Guide:Exo Mechs strategies

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This guide was last updated for version 1.5.0.004.

The Exo Mechs are one of the final Post-Moon Lord bosses that you will face in your playthrough. The mechs are summoned by using the fully-upgraded form of The Codebreaker.

This guide will mention items exclusive to Expert and Revengeance Mode with no special formatting and will follow the intended progression.

Terrain Preparation[]

You will benefit greatly from deleting your entire world and replacing it with hammered platforms.

Gearing Up[]

Armor[]

Auric Tesla armor is the preferred choice for all classes.

Accessories[]

Movement[]

Drew's Wings or the Celestial Tracers are the preferred movement accessories for this fight. The former offers increased control and a higher flight time, while the latter provides increased speed and immunity frames.
The Asgardian Aegis or Statis' Void Sash allow the player to make sharp turns, which can be useful for dodging fast attacks.
- The Asgardian Aegis additionally provides a ram and immunity to knockback.
- Statis' Void Sash additionally provide a guaranteed ninja dodge every 90 seconds and increased jump acceleration.

Defensive[]

The Sponge, Core of the Blood God, and the Rampart of Deities are all great defensive accessories that will substantially increase the player's survivability.
The Community is a great all-around accessory that boosts offensive and defensive stats as well as providing more movement speed.
Affliction is a good accessory that provides both offensive and defensive buffs.

Offensive[]

Melee players should use the Elemental Gauntlet for its strong melee boosts as well as increased immunity frames.
Ranged players should use the Elemental Quiver, as it works well in boosting damage output.
Magic players should use the Ethereal Talisman for its magic damage and crit chance boosts as well as helping maintain mana when combined with Supreme Mana Potions.
Summoners can boost their minion count and damage with the Nucleogenesis.
- The Profaned Soul Artifact summons guardians that boost the player's survivability and offensive capabilities, including providing an extra minion slot.
- The Godly Soul Artifact will help boost the player's minion count if they are using the summon from Yharon's Kindle Staff.
Rogue users will find the Nanotech useful to boost their damage output.
- Stealth based Rogues will find the Eclipse Mirror to be more useful.
- The tornado from Dragon Scales can do heavy damage to all the mechs.
If Supreme Calamitas has been defeated, the Shattered Community can be used, providing a variety of stat boosts and greatly increasing the damage of Rage Mode.

Weapons[]

The weapons made from Auric Bars or dropped by Jungle Dragon, Yharon are typically the best options for the fight. Note that some of these weapons require defeating Supreme Calamitas, who is on the same tier as the Exo Mechs. Thus, one boss' drops can greatly help with defeating the other.

Melee[]

The Ark of the Cosmos's range, homing projectiles, and high DPS make it an all-around good choice for this fight.
The Dragon Pow is a highly powerful all-around option, but is especially useful against Ares, as the summoned projectiles will hit and pierce all of his body components.
The Burning Sky is also a decently powerful option that works particularly well against Artemis and Apollo due to its non-wielded nature and high fire rate.
The Murasama is powerful against Ares and Thanatos, but is impractical against Artemis and Apollo due to its short range.
- It should be noted, though, that Ares only takes 40% damage from the Murasama.
The Dragon Rage can easily destroy Thanatos in seconds when he is coiled and vulnerable, but is impractical against the other mechs due to its short range.
The Enforcer is similarly powerful against Thanatos, but is impractical to use due to its short range.
Violence performs very well against all mechs.

Ranged[]

The Minigun with God Slayer Slugs is a solid choice that can deal high damage to all bosses.
The Drataliornus is a powerful option if the player is confident with dodging the bosses' attacks.
Tyranny's End a powerful option against Ares and Artemis / Apollo.
The Dragon's Breath is also a viable option, especially powerful against Thanatos, as its explosions can hit several of its vulnerable segments at once.
The Norfleet is a powerful options against Ares, allowing the player to hit multiple of the boss's weapons.
Condemnation is another powerful choice.

Mage[]

The Hadopelagic Echo makes the fight a breeze when used in combination with a long asphalt platform, even with the reduced damage against Thanatos.
The Aetherflux Cannon is an easily obtainable option that is sufficient for the fight.
The Wand is a risky yet powerful option.
The Phoenix Flame Barrage can deal great damage to all bosses, and hit multiple of Ares's weapons.
The Voltaic Climax is a powerful option, especially against Ares and Thanatos.
Rancor is an extremely powerful choice that performs especially well against Ares and Thanatos due to its ability to pierce infinitely.
Gruesome Eminence is another powerful but more risky option.
Yharim's Crystal is a powerful option. However, it requires the player to charge it up and consumes obscene amounts of mana, requiring the player to stock up on Supreme Mana Potions and equip the Ethereal Talisman to use it effectively.

Summoner[]

The Neuraze is a viable weapon if you manage to defeat XP-00 Hypnos first.
Yharon's Kindle Staff is one of the strongest options for this fight, providing very high DPS.
- Extra summoning slots can be filled with the Midnight Sun Beacon, the Staff of the Mechworm, or Saros Possession.
Vigilance is a very powerful option.
Perdition is a sentry that can deal consistent DPS to the mechs and does not require resummoning.
Metastasis can deal quite a lot of DPS, but requires the player to manage the hearts that spawn.
- Desummoning and resummoning the minion will despawn all hearts, allowing the player's summons to focus on the mechs.
The Cinders of Lament is quite risky but very powerful.

Rogue[]

The Final Dawn's stealth strike dash does immense damage, and provides the player with immunity frames.
The Wrathwing is an alternative with lower DPS that is easier to use.
Plasma Grenades are a decent option for this fight, especially against Thanatos.
Sacrifice is a powerful option providing good DPS and lifesteal.

Miscellaneous[]

The Rod of Discord or the Normality Relocator are very strong tools as they allows instantaneous teleportation.
The Well Fed buff provides a useful all around stat boost.
- Yharim's Stimulants are also vital for any class due to its high buffs to both defense and offense.
Enchantments can greatly improve DPS if the player has defeated Supreme Calamitas first.

The Fight[]

The Exo Mechs fight consists of 7 phases total.

Phase 1: The first mech chosen is fought until it reaches 70% health.
Phase 2: The first mech chosen disappears and the other two appear. This phase continues until one of the mechs reaches 70% health.
Phase 3: The first mech reappears and all three mechs will be present. While in this phase, all mechs are slightly slower or perform fewer attacks. This phase continues until one of the mechs reaches 40% health, after which it goes into a berserk state and gains new attacks.
Phase 4: The mech at the lowest health battles the player on its own, until it is defeated. Here, it enters a "berserk" phase, where it gains a new attack along with increased aggression.
Phase 5: The mech with the higher remaining health returns to battle the player on its own until it reaches 70% health. Then, both surviving mechs fight the player until one of the mechs reaches 40% health. If both remaining mechs were already at 70% health, they will appear simultaneously.
Phase 6: The mech at the lower health battles the player on its own in its berserk phase, until it is defeated.
Phase 7: The last remaining mech battles the player in its berserk phase, with notably increased speed and aggression.

Ares[]

Ares remains directly above the player at all times, except when it is performing its blender ray. It has the largest variety in attacks out of all the mechs.

The Laser Cannon shoots an Exothermal Laser that sweeps toward the player every so often. It alternates between sweeping downward and horizontally.
The Tesla Cannon shoots Tesla Spheres ahead of the player. If two spheres are close enough, a damaging chain of electricity connects them.
The Plasma Cannon shoots Volatile Plasma Blasts that explode into Exoplasma Bolts.
The Gauss Nuke fires a Gauss Nuke that explodes with a massive explosion radius.

Falling downwards and away from the Laser Cannon reliably avoids most of the attacks. To prevent running out of room, the player can fly up during the small window where Ares is not attacking. The laser beam alternates between pointing horizontally and vertically. By learning the pattern, you can reverse your motion right before the beam fires. The beam always fires down first.

In its berserk phase, Ares can now use a "blender" style attack where it fires beams in a star shape around its body, which begin to rotate at an increasing speed. During this attack, the arms increase their fire rate. This attack can be dodged by moving in tight circles around Ares, using dashes while moving horizontally, and the Suspicious Looking Jelly Bean or Slimy Saddle while moving downward. Starting this attack on the right side of Ares can help, as you will be moving up instead of down when the beams start to accelerate significantly, allowing you to have an easier time controlling your movement.

This attack can also be avoided by leaving its range, though this enrages Ares until the next blender ray, causing it to glow red and emit steam. When it is enraged, it gains significant damage reduction and reduced attack cooldown.

Apollo and Artemis[]

In their first phase, Apollo and Artemis stay on either side of the player and track along with the player's movement. They fire at a constant rate, Artemis firing lasers and Apollo firing splitting projectiles, each adjusting their angle slightly with every shot. This can be dodged by moving vertically with slight horizontal adjustments to avoid being hit by the secondary projectiles from Apollo's attacks. Typically, the player will want to move toward Apollo and away from Artemis.

Every six shots they will use a more powerful attack where Artemis fires a shotgun-style burst of lasers, then charges through the center of the attack spread. At the same time, Apollo will fire a homing rocket that will chase the player then lose its homing and accelerate after a certain amount of time. This attack can be dodged by moving quickly vertically, though it might require the player to adjust their position slightly depending on the angle Artemis attacks from.

In their second phase, Artemis and Apollo attack at a faster rate and the shotgun attack is made even more dangerous. Artemis will fire two shotgun-style blasts of laser projectiles in quick succession, and Apollo will fire two homing rockets. Artemis no longer charges during this attack. Due to the rate at which the laser barrages are fired, it is advisable to be moving away from Artemis before this attack starts to avoid being sniped before getting a chance to react. Extremely quick vertical movement from the Suspicious Looking Jelly Bean, Slimy Saddle or Drew's Wings is generally the easiest way to dodge this attack.

When in their berserk phase, every other shotgun attack is replaced with a special attack. Apollo will indicate a green zig-zag path and then, after a short delay, charge along it creating a burst of projectiles in 8 directions at each vertex in the path that must be reactively dodged. At the same time, Artemis will begin to fire a large orange laser that starts pointing straight down and then rotates around a fixed point a short distance along the beam, sweeping a large area. This attack is easier to dodge while you are closer to Artemis, as the farther away you are from the laser, the faster you will need to move. In a pinch, the Rod of Discord or Normality Relocator can be used to teleport through the laser. The best place to be positioned to keep up with Artemis is at top right of it as it begins to fire the laser, and follow it along as it rotates.

Diagonal zig-zag motion can help, such as jumping while running along an asphalt bridge or flying back and forth while falling.

Thanatos[]

Thanatos is generally invulnerable, only taking damage when segments turn red and steam comes out. This is also when the lasers shoot. Most of Thanatos's attacks can be dodged by running in one direction on an asphalt bridge or by long diagonal flight. Staying above Thanatos instead of below them will make the lasers easier to dodge.

When berserk, a target appears on the player while non-damaging lasers slowly converge into a powerful damaging laser that shoots out little 'cross-lasers'. Staying close to the head slows Thanatos down significantly, making the beam much easier to dodge. Avoid dashing, as Thanatos will instantly snap the beam to your position. When firing the beam, Thanatos is especially vulnerable to attacks to the head, giving a window to deal a lot of damage. The player can ram through Thanatos's body using the Asgardian Aegis's dash or teleport out if Thanatos coils around them during this attack.

General Tips[]

When choosing which mech to start with, choose the one that you struggle dodging first, as fighting it earlier will make its berserk phase easier to deal with.
Whichever mech you leave for last will have the most dangerous attack patterns, so learn the patterns of all three and leave the easiest one for last.
During the time when all three mechs are present, their attacks are less effective. You may end up taking more hits during this segment, but they should do less damage.
When all three mechs are present, falling down and to the left will reliably dodge all of their attacks.
The God Slayer armor's dash ability, Rod of Discord, or the Normality Relocator are very useful tools for escaping certain situations that can lead to getting hit from a deadly attack such as Artemis' Orange Exothermal Beam, or to avoid a chain of hits.
The Suspicious Looking Jelly Bean or Slimy Saddle can be used to accelerate fall speed and avoid attacks from Ares, along with Artemis and Apollo.