You’ve collected all the upgrades, braved the nightmare of Experiment No. Z-57, spent too much time dealing with E.M.M.I.s, and you’re now ready to ascend the elevator to heaven and deal with Raven Beak — only to get decimated within a few seconds. Unfortunately, it happens to the best of us, but don’t worry, we’ve got the quick and dirty guide to clipping this bird’s wings.
Raven Beak has 3 phases. In the first phase, he will start with protective shielding — you cannot harm him except with missiles. We recommend using Storm Missiles, as it’s easy to charge up while dodging his attacks:
- Red Zone – He will raise his arm to the sky and call forth a damaging zone across the entire room except right beside him. Stay close to him to avoid damage, but as soon as it ends, jump in the air — he will attempt to counter attack afterwards.
- Black Hole – He will summon a growing orb of darkness that will chase Samus around the room. Prioritize Storm Missile Barrages to take this out, and you will receive health and missile ammo in return. Usually follows this up with Red Zone.
- Melee Combo – He will claw his way towards Samus, occasionally in a 3-hit combo if Samus is pinned in a corner. Jump and Phase Shift out of harm’s way.
- Dash Attack – He will flash red briefly before dashing and punching Samus in the gut. This attack really hurts, so make sure you jump and Phase Shift out of the way.
Once you deal enough missile damage, he will channel energy across the entire room — except for the very bottom. So use morph Ball down to safety and get ready for a counter opportunity. Once you’ve successfully countered, keep slamming him with Ice Missiles until the sequence ends.
Afterwards, Raven Beak glows orange and can no longer be harmed by missiles. Instead, you need to avoid his attacks until he taunts you. Once he does, walk up to him and prepare to counter him twice in a row, activating another Ice Missile sequence. This should move you into Phase 2, but the strategy is the same — charge Storm Missiles and let him have it.
Raven Beak will grow wings and start to fly around the room, gaining new attack patterns in the process:
- Dive Attack – Raven Beak will swoop around the room and try to divebomb Samus, similar to Ridley in previous Metroid games. Phase Shift is your best tool to avoid this.
- Rapid-Fire – Raven Beak will fire a stream of bullets at Samus. This can be avoided by Space Jumping in a circle around him.
- Charge Beam – Locking onto Samus, Raven Beak will fire a burst of energy. This attack can be avoided with Phase Shift or Space Jump.
Once enough damage has been dealt, Raven Beak will lose a wing, and Phase 3 will start. Phase 3 is similar to Phase 1, except with one extremely deadly attack — the Sun Orb. If you see this, you need to lay down a Power Bomb immediately. Otherwise, you will take a substantial amount of damage.
Once you’ve hit Raven Beak enough times, Phase 4 begins, but it’s less a Phase and more of a cinematic finish — and it’s cool as hell, so I’ll leave that for you to experience. Enjoy the credits, and see you next mission.
