The Last of Us Part 2 is a gritty, realistic game with human stories, consequences for violence, and an exploration of revenge, so there aren’t any over the top boss battles with big health bars or easy exploits. However, there are a few specific foes you encounter in a one on one scenario who pack a much bigger punch than most, and who are much harder to bring down. These are what we’re calling the bosses of The Last of Us Part 2, and here’s how you fight them.
The First Bloater
The first real boss of the game is the one you encounter during a flashback to pick up some guitar strings with Joel. After clearing out some fairly simple enemies in a hotel, you’ll be attacked by a Bloater as you squeeze through a crack in the wall. Here, Ellie has a very limited loadout, so make sure to conserve your bullets rather than firing wildly.
For the most part, Joel will distract the Bloater, although Ellie still needs to damage it for you to win. If you avoid the Bloater’s eyeline and keep peppering it with headshots, the Bloater will eventually grab you in a scripted cutscene. If the Bloater sees you at any point, it will give chase, you just run away until it gets bored and goes after Joel.
The Second Bloater
The next time you face the Bloater is in the arcade, and this time, you’re on your own, kid. You should toss a Molotov as soon as the fight starts - just after you fall through the arcade floor on Day Three - as this does decent damage and gives you time to get cover behind the Bloater. The main thing here is to keep out of sight, but luckily the arcade cabinets offer lots of opportunities for that. If you need them, smoke bombs will help you get away too. As well as the Molotovs, the trip mines are another great trap for the Bloater, especially if you can lure it towards you. As for weaponry, headshots with the pump action shotgun are by far the most powerful attack you have, so make sure that’s your go to.
The Rat King
The Rat King Abby fights on Day Two in the hospital is probably the most well known boss battle in the game. The Rat King is a massive blob of different infected all morphed together into one horrific mess, and there are a few stages to it. The first one is a simple chase, so the only advice is to run. There are a couple of dead ends you can turn into, but for the most part it’s a very linear chase where all you need to do is keep sprinting.
Next, you’ll drop into a room with a flamethrower refill. Hit the Rat King with a short burst of around 25, then use this to get some distance. The Hunter pistol, the machine gun, and the rifle are the best bet for Abby to damage the Rat King, with the flamethrower used in short bursts to help you get away. The game offers you the chance to run down a red corridor, but this is eventually a bit of a dead end, so mainly try and stay in the central area. You should expect to constantly be on the move here, but not always running towards anything or for any cover. Pipe bombs can be useful here too.
Soon, the Rat King splits into two halves. One half is basically the same big Rat King, while the other is a large Stalker who breaks off. Ignore the Stalker, and keep doing the same thing to the main Rat King.
The Stalker disappears for a while, but will eventually burst out at you. Pipe bombs and the rifle are the best bet here, as it’s more the element of surprise and horror this boss brings, and is much less challenging than the Rat King proper.
Abby Vs Tommy
For the most part, you aren’t actually fighting Tommy here, but slowly making your way towards him while he snipes you. The thing is, he’s not really trying to hit you, he’s making noise so the infected attack you. If you stand in the street exposed, he’ll shoot you of course, but even crouching behind cars alone isn’t enough to avoid him. Just concentrate on staying low, following Manny’s instructions, and taking out the infected.
Once you get upstairs, the infected no longer matter, and it’s just Tommy shooting at you. There is no need to shoot at him, as this is a semi-scripted chase scene. Just keep going after him while keeping cover behind the fences and pillars until you catch up to him.
The Last Scar
Abby comes up against a lot of Scars in her journey, but only a handful of them have these boss mechanics. When she faces the Last Scar, while the island burns down, and you can’t win this thing by meeting him head on. Instead, tap L1 to dodge just as he swings at you, then attack with Square. Once you land this hit, the next time, he’ll swing more, meaning you’ll need to tap L1 twice to avoid the incoming blows, before heading back with another few attacks with Square. This then repeats a third time, with three L1 taps needed. After this, there’s a scripted scene where Lev shoots an arrow at the Scar, followed by the Scar falling on top of you. Follow the button prompts here and you’ll finally have this fight over with.
Abby Vs Ellie
The game’s central Seattle storyline ends with a showdown between Ellie and Abby in the theatre. You control Abby, while Ellie stalks around trying to kill you. If you played the first The Last of Us, this is basically a twist on Ellie’s fight with David. Abby must use a thrown bottle (or otherwise make a noise) to lure Ellie, while creeping away and trying to get behind her. Use Listen Mode so that you always know where Ellie is, and make your way slowly around the obstacles to get the drop on her. As soon as you run, Ellie will hear you, so don’t do that unless you’re deliberately trying to lure her over. You’ll need to catch Ellie a couple of times for this boss battle to reach its conclusion.
Ellie Vs Abby
The final boss battle is really all about the narrative, with a wounded Ellie fighting a reluctant Abby. The tactics are very similar to the Last Scar, although this fight is wilder, so the pacing jaunts between frantically fast and methodically slow. While this is the last boss battle, it’s not the hardest, and this really there to show how Ellie has changed with everything the game has taken from her.