The new leader of the Space Pirates, Sylux puts the events of Metroid Prime 4 into motion and is the main antagonist that Samus has to face off against in this game.
And you will have to face off against him multiple times, each time with Sylux bringing new and more powerful moves to try and defeat you. But you wouldn’t expect Samus to lose these fights, would you? Still, she could probably use a few hints to make her life easier, right?
Obviously there are some progression spoilers within this guide, so at this point, stop reading if you aren’t currently struggling to battle Sylux!
Right… all good? Let’s get on with it.
How to beat Sylux… the first time
In this guide, we’re going to talk about the first encounter with Sylux.
Battling Sylux in Volt Forge, scans give very few clues as to what gear he is using and how best to defeat him.
From a damage perspective, you mainly want to just constantly hit him with Beam Cannon attacks and Missiles. Lock on to target him, and keep firing while strafing and dodging his attacks.
Sylux attack moves and how to avoid them
Sylux will dish out the following attacks:
Run and gun – Sylux runs laterally around the arena while shooting at you. If you’re strafing and moving, this is easy to evade.
Charge attack – Winding up for a melee attack, Sylux mmoves his right arm across his body before leaping forward to deal a short range swipe. While locked on, double-tap B to dodge out of the way at the right time.
Energy wave – Sylux slams the floor and sends an energy wave from his position. Watch for his move and jump over the attack.
Homing darts – Standing still, Sylux creates two sets of three homing darts. If time it right, a charged Power Beam attack can trigger and explode these darts before they fully launch, converting them to health and ammo for you. The darts are otherwise fairly easy to dodge with good timing.
Green tornado – This is the trickiest move. Sylux starts moving around like a spinning top, creating a green field that deflects your attacks until you can break him out of this mode. You need to deal damage to his feet, and the most reliable method I found was to switch to the Morph Ball and place Psychic Bombs while leading him. Getting this timing right is difficult and Sylux can immediately launch back into this attack a couple of times. After hitting him enough times, he will be staggered for a damage phase.
Below 2/3rds health, Sylux will add two more moves to his repertoire:
Flying shot – He hovers and flies around, shooting from above. Similar to Run and Gun.
Energy Rain – Sylux hovers and sends out rings of green energy balls that drop down in a growing radius. Find the gaps between energy balls to evade.
Faster Green Tornado – As before, but his rate of movement is faster and direction changes can be more erratic. Still use the same tactic.
Below 1/3rd health, there’s another new attack:
Energy Beam Swipe – From the middle of the arena, Sylux sends out a solid beam of energy and swipes it across the room. Jump over or ball to avoid.
Defeating Sylux this first time isn’t so bad, and you’re rewarded with an Energy Tank to boost your health going forwards. There’s also a rather odd little surprise. What could that possibly mean?
