite all of this, Volgin survives, maintaining his life through pure hatred of Naked Snake—also known as Big Boss. With the help of a young Tretij Rebenok, Volgin reawakens as the Man on Fire, setting out for revenge against his nemesis in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.

While he appears multiple times throughout the game, the most notable incident is in Mission 20, when the mysterious child and Volgin look to take Venom Snake out of the picture. There are many ways to finish the mission, but the goofiest way to stun Volgin is with the Water Pistol. This miniature squirt gun does no damage to normal enemies, but it does have the advantage of infinite ammo. Hit the Man on Fire with enough doses of water, and he’ll be momentarily extinguished, providing a window for players to escape or fulton him away.

1

Kalle Demos – The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Pour Some Water On Me (In The Name Of Love)

Out of every strange boss solution on this list, this strategy may be the most esoteric. Given the popularity of the Legend of Zelda series, you would think that very few secrets remain to be discovered. It normally does not take long for such a large community of players to find every notable interaction or puzzle solution, with strategies being formulated for each boss within days of a new title’s release.

For Kalle Demos in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the strategy is simple: hit the arms with the boomerang until the boss falls to the floor, revealing its weak point, then whack it with your sword for a bit before escaping its clutches to avoid damage. This tried-and-true methodology stood for 14 whole years before a secret, simple solution was found. All that players have to do to beat the boss is pour some water on it.

The actual method is a bit more complex than that description implies, as the technique requires a specific “Forest Water” item, which loses its magical properties within 20 minutes of being acquired (30 minutes in Wind Waker HD). First, players must grab Forest Water from the Forest Haven, where the Deku tree resides, then make their way to the boss room within 20 minutes. Once there, Kalle Demos must be brought to the floor. Then, dump the water onto the boss’s head, which instantly defeats it.

There is some logic to this interaction. The Forest Water is a sacred, life-giving substance, and Kalle Demos is a demon created by Ganon. While never explicitly stated or hinted at, having a weakness to what is essentially holy water does track. Still, this was Wind Waker’s best-kept secret for a long time, and truly one of the most bizarre ways to bring an end to a boss fight.