How to beat the SectorGuard boss in Pragmata

The SectorGuard is the first boss in Pragmata. Serving as the main event at the end of the Solar Power Plant, the SectorGuard, with its unlimited missile supply, will provide a serious challenge. Upgrading the right abilities and understanding SectorGuard's attacks will make this battle a lot easier.

Here's how to beat the Pragmata SectorGuard boss during the "restore power to the lunar base" mission.

[Ed. note: This guide contains minor spoilers for Pragmata.]

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How to prepare for the SectorGuard boss in Pragmata

You will encounter the SectorGuard boss at the end of The Concourse block in the Solar Power Plant. The closest tram station is the Main Control Lobby, but we recommend upgrading your equipment before you proceed. To improve your chances of victory, take the following steps:

• Spend your lunafilament at the Unit Printer. Any upgrade is helpful, but especially the "Thruster" upgrade, as this will allow you to dodge further and more frequently. "Repair Up" (better HP recovery) is a great second choice, followed by "Decode" (better attack bonus effect through hacking).
• Spend your upgrade components at the Firmware Updater. You should have about eight of them by now. While any upgrade is useful, it may be best to prioritize your primary weapon (to improve damage and stagger while reducing recoil), followed by hacking (to improve damage and duration). SectorGuard's attacks are much easier to avoid once you've upgraded your thrusters, making suit upgrades less urgent, so it'll be most helpful to speed up your hacking-shooting cycle.
• Make sure you've collected the cartridge holder (additional healing charge) and the Hardened Suit mod (increases max HP by 10%), which are found just beside the Main Control Lobby tram station.

If you're struggling against SectorGuard, you can always replay previous sections in the Solar Power Plant to collect more lunafilament and get additional upgrades.

When you're ready to face the SectorGuard boss, return to the Main Control Lobby tram station and follow the path ahead. Beware that you must defeat several smaller enemies before you reach the boss arena. The first enemy spawns after you've picked up the Decode item (just before stepping onto the elevator), while the other three spawn after hacking the elevator. Feel free to use special weapons like the statis net; there's plenty more in the SectorGuard's boss arena, and it's best to arrive unscathed.

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How to beat the SectorGuard boss in Pragmata

When you arrive at the SectorGuard's arena, be sure to stack up on statis net, decode, and shockwave gun charges (the brightly colored items). There are loads of them lying around, but you can only hold a limited number at a given time, so it's important to resupply during the battle.

To spawn the SectorGuard boss, interact with the large computer. Be ready to dodge sideways as soon as the cutscene ends, as SectorGuard will dash toward you twice (his go-to attack). Soon after, the boss will use its missile attack, which won't deal damage as long as you sprint or dodge away from the red circles on the ground. See the orange battery on his back? This is its weak spot, which is usually exposed when he finishes his dash attack, so try to hit it when you can.

As usual, hack SectorGuard before shooting at it. SectorGuard's hacking screen is a five-by-five grid with three blue "open" nodes and one red obstacle. Try to hit every blue node, but don't worry if you miss one; reaching the green tile is the most important thing. If you picked up some decode stacks, try to hit the yellow tiles to deal extra damage.

The best way to quickly deplete SectorGuard's HP is to immobilize the boss with a stasis net just as he finishes his dash attack, so his weak spot is exposed. Quickly hit every blue and yellow node while hacking, then hit the weak spot with the shockwave gun from up close. Dodge the next set of incoming attacks and repeat.

During this fight, you'll get two special opportunities to deal a ton of damage in one hit, so be sure not to miss them:

• When SectorGuard has about 70% HP left, he'll get downed (you will see purple bar below its HP). A pop-up will introduce you to the Critical Shot ability. Sprint toward SectorGuard and press RT/R2 on a controller or the left mouse button on PC to perform a powerful special attack.
• When SectorGuard has about 50% HP left, you will see a brief cutscene wherein he fires a bunch of missiles. This is followed by a quicktime event introducing Overdrive Protocol (a special attack charged by hacking); press both the left and right sticks on a controller or the X button on a keyboard to unleash this special attack and avoid damage. Keep shooting, as SectorGuard will remain incapacitated for a few more seconds.

Beware that each special attack also unlocks new attack types for SectorGuard: After the first Critical Shot, the boss will gain the ability to follow you around while shooting missiles in your path. Sprinting and dodging forward should keep you out of harm's way. After the Overdrive Protocol event, SectorGuard will dash three times in a row instead of two, and they'll gain a new missile attack with an even larger area of effect. Luckily, the boss remains stationary during this attack, so as long as you dodge away at the start, you won't take damage.