Borderlands 3 is the newest looter shooter in the genre-defining Borderlands series. Borderlands 3’s boss fights are where it shines, and fortunately the game does not dole them out sparingly. With well-crafted gunplay and a huge variety of viable character builds, combat in this title is a treat even when the enemies are difficult to defeat.
Borderlands 3 has twin antagonists. This boss, Troy Calypso, is one of them. Because of his significance in the story, it is no wonder that Troy is one of the toughest fights in the game and cannot be taken down easily. However, some good positioning and knowledge of Troy’s moves is all it takes to bring him down.
The Fight
Despite being one of the primary antagonists of the game, Troy is also known for dabbing. However, with information about Troy’s boss mechanics, any player can avoid the fate of getting dabbed on.
Players will face Troy during the story mission “The Great Vault.” He appears as a winged man with a sword and siren-like abilities. Luckily, Troy is not like some of the beefiest bosses in Borderlands 3. He only has one red health bar, with his head being his primary weak spot.
His main attack will send out a ring of purple energy spheres. He will also occasionally dash towards the player and unleash an energy blast at close range. He has rocket attacks, can summon pillars of fire, and occasionally goes into an invincible shielded state during which smaller enemies that drop ammo will spawn. During this invincible phase he can create beams of fire from the sky, indicated by glowing spots on the ground. His most powerful attack is a jumping attack that emits energy spheres when he lands.
Later in the fight, Troy gains the ability to summon a hammer that can release shockwaves towards the player. Because of all these wide range attacks, players will want a build with a lot of mobility.
The Strategy
In broad terms, keeping distance and aiming for the head will be the most effective way to take down Troy. A Borderlands 3 weapon with good mid-range damage will serve players well. Keeping a wide gap between the player and the boss allows one to walk between the energy spheres as they emanate outwards. Troy’s dash attack is the hardest to avoid because it is so quick, but jumping to one side and having a high-capacity shield just in case should be an effective counter. The rockets can be avoided by simply walking to the right, and the shockwaves caused by the summoned hammer can also be avoided by strafing at a distance.
Troy’s jumping attack is the most dangerous. It takes some good timing and practice, but jumping into the air at the same time as Troy lands allows the player to leap over the blast of energy. During Troy’s invincibility phase, the pillars of fire can be easily avoided by spotting the glowing spots on the ground. This phase is a great time to kill some small-fry enemies and re-fill on ammo. If this fight is still difficult, players should avail of the many ways to make a character stronger in Borderlands 3.
Borderlands 3 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version also in development.