The galaxy is full of horrors, and arguably every Tyranid bioform is the stuff of nightmares, but there are some larger, smarter, more advanced bioforms that surpass its swarm-mates in rapacity and power. The Lictor is one such beast, being larger than the standard Gaunt and Warrior types, capable of stalking prey thanks to its ability to cloak and leap from tree to tree. Think The Predator mixed with a xenomorph from Aliens and you’ve got a good idea what a Lictor is. This page will cover the Lictor boss battle in Space Marine 2, detailing where you’ll encounter this foe, how to prepare for it and strategies for besting it.

Page Breakdown¶

Where to Find the Lictor¶

You’ll have the misfortune of encountering the Lictor in the game’s second campaign mission, [Severance], where it serves as the mission’s midboss. Trudge through the swamp on foot towards the Mechanicus facility, dispatching swarms of lesser Tyranid as you go. Along the way Titus and his subordinates will find signs of the beast’s activities, including the corpses of two fellow Ultramarines - a sobering warning that, as powerful as space marines are, they’re not necessarily at the top of the food chain.

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(1 of 2) As you make your way through Kadaku’s jungles, you’ll find signs of the Lictor’s presence.

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As you make your way through Kadaku’s jungles, you’ll find signs of the Lictor’s presence. (left), Do yourself a favor and grab a Melta Rifle as you make your way towards the Lictor - it’ll come in handy. (right)

Lictor Boss Battle Strategies¶

The Lictor fights somewhat similarly to a Ravener, except instead of burrowing, the Lictor will cloak and jump around from tree to tree, seeking the best angle from which to ambush you. Despite the aesthetic differences, the gameplay mechanics are identical; fighting the Lictor is a test of dodging and/or parrying, Gun Strikes and patience.

Lictor Boss Battle - Best Weapons¶

This fight will invariably take place at close range, as when the Lictor retreats and cloaks it’s very hard to safely hit with sustained barrages - at best you’ll deal chip damage to it from afar. That being the case, we encourage using closer ranged weaponry like Plasma Pistols and Melta Rifles - Heavy Bolt Rifles and Power Swords work fine, but if you’re playing through the campaign for the first time you won’t have access to either from the Armoury. That said, you can find Plasma Pistols and Melta Rifles as you trudge through the swamp towards your foe, so just keep them handy.

Melee and grenades play their parts, too, but the Lictor is actually fairly good at skittering just out of easy melee range of both the Chainsword and Combat Knife - the only two weapons you’ll have access to during your first run. It’s not impossible to engage it in melee, but it is in our experience easier to rely on a close-range ranged weapon. Grenades can also be tricky - pegging it with a Krak Grenade is fun and all, but again, it’s easier to blast it with plasma and melta weapons, so we suggest just grabbing some Frag Grenades during the level and keeping them to thin the fodder that invariably joins the fray.

How to Beat the Lictor¶

Once you stumble into the Lictor’s arena you’ll get a scene. Don’t panic, and don’t waste ammo. Just wait for the beast to attack, which it will invariably do from concealment. You’ll need to dodge these cloaked attacks and you’ll get an orange threat indicator letting you know. If you fail, you’ll need to mash some buttons to escape, invariably taking heavy damage in the process. Ideally you’ll dodge well enough to provoke a Gun Strike, but if not you should still have time for a Melta blast.

Following the Lictor’s ambush it’ll deign to face you in a more or less fair manner for a while, attacking with mantis-like scythe arms in various ways. This boils down to waiting for the Lictor to attack and dodging or parrying, as the prompts indicate. If you’re lucky it’ll spam parryable attacks, but it’s worth noting that dodging is generally safer, as dodging attacks that can be parried still works, while parrying attacks that must be dodged does not. Get the timing down and you’ll be able to perform a Gun Strike, dealing minor damage.

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(1 of 3) When it cloaks, be prepared to dodge the Lictor’s inevitable sneak attacks,

Even if your timing is off, however, the Lictor is likely going to be open to a melee or ranged attack. The Melta Rifle makes this fight much easier, as you can reliably hipfire it at ranges where you’re almost certain to hit the Lictor, and the weapon’s slow fire rate makes it hard to overcommit to your own counteroffensive. Dodging or parrying the Lictors attacks and not getting too greedy with your own reprisals is the key to cleanly winning this fight. As the Lictor’s health depletes, adds in the form of Gaunts and the odd Warrior will appear. Don’t let them distract you from the Lictor - deal with them when the Lictor cloaks and seeks another ambush opportunity, and failing that, toss a Frag Grenade or hope to catch the offending lesser Tyranids in melta shots aimed at the Lictor (another boon to using a Melta Rifle).

While the Melta Rifle earns its praise in this fight, it does have a serious limitation - its ammo count is poor and its reload speed is sluggish. Fire all the shots you have in a clip and switch to your pistol (preferably a Plasma Pistol) instead of reloading until the Lictor cloaks again, then reload, search for ammo and dispatch trash mobs. If you get the flow of this fight down you may even be able to hit the Lictor with the odd charged plasma shot, which will deal surprisingly good damage, but it does take some skill to pull off reliably.

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(1 of 3) Your main damage dealer in this fight will be the Melta Rifle, which reliably deals heavy damage at close range.

Keep up the following routine and you should emerge victorious. The Lictor can be a troublesome foe for newer players, but with the right loadout and a bit of practice it’s easily felled, even on Veteran or Angel of Death difficulties!