The first boss fight in Resident Evil 7 pits Ethan Winters against the Baker family member Mia. This is how to beat both phases of the Mia boss fight.

Pulling no punches, the first time players encounter an enemy in Resident Evil 7, they are thrust into one of the game's many boss fights. This first boss fight is against Mia, the deranged wife of protagonist Ethan Winters, who is revealed to have horrifying abilities very early on in the game's story.

The first fight with Mia in Resident Evil 7 takes place in the hallway that connects to the basement. At this stage of the game, Ethan has absolutely nothing to defend himself with, so all players can do is pull the right trigger as prompted to try to stop Mia's vicious attacks. Shortly after this sequence, Mia will fall to the ground.

Approach Mia's motionless body to trigger a scene where she throws Ethan through the nearby wall. At this point, Ethan will collect an axe to use it as a weapon against Mia. This is where the actual boss battle begins, as players have to time their swings to stop Mia's advances. Instead of just rushing Mia and swinging wildly with the axe, wait for her to get ready for an attack of her own, and then cancel it by slamming the axe into her body.

Hit Mia with the axe until she collapses again, and the next step will be going to the attic of the Guest House. Upon arriving there, collect the handgun from the table, and walk around the attic picking up the handgun ammunition lying around. Once sufficient handgun ammunition has been collected, go to the ladder that leads to the attic window.

Climb to the top of the ladder to be greeted by a chainsaw-wielding Mia. Quickly drop down from the ladder and put some distance between Mia and Ethan. Mia will mostly walk slow during this portion of the fight, but she will occasionally make some deadly charges with the chainsaw. The trick is to keep not only distance between Ethan and Mia during this encounter, but it's also advantageous to have some objects in the way as well, like crates and posts.

Of course, Mia will destroy anything in her way, but the time it takes her to do this leaves her wide open to blasts from the handgun. Alternatively, it gives players valuable time that can be spent getting away from Mia so she can't land any swipes from her chainsaw. Just a few hits from the chainsaw is enough to end Ethan's life in a rather gruesome fashion, so avoiding it is paramount to success in this boss fight.

When shooting Mia, the best place to shoot is her head. Every few headshots will be enough to stun her, whereas it seems to take five to six body shots to achieve the same effect. Essentially, the key to this battle is simply shooting Mia until she finally succumbs to her wounds, though be warned that it will take a few clips to accomplish this.

Still looking to earn other achievements or find more secrets in Resident Evil 7? Check out our other Resident Evil 7 guides!

Resident Evil 7 is available now for PC, PS4, PlayStation VR, and Xbox One.