Boss Kettle Entrance
Once you’ve secured six Zapfish, the Boss Kettle ascends from the massive pit between Lairs 23 and 26. Return to the central platform, where you originally entered the area, and board one of the saucers to cross over to the Boss Kettle. This is the final showdown—it’s time to figure out what happened to the Great Zapfish and Callie.
Sheldon Request
For this final boss battle, Sheldon needs you to collect more data on the Hero Shot. Before you enter the Boss Kettle, it’s highly recommended that you fully upgrade the Hero Shot to improve its rate of fire. Return to Tentakeel Outpost (Area 01) and visit the Ammo Knights Enhancifier to acquire these upgrades. It costs 2 Sardinium and 800 Power Eggs for the Level 2 upgrade, and 3 Sardinium and 1,500 Power Eggs for the Level 3 upgrade. Assuming you’ve been saving, you should have more than enough Sardinium and Power Eggs to afford these upgrades. Maximizing the Hero Shot’s rate of fire makes this final boss fight much easier.
Round 1
At the start of the battle, approach Callie in the center of the arena—something’s not right. Callie has been brainwashed by DJ Octavio. Together, they operate the Octobot King II, a robotic, punch-throwing robot powered by the Great Zapfish. As the battle commences, watch the Octobot King II’s gold fists. When the markings on the knuckles turn pink, the boss is about to throw a punch. Open fire on the approaching fist to knock it back toward the Octobot King II. This is the only way to damage this boss.
Not all punching attacks can be countered. When the Octobot King II’s fists start spinning, be ready to move laterally to avoid getting hit. Notice that the markings on the knuckles don’t turn pink when the fists are spinning. Spinning-fist attacks can only be dodged—don’t try to shoot them. Instead, spread ink on the arena floor and swim out of the way before you’re smacked. Curling Bombs offer an effective means of escape. Toss one and follow the ink trail to safety.
The Octobot King II also attacks with massive Splat Bombs, firing a salvo of four bombs per attack. As with the spinning fists, there’s no way to counter these attacks, so simply swim out of the way to avoid getting caught in the blasts. Once again, linear paths of ink created by Curling Bombs offer a quick way to dodge these incoming Splat Bombs.
Continue dodging the Splat Bomb and spinning-fist attacks while looking for opportunities to counter the Octobot King II’s basic punch attacks. Eventually, the boss performs a shower attack, similar to the Octo Shower. As ink spews from the bottom of the Octobot King II, move out of the way to avoid getting drenched. Once the Octobot King II has sustained significant damage from counters to his punch attacks, DJ Octavio falls out. Rush toward DJ Octavio and hit him repeatedly with your Hero Shot to end the first round.
Round 2
The Octobot King II begins the second round with more punch attacks—be ready to counter by shooting the approaching fists. The boss then launches a salvo of tentacles. Shoot these objects while they’re wound tight into ball shapes. If left unchallenged, these tentacles turn into purple columns of ink that make it more difficult to dodge the Octobot King II’s attacks.
Most of the Octobot King II’s attacks are identical to those performed in the first round. But this time, when launching bombs, he deploys giant Suction Bombs that stick to the floor of the arena. As you did with the Splat Bombs in the first round, ink a path and stay on the move to avoid getting splatted by the large explosions. Wait for the boss to start throwing straight punches again, then counter, shooting the incoming fists to knock them back at the Octobot King II. When DJ Octavio falls out, rush forward and splat him with repeated Hero Shot bursts to end the round. With Sheldon’s help, Marie arrives at the end of the round and fires a Hero Charger, striking the strange hypno-sunglasses on Callie’s face.
Round 3
DJ Octavio no longer has control of Callie, but the Octobot King II shows no signs of stopping. In fact, the boss moves about the arena at a faster speed. There are no new attacks during this round, but the Octobot King II mixes up his punches, so watch the markings on the knuckles. If the markings are pink, shoot the incoming fist. If the markings are black, dodge the spinning fist. Keep returning punches, sending the fists crashing into the Octobot King II until Callie recovers. As the Squid Sisters reunite, they launch into their latest hit, serenading you as you continue the fight against DJ Octavio.
Final Round
Sheldon delivers a new weapon for the final round—a Rainmaker. This is a modified variant of the same weapon used during Ranked and League Ink Battle matches. Hold down ZR to charge the weapon, and release ZR to fire a cyclone of exploding ink. As the Octobot King II ascends high above the arena, use the launchpad to pursue by launching yourself onto a Ride Rail. Here, two Ride Rails circle the Octobot King II. Jump between the outer and inner rails to avoid incoming punch attacks.
Start charging the Rainmaker as soon as you land on the Ride Rail. While it’s charging, a line extends from the Rainmaker, showing its trajectory. At the end of the line is a transparent orb that represents the Rainmaker’s point of impact and blast radius. Keep charging the weapon until you can place the point of impact on one of the Octobot King II’s incoming fists. As in the previous rounds, you can only counter the straight incoming punches—watch for the pink markings on the knuckles. Countering sends the Octobot King II’s fist right back at him, dealing damage. If faced with a spinning punch, leap to the neighboring Ride Rail to avoid getting smacked.
After multiple successful countered punches, the Octobot King II tumbles, dropping to the arena floor and ejecting DJ Octavio. A third Ride Rail appears, leading down to the floor. Hop to this new rail and ride it down to deliver a final blow, dropping directly onto DJ Octavio. This completes the battle. Not only have you rescued the Great Zapfish, but you’ve also reunited the Squid Sisters! Great work, Agent 4! Cap’n Cuttlefish would be proud!