Warning: This guide contains spoilers for the ending of Silent Hill 2 Remake.
The final boss in Silent Hill 2 Remake is undoubtedly the toughest challenge, thanks to her diverse attack patterns and three distinct phases. With the variety of weapons James can use, a little strategy goes a long way in defeating her. In this guide, we’ll break down all of Mary’s attack patterns and share the best tactics for beating the final boss in Silent Hill 2 Remake.
Mary’s Attack Patterns in Silent Hill 2 Remake
| Attacks | Description |
|---|---|
| Black Moth Swarm | Mary transforms herself into a Black Moth Swarm, and it chases you wherever you go. The Moth attacks you after a brief moment of getting closer to you. To avoid getting hit by it, simply use the Lead Pipe; one swing will disperse the swarm. |
| Tentacle Swipe | When you or Mary get too close to each other, she’ll use a tentacle-like attack, resembling a large tail, to swipe at you. You can dodge backward to avoid being hit. |
| Ceiling Strike | During the second phase of the boss fight, Mary pops out from the ceiling and tries to hit you by dropping on to James. |
| Right Leg Lunge | During the third phase, Mary starts using her spider-like iron limbs of the bed and strikes you with it. The go-to attack seems to be her right leg lunge. To avoid it, time your dodge and get away from her reach. |
| Two-hit Front Legs Attack | During the third phase, the frontal two legs of Mary’s iron bed are used to strike James. This is a two-hit attack so if you are hit by the first one, dodging the second one will be nearly impossible. |
| Dash Attack | Mary also performs a quick dash attack during this phase, rapidly closing the gap between you and her. There’s about a one-second delay before she follows up with another attack, so make sure to get out of her range before she starts using her spider-like iron legs. |
| Tentacle Strike | Instead of doing a Tentacle Strike similar to the first phase’s Tentacle Swipe, during the third phase, Mary does a Tentacle Strike, shooting her tentacle at the back of the rusted-iron bed forward at you. |
| Aggro | Mary screams and all of her third-phase attacks become aggressive. She moves fast in the boss arena and executes the attacks of the third phase more frequently. |
Related: Silent Hill 2 Remake Complete Controls for PC and Controller
How to Beat Mary in Silent Hill 2 Remake
Mary is the final boss in Silent Hill 2 Remake, and her fight consists of three phases, each with unique attack patterns and strategies needed to defeat her. While the attack patterns we’ve covered above will help you anticipate her moves and dodge them, you’ll still need a solid game plan to take her down.
In the first phase, it’s crucial to maintain as much distance as possible and avoid engaging in melee combat. Mary frequently uses a tentacle swipe if you’re too close, making close-range attacks extremely risky.
Stick to using the Handgun and occasionally switch to the Shotgun. This combination will help you get through the first phase with minimal trouble.
In her second phase, Mary transforms her rusted iron bed into spider-like legs and crawls across the ceiling, leaving James trapped below. The room is dimly lit, making it difficult to track her visually. However, if you have a good pair of headphones or a surround sound system, you can hear which direction Mary is approaching.
This will help you position yourself away from her as she drops down from the ceiling toward James. If you time your dodge correctly, you won’t get hit. Keep your distance when she descends and quickly fire off a few shotgun blasts to deal significant damage.
If you don’t have a good sound system or headphones, watch for sparks on the ceiling. As Mary’s rusted iron bed scrapes against the rusted surface, it creates friction that produces sparks. This visual cue is also helpful for figuring out where she will appear next.
Mary will once again, like in the first phase, fire Moth Swarms at you, which you can disperse using the Lead Pipe.
Continue damaging her using your Shotgun or Hunting Rifle, and the second phase of Mary’s boss fight in Silent Hill 2 Remake will be over soon.
The third phase lasts a little longer, and she introduces a variety of attacks into the mix. She still does the Black Moth Swarm attack, which you can disperse using the Lead Pipe, or firing a few rounds from the Handgun will also do the trick.
Other than that, you need to be mindful of Mary’s rusted-iron legs. She will start doing a couple of variations using the iron spider legs and all of these can be dodged if you time it right.
The dodging is not Sekiro-level accuracy, and it is still a bit forgiving compared to it, but you still need to dodge these; otherwise, she can kill you very easily during the third phase.
If you see Mary screaming and the screen turning into a dark purple hue, this is when the boss becomes aggressive and it also indicates that you are about to beat Mary.
This will be the perfect time to unleash all of your Hunting Rifle and Shotgun shells on her. Typically, you would want to run in circles and use the Hunting Rifle from a distance and Shotgun when Mary rushes and gets closer to you.
Repeat the strategies we have mentioned above and you will be able to beat Mary sooner than you know it.
For more tips about the game, we recommend you read our Silent Hill 2 Remake: How To Get The Chainsaw guide.
