Metroid Dread Raven Beak
Image: Nintendo Life

This is it, the final epic showdown of Metroid Dread and hooooboy, it's a tough one. Raven Beak is a fast and powerful opponent with hard-hitting attacks who can cover the full battle arena very quickly, so going into this one prepare to have your Flash Shift and Space Jump skills tested to the max.

There are three very definite phases to this fight, the first of which will give you a decent grounding in timings and how to defend against moves that make a reappearance in the final phase. Phase two is the real kicker here though, with a whole new set of problems that will only be remedied with good old-fashioned practice.

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Buckle up and let's jump in and find out how to take this bird-brained bad boy down.

Metroid Dread Raven Beak Final Boss Battle Strategy

Raven Beak: Phase One

Coming into this first phase can be a little overwhelming as Raven Beak moves quickly and has quite a few moves that he's not shy about using. The first thing to look out for are his charging attacks, signalled by a reddish glow and shoulder drop, you do not want to get hit by these or forced into the corner as he'll trap you and give you a combo of hard hits that do a good amount of damage. We want to keep our distance here, always be ready to juggle yourself up into the air, spinning and dodging from one side of the arena to the other.

As much as keeping your distance gives you the time to fire off your missiles and get damage in, you also need to be ready for a laser attack that Raven Beak unfolds in a huge arc that comes down over the entire arena. We've pictured it below and as soon as you see this starting you need to get right in close to him, give him two shots of your launcher and then very quickly dodge back as his move ends, dodge back as far as you can and wall jump up into the air for good measure so he can't follow you with a charge attack.

Metroid Dread Raven Beak
Image: Nintendo Life

The next move we need to look out for is a black orb that he shoots in your direction. This thing does big damage if it connects but it moves slowly and is most important as a means of refilling your missiles, shoot it four times to burst it open and grab some restocks.

What we really want to look out for in this phase is a huge laser sonic boom that he'll wind up so you know it's coming, when you see this incoming quickly get yourself into a morph ball to avoid it and Raven Beak will then come charging in for an attack that you can parry - watch for that golden glint - and get a massive shot in at his head that grants you rockets and health refills.

Once you've done this, Raven Claw will begin to glow gold and resume his normal patterns of attack, keep getting your missile shots in on him and he'll eventually stop and laugh and beckon you forward with his hand. Run at him and prepare to counter not once but twice, which will now send you into a pretty cool mini cutscene where you both go at it, resulting in Samus busting off a bit of his armour. It's now time for phase two.

Metroid Dread Raven Beak
Image: Nintendo Life

Raven Beak: Phase Two

Raven Beak has got wings now and things are going to get a little more tricky.

This phase is all about a 360-degree machinegun attack that Raven Claw performs from the air. If you're going to get through this part of the scrap you need to be able to use your space jumps and dashes proficiently to avoid this attack by keeping ahead of his weapon's fire as you circle around him in the air and then onto the ground. As soon as you hit the ground during this attack, blast him with your regular laser fire a few times then prepare to circle round again, you don't have time for missiles, just get three hits in and go again. It takes a bit of getting used to, we had to reload this fight plenty of times to get the hang of it but, once you have this part of phase two down the rest is actually fairly easy.

Besides the machinegun attack you have a ground pound which is easy to avoid and well signalled, as soon as you see it coming dash back as much as you can, and a sideways dashing attack which you need to slide under. Raven Claw will also fire off a great big laser but this is easy to bait in order to get it to hit where you're stood as it winds up and then dodge at the last second so it misses. All of these attacks give you plenty of time to fire off a salvo of missiles when you dodge them properly so this is the time during this phase that you're going to do him real damage.

Once you've damaged Raven Claw enough here, snapping off one of his wings, he'll be returned to the ground for the final phase.

Metroid Dread Raven Beak
Image: Nintendo Life

Raven Beak: Phase Three

This is it, don't get scared now! The final phase of this fight incorporates all of the moves from the first phase - there is no more air machinegun, thankfully - and adds a massive laser blast which is easy to bait by jumping into the air so he shoots high while you drop down and blast him with missiles. The other addition and the most important element to your survival here is a huge golden orb that Raven Claw will fire out. When you see this orb turn to Morph Ball and let rip with a Power Bomb. This will shatter the orb and gives you ammo and health stocks!

There's no real secret to phase three beyond repeating what you already know from phase one, watching out for that new laser attack and exploding the golden orb with a powerbomb every time it appears. Once you've dealt with the orb a handful of times you'll enter the final cutscene. Congratulations, you've defeated Raven Claw. Well...sort of...there's a little bit of extra to come after this main battle but nothing that needs a guide so we won't be spoiling it for you. Enjoy the game's final moments and well done!

This guide is part of our Metroid Dread walkthrough and guide series, which includes all ability locations, all missile tank locations, all energy tank locations, all energy parts, all suit upgrades, all power bomb tanks, plus every compatible amiibo unlock, E.M.M.I. and boss battle tips, and other helpful tips to help you get through the game and get those post-game unlocks.