Visions of Mana: How to beat the Fullmetal Hugger boss

Deep within the Luka Ruins of Visions of Mana, the Fullmetal Hugger boss awaits players. A gigantic armored crab, it has deadly, hard-hitting claws, and a powerful eye laser that can catch you off guard. However, you also have a new party member in the form of Palamena. If you aren’t careful, this crab will completely ruin your day, and Nicollo will remain imprisoned, all due to the machinations of one greedy diplomat.

Between the powers of your party and the helpful Hinna, it won’t be too hard to overcome the Fullmetal Hugger boss in Visions of Mana. If you need to know its weak points and weaknesses, look no further. Like the Mantis Ant, this boss is large, but it’s not impossible to beat.

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Tips on defeating the Fullmetal Hugger boss in Visions of Mana

The weaknesses and strengths of the Fullmetal Hugger (Image via Square Enix)

Fullmetal Hugger is a level 13 Aquatic boss that hides in the Luka Ruins. Despite being an Aquatic boss like the Kraken, they have decidedly different weaknesses. It’s weak to Smashing damage and Dark Magic, and completely Immune to Holy Magic. Everything else is on the table.

However, if you’ve taken the time to explore the game, and fight optional foes like Nemeses, you should have access to the Dark Sabre spell, so equip it to Val.

There are several ways to tackle this fight, but we went with Val (Rune Fencer), Morley (Nightblade), and Palamena (Grand Diviner). This party gives a wide array of AOE attacks, CC (time slow due to Luna Globe), and overall solid damage.

Early on, watch for its huge, swiping claw attacks, because they can do serious damage to your party. With enough heavy attacks, you can interrupt these, briefly stunning the boss.

It’s also not immune to the Luna Globe’s slowing powers, so having that on one of your characters can make the Fullmetal Hugger fight easier in Visions of Mana. The boss can also spit huge water bubbles that should be avoided.

Using the Sylphid Elemental Break can be a real boon in fights like this (Image via Square Enix)

Morley gives you a hint mid-battle if you’re paying attention, where the bosses’ weak point is: Its eyes. Get nice and close with Val’s bludgeoning great swords, and hammer away at those eyes. Around 70%, the boss will climb the wall and try to drop down on you — but it lands on its back. Take this time to hammer away at it. It will also likely heal its eyes around this point, so resume smashing them.

Fullmetal Hugger introduces an AOE smash attack at this point in the Visions of Mana boss fight. It also starts using its laser eyes, which he spins around in a circle to try and hit everyone. If you have an Elemental Break stored with Val, this is a great time to use Sylphid’s magic. It’s a giant whirlwind attack that constantly deals damage.

The boss has no further special attacks to worry about — just hit him in the eyes or body as you can, and wait for him to be defeated. Success nets you 1,100 Lucre, 6,150 EXP, and a Fullmetal Hugger Corestone.

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Visions of Mana releases on August 29, 2024, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC storefronts.