===================================== ========Mega Man Xtreme Guide======== ===================================== by Reeve : http://www.megaman-x.com/ : reeve@megaman-x.com ====== Index: ====== 1. Introduction 2. Mode Explanation 3. Boss Weaknesses / Recommended Order 4. Power-Up Uses and Locations 5. Highway stage 6. Snow Mountain stage (Chill Penguin) 7. Power Plant stage (Spark Mandrill) 8. Gallery stage (Armored Armadillo) 9. Robot Junkyard stage (Morph Moth) 10. Central Computer stage (Magna Centipede) 11. Dinosaur Tank stage (Wheel Gator) 12. Sky stage (Storm Eagle) 13. Volcanic Zone stage (Flame Stag) 14. Zain and Geemel Strategies 15. Shadow Hunter base stage 1 16. Shadow Hunter base stage 2 17. Shadow Hunter base stage 3 18. Shadow Hunter base stage 4 19. Secrets and Tips 20. Legal ================ 1. Introduction: ================ Welcome to the official Mega Man X Online guide for Mega Man Xtreme, the first installment in the Gameboy MMX sub-series. Refer to the index above for an easy reference guide, and go to http://www.megaman-x.com/guides/ to find HTML versions of this guide, along with guides for all of the other games in the Mega Man X series. Happy gaming. ==================== 2. Mode Explanation: ==================== There are three modes in Mega Man Xtreme. The first mode is Normal, and includes the first four bosses (Chill Penguin, Flame Stag, Storm Eagle, and Spark Mandrill). The second mode is Hard, and includes the second four bosses (Magna Centipede, Morph Moth, Armored Armadillo, and Wheel Gator). Both modes include the same final levels. The last mode is Extreme, and includes all eight bosses. For the purposes of this walkthrough, I'll assume Xtreme Mode is being used. ======================================= 3. Boss Weaknesses / Recommended Order: ======================================= -Chill Penguin ------ Speed Burner (Stag) -Spark Mandrill ----- Shotgun Ice (Penguin) -Armored Armadillo -- Electric Spark (Mandrill) -Morph Moth --------- Speed Burner (Stag) -Magna Centipede ---- Silk Shot (Moth) -Wheel Gator -------- Magnet Mine (Centipede) -Storm Eagle -------- Spinning Wheel (Gator) -Flame Stag --------- Storm Tornado (Eagle) Note: If playing in Normal Mode, not all of these weapons will be available for some bosses. If so, the X-Buster is the best weapon to use. =============================== 4. Power-Up Uses and Locations: =============================== Power-Up Use Location ------------------------------------------- Leg Upgrade - allows X to wall dash - Found in Chill Penguin's stage. Helmet Upgrade - headbutt some ceilings - Found in Storm Eagle's stage. Arm Upgrade - more powerful X-Buster - Found in Spark Mandrill's stage. Body Upgrade - upgraded defense - Found in Flame Stag's stage. Zero Scramble: Dash - Zero attacks - Found in Armored Armadillo's stage. Zero Scramble: Rising - Zero attacks - Found in Wheel Gator's stage. Zero Scramble: Earth Gaizer - Zero attacks - Found in Morph Moth's stage. Zero Scramble: Final - Zero attacks - Found in Magna Centipede's stage. Heart Tanks - more life added to meter - One per stage Sub-Tanks - life energy reserve - Found in the stages of: Storm Eagle Spark Mandrill Armored Armadillo Magna Centipede ================= 5. Highway Stage: ================= Basically a warm-up for the rest of the game, this stage should be fairly easy. Dispatch your first few enemies through frequent charging of your X-Buster. Before long, you'll find your real threat; a large bee robot. Keep charging your Buster and firing to take it down. A mid-range charge of the Buster is enough to destroy the walker robots that it drops toward you. Eventually it will be destroyed, and you can climb up the wall leading toward the rest of the stage. You'll have one more bee encounter as you progress, but it can be taken down in the same manner. After a bit, you'll reach the stage boss. Vava Strategy ============= Vava (Vile's untranslated name) is a pretty easy boss. Just keep charging your X-Buster and Dash-Jumping over him when he charges at you. A charged Buster shot incurrs a lot of damage to him, so he should go down pretty easily. ========================= 6. Chill Penguin's stage: ========================= At the start of the level, you'll meet the woodcutter enemy. Jump onto the log that he's chopping and jump behind him to defeat him. Moving on you'll find bat robots and some wheel enemies such as the ones from the Opening Stage. After climbing some walls, you'll find the first Light Capsule, the only mandatory one. Leg Upgrade =========== This capsule is in plain sight, and can't be avoided. Moving on, you'll find some more enemies, such as floating robots and an ostrich robot. These are fairly easy to defeat, and after you do so you'll find the Ride Armor. While inside, you're invulnerable, making it fairly easy to breeze through the Ride Armor pilots you face. Just be careful not to go over an edge while in the Ride Armor. Heart Tank ========== At the entrance of the cave is a small platform that sticks up out of the snow. In the Ride Armor, jump up and then out of the Armor, and onto the ceiling of the cave. Use the Speed Burner on the first structure you see, and underneath will be a Heart Tank. The only threat left is the snoball throwers. Some snowballs cascade into much larger snowballs, posing a more significant threat, but they can be jumped over fairly easily. After moving through this area, you'll find yourself at the entrance to the boss. Chill Penguin Strategy ====================== Certainly the Speed Burner is the optimum weapon to use here, as it not only hurts Chill Penguin greatly, but it also debilitates him for a few seconds, stopping his current attack in its tracks. He has four basic attacks. 1. Shotgun Ice - Simply four shots of ice in a row. Cling to the wall to avoid these. 2. Ice Penguins - Partly a shield and partly an attack, Chill Penguin will sometimes form two penguins in front of him made of ice. You can shoot through these to get to him with a few shots. He'll either try to blow these toward you with the Snowstorm, or break them himself by Sliding. Either way, clinging to the wall avoids damage. 3. Sliding - Sometimes unexpected, a slide that moves all across the floor. Staying securely clung to the wall or simply jumping over it works. 4. Snowstorm - A strong gust of snow and wind that blows both X and the Ice Penguins to one side of the room or the other. ========================== 7. Spark Mandrill's stage: ========================== The first part of this stage is a pretty straightforward path of ladders and platforms. The only enemies in this section are the missile launchers, and they can be blasted with only a few charged shots, and dodging their attacks is easy. Eventually you'll come to a place where an option leads downward, and another upward. Sub-Tank ======== If you have the Helmet Upgrade, take the lower path and lean against the wall that you can see the Sub-Tank. Cling to the wall and jump against it to bash the blocks and reach the item. The next area involves total darkness, except for the occasional fly-by of a bug robot that lights the path. Be careful not to fall in any pits here, and you'll safely reach the mini-boss, Thunder Slimer. Dash to avoid getting stuck in the goo he'll drop, and attack him with charged shots when he lands. You can also cling to the wall to attack. Next comes an area full of robots, all over. You might sustain a hit or two here, but your life should be high enough that it won't matter. Heart Tank ========== At one point, you'll see a ladder leading downward and a solid wall on the right side. Climb the wall, and you'll see the Heart Tank. Either use the Boomerang Cutter to grab it, or Dash-Jump off the wall and jerk quickly right to latch onto the ledge. Next comes another dark section. This one is longer, but it isn't much harder. Arm Upgrade =========== When the darkened section is lit, you'll at one point see some blocks above you that can be busted with the headbutt Helmet Upgrade. Bust the blocks and climb up to get the Arm Upgrade. Once you make it safely through this section, you'll find the boss. Spark Mandrill Strategy ====================== The Shotgun Ice makes Spark Mandrill immensely easier. It freezes him in place, making him unable to move. If using it, you can just freeze him over and over while sustaining minimum damage. If using the X-Buster, you need to know how to avoid his three basic attacks. 1. Electric Spark - Two large sparks in either direction running along the ground and walls. Cling to the wall and jump off when the spark comes near, being careful to avoid Spark Mandrill himself as well. 2. Ceiling Climb - Quite frequently, Spark Mandrill will cling to the ceiling and climb across it, readying himself to jump on X when over him. Dash under him to throw off the jump. 3. Dash Punch - Usually directly after the Ceiling Climb, he'll charge, fist out. Cling to the wall instantly directly after dashing under the Ceiling Climb to avoid this attack. Usually you'll have to ready yourself for the Electric Spark as well. ============================= 8. Armored Armadillo's stage: ============================= At the start of the level, there is a wheeled cart. If you take it, you will destroy the enemies in your path, but get flung off when it comes to an abrupt stop at the end, falling down a pit. A well-timed jump can let you soar over the enemies and be fine, sustaining no injuries, but more likely you'll get hit by the ostrich robot. This doesn't do too much damage, and there are plenty of bat robots around to fill up your life gauge, so don't worry. If you want to take the safe path, though, start the wheeled cart and let it go, and blast your way through. Next there will be a small pit for you to go down. Sub-Tank ======== Instead of jumping down, cling to the wall and slide down. Jump back up when you see the rock crusher, and let him go by you, and go into the alchove that he was in. You'll find the Sub-Tank there. Now, try to destroy the robot as quickly as you can. Fire your Buster fast and furiously. It's not important yet, but practice could help for when you actually have to hurt one in time. The award for defeating this one quickly is a few containers of energy, if you have the helmet upgrade. Afterwards, there will be a large section with more wheel, bat, and hard hat robots. These shouldn't be a problem, despite the fact that it goes on for a while. Eventually, you'll come to another wheeled cart. You don't have to fire at all on this one, and it's much easier to time your jump so you don't run into any enemies. Afterwards, there will be another pit, with another rock crusher robot at the bottom. This is the one that is important to defeat quickly. Heart Tank ========== If you destroy him in time, you will be able to climb up a wall with a Heart Tank at the top. For this one you don't need your helmet upgrade. Now there will be a few more bat robots, and yet another wheeled cart. This is the only cart that is absolutely necessary to ride. You can avoid being hit while riding it by firing off two normal shots, or one charged shot, for the short moment that the cart is on level ground right before the first jump. If you get hit, though, it shouldn't matter, since the spike of the cart will wipe out the pickaxe robots and they usually supply you with life. Fire at the birds to bring them down when you're on level ground, and cling to the wall just after the long jump to make your way through to the boss. Zero Scramble: Dash =================== If you cling to the wall and climb up, you'll find a small alchove with a Zero Scramble capsule. This will give you the Zero Scramble: Dash ability. Armored Armadillo Strategy ========================== Armored Armadillo is very difficult using the X-Buster, as most shots simply bounce off of his armor. The Electric Spark is the only weapon that can pierce and rid him of this armor, and he's weak to it afterwards. At this point, it's important to know how to avoid his three basic attacks. 1. Rolling Shield - His most frequent attack, this involves rolling into a ball and bouncing all over the walls of the room rather quickly. Fast footwork is the only way to avoid this. Be ready to dash and cling to walls. 2. Blast Attack - Usually directly after the Rolling Shield, Armored Armadillo will shoot plasma shots from his helmet. He'll continue to do this until he's hit, and then usually go into the Rolling Shield again. Clinging to the wall works, but he'll do it for a very long time if you do this. More recommended is to jump over the blasts and attack him. 3. Guarding - This is his Guarding ability that's debilitated by use of the Electric Spark. ===================== 9. Morph Moth stage: ===================== Your first enemy in this stage is a floating scrap robot. Since he can't really hurt you until you get too close, let him have it from a distance. A simple well-placed charged shot should take out both scrap robots, and inflict some damage on the shielded robot. Heart Tank ========== After you destroy the shielded robots, do a Dash Jump up to the ledge above the entrance to the building. Here you'll find the Heart Tank. There will be a few more scrap robots as you move on, but they're too high to reach. Dash under them to make them drop, then let them have it with a charged blast. Zero Scramble: Earth Gaizer =========================== When you stop walking on shards of junk, and there's an actual floor to the building, use the Spinning Wheel on the ground just before the first uneven floor. It will cut through the ground and reveal the entrance to the capsule. A few more scrap bots in the level. By now you should realize that these are no hard task. Soon, though, you'll find a large heavy-duty rolling robot. Use a charged up X-Buster shot to take down the armor that's surrounding him, and then let him have it with several quick shots. If you take too long, the armor will gather again, and you'll have to start over, so destroy it quickly. Making your way up the ramps, destroy the shield robots by standing slightly lower than them, where you'll be invulnerable. Dash-Jump or Jump-Dash from ramp to ramp until you reach the top. Some more scrap bots and one of the heavy-duty robots will greet you, but you should be able to take them out. Next you'll face the first of two appearances of the miniboss. The Old Robot is being taken over by a small bug, named Paraloid S-38. Hurt the Old Robot by shooting at its chest. When it sinks into the ground, charge your X-Buster, and blast Paraloid S-38 when it comes out. Blast it quickly, or it'll go back into the robot and you'll have to hurt it again to draw out the bug. Next you'll face a small green bug, that can latch onto you. It's best not to let it, but if it does, there's no real harm. It will take control of one aspect of you. It'll either make you dash constantly, jump constantly, or shoot constantly. None of these really do any harm, and it comes off eventually. Once you're rid of that pest, use your height to destroy the head of the floating scrap bot, and move on down the ladder. Skip past the shielded robots, but collect the energy below them. Once you're down the ladder, take the higher path, and blast the bugs with charged X-Buster shots. There will also be a heavy-duty robot here, but you can take him out. Go down the ladder, and try to avoid being caught up by the bugs and heavy-duty robots here. There will be a lot more than usual. Once you go down the ladder, there will be even more bugs, and then Old Robot and Paraloid S-38 once again. Follow the same strategy as you did with the first, and you'll be fine. It's just the same, except that there's a magnetic field keeping you from jumping as high as you normally could. After this, there will be a few more bugs. Take them out as you would any in the level. There will be a cannon robot guarding the door. Take him out using charged blasts from your X-Buster or the Spinning Wheel from Wheel Gator. If you use the X-Buster, be careful when sliding down the wall. Once he's finished, you'll have access to the door to the boss. Morph Moth Strategy =================== The Speed Burner works best to hurt Morph Moth and disable his attacks, but his patterns are basically the same. Being a moth, he transforms from a cocoon to his moth form, and the patterns for each are different. Still, he only has four basic attacks. 1. Silk Shot - Morph Moth will quite often spin his Silk Shot around in circles. It helps to have the Leg Upgrade here. To dodge it completely you have to dash over him, then under him, and so on. 2. Junk Spin - Dropping to the ground, Morph Moth will spin in circles rapidly moving from side to side, throwing junk everywhere. Simply cling to the wall to avoid this. If you get the courage, you can drop to the ground and use a Speed Burner to stop it as well. 3. Moth Dust- In his transformed figure, he'll drop dust as he flys around the room. Usually the very side of the room keeps one safe from this attack, though, which is generally where you should be staying anyway. 4. Laser - When he gets close, he'll probably use his Laser attack, a yellow beam that will head straight for you. Try to generally keep your distance, and otherwise dash under this attack. It's not a very powerful attack, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. ========================== 10. Magna Centipede stage: ========================== The first few enemies in this stage are shielded hovering robots. You might as well get used to beating them now, because you'll have to do it often. Use a small charged shot to get rid of their shield. Once it's gone, you'll have a small time frame to hit them with a simply X-Buster shot before they reform their shield. The other enemy, although them by themselves can't hurt you, are the lights floating around the room. They're yellow circular things, and they try to trace you. Try your best to dodge around them. Dash, Dash-Jump, and know when to stay still. It takes some practice, but it's possible to not get caught at all. If you do get caught, enemies will come down from the ceiling to hurt you. They can be destroyed with a powered-up X-Buster blast. Heart Tank ========== It's best to avoid all the alarms, but if you trip one it shouldn't be too much of a bother. Get on the small rise in the ground just after the alarms, and charge your Speed Burner. Dash Jump to your left and then use your Speed Burner to grab onto the wall, and then climb it into an alchove that will have the Heart Tank. In the next area, large blocks will come down, trying to crush you. These aren't hard to avoid. Just steer clear of them altogether until they stop moving. The purple ones can be destroyed, and sometimes they'll have to be to move on in the level. When there's a narrow entrance way, Dash-Jump to get over a purple block that will be coming straight at you. Failing that, blast it as fast as you can. If it traps you in, you're crushed, and there's nothing you can do about it. Avoid the next batch by simply jumping on the second gray one, and then the next batch after that by simply standing to the side until they're done. There will be one more block that falls, but you can simply stand to the side until it does. Sub-Tank ======== In the area where the last block falls from the ceiling, there is an elevated area just before you come to a pit. It's probably where you were standing to avoid being crushed by the last block. Charge up your Speed Burner and jump as high as you can from the elevated area. Dash Jump from the high point on the left and then use your charged Speed Burner to reach the wall and climb it to get to the Sub-Tank. This is similar to getting the Heart Tank in this stage. Next, you'll face Raider Killer for the first time in this stage. Your first time, he can only use his weakest form. Just dash under him when he jumps up to attack, and then keep firing your charged X-Buster. In the next area, cling to the right wall as you fall. You don't have to slide down it, but stay against it. Once again, there are alarms, and they pose a threat that will hit you later if you let it. Go into the next downward area and take out the enemy clinging to the right wall while very carefully clinging to the left. Don't let yourself drift down too much, or you'll set off the alarm. A carefully timed Dash-Jump from the left wall to the right will let you avoid all the remaining alarms. When you reach the ground floor, the threat caused by the alarms will come to focuss. Blocks will be falling to the ground, whether you set off the alarm or not, but they'll fall much faster if the alarm was set off. Also, there will be a radar following you. Try to not let it catch you. It's reading your strengths and weaknesses, so the next mini-boss can use them against you. There are three separate radars, and the difficulty of the mini-boss will be based on how many of them catch you. If you want to challenge yourself, let all three catch you. Zero Scramble: Final ==================== If you dash along the ground as the blocks are falling, you should make it across to the doorway before it's sealed up by the falling blocks. If you don't make it, there's no way in. Through this way is the most powerful Zero Scramble attack. Once past the blocks, you'll be facing Raider Killer one more time. Charge up your X-Buster and let him have it. It's fairly easy to dodge his shots, as long as you avoided the radar. If you didn't, he'll be faster, but other than that he doesn't have any new features. Dash under him when he jumps, avoiding his triple-shot, and continue to hit him with your X-Buster, jumping over the shots that he tries to lay on you. At this point, alarms will go off, assumedly because you defeated a security measure. This is unavoidable. The floors that are made up of blocks will fall, the large blocks will fall from the ceiling. Basically, all security measures will be on. The best way to get through this is to dash, and Dash-Jump when it's necessary to get over one of the huge blocks. Once through this, you'll find the doorway to the boss. Magna Centipede Strategy ======================== The Silk Shot is almost necessary for this battle, as it disables his Magnet Mine attack. After doing this, keep hitting him with the Silk Shot to bring him down quickly. You'll probably have to cling to the wall often to hit him when he Teleports to higher points. 1. Magnet Mine - Only available until his first hit with a Silk Shot, this attack moves slowly but causes pretty big damage. Make sure you disable it early. 2. Teleport - Disappearing and reappearing somewhere else is a favorite of Magna Centipede, making some shots useless as he'll disappear just before they hit. He'll also often reappear on the ceiling, making it harder to hit him. 3. Spikes - While Teleporting from side to side, Magna Centipede will fire off spikes in several directions. This doesn't cause big damage, and if you're clinging to the wall it usually won't hit. ======================== 11. Wheel Gator's stage: ======================== The first enemy of the stage is a launching pad that fires out flying robots which fly straight forward, potentially harming you. Stand on the ground below the launcher and fire. This will protect you from harm, and destroy it in one fell swoop. Next will be a few robots that look like triceritops. A charged up X-Buster blast will do away with them, so they shouldn't be a large problem. Arm Upgrade =========== After you pass the triceritops robots, but before you go down the pit, climb the right wall. Do a well timed and well placed wall dash (with the assistance of your Leg Upgrade) to the capsule. Moving on, there will be flying platforms for you to stand on as they hover over the spikes. Nothing is required here; just stand on them. Don't jump or dash or anything. Just stand there. After you get out of the dangerous pit, there will be some soldier robots with shields. Hitting them with a charged blast will usually knock the shield out of their hands, at which time you can hit them with another blast (this is especially easy if you have the double shot upgrade you might've just gotten). On the next level down, there are some more triceritops robots. Blast them quickly and move on. Taking the top platform among them can lead to some energy. Next you'll find some riding armor. This model can hover for a short time if you hold the jump button after jumping, and the claws can be charged for a powerful attack. Also, you are invulnerable while inside. The armor isn't invincible, though, so don't let it take too many hits. Go through the next level destroying all the enemies in sight, a task made very easy by your new riding armor, and get out when you get to the ladder. Heart Tank ========== This is one of the hardest Heart Tanks to get, and you may waste a few lives trying. Make sure you have the Arm Upgrade, and the Speed Burner weapon. Get on the higher ground that's near the ladder to the right. Charge up your Speed Burner, and jump. At the highest point in your jump, and immediately follow it by using your charged Speed Burner. It's hard to do, so keep at it if you die. When you get on a platform that rises, you don't have to hit the enemy to the left. He'll miss you no matter what, but hitting him can be made a bit of a sport. Dash to the right off of the platform before you run into the spikes. When you get on the other platform, rapid fire your X-Buster to destroy the flying robots that will try to run into you. Destroy the next shielded soldier robot, and get on the platform. Again, you don't have to destroy the robots here, since they'll miss, but you might want to for fun. If you ride the platform all the way to the top, you can get an extra life, but to progress in the level you have to get off when it comes to the first exit on the left. Shadow Hunter Entrance ====================== Riding all the way to the top with the platform leads to a life and the Shadow Hunter Entrance. Geemel will be occupying this area, and you'll have to defeat him. Move on to find another shielded robot, who should be easy by now, and a launcher robot. For this one, there's no lower ground to stand on, so you have to charge up your Buster to hit it, and jump over or blast the flying robots it launches. You can also simply Dash-Jump past the pesky thing, but that's not half as fun. Fight your way through some triceritops and other assorted random enemy robots, and do a Dash-Jump off the edge of the tank, and hold right. If you do it right, you'll land in a safe place in a small alchove between two launcher robots. Destroy them both to get them out of your hair, or over and over to charge up your Sub-Tanks. Also, to the right is a small cache of energy. Once you're ready, go down the left path and down the chasm, sliding down the wall. Don't go all the way down, or the robot will hurt you. Charge up your X-Buster, and wait till it fires the top cannon. Slide down a little and let him have it while the other cannon is firing. There isn't a big difference between the two, so be very careful. In the future, the Spinning Blade from Wheel Gator is the best method to use on these, but seeing as you're going to fight Wheel Gator now, you probably don't have it yet. Wheel Gator Strategy ==================== Wheel Gator takes a while to beat, mainly because he usually isn't able to be attacked. He'll be either under the red liquid that fills his room, or occassionally he'll become temporarily invulnerable right before he charges and while charging. Despite this, he's not that hard. Just lengthy. Hit him with the Magnet Mine or your X-Buster when you get the chance, and spend the rest of the time dodging his four basic attacks. 1. Spinning Blade - When he dives, cling to the wall and stay there. One Spinning Blade will come. Dash-Jump off the wall when it gets near to avoid it. Then cling to the wall again, and follow the same strategy to avoid the second Spinning Blade. Then prepare for his Chomp attack. 2. Dive - This isn't really an attack as much as it is a strategic move. This is where the Spinning Blade and Chomp will come from. 3. Chomp - After Diving and using two Spinning Blades, Wheel Gator will suddenly pop out of the water towards you trying to Chomp you. This will slowly drain some life before he lets you go. To avoid this, simply stay at the highest point possible on the wall. 4. Charge - When you see Wheel Gator change colors, he's about to Charge. This means he will spin fast and approach you quickly. Just get out of the way as fast as you can by clinging to the wall, as there's no way to stop this attack as there is in Mega Man X2. ======================== 12. Storm Eagle's stage: ======================== The most prevalent danger in Storm Eagle's stage is the falling hazard. Be careful. As you progress through the level, you'll find some floating platforms with robots. These are easily destroyed with charged shots. Heart Tank ========== When the conveyor belt platform reaches the highest point of the far left, do a Dash-Jump to the left. You'll reach the top of the building with the Heart Tank. Moving on, you'll find cannons posing a threat to you. Some will be on the ground, and later some will be on floating platforms. Blast them with powered Buster shots and move on. Sub-Tank ======== From the first platform, you can go left instead of right, which leads to a glass tower. Blast a hole in the wall and move to the middle of it. The Sub-Tank lies there. Grab it and go right to continue. You'll next find some spitfire robots, but they should be far enough away that they don't pose any threat to you. Simply be patient and destroy them one by one. After this, you'll be on safe ground once again, and be faced with a very tall tower. Climb it to move on. Helmet Upgrade ============== Dash-Jumping off the right side of the tall tower will land you near some explosive gas tanks. Blast them to open the way to the capsule. After moving through some more of the usual enemies, you'll come to the gunship with some heavy-duty cannons. Still, they shouldn't be a problem, especially as you can easily hide under them through the provided lower ground. After this, you'll find yourself at the boss. Storm Eagle Strategy ==================== Whether using the Spinning Wheel or the X-Buster, the strategy is basically the same. The advantage of using the Spinning Wheel is that it takes off more damage per hit, and it fires underneath his Storm Tornado when he's attacking with it. He has four basic attacks. 1. Storm Wind - A steady stream of wind intended to push you off the ledge. Dashing forward is just about the only way to avoid being blown off. 2. Storm Tornado - A gust attack that fires off one visible tornado. Also intended to blow you off the ledge, but dashing isn't needed for as long as it is to avoid the Storm Wind. 3. Diving - Moving out of range, he dives from the left or right repeatedly. Since there's no way to know which side he'll dash from, dashing from side to side works well to avoid both. 4. Egg - Storm Eagle will occassionally fire off an egg and small eagles will come out. If you destroy the egg or the small eagles early, it's not a problem. Otherwise, you have to try your best to jump over the small eagles. ======================= 13. Flame Stag's stage: ======================= The first "enemy" of the stage is a beetle that will clash into the walls. He's not really an enemy, though, since he's really placed there to help you. Climb on the wall in front of the weak-looking wall. Have the beetle destroy that one by dodging as he comes in to strike you. Now you can go in and collect the energy there. Charge your X-Buster to take out the robots clinging to the walls without having to get too close. Once you reach a point with a steep incline, lava will start to rise. Climb up the walls as fast as you can. Heart Tank ========== At one point in the wall climbing, you'll see the Heart Tank in plain view, blocked by a barrier robot. Blast it with your charged up X-Buster or with a special weapon like the Spinning Wheel quickly, collect the Heart Tank, and get out before you give the lava a chance to rise too much. When you exit the cave, there will be some energy to the left that you can collect, but don't do it as the lava is spurting upwards, or you'll be hurt badly. Move on to the right. A few well-timed Dash-Jumps will get you past the pillars that will fall when you step on them, and there will be another area with another beetle, and inside is another cave. Body Upgrade ============ From the entrance to the cave, Dash-Jump off the edge to the right, and you'll find yourself in a small alchove with the Light Capsule. Shadow Hunter Entrance ====================== Also from the entrance to the cave, Dash-Jump straight upwards to get the boost you need to latch onto the side of the wall. Then go right to find the Shadow Hunter Entrance. You'll have to battle Zain here. After collecting the capsule and beating Zain, Dash-Jump to get past the pillars. You'll be facing another steep incline, and in this one there are gas leaks everywhere, and small robots setting those leaks on fire. Charge your X-Buster. The larger blast will take them out easier than an uncharged blast. It is, of course, unnecessary, but having the Leg Upgrade makes it easier to get from corner to corner in this cave. Once out of the cave, you'll find the door to the boss. Flame Stag Strategy =================== Flame Stag is one of the easiest bosses of the game, especially if using the Storm Tornado. All you really have to do is keep letting him have it while dodging his four basic attacks. 1. Speed Burner - Fire surrounds Flame Stag as he charges toward you. If you simply cling to the wall when you see this coming, you'll be fine. It's usually followed immediately by the Wall Climb. 2. Fireballs - His most common attack, this is when he fires fireballs in pairs, one high, and one low, and then repeats. If you're close the high one poses a threat, so dash under it or climb the wall to avoid it. The lower one is no problem at all, as you can simply jump over it. 3. Wall Climb - Quite often Flame Stag will suddenly start jumping from wall to wall. As long as you're not on the walls, however, this isn't a problem. Be prepared to hit him with your weapon as soon as he comes down, though, so he doesn't dash straight into you. 4. Blue Fire - Once he reaches half of his lifebar, his fireballs will turn blue, making him stronger and faster. Follow the same strategies you always had been, but be prepared to do them faster than before. =============================== 14. Zain and Geemel Strategies: =============================== In Normal Mode you'll face Zain, and in Hard Mode you'll face Geemel. In Extreme Mode you'll be facing them both. Below is a strategy for each. Zain Strategy ============= Zain isn't that tough as long as you know how to exploit his patterns. Equip the Shotgun Ice or just charge your X-Buster. He will first jump into the air and try to hit you with his sword. Dash under him and hit his back with your weapon, and prepare to do it again. After he's done this twice, he'll jump into the air, preparing to do a spinning blade attack when he lands. Just climb on the wall when he does that, and be prepared to jump back down again and repeat the process of hitting him in the back when he stops spinning. Geemel Strategy =============== This battle with Geemel is pretty easy, although the later one will be tougher. Just jump over his spinning weapon while using the Speed Burner or charged Buster shots, and keep moving to avoid getting hit when he teleports. He'll go down. =============================== 15. Shadow Hunter base stage 1: =============================== The first of the Sigma's Base stages isn't all that hard, especially since now you should be versed inhow to beat all of the normal enemies. When first entering, there will be some turtle and flying spikeenemies, but these shouldn't be a problem. As usual, there's plenty of room for fighting the turtles. Once you get to a giant pit with some hovering pads, it helps to charge up your Rolling Shield and use it. This will protect you from any flying spike enemies that try to hurt you as you jump from platform to platform. If you don't have the Arm Upgrade that allows you to do this, simply charge up your Buster before moving on every time so you can kill them quickly. Next there will be an area a lot of enemies. Mounted guns, turtles, walkers, flying spikes, missle launchers, you name it. You might get hit a few times, but as long as you make it up the ladder at the end alive, it won't matter. Charge up your Buster to destroy the walkers quickly, and keep moving up the ladders. Now if you're playing Normal, you'll face Zain. If you're playing Hard, you'll face Geemel. If you're playing Xtreme, you'll face them both in a row. Zain Strategy ============= Zain was easy the first time, and nothing really changes. The only difference between this and the first time you battled him is that this time when he does his spinning attack, it can be anywhere in the room, not just in the middle. It's still just as easy to avoid, and just as easy to defeat him. Geemel Strategy =============== Geemel is a bit tougher here. He'll employ the exact same strategies at first, but once he gets down to about half life, he'll go into the air and attack from there. You'll have to climb the walls to use your weapon against him here, but as long as you avoid his swooping attacks and keep firing with your Speed Burner or charged X-Buster, he won't be too hard. Now there will be some ball-and-chain robots, and a few that will fire at you if you cross their lasers while they are red. Charging your X-Buster up to full and letting the ball-and-chain robots have it will kill them in one hit. Other than that, jump over the springs that try to run you into the lasers. If you do cross in front of them, dodging the fire isn't that hard. Next you'll reach an area that you climb up a wall for a long time. Charge up your Rolling Shield weapon and use it to avoid the other enemies. Next there will be quite a few spiked robots, hardhats, and spiked wheels in this next area. You can blast them away pretty easily, or you can get through extremely easily by simply charging up your Rolling Shield once again. It destroys all the enemies in this area, keeping you completely safe. Just make sure you only walk up to the hardhats when they aren't shielded. Either that, or just dash past them. Once you're through here, you've made it to the boss. Spider Strategy =============== The boss of this level is a robotic spider. There are four poles lined up on the wall, and he will make his web out of that, forming bars between the poles to walk on. He'll come down to your level, randomly, and expose his weak spot for a moment. The more he's hit, the faster he'll come down, increasing your chances of being hit by him, which takes away the small window of time when he's vulnerable. He'll also sometimes fire four small spiders down to ground level with you. Dash-Jump over these when you can, or fire at them with a charged up X-Buster shot or your Shotgun Ice. The Shotgun Ice is the spider's weakness, but a charged X-Buster shot will do well too. Dash from one side to the other to throw him off, and stop when you're getting an idea of which side he's going to stay on. Sometimes he'll only make the bars appear on one side, making where he'll go very predictable. In this case, go to the side the bars aren't on and wait to fire at him. He's only vulnerable when his red eye is showing, so hit him fast. =============================== 16. Shadow Hunter base stage 2: =============================== This stage really shouldn't be hard for you in terms of enemies. If you've come this far, you know how to deal with these robots. There will be some shielded robots, but as usual, you can be lower than them, severely rupturing any chance of damage they could inflict on you. After battling through a few of those and a bug or two, you'll find an area too small for you to fit through with some energy and an extra life inside. After you climb the wall, you'll find one of the trickiest parts of the stage. Not so much in that it's hard, but it's repetitive and annoying. There will be a platform. Every time you jump on it, it will go a different direction. To get it to go where you want it to, you have to jump pretty fast sometimes. The first one is practice for some much harder ones later in the stage. After you get through that area, there will be a triceritops robot and a shielded robot towards the ground. You could use your Speed Burner to get past the spikes and get the energy, but it's not worth it, especially seeing as you probably should've filled up your Sub-Tanks before you came here. If you didn't, taking a risk like that is tempting, but definately not worth the threat of dying. After all, what good would the Sub-Tanks be then? Now you get to the really hard platforms. I'll let you figure out these little puzzles, as detailed directions would be extremely involved, and probably wouldn't make much sense. Just remember to jump quickly when you need to, and that the platform can sometimes go through small spaces. You can use this platform to reach the high ladder in the next area, which holds an extra life, some energy, and a few other important things (see the Secrets and Tips section). When you take the down ladder, you face a cannon robot. Take him out with the Spinning Wheel, and Dash Jump over the spikes. Clinging to the walls will help you get over the next set of spikes. Destroy the shielded solider robot that's facing the wrong direction. Destroy the robots being launched, and the flying bug near the spikes. Charge up your Speed Burner and use it and your Dash Jump to get over the spikes. Keep repeating this process until you reach the doorway to the boss. Serges Strategy =============== Serges very easy if you know how to take him down, especially if you got the Shotokan capsule earlier in this stage. Use the Haduken or charged Buster shot on each of the four cannons at the front of his tank. Once this is taken care of, stay in the farthest floating platform and charge your Buster. Release it with a charged shot or Haduken when the time is right. The timing is tricky, but with a little practice you can get it. =============================== 17. Shadow Hunter base stage 3: =============================== After climbing a few platforms with a few simple enemies, you'll find yourself facing off against the bosses of the game again. Since the placement for these bosses differs for each mode, drawing a map is pretty hard, but the directions can be simple. In Normal Mode, clockwise from your entrance is Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, Flame Stag, and Spark Mandrill. In Hard Mode, clockwise from your entrance is Armored Armadillo, Wheel Gator, Magna Centipede, and Morph Moth. And in Xtreme Mode,there is a combination of both, having (again clockwise from your entrance) Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, Armored Armadillo, Wheel Gator, Magna Centipede, Morph Moth, Flame Stag, and Spark Mandrill. Once you're done with these bosses, you'll be facing off against Sigma. Sigma Strategy ============== The Electric Spark is the best weapon to use here, but your X-Buster works just as well; it just takes a bit longer. His patterns are rather predictable, and he's therefore very easy. Use the Electric Spark weapon, and cling to the left wall, staying at the very top, as far as you can go. Sigma will jump from wall to wall, getting higher and higher, trying to hit you. Fall when he's just jumped from right below you, and fire off your Electric Spark. Sometimes you should also consider charging it. It will hit him on the way back, and he'll start coming down. You can stay on the ground if it looks safe, or cling to the wall if he looks like he'll run into you (the second is the more likely of the two). Either way, cling to the wall before or just after he comes back to the ground and repeat the process. Keep doing this over and over again until he's gone. If you don't exploit his pattern like this he has an attack that he fires rapidly from his head, but this is the best way. =============================== 18. Shadow Hunter base stage 4: =============================== This last stage isn't even really a stage; just one boss battle with Sigma's final form. Wolf-Machine Strategy (3rd Boss) ================================ All four Sub-Tanks should be conserved for this fight if possible. His weakness is the most unwieldy of the weapons, the Rolling Shield. And charging it does no good. All of his attacks penetrate the shield. When the wolf head's eyes light up, he'll soon do one of two attacks. The best method for both of these is to get far to one side of the screen, and adjust your actions according to which it is. It also helps to know his four basic attacks, and how to avoid them. 1. Head Attack #1: Electricity - Balls of electric energy will spew out at an alarming rate, all the way across the screen. There's only one safe spot for this, on the claws (discussed later). If you aren't on the claws, though, you're not doomed; you just have to work harder. Dash just after you see the one right in front of you touch down. It takes a bit of practice, but you can dodge them completely this way. 2. Head Attack #2: Fire - Unlike the individual balls of electricity in Head Attack #1, his second attack is a giant wall of fire, that also moves across the entire screen. You can't simply dash through this. Remember getting to one side of the screen? Stay there. Distract the electric shocks coming from the claws by going a little off the edge of the screen, waiting for them to shake (meaning they're about to do one of their two attacks), and moving over to the far side of the screen as you were before. This should keep you safe. While it requires practice, it doesn't require as much as it does to withstand Head Attack #1. 3. Claw Attack #1: Electricity. When you see the claw shake, get out from under it, or off of it if you're on top of a claw. It is possible to be on top of a claw and not be hit by this, if you're on the very edge, but it's pretty hard to do, and jumping off is a safer bet. 4. Claw Attack #2: Scratch. The second claw attack is the one that is necessary to the completion of the game. After it shakes, it will come down on you. Dash out of its way quickly. But it will remain on the ground for a moment, and that's your opportunity. Jump on top of the claw to rise high enough to hit Sigma's head with the Rolling Shield. If you feel brave, you can try to climb up the side walls, dodging the claws that come so close to them, and get to his head that way. This is dangerous, however, and I don't recommend it for beginners. Don't be afraid to use your Sub-Tanks; you're not conserving them for anything anymore. After enough pelting he'll be down for the count, and you'll earn yourself the ending to the game. Enjoy. ===================== 19. Secrets and Tips: ===================== 1. Easy Sub-Tank Fill - To quickly and easily fill up your Sub-Tanks, go to Armored Armadillo's stage after you have beaten him, and once you have the Arm Upgrade. At the beginning of the stage, power up the Rolling Shield weapon and use it to have the shield surround you. Now run up and down the downward at the beginning of the level. The bats will die when you hit them with your powered up Rolling Shield, rendering you invulnerable, and they drop life frequently. This will quickly fill up your Sub-Tanks to full in only a minute or two. 2. Shotokan Capsule - The Shotokan Capsule will give you both the Haduken move from MMX1 and the Shuryuken move from MMX2. To get it, go to the second Shadow Hunter stage. At one point there will be two ladders. One will lead downward into the rest of the stage. The other will lead upward. Take the upward ladder by manuevering the floating platform toward it. Once up there, use the Dash-Jumps and wall clings until you come to a complicated set of spikes. Charge your Speed Burner weapon and Dash Jump toward the spikes, then turn around quickly and let loose the charged Speed Burner. You should be safe now, so cling to the wall and let it lead down to the capsule. Remember that the capsule will only appear if you've gotten all the items and upgrades available to you, whether it be Normal, Hard, or Extreme mode. ========== 20. Legal: ========== This guide must always be shown in full form with credit given to the author, and a link and credit must be given to Mega Man X Online (http://www.megaman-x.com/). All associated characters and games are copyright to Capcom.