Tutorial:Boss Rush Strategy

A well used, evidence backed, proven against the test of time, and just plainly a great strategy for winning Boss Rush in 10 minutes.

Upon Spawning
The moment you spawn, check the leaderboard. If it is just filled with the AWP-1, Bots, and you, and there is less than 20 minutes in Boss Rush, get out of the server. Go play FFA and break a world record, as this strategy requires at least 5 people.

Necessary tanks
When you spawn, get together. You will need the following:


 * A speedy tank with a shield, such as the Shield-Angle, to be used as a boss bait.


 * At least 2 direct bullet spammers like the Minigun-branch, Triplet-branch or Twinceptionist.


 * A crowd controller for dealing with swarms and minions, like the Penta-Machine or the Twisted Hybrid.


 * A Redistributor or a Builder-branch tank.


 * Optionally, have Pentamancer for quickly swamping health and for shielding, or an Atrophy for healing.
 * A contemporary player who will suicide themselves between some rounds for switching tanks is also helpful.

Recommended builds

 * All tanks should have a point spent in movement speed, and maximum reload, damage, and penetration. Bullet health is also highly recommended, although bullet speed is not as important.
 * For the speedy boss bait, health, reload, and movement speed is recommended. Also have some bullet damage and penetration for clearing any polygons in the way.
 * For the direct bullet spammers, use the build 0/1/4/9/9/9/9/1/0/0. The bullet spammers will be providing much of the damage.
 * For the crowd controller, use the build 0/1/3/9/9/9/9/2/0/0. Your recoil will push you back a bit, and you would need to pile up bullets, hence the bullet speed and movement speed.
 * If using a Redistributor, 0/4/2/7/9/9/9/2/0/0 is a good build. You need maximum reload, damage, and penetration to get the insane amount of damage. Health is necessary because you are very vulnerable unless you are with a crowd controller tank or an Atrophy.
 * If using a Builder-branch tank, just use the same build as the direct bullet spammers.

Quick tip
If you see a very small white circle smaller than an egg, start spamming directly onto it, and drop as much firepower there. That is where the boss will spawn. This method is very risky, but will usually guarantee an almost instant boss health drop of 50%. Placing a Mace or an Icicle flail here will help the process by a lot.

AWP-1
The AWP-1’s minions are very durable, requiring good aim from a powerful spammer to take down one.

First, have the boss bait approach the AWP-1. Then, immediately turn around, and run. Lure it towards the rest of the team.

Now, the contemporary tank should come in. For the AWP-1, that tank should use the Grudge. The rapidly rotating flails will quickly wipe out the minions, and punch a hole in the minion shield. The crowd controller and the bullet spammers should line up to maximize damage in one particular area. The block launcher can place blocks to block bullets or make the AWP-1 ram into the blocks. If using a Engineer-branch tank, place the pillboxes in front of the boss, so the bullets will hit it, while the boss rams into the pillbox.

If using the Redistributor, take careful aim to hit the AWP-1. It can help drain around 1/3 of the boss’s health.

An Atrophy should stay a bit away from the fighting, and constantly shoot at its teammates to heal them. Remember, always keep your charge ready. You can take advantage that your bullets can bounce around, healing multiple players at the same time. If necessary, charge at the AWP-1 to finish it off, as you have a lance, although that would be suicidal. You should also stay near a lone Redistributor as you are its main defence.

AWP-14
Attacking the AWP-14 is very hard, and you won’t be able to penetrate the bullets. Instead, the boss bait needs to flee as fast as they can, due to the AWP-14’s speed. Circle around the map, trying to attract as many bots as possible, while all of the other tanks should simply spam into the AWP-14. The AWP-14 will fall very quickly. Here, the contemporary tank should use the Surge, which will help teammates shoot the AWP-14 without it moving fast and shooting. It is advised that the boss bait should stay away from rocks, unless the teammates want big red bullets sprayed on them.

AWP-sin((4*pi)/45)
The AWP-sin((4*pi)/45) is small, thus it is difficult to hit. It has fast speed, so bullet spammers must spam in front of the AWP-sin, and the AWP-sin will inevitably run into the bullet wall.

Because of its weapon placement, staying in front of the AWP-sin is very helpful, as it has no true frontal weapon. However, never stay behind it, as the trap is deadly if you move carelessly, and the sides are always being sweeped by the gunner barrels.

A good strategy is to use a lancer to destroy the traps, and then have everyone except from the bait attack from the back.

AWP-log(24)
The AWP-log(24) is notoriously hard to kill (although the AWP-1 is harder), due to the amount of bullets. Even if the AWP-log is not targeting you, you are very likely to get splashed unless you are careful. However, the bullets move slowly, so the boss bait is not in immediate danger. Since the AWP-log(24) can only target one player at a time, it is slightly easier to kill.

Here, the contemporary tank should use a semi-direct firepower tank, like the Machlet or the Kasane. The hitbox is small, so this will allow you to easily hit it while not wasting as much bullets.

There are two weak spots on the AWP-log(24). The first is between the rear Streamliner barrel and the right Auto Turret. This part has no main defense aside from the Gunner Dual turret, which is locked onto the bait, and takes advantage that the Bunsen barrel’s bullets travel fast, thus avoiding you. The second is directly ahead of the Triple Shot barrels, opposite of the Bunsen barrel. Here, you can take advantage of bullet drift and recoil so you can maximize damage.

AWP-69
If you separate it from its minions, the AWP-69 is very easy to kill. Here the contemporary tank should be a Surge. The main boss should be stunned by the Surge, while the minions should be lured away using the bait. The direct bullet spammers can then kill the AWP-69.

The main weakness of the AWP-69 is that without its minions, it can only focus on one target at a time. Using this strategy, an alternative method would be to use a Rotary Shield branch tank as the contemporary tank. The AWP's Streamliner turret will be focused on it, while the direct bullet spammers and the Redistributor can attack the minions and the boss from behind. See the AWP-sin((4*pi)/45) section above on how to kill its minions.

AWP-Pistolstar
The AWP-Pistolstar has high movement speed and firepower, but extremely low turn speed. The bait should not move away, but rather move up and down, or at least move away in a wave pattern. The Redistributor and the bullet spammers should rotate around the boss while firing. A good contemporary tank would be the Splitter, because it can dodge the boss's bullets, while its minions automatically fire at the boss.

Alternatively, the contemporary tank can be the VPN, because of the Pistolstar's low health.

Bases
The base strategy is another strategy that one can use. The strategy is similar, but this time, set up a base in the Pentagon Nest. The tank that is the “base” should be a tank like the Hexa Builder, Hexa Blaster, and/or Octo Mini Grower. Have all tanks, with the exception of the lure, stay in the base. The lure should simply lead the boss into the base. Here, the Builder-branch tank can be replaced with a Mace, as there is already a base defense.