How to defeat Raven Beak in Metroid Dread

The fight against Raven Beak is incredibly long, but Metroid Dread players can get to the end credits in no time with the right strategies.

Metroid Dread has a slew of highly challenging bosses, but it's never unfair. Even Experiment No. Z-57 can be beaten easily if the player knows what they’re doing. There is no shortcut to winning against Raven Beak, though.

Metroid Dread players should take the opportunity to collect as many Energy Tanks and Missiles as possible before even starting this boss fight.

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Raven Beak: Strategy for the final boss of Metroid Dread

There are three phases to the Raven Beak fight in Metroid Dread. During the first phase, he has a fair amount of attacks he can use. Those attacks are as follows:

• Very quick dash attack that Samus can melee counter
• Overhead beam that scans around Raven Beak
• Melee attack which, if it connects, will lead to a high damaging combo
• Large red wave attack that covers most of the room
• Gestures at Samus to come near before charging at her (can be melee countered)
• Fires a black sphere that can be shot down for items

Thankfully, all of Raven Beak’s melee attacks Metroid Dread players can simply jump over. They can also be completely safe from the overhead beam by running close to Raven Beak. Realistically, a player can beat this entire phase without taking damage.

Whenever Raven Beak fires the black sphere, players should shoot it down every time. They drop health and missiles that will keep the player healthy throughout the fight.

Players will want to look out for the big energy wave. By sliding under this, the fight transitions to a different animation where Raven Beak takes a lunge at Samus. By melee countering this, Samus can unload a bunch of missiles into Raven Beak before returning to the normal fight.

Once Raven Beak glows yellow, it becomes impervious to damage, so players will need to wait for an opportunity to melee counter.

By getting next to Raven Beak, Samus can avoid this attack (Image via MercurySteam)

In the second phase, Raven Beak loses the invincibility but gains wings. It uses different attacks, which are as follows:

• Fires a mega cannon that does tons of damage
• Tracks Samus as she moves to later spray bullets at her
• Charges horizontally
• Charges down from above Samus

The mega cannon and the downward charge can easily be avoided through sliding, jumping, or flash shift (preferred). The horizontal charges can be jumped over. The best way to deal with the bullet spray is to Spin Jump around Raven Beak so his shots won’t connect. Players can fit in charge shots while falling.

After enough damage, Raven Beak loses its wings and reverts to the attacks it used in the first phase. The same strategies from that phase will work here.

Raven Beak uses two new tricks here: a charge shot and an orb that pulses out waves, doing damage. Metroid Dread players can avoid the charge beam by continuously jumping.

The orb that pulsates waves is, quite frankly, a pain in the neck. A Power Bomb will destroy it, though. Players should honestly use a Power Bomb the moment this orb releases just to avoid dealing with this annoying attack.

After a while, players will have defeated Raven Beak and then be ready to witness the shocking ending to Metroid Dread.