Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Nydak Alpha fight - top tips on beating this relentless carnivore
All my training against that Lesser Nydak at the start of Dathomir has led to this moment
The powerful Nydak Alpha is probably the third-most dangerous foe you'll encounter in the treacherous and hostile ruins of Dathomir in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. And that's pretty damn high up the pecking order, believe you me. The King of Nydaks must be handled with extreme caution, lest he batter you into oblivion with his powerful clawed arms. Our Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Nydak Alpha boss fight guide will walk you through how to defeat this dangerous foe.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Nydak Alpha guide
Where to find Nydak Alpha
In order to reach the fabled Nydak Alpha, you must first reach the point (quite a way into the campaign) where you unlock Double Jump. For more information on this, be sure to check out our Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Force Powers guide; but after this point, you can return to Dathomir and finally jump over that large gap where you first encountered the mysterious robed stranger.
Jump over the next couple of gaps, defeat the three Night Brothers that attempt to ambush you, then climb up to the entrance of the ruined temple - but then head right and follow that path to a short wall-running segment which will land you right in the lair of the Nydak Alpha.
How to beat Nydak Alpha boss fight
The good news is that this particular Jedi: Fallen Order boss fight is somewhat familiar territory, because the Nydak Alpha behaves in almost exactly the same way as one of its Lesser Nydak kin. The bad news is that even Lesser Nydaks can be real bastards to tangle with, as you've probably realised yourself by now.
The Nydak Alpha is all about repeated powerful strikes with its muscular clawed arms. These are blockable attacks, but three blocks is enough to wipe out your stamina and daze you - and the Nydak Alpha's combos almost always involve four or more strikes in a row. As with the Lesser Nydak, you'll have to get used to the unorthodox rhythm of this string of attacks. Usually it's in the form of "strike-strike, pause, strike-strike, pause, strike". Sometimes it's just "strike-strike, pause, strike". It's a bit weird, but you'll get used to it quite quickly.
But that's not the only trick the Nydak Alpha shares with its lesser kin. If you successfully deflect one of its attacks, it will stumble and face away from you, but then it will immediately swipe back at you with another powerful claw attack. The important thing here is: don't immediately push forward after your first deflection. Instead, wait for that next attack to arrive, deflect it too, then see if he does it again, or if he transitions into one of his unblockable lunge attacks.
Rolling out of the way of this unblockable lunge puts you in an excellent position, because then you can safely capitalise on the Nydak Alpha's overcommitted attack with some strikes of your own. This boss, in a similar vein to bosses such as Oggdo Bogdo or the Rabid Jotaz, is a bit of a glass cannon. Powerful attacks that can easily kill you; but he doesn't actually have that much health, so as long as you're careful, this fight shouldn't actually take very long at all.
By the way - you'll see at the end of the video above that the Nydak Alpha gets a little stuck after I use the Leaping Slash on it. I'm not entirely sure what happened here (you can actually see me hesitate for a moment before finishing it off); if anyone has any information on whether this is something that can be done reliably, feel free to voice your findings in the comments below!
But until then, I certainly wouldn't count on this happening for you. Just stick to careful deflects, rolling out of the path of the unblockable lunge attack, and capitalising during his recovery phase. Rinse, repeat, and reap the rewards.
Finally, when you deplete the Nydak Alpha's health to zero, make sure you block his "death attack". This is something you'll also have come across with Lesser Nydak; when they keel over, it's actually an attack that can deal a fair amount of damage, so either get out of the way or just stand there and block to make sure it doesn't hit you.
Right, that should be just about everything you'll need to defeat the powerful predator that is the Nydak Alpha. But that's not all we have on Jedi: Fallen Order, not by a long shot. Whether you're after tips on another boss, or you're looking to understand another aspect of this extensive game, be sure to check out our guide series below.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order tips - Find out our eight top tips for players of all skill levels on how to survive your time with Jedi: Fallen Order.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order combat - Learn how to wield your lightsaber and the Force like a true Jedi with our combat tips and explanations.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order skill tree - This guide features full explanations of every single skill in the skill tree, along with our picks for the best skills to upgrade first!
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Force Powers - Learn how and where to unlock Force Push, Force Pull, Double Jump, and more.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order lightsaber - Learn the ins and outs of lightsaber customisation, including how to get more colours, and where to find the double-blade and dual-wield lightsaber upgrades.
- Fallen Order Scomp Link repair - What the hell is a Scomp Link, and how can you get your hands on one? Learn how to open all those locked chests and doors with this guide!
- Fallen Order Tomb of Eilram - If you're a puzzle-hater like me, then this guide on completing and escape the Tomb of Eilram in less than 10 minutes is your Holy Grail.
- Fallen Order Tomb of Miktrull - Find out how to blitz through this nefarious Tomb of torches and vines and raise the Spire of Miktrull with ease!
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Stim locations - Use this guide to find all eight Stim Canister Upgrades scattered throughout the game.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Grandmaster - High-level tips and advice on how to beat the game on the hardest difficulty mode available!
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order bosses:
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order bosses - Our central bosses guides hub will walk you through each of the Fallen order bosses, with some general top tips for tackling any of them.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Oggdo Bogdo - Learn how to take on the game's first true boss and walk away without even a scratch.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Rabid Jotaz - Evade this fearsome predator's strikes and carve him up with this in-depth boss walkthrough.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Albino Wyyyschokk - Learn how to easily defeat this monstrous spider without taking a single hit.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Second Sister - Learn to defend yourself against the most powerful of Cal's foes in this battle on Zeffo.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Ninth Sister - Take down this fearsome Dark Side Inquisitor by learning and adapting to her many unblockable attacks.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Nydak Alpha - Don't fall for this powerful beast's ruses! Let our guide teach you the nefarious ways of the Nydak Alpha.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Gorgara - Trim the feathers of this colossal bird with our guide to defeating the Gorgara on Jedi Master difficulty.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Taron Malicos - Show this dual-wielding Sith what for in this epic battle in the ruins of Dathomir.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Trilla - Complete Cal's destiny by besting the dangerous Trilla Suduri once and for all.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Bounty Hunters - Learn the ins and outs of these deadly late game Haxion Brood Bounty Hunters.