Stella's Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness Walkthrough - Windows, Mac & PlayStation 2

LEVEL 27: BOAZ RETURNS

Updated: 1/16/07(†)

Items: none
Weapons & Ammo: unlimited Boran ammo
Enemies: Boaz
Upgrades: none

Kurtis must now fight the powerful mutant Boaz. This sequence is probably the most difficult in the game. Boaz is strong. She slashes with her four front claws and bites with her protruding mouthparts. She shoots streams of toxic green grossness that knock Kurtis off his feet, and by the time he gets up again, she's closing in for the next attack. Kurtis, in contrast, moves like he's running on butter and seems to have a problem targeting the parts of Boaz that need to be hit.

Also, unless you've been playing conservatively up to this point, you may run out of ammunition. As in the Proto-Nephilim battle, there's a respawning Boran clip at one side of the arena. (If you're facing the ledge where Eckhardt had been standing, the darkened doorway is to the right and the clip is near the curved wall to the left.) You can pick it up once and it reappears again if you run out of ammo—very handy if you can manage to grab it before Boaz devours Kurtis.

DEFEATING BOAZ'S FIRST FORM: Shoot Boaz in her human head, which is in front, between the four sharp claws and below the fanged mouth. Do this about four times. After this she will stand still for a few moments and begin squirting green goo from the sacs on her sides. While a sac is open and gushing, move in close enough to target it and shoot at it until it is destroyed. You'll know you've done this when the slime stops coming out and the dark-colored chitinous flap over the sac disappears. Repeat the process until you have destroyed all four sacs. Then Boaz's mutant body dies.

TIPS & STRATEGY:

• Draw your gun as soon as the action starts and run toward Boaz. That'll give you some room to back up as you shoot. Wait until she moves in and then shoot the human head 4 times. Kurtis will target it automatically, and you'll see a little green splat when a shot connects. If she lunges, backflip away from her. After 4 successful hits, she'll freeze and the sacs on her sides will start gushing.
  
  
• Alternatively, when the level starts, run into the one of the square corners and position Kurtis facing out into the room. The camera angle will be a bit awkward, but when Boaz comes for Kurtis, she won't be able to reach him (much) with her claws and you may be able to shoot her face and one or both of the front sacs without losing much health. To get at the side sacs, you'll have to move out.
  
  
• Once the green slime starts spewing out of the sacs, try to avoid getting hit. It doesn't hurt Kurtis, but it will knock him down, after which it can be difficult to get him straightened out. By the time he gets on his feet, the next gush is on the way. One way to avoid the slime is to watch how many times you've shot Boaz's head. As soon as you hit her four times, don't wait for the slime shower to start. Immediately side flip to the right or left, try and get in close and start shooting at the nearest sac. If you stay close, the goo will arch over Kurtis's head instead of hitting him.
  
  
• If Kurtis does get knocked down by the slime, wait for him to stand up and then jump toward Boaz's side. He may get knocked down again, but you'll be a little closer and may be able to shoot the nearest sac once he stands up.
  
  
• If you're lucky and/or agile, you'll be able to destroy one sac before the green slime stops and Boaz comes after Kurtis again. When she turns back toward Kurtis, shoot at her human head again, backing away so she can't claw or bite. After 4 hits, the slime shower resumes and you can go for the next sac.
  
  
• When you've destroyed the two front sacs, Kurtis will not automatically aim at the rear ones. You'll need to face one of them and press the Roll button to change targets. This is Square on the PS2, End on the PC or Macintosh. (Note that some PlayStation manuals list the wrong control here; it's Square.)
  
  
• Occasionally Boaz will spew green venom out of her mutant mouth. This is different from the stuff that comes out of the sacs. She sprays it back and forth and it can hurt Kurtis. I think she only does this after you destroy two of the sacs, but I'm not positive. Try to jump or run out of the way when she does this.
  
  
• A few general tips: Holster your gun when you have to run or jump out of the way of the slime or venom. Kurtis is a bit more responsive when he's not trying to aim at something.
  
  
• Tap the fire button rapidly to shoot faster than you would just holding it down.
  
  
• If your ammo is low, try to stay near the respawning Boran clip. Then you can pick it up when you need it.
  
  
• Save after you've destroyed each pod. Just be sure to use a new slot in case something goes wrong.
  
  
• Turn off the sound. If, like me, you're easily worked up by dramatic music, eliminate that distraction.

NOTE: If these suggestions don't work for you or you need more help, try visiting a few of the Tomb Raider forums listed on my Community page. Most of them already have extensive discussions about this battle. Maybe someone else's strategy will work better for you. If you prefer visuals, check out über-raider Ewil's YouTube video of his (very adept) run through this level.

If all else fails, PlayStation gamers can use the level-skip cheat. PC and Mac users can download a savegame file with the fight completed. Or, if you think you could beat Boaz yourself if you only had a little more health or ammo, try my save for the start of the level. Kurtis has 12 clips in his gun and all the health items from the previous levels. Save files can be found at https://tombraiders.net/stella/savegame/TR6saves.html. Instructions for downloading and using them are at https://tombraiders.net/stella/savegame/ziphelp.html.

DEFEATING BOAZ'S SECOND FORM: When you think you've killed Boaz, there's a brief cut scene. Kurtis says, "That wasn't so hard." But then Boaz in flying form crawls out of the carcass of her spider form and you must kill her all over again.

Save immediately. Avoid Boaz's slashing attacks by stepping backwards or diagonally away from her (jump to the side if she gets Kurtis against a wall) and keep shooting. Alternatively, if your health is still in good shape, just run at her and fire as fast as you can (tap the button; don't hold it) and she'll fall quickly. Again, more ammo will appear off to one side if you need it. Destroying the second form doesn't take nearly as long as killing the first. When the flying Boaz falls, approach it to trigger another cut scene. (NOTE: There's a fairly long delay before this cut scene. Be patient; eventually it'll kick in.)

Cut scene: As Kurtis turns to leave, Boaz uses her last ounce of strength to skewer him through the gut. He looses his magic shuriken and slices her head off. (Now why the heck didn't he do that in the first place?) But apparently it's too late for our hero. He slumps to the floor.

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†UPDATE HISTORY: 1/16/07 - Completely revised the page and the Boaz strategy, incorporating tips from various players, who are credited below. Added savegame files for the patched PC game (v52). Tried to not sound so hostile about Kurtis's movement controls but probably failed dismally.

WAS THIS WALKTHROUGH HELPFUL? If not, I apologize and invite you to contact me with any questions. If you need help right away, I recommend the r/TombRaider subreddit. Other fan-run forums are listed at tombraiders.net/stella/community.html. If this site was useful, please consider supporting it financially or in other ways. For details, visit tombraiders.net/stella/support.html. As always, I welcome your corrections/suggestions. Thank you!

Copyright © 2003- - Stellalune (). I am eternally grateful to the members of the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup, whose contributions to this walkthrough are numerous. Thanks also to the developers of Fraps, the program used for all AOD screenshots. Thanks to Jeff R. and Tom C. for the Boaz saves for the unpatched game. Thanks also to Bonnie, Luke, John E., John K., Pete, Scot and sspears (on the Eidos Forums) for Boaz help and sympathy. Feel free to copy or print this walkthrough for personal use. By all means, share it with friends, but please include this credit line so people can send me their feedback. No part of this walkthrough may be reproduced on another site without permission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Follow this link for details about this site's advertising and privacy policy.

Stella's Tomb Raider Site: tombraiders.net.

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