How to fight the Bosses

[RedStarRocket91]

Well, Halo 5: Guardians has been out for a week now, and since the blanket ban on spoilers has now expired, let's have a discussion on defeating the newest antagonist of the series: the Warden Eternal.

 

So, first things first. The Warden has three main attacks: a heavy melee charge, a yellow, fast-moving projectile, and a purple, slow-moving projectile.

 

The heavy melee charge is interesting in that the blade doesn't actually have to hit you in order to inflict damage: instead, you just need to make contact with any part of the Warden's body while the animation is in progress, meaning that even trying to move to his left side doesn't guarantee your safety. However, it is possible to dodge this attack with the thruster pack, even if it does seem to be a little luck-based at times. Your best bet is to try and use the geometry of the level to your advantage, moving around an obstruction rather than just trying to evade in the open.

 

The warden's first ranged attack can be cast even while he's moving, meaning that you won't be able to just try and run away from him if he's chasing you down with his melee. However, it only ever moves in a straight line and while the projectile moves extremely quickly it ultimately does have a travel time, meaning that with quick reflexes and a thruster pack, it's possible to dodge it.

 

Lastly, the warden can summon a large purple orb, which he then casts at the player. Although quite slow-moving, this attack does home in on the player, and so is almost impossible to dodge conventionally: worse, it also deals a huge amount of AoE damage which, unlike most explosions, is capable of injuring players even through cover. Since the projectile always tries to move directly toward the player, regardless of sightlines, it's possible to avoid this by simply putting something solid between yourself and it and standing well back, as it will harmlessly impact the obstruction instead of trying to go around it.

 

Next, the Warden has an extremely large pool of health, and is only susceptible to damage in certain areas - most prominently, the large glowing region on his back, as your AI teammates will be quick to let you know. What they do not let you know, however, is that the good old fashioned headshot still works! Though he cannot be instantly killed by headshots as with most enemies, shooting him in the head does deal damage (though, I believe, at a reduced amount) and can potentially stagger him, allowing you to get around to his back and attack his main weak spot directly. And yes, it is possible to assassinate the Warden with a melee, although this can only be done once he has already been seriously injured.

 

So, with all the above in mind - what are your strategies for engaging the new Warden bosses when they appear throughout the campaign?

[Unease Peanut]

There is a way to skip the Warden through a glitch in the campaign, but that's for sissies.

 

Usually the Warden boss battles come with some power weapons around the battlefield. Explosives are always handy as you don't need to hit him in the back with them, just make sure you hit him.

With the single Wardens use your AI teammates (or real ones) and get his back turned to either one of you so you or your teammates can shoot him. I found that letting the AI do their jobs is alot easier than to try to shoot him yourself as the Warden always seems to go for you instead of the AI. Besides that the AI are a pretty good shot, just don't forget to order them to attack him.

Also, don't forget to clear out the minions first, especially on legendary, since these guys can get quite annoying.

 

When facing multiple Wardens, focus on one at the time. The first time you encounter multiple they're quite far apart so you won't be bothered by the others as much, make sure you're out of sight though as they will still laser/bomb you.

At the final battle where 3 Wardens will come at you in a relatively open arena use the Incineration Cannons that spawn on all walls except for the one you come in at. Use these at one at a time and let your teammates shoot him while he chases after you. The pillars are also a pretty good hideout as he can't seem to get a good shot at you up there.

The last Warden in that arena will spawn in laser turrets which you'll have to deal with first to avoid getting killed. Make your teammates fire at him and distract him while you take down the laser turrets. Wait for the turrest to charge up as their weakpoint will be pointed directly at you during the charge time. Even an legendary you shout be able to bring them down with a Lightrifle before they fire.

 

This is how I dealt with him and I hope it helps you too!

 

Good luck, you'll need it

[Maestro]

Sure, the final Warden battle can be skipped. It's nowhere near as frustrating or satisfying as fighting them legitimately. But if you want a legit yet very difficult fight... bring a Binary Rifle and order your team to go to one pillar while you hide behind the other one. With the Binary Rifle and your team distracting the Wardens, you can bring one or two Wardens down before you run out of ammo.

 

Here's the video I found:

 

[MCPO Mayh3m]

Shotgun/scattershot as primary with a scoped weapon as secondary. Use scoped weapon to pop his head, run behind him and shoot him from behind.

 

I'll go into detail later.

[Mastro Jeffay]

Honestly my personal favorite way to take the Warden out is to damage him enough and finish him off with an assassination.

[RedStarRocket91]

Honestly my personal favorite way to take the Warden out is to damage him enough and finish him off with an assassination.

 

The assassination animation is definitely very cool! I just wish that there was some sort of indicator to show when he actually becomes vulnerable to it - some sort of audio/video cue. Perhaps there is one and I just haven't noticed it, but if so, making it obvious (and thus lettings us more reliably use the assassination) would definitely be appreciated.

[Mastro Jeffay]

As far as I know there is not a set indicator but when you knock him back twice if that even the right terminology that's when I believe is the right time to strike

 

[Axilus Prime]

Heh! Beaten to it before I can even start! Guess that's what I get for being so late to the party that I'm not even there yet. The One's arrival may take a week or more. Still, I fully intend to do walkthroughs for the MCC and H5 like I said before, which obviously will have to contain a response to this question.

 

I didn't know he could be assassinated when damaged enough, but the rest I did already gather simply by watching videos. Hopefully I can contribute a solid method that rarely fails when the time comes.

[Fishy]

As far as I know there is not a set indicator but when you knock him back twice if that even the right terminology that's when I believe is the right time to strike

There is actually, it's when he's vulnerable. He can be at any health, but the assassination is activated when he's vulnerable.

[Lone Genesis]

Playing through the campaign solo on legendary, i've noticed a few strategies to beating the warden. when playing solo especially legendary solo, using your Ais is an ideal strategy. Aggro the Warden and keep him focused on you while constantly marking the Warden as the priority target for the Ais. Since every attack the Warden uses is a one hit KO on legendary its best for you to stay at a medium distance, but close enough that he wants to follow you instead of your Ais. this strategy works well on the first encounter with lockes team and the first encounter with blue team. During the battle with two wardens, aggro only one warden and bring him out to the open area (not the grassy area) in the back which lead to each warden spawn. Kill one and move on to the next.

Lastly the battle with three wardens. Almost every attempt I made during this battle ended in tears. I had to learn the patterns and the way the battle worked before i could win.

Firstly in that battle each warden is restricted to his own zone. 

I chose the warden that stationed himself on the left of the entrance. Aggro him and use the same AI attack routine. If your Ai's aggro the warden immediately shoot his glowing back to get his attention back on you. 

Make sure to limit your time in the open area because the other wardens will attack you and will kill you. Stay alert when you know another warden has a visual on you. He cant charge you with his sword because of his restrictions, but he will use his eye beam and the purple stalker ball of death.

Once you have defeated one Warden, another will come to engage you regardless of your location. Also each time you kill a warden in this battle it will trigger a checkpoint. Once you have defeated the second warden, the third warden will attack and 4 large focus turrets will spawn. the four turrets total cover the entire field so they are top priority, especially on legendary because they can instantly kill you. Make sure the warden is focused on you and order your ais to kill one of the turrets on one side. then do the same for the second one but provide assistance. stay on that one side as the only enemy you will have to worry about is the warden. I personally trained him around the ramp. this strategy also comes with risk because in some areas you are exposed to the other sides focus turrets. i used this strategy if all my ais had been killed and if i had to wait for them to respawn.

[Maestro]

I played through the Battle of Sunaion on Legendary earlier today. And at the very end of the level, there's a Warden who spawns in a bunch of enemies. I fought off the Soldiers and Crawlers and Knights using the Suppressor, Plasma Caster, and a Splinter Turret. But eventually, I ran out of ammo in my Suppressor and Turret! If I tried to use the Caster, the Warden would jump away. If I tried to use the Fuel Rod Cannons close to his spawn, I'd get peppered to death by small weapons' fire before I even grab one.

I eventually found a Carbine up high quite far from the Warden and his lackeys. While it's not as effective as shooting the core on his back, you can pepper him in the face until he dies. But the location where you can find this Carbine also has a magic ammo crate that never runs out of ammo. You have plenty of time to avoid his long-range attacks and unlimited ammo, so you can patiently take him down.