The mighty Rancor has been one of the most iconic monstrous creatures in Star Wars media since it first appeared in Return of the Jedi.
Now, it's Cal Kestis' turn to take on these beasts in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. There's more than one Rancor in the game, but each one represents a difficult boss fight that will be a challenge to take on regardless of how prepared you are. That doesn't mean there aren't a few things you can do to get an edge. With my guide, you'll have a much better chance at success.
Rancor boss fight: How to prepare and win
No matter when you fight a Rancor, it's going to be tough, but this is especially true if you somehow manage to find one in the early stages of the game. I highly recommend finding at least a few of the Stims in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in order to be able to heal yourself. If you have less than four or five Stims, it's probably not a good idea to fight a Rancor right now.
You'll want to have a few skills unlocked for Cal, so focus on anything giving increased Force and especially increased Life. The Rancor hits hard, so any additional life is the difference between the fight continuing and dying after one hit. I also highly recommend progressing through the story until you have the crossguard lightsaber stance — you'll unlock it naturally by going through the Shattered Moon — which can be used selectively to deal heavy damage.
Once you start the fight, there's a few things important to keep in mind. Most enemies in Jedi Survivor require you to stay close and keep pressure on. That is not the case with the Rancor, and whenever you aren't actively dealing damage, it's a good idea to put some space between you and the creature.
This monster's moveset is fairly limited early on. It'll slam one clawed hand down at a time, and these attacks can be parried. If you're quick, you can follow up with a single slash after parrying a hit, but don't go for more, as the Rancor is surprisingly fast considering it's size.
The most dangerous attack is when it flashes red and slams both hands down at once, sending a shockwave forward. Even on lower difficulties, this attack can kill you in one hit if you haven't upgraded your health, so it's vital that you jump to the side whenever it happens. At this point, the Rancor may also try to grab you while flashing red, and this attack needs to be dodged at all costs.
Once you've gotten the Rancor to roughly the two-thirds mark on its health, it enters a second phase. This transition is fairly obvious, as it'll stagger back a step then wildly roar, waving its arms in the air. The important this here is to take it slow, only going for a hit or two after you parry or dodge an attack, being mindful of the creature's stomp attacks. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
Whenever you are able to slow time is when you'll be able to deal a heavy amount of damage. Immediately after slowing time, switch to the crossguard or double-bladed stance and use a heavy attack do deal extremely heavy damage to the Rancor. It's worth mentioning that the double-bladed attack can also stagger the Rancor out of unblockable (flashing red) moves, but the timing needed here is extremely precise.
Finally, you can also look around the lair of the beast for bones that can be picked up using the Force. These bones can be thrown into the Rancor's mouth, jamming it open and disabling the monster. You'll then have a couple of precious seconds to attack the Rancor before it's able to attack you again.
Keep pushing forward
Rancors are just some of the monsters lurking in the darker corners of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The list of every enemy and boss in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is immense, but with time and practice, you'll be able to overcome whatever is around the corner. If you have one of Microsoft's latest consoles, this is one of the best Xbox games to grab right now.
In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I wrote that "There are some performance problems in specific areas right now, which I hope to see addressed because it's a small tarnished spot on what is otherwise a stellar adventure. Where Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order introduced a Padawan on the run, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor shows Cal Kestis genuinely earned the title of Jedi Knight."
