The new Berserker Queen in XCOM 2’s Alien Hunters DLC is no Viper King. Where the Viper King was fast and lethal the Berserker Queen is slow and brutal. She can lull you into a false sense of security because, with no ranged attack, you feel safe firing shots at her from across the map. But once she closes the distance don’t be surprised when she’s smashing your squad into a soupy mess. However, I found her to be a lot less troublesome than the Viper King , and compiled this quick Berserker Queen guide with some tips that helped me manage the beast.
The Berserker Queen Is One Tough Mother
By way of disclaimer, I’m going to mention this guide is really intended for players who are doing the Alien Hunters DLC as a second playthrough and are encountering the Rulers with half-baked squads. If you’re using your end game characters with their plasma rifles and storm guns, these Rulers are a lot easier to whittle down. But, if you’re like me and diving into this with a fresh squad that does at best 6-9 damage, then you’re going to end up spreading the battle out across a few encounters. Because the Berserker Queen is, in the words of Good Ol’ JR, tougher than a two dollar steak . She’s got 81 health (!) and a moveset designed to kill underpowered soldiers instantly. From the XCOM blog :
Quake, an area-of-effect attack that can disorient, stun and/or disable targets
Faithbreaker, a mass panic attack where any wounded target caught within must make a panic check
Huge amount of health that will take multiple engagements to deplete
You’re going to want to keep your distance as much as you can, but the Berserker Queen can close gaps very quickly. I have to praise Firaxis for the “Rulers take turns between actions” set up because it completely changes the dynamic for dealing with foes and the Berserker Queen is no exception. Your instinct is to get a ranger in close for a shotgun blast, but she gets to react between the turns you take moving to position and actually firing. So sending ANYONE in close is basically a death sentence. So, how do you beat her?
The Roof, The Roof, The Roof Is Not On Fire … Yet
Unlike the Viper King, which I found to be a foe susceptible to basic XCOM 2 cover-shoot-reposition-repeat strategy, the Berserker Queen can be bested by good old fashioned brainpower. See, she’s a big nasty brute and when she gets in close there’s really no stopping her. But, you can keep her at bay if you happen to face her on a stage with a roof and some ladders.
The strategy is simple, and works best if you encounter her when she’s alone. If there are too many enemies around this strategy gets a lot tougher to execute and can end up costing you a soldier. Of course, one dead rookie is better than a whole dead squad, but ideally you want to face her alone. Simply position your squad on a nearby roof and plant soldiers in the square where the ladder exits to the roof. By blocking the top of the ladder you make it impossible for her to climb up. And, if there’s no enemies around to shoot at the soldier blocking the ladder, you can rain hellfire down upon her while she stomps around like a toddler in a tantrum. If there are enemies that can shoot at the soldier I recommend deploying any defensive buffs you have like smoke grenades or the Specialist’s aid protocol move to protect him.
There’s also a failsafe should she actually get on the roof. Since the floors in XCOM 2 can be demolished with a grenade you can employ the same strategy you use against turrets to contain the Berserker Queen. If she’s on the roof, blow out the floor beneath her. She’ll plummet to the ground, take some fall damage, and have to waste a turn climbing back up. This gives you time to block the ladder again, or possibly position yourself so that she can't get to you. If you create a gap in the roof she can’t cross, and your soldiers are on the other side, well, beating the Berserker Queen got a lot easier.
Chase Her … Before Its Too Late
After putting the hurt on the Berserker Queen thanks to my awesome rooftop strategy I had taken off a considerable portion of her health. But, like the Viper King, I left her alone when she ran for her escape portal. This might not be a great idea. Admittedly, I haven’t finished my second campaign with the DLC installed so I don’t know how the Rulers work, but I encountered a new Ruler (the Archon King who is absolutely OP) and hadn’t defeated the Berserker Queen yet.
So, I don’t know if she’s gone for good or will resurface, but seeing as how her corpse can be used to unlock valuable technology (not to mention I have some dead soldiers to avenge) I want her dead. I hope I didn’t miss my chance, because there were several times when I focused on healing a soldier or reloading a gun instead of getting in one last shot. When we last parted ways the Berserker Queen was down around 10 health, so I can’t help but wonder if I had played a bit more aggressively if she would’ve died before the game moved her out of rotation and gave me the Archon King (seriously this guy is a nightmare and I have no idea how to handle him right now).
Have you beat the Berserker Queen yet? How’d you do it? Are you rage quitting over the Archon King yet? Let us know in the comments!
