Metroid Dread: How To Beat Raven Beak (Final Boss Battle)
It’s the final epic showdown of Metroid Dread, and boy, is it a tough one. Raven Beak is a fast and powerful opponent with hard-hitting attacks who can quickly cover the entire battle arena, so prepare to have your Flash Shift and Space Jump skills put to the test.
This fight is divided into three distinct phases, the first of which will provide you with a solid foundation in timing and how to defend against moves that will reappear in the final phase. However, phase two is the real kicker here, with a whole new set of problems that can only be solved through good old-fashioned practise.
Buckle up, and let’s see how we can 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 because Raven Beak moves quickly and has a lot of moves that he isn’t afraid to use. The first thing to look out for are his charging attacks, which are indicated by a reddish glow and a shoulder drop; you don’t want to be hit by these or forced into a corner because he’ll trap you and deal a lot of damage. We want to keep our distance here, and you should always be prepared 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 allows you to fire your missiles and deal damage, you must also be prepared for a laser attack that Raven Beak unleashes in a massive arc that sweeps across the entire arena. We’ve pictured it below, and as soon as you see this start, get right in close to him, fire two shots with 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 charge you.
The next thing we need to keep an eye out for is a black orb that he fires in your direction. This thing does a lot of damage if it connects, but it moves slowly and is mostly useful for restocking your missiles; shoot it four times to burst it open and get 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 into a morph ball to avoid it, and Raven Beak will then charge 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. Continue to fire missiles at him, and he’ll eventually stop, 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 in which you both go at it, with Samus busting off a piece of his armour. It’s now time to move on to phase two.
Raven Beak: Phase Two

Raven Beak now has wings, so things are going to get a little more complicated.
This phase is all about Raven Claw’s 360-degree machinegun attack from the air. If you want to make it through this part of the fight, you’ll need to be able to use your space jumps and dashes to avoid this attack by staying 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 before circling around again; you don’t have time for missiles, so just get three hits in and go again. It takes some getting used to, and we had to reload this fight several times before we got the hang of it, but once you have this part of phase two down, the rest is actually fairly simple.
Aside from the machinegun attack, there is a ground pound attack that is easy to avoid and well signalled; as soon as you see it coming, dash back as far as you can, and a sideways dashing attack that requires you to slide under. Raven Claw will also fire a large laser, which is easy to bait by getting it to hit where you’re standing as it winds up and then dodging at the last second so it misses. When you dodge these attacks properly, you’ll have plenty of time to fire off a salvo of missiles, so this is the phase where you’ll do him real damage.
After you’ve sufficiently damaged Raven Claw by snapping off one of his wings, he’ll be returned to the ground for the final phase.
Raven Beak: Phase Three

This is it; don’t be afraid! The final phase of this fight incorporates all of the moves from the first phase – thankfully, there is no more air machinegun – and adds a massive laser blast that can be baited by jumping into the air so he shoots high while you drop down and blast him with missiles. The other addition, and most crucial to your survival here, is a massive golden orb that Raven Claw will fire out. When you see this orb, transform into Morph Ball and unleash a Power Bomb. This will shatter the orb and provide you with ammo and health supplies!
There’s no real secret to phase three other than repeating what you learned in phase one, keeping an eye out for that new laser attack, and exploding the golden orb with a powerbomb whenever it appears. You’ll enter the final cutscene after dealing with the orb a few times. You have successfully defeated Raven Claw. Well…sort of…a there’s little more to come after this main battle, but nothing that requires a guide, so we won’t spoil it for you. Congratulations on completing the game!