Remnant 2 | How to beat Annihilation, the Final Boss

The final boss of Remnant 2 is Annihilation, a two-phase fights that’s noticeably tougher than anything you will have faced before it. It’s so tough that we recommend facing it solo, as the increased HP in co-op makes it incredibly hard. You’ll face it in Root Earth after surviving a gauntlet of bosses and Root hounds, and it will take everything you have. Read on for our guide to beating Annihilation, the final boss of Remnant 2.

The boss arena – phase one

You’ll face Annihilation initially in a large space with a glowing red hole in the centre. There are glowing circles all around the floor which will explode if you stay in them too long – so don’t. Other than that, there’s nothing remarkable about the space – oh, and there’s absolutely no cover.

Annihilation’s attacks – phase one

The boss resembles a massive Root dragon and will spend the entirety of phase one airborne. He’s massive, sure, but also hard to target because he often swoops above you. He has a ton of different attacks, and learning the tells is essential. There are so many, we’ve listed them below:

Sword slam: Annihilation will bring his huge sowrd down on the ground, dealing massive damage. It’s quite easy to dodge, but it can catch you by surprise because he sometimes initiates it from som distance away, which is disorienting.

Sword drag: Holding the hilt two-handed, he’ll drag the sword through the ground towards you. It does massive damage and can stagger or knowck you down, so time it right and dodge it.

Energy pulse: Immediately after the sword drag he will always, without fail, trigger a red energy pulse, There’s a high-pitched noise accompanying it, so dodge when you hear it. You may not see it, as he’ll usually be behind you after the sword drag.

Sword thrust: Annihilation will raise his sword and plunge it into the ground, dealing huge AoE damage and knocking you down. He does this twice.

Root grab: He’ll either follow the sword thrust with a root grab or a barrage of energy rings. If it’s the root grab, you’ll know because he will twist his sword in the ground. Roots will burst up where you are and you must dodge at the precise moment, or else mash the prompted button to break free.

Double sword sweep: After the root grab he’ll follow up with a combo of one sweep, and then a second which always has a moment of hang, making it super hard to dodge.

Energy rings: Sometimes after the Sword thrust, he’ll conjure a load of glowing energy rings. They’ll pusle for a while, and you need to destroy them. After e few moments they’ll glow and fly towards you, which is enough to one-shot you even if you’re running 160 health and 115 armour.

You must learn to dodge these attacks if you want to survive phase one. There are few things you can do to counter him, except keep shooting between his attacks. On Survivor mode he isn’t a bullet sponge, but his damage output is no joke. Keep shooting his head, which is his weak spot. He doesn’t give you much time to heal or reload. Any items you can equip that speed up consumable use are essential, and bring ammo packs with you as it’s very hard to scoop up pickups during the fight.

The boss arena – phase two

Phase two of this fight is a nightmare. Not only are you locked in a much, much smaller space, but the layout and aesthetic are incredibly disorienting. There are constant flashing lights, and you can be afflicted with Malware, which disrupts your vision and restricts skill and mod use.

Annihilation’s attacks – phase two

As with phase one, he will begin with a sword slam. It will flash red where the sword is going, so dodge as soon as it does. You’ll have a split second to move after transitioning to the new arena. It will be followed by a sweep of his sword across the screen, preceeded by a high-pitched sword schwing to help you dodge.

When he raises up and the ground flashes yellow, dodge instantly, or you’ll be staggered or knocked down and take a massive hit of the Malware Blight. He usually follows with another sword sweep, and then a grid of red crosses will appear. Duck under this as it zooms towards you. Keep shooting his head, and he’ll begin to glitch.

Now when he attacks the arena will shift back to phase one, and his sword sweep will become the Double Sword Sweep. You must be quick to dodge here. From now through the fight, he will glitch back and forth between arenas, always right as he attacks, so learning the pattern is essential to survival. Eventually in the phase two arena he will raise up and conjure a load of glowing energy rings. You must destroy these before focusing on him, as they will explode and kill you instantly.

Now repeat the dodges and only fire when you’re clear to. Healing and reloading are incredibly risky in this fight, so try not to get caught mid-heal.

The boss arena – phase three

Phase three isn’t a full phase. Annihilation will come back to life for one last scare, and all you need to do is avoid the Root hounds and stay alive. He has no health bar here, so just ride it out until the cutscene kicks in.

Well done, you’ve beaten Annihilation, the final boss of Remnant 2. Collect your Broken Compass (for the Explorer Archetype), Forgotten Memory crafting material, and Scholar Trait card, which increases experience gained.

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WANT TO FIND MORE ARCHETYPES? CLICK HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE GUIDE

Why not check out our other Remnant 2 guides:

Remnant 2 | How long to beat
Remnant 2 | How to play online
Remnant 2 | How to use Mutators
Remnant 2 | How to unlock a second Archetype
Remnant 2 | How to upgrade weapons
Remnant 2 | How to unlock the Ward 13 Safe
Remnant 2 | How to unlock the Losomn Asylum safe