Overview
Big Bandit is the first and easiest boss in the game. Here are some tips to flawlessly kill him.
Prepare
Big Bandit spawns on 1_3, so you have 1_1 and 1_2 to prepare. Although experienced players could take BB down with a starting pistol, it is a good idea to ready up before meeting Big Bandit.
Weapons that are useful against BB are the crowssbow, laser pistol, and the slugger. (Of course other weapons like a plasma rifle would be good but let’s focus on the weapons you can only find in the early game)
BB spawns on 1_3 after you have killed 10% of the enemies on the area. 1_3 typically has a lot more enemies than encountered on 1_1/1_2 so by the time BB spawns, you’ll still have a lot of enemies to deal with.
Once you spawn on 1_3, i suggest finding a secluded area of the map, and clearing all the enemies in that section. Avoid open areas that let you exposed to 5 scorpions, those will hinder the cleanliness of the BB fight as projectiles are coming from everywhere while your in a midst of a boss fight.
Because BB spawns once 10% of the enemies have been killed, it’s also best to kill the tough enemies first. Bandits aren’t much of a threat, and a player can just walk pass through a whole map filled with bandits because they arent that dangerous. Scorpions and Maggots however can be a pain, and I suggest killing them while ignoring every bandit. Take your time, because overextending and rushing to kill all the tough enemies can get you killed.
Fight
Now that 10% of the enemies have been killed, BB will break out of some random, nearby wall.
Just in case you don’t know it’s him, his theme song should come on (music cues are helpful for Big Dog since he can wake up off screen)
Big Bandit has two moves, shoot and charge. He decides to charge when you are really close to him, like ready to give him a hug (with gamma guts) or when there are a few walls between you two. Once he charges he’ll break through any wall, and this charge can easily be lethal if you’re not careful enough. He decides to shoot once he has a line of sight, and his machine gun or whatever gun he is using can be pretty lethal. If he started firing find cover, but if you’re close to him and you have room to circle strafe, do that. When he shoots, he cannot change his aim, so he is stuck in that line of sight while shooting. In this case take advantage and empty some shots into him.
The big picture of the fight is to let him act first, and then take advantage of his slow recoveries. Dont let other enemies get in your way, and take advantage of cover to avoid his spam of bullets if you are too far away to circle strafe.
This guide is definitely short, but honestly BB is the easiest boss to fight and doesnt take much time to master.
Here is a video of a nice BB fight, just mind that you should try to pick up other weapons other than a pistol, I tried to set myself back to demonstrate a longer fight.
Watching other people play is a good way to get better at this game, the devs stream this game once in a while and I suggest watching them because they are typically not too good at the game themselves. If you want to watch someone better, try Star_ who has been streaming daily runs recently.