The second level of Ghostrunner 2 is dedicated to bringing down a foe who is faster and more powerful than protagonist Jack, but if that doesn’t scratch the tough boss itch, the Avatar you’ll encounter in Chapter 6, “You Shouldn’t Have Peeked,” will likely leave you a little more impressed. Here’s how to complete the level and beat Rahu, the Avatar in Ghostrunner 2.
Falling With Style
Once you’ve hacked into the cybervoid, whatever that is, your first objectives will be to “Defeat Avatar’s Security” and “Scout the Surroundings.” Ignore the second one because it’ll happen organically as you move through the level. Focus instead on taking down the floating enemies in this first section. Ghostrunner 2 throws you into the action at this point as you spawn into an arena consisting of a bunch of detached platforms floating in a circle. On each of these, you’ll see a red… person, I guess, floating rhythmically. They actually look a bit like the enemies you encounter in SUPERHOT. Your goal is to bring these foes down; each one you kill deals a substantial amount of damage to the Avatar’s health bar.
They’ll start off the fight by blasting dozens of red beams in your direction. While they move fairly slowly, there are a lot of them so make sure you’re constantly checking behind for any that may sneak up on you. These red dudes go down a single hit, so the real challenge of this section is traversal. While you can simply jump from platform to platform, this makes dodging projectiles much harder. You have a few options to speed up your movement. The first is to hit an enemy with a shuriken, stunning them and granting you a grapple point. Use your gap jammer to zip straight to your target and bring it down. This is great for getting out of a pinch or redirecting your momentum, but since you’ll need to wait for the shuriken’s energy to recharge, I recommend using the portals on the back of each platform.
Related: Ghostrunner 2 Release Date Reveal Makes October Even Busier
Jumping through one of these portals will take Jack to the corresponding platform on the opposite end of the arena. It’s a great way to close the gap on a target and throw off any lasers zooming towards you.
Once you bring down all but one of these red entities, the platforms will disappear and Jack will fall into a gigantic red portal waiting below him. This will drop you in another arena with more red dudes. The main difference is that the platforms here are way further apart, meaning you’ll need to use your shuriken/gap jammer combo as a primary mode of traversal. There’s no way you’ll be able to jump these distances, hence why you should get used to relying on portals in the early section.
Despite the shifted topography, this section will play out exactly like the first. Duck and dodge around the circle, bringing down enemies until only four remain. These guys will start to levitate off their platforms and move to a more central part of the room. You could use your shuriken/gap jammer combo to get in close but every time I tried this, I was blasted by lasers. So instead, just jump into oblivion.
Leaping into the black hole beneath the four remaining foes warps Jack to the top of the arena where, if you use your focus, you can strategically fall onto each of your targets and bring them down. Obviously, make sure to also shift away from any lasers they fire upwards but it’s generally much easier to avoid these.
Finally, land on the final target and the stage will immediately shift into a new realm. Before you stands Rahu, the Avatar. He looks like an imposing foe and with his holy doctrine he sounds pretty intimidating. Fortunately, he can be bested with a single hit. The only problem is getting to him…
How to Reach Rahu in Ghostrunner 2
The core mechanic of Rahu’s fight is Jack’s ability to manually activate and deactivate platforms in the cybervoid. Hitting the interact button will cause platforms, rails, and launchpads to effectively snap into existence. It’s kinda like that one level of Titanfall 2 where Jack (a different one) switches between the past and present.
So, now that we know how to interact with the level, charge ahead. There’ll be enough time between jumps to switch to whatever parkour-platform you need so this section isn’t too tough. Rahu seems to think so too because once you leap onto the two hardlight platforms at the bottom of a grind rail, he’ll unleash his first attack. A wave of red energy will sail across these platforms and it comes at you MUCH faster than you might expect. Don’t overthink it, just hop over it and leap onto the nearby wall to initiate a wall run.
Related: Ghostrunner – Zero Punctuation
Of course, that’s not safe either. Rahu will replicate his first attack, but now the waves will come along the wall. Hopping obviously won’t cut it here, so leap off at the last minute and use focus to slow down, pivot, and dash back onto the same wall. He does this once more before you can lunge to a horizontal platform with a red portal at the end. A hand shooting a laser will appear and drag itself across the surface. It looks like you could jump over it but you’re actually meant to slide underneath before immediately jumping to avoid another wave. A test of reflexes!
On the other end of the portal, you’ll notice that Rahu is much closer, so you can expect more aggression from him. On the platform after the grind rail, jump over two waves in quick succession before using your cybervoid-altering ability to create a wall upon which you should run before jumping onto a launchpad that will need to snapped into existence. You’ll be doing a lot of that in this section. Leap and dash through this phase, remembering that “hand lasers” must be ducked while waves of red energy must be jumped. Rahu will launch several of these, but rely on your focus and dash and you’ll be fine. Also bear in mind that any wall will be hit by at least one attack so be ready to jump off and redirect yourself in mid-air whenever you’re running on a vertical surface.
On the other side of the red portal, you’ll be introduced to a new attack: a laser grid. Rahu will usually send this your way when you’re either falling or launching yourself into the air. They take a moment to form so the second you see them form, enter focus and adjust your position. For the first grid, shift Jack to the right or left and thread the needle through the (generous) gap.
Right after this, you’ll need to dodge a grid that moves from bottom to top. I advise shifting to the right to avoid the central beam as they also perfectly line you up with the next launch pad. On the final stretch, look out for a hand laser and two red waves as you slide down to the next portal.
On the other end, you’ll be grinding down a series of rails. You’ll need to manually swap them out as you leap between them to avoid more laser grids. The first one will appear on the right, so jump to the left-most rail. The second grid runs on the left, so transition over the right-most rail.
After this, you’ll be using launchpads to gain air. At the peak of every jump, enter focus on shift Jack away from the laser grid that comes screaming towards you. They move relatively slowly, but remember that every time you’re thrown in the air for a substantial amount of time, there’ll be a grid coming at you; if it’s not from the front, it’s at the bottom. Just use your focus and take this section slowly and you’ll avoid them all with ease. After making it into the final portal, you’re set for the final phase.
Scaling Rahu in Ghostrunner 2
This section almost feels like Shadow of the Colossus as Jack must painstakingly make his way up Rahu’s body. His attacks become faster and more focused at this point; gone are the laser grids, replaced by three or four lasers in close proximity directly on the space you need to land. This part is testing how well you can use focus to shift Jack’s position in the air. Just know that you have a lot more energy than you might think so don’t hesitate to slow down time as much as you need to duck left and right around these traps.
Related: How to Make Constant Failure Fun in Video Games
Follow the platforms and launch pads until you get to a grind rail that will take you under Rahu’s arm. Activate the launch pad and avoid the laser wall by moving to the left. This one snuck up on me too many times, honestly. This section then becomes fairly straightforward: continue grinding towards Rahu, jumping into any and all portals that get in your way.
Once you reach a launchpad that’s positioned directly in front of one of his hands, you’re nearly there. Deep breath. Launch Jack to the right and activate the grind rail. When you near the end, jump off and dodge right to avoid a very fast laser wall. Immediately after that, dodge left to duck past another laser wall and then focus shift right again as a third wall hurtles towards you. Once you pass this attack, all you need to do is use the final launch pad to dash into Rahu’s eye, concluding the fight.
While there’s no actual combat in this boss encounter, “You Shouldn’t Have Peeked” easily represents the most demanding fight up to this point in Ghostrunner 2. While I may have glanced over some of the in-between sections, the most important thing to remember if you want to clear this battle efficiently is that your energy will recharge relatively quickly. Since this isn’t a “fight,” you don’t have to worry about killing enemies to restore it faster. Use your focus often, and this whole encounter can be wrapped up in under five minutes.
